Powerstar

A crag developed by the community, for the community

By Gowri Varanashi, Shivaun Chandiramani, and Tanvi Badami

Edited by Rob Kyte

June 19, 2024

Cover photo: From left to right, Tanvi Badami, Gowri Varanashi, Ola Przybysz and Shivaun Chandiramani sit on top of a sunkissed rock at the centre of PowerStar taking it all in. Photo by Pratik Singla.

Over the last decade, traditional notions of what climbing looks like, where it happens, and who is doing it have been debunked in favour of a new vision: One that is less concerned with exclusivity and first ascents, and more focused on empowering communities, facilitating accessibility, and creating inclusive spaces. A promising example of this new vision for climbing was a crowdfunded community project that took place in February 2023 in Badami, India, a relatively small town home to some of India’s oldest temples dating back to the 6th century B.C. It also happens to be India’s largest sport climbing destination.

What started as a conversation between three Indian climbers—Shivaun Chandiramani, Gowri Varanashi, and Tanvi Badami—grew into a project that united a community with a common objective. Through the support of Ola Przybysz, an experienced crag developer, a goal was hatched to raise funds, develop 20 new routes, prepare the next generation of crag developers, empower the local community, and set environmental and ethical standards. Ultimately, 12 climbers were trained in crag development and set up 38 new routes of varying grades and disciplines: sport, mixed, and trad. Their journey was documented in a short film, “PowerStar,” that was featured at film festivals around the world, including Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (Canada), Kendal Mountain Festival (UK), Krakow Mountain Festival (Poland), London Mountain Film Festival and Chennai International Film Festival (India).

The landscape of climbing in India is experiencing a transformation, driven by a growing community of recreational climbers. This surge has brought about greater diversity as it welcomes more women, individuals from smaller cities, and a broader age demographic. Since 2018, Gowri Varanashi, the founder of Climb Like A Woman (CLAW), has been cultivating a space for women to navigate societal and cultural obstacles through climbing. CLAW’s emphasis is on empowering individuals to climb authentically, free from external expectations of what a climber should or shouldn't be. At a meetup in Badami in 2022, Gowri, Shivaun, and Tanvi were inspired by candid discussions about identities and the value of all people within the climbing culture. Climbing in Badami has limitations: not enough easy climbs, not enough diverse climbing styles, no widely accepted bolting or ethical standards including consideration for areas significant for local religion or wildlife, and instances of hanger thefts by opposing locals. Addressing these challenges for the benefit of the community would involve embracing varied perspectives, being receptive to constructive feedback, and transparently sharing learnings.

“The project addressed questions that did not have easy answers,” says Shivaun. How do you develop a crag in a way that returns ownership to the community? How do you challenge pre-set notions of gender roles for women in India, not just as outdoor climbers but as community leaders and route developers? In the absence of an official, organised body of support for Indian climbing similar to the Access Fund in the United States, what is considered ethical? How many people must agree to something before it becomes standard? How do we earn the community’s trust in the first place?

The format of the initiative had three components. The first was to include climbers who were on the brink of developing routes in their own localities but lacked the confidence, mentorship, or skills to do so. For this, Shivaun invited Ola Przybysz, a Polish climber and route developer known for her bolting and sport development expertise across China, Europe, Tongo, Armenia, Laos, Morocco, Ecuador, and India, to mentor the group on bolting skills. The two met while guiding in Yangshuo, China, and Shivaun felt that Ola’s ethos of engaging with the community and her previous work developing routes in West Bengal made her a good fit to lead discussions on technical, safety, and ethical standards. Lucho Birkner, founder of Climbing For A Reason, and Dave Gates, a US national parks ranger and Professional Climbing Guides Institute (PCGI) climbing mentor, also volunteered to assist and guide first-time bolters. The second component was an open invitation to experienced bolters who wished to donate their time to develop the area. Third, the initiative held regular ethics discussions to decide how, where, when, and what to bolt, with considerations for wildlife, local flora, impact on the surrounding villages, and route naming conventions.

The spirit of the initiative was to engage with the community every step of the way. For a project of this scale to come about, “we needed the support of the community, and through a crowdfunding campaign, we put out our goals and our plan for achieving them,” says Tanvi. Support came pouring in from across India and the world, with the project receiving double the original fundraising target in a matter of weeks. “This truly raised the pressure,” Tanvi explains, “as we had to deliver on the goals that we had only dreamed of.” The team centred their supporters every step of the way. “We shared transparent updates leading up to the initiative of how the money was being spent in line with our goals,” she says. They even created opportunities for donors to name routes, a right usually reserved for the climber who does the first ascent. Apart from funds, donors also contributed gear. Bolts and safety equipment can be of limited supply in India, but Bangalore Climbing Initiatives and experienced climbing developers around the world stepped up to contribute equipment that made this project possible.

Ensuring the long term viability and protection of sport climbing in Badami meant giving everyone a stake in the process—and this was especially true for the local climbing guides of Badami who make their living from tourists and travelling climbers. “Ravi Waddar, a local climbing guide, was instrumental in the initiative from the start,” explains Gowri, “and it was necessary to have his input on important questions, because ultimately his livelihood and that of other guides is tied to the sustainable development of this sport.” Ravi suggested naming some routes in Badami’s local language, Kannada, thereby integrating the crag into Badami’s social fabric. Throughout the initiative, he invited locals to hang out at the crag, and eventually named it “PowerStar,” the nickname affectionately given to Puneeth Rajkumar, an Indian actor, producer, and philanthropist known for his legacy of anonymous good deeds only revealed after his death. PowerStar (the actor) is greatly revered by the village adjoining the crag, and their reverence is slowly being directed towards PowerStar (the crag).

It was only a week after the project concluded that Ravi shared news of a local initiative: On the anniversary of PowerStar’s death, a group of young men and women gathered at the crag to spend the day learning how to climb. If this project was at all responsible for creating a ripple effect of who is now showing up to the crag, it is already a marked “success” in Ravi’s words. Before, the local band of kids at the crag was exclusively boys, but now young girls have begun to defy the gender roles placed on them at home, appearing in the mix and showing an interest in climbing.

When asked about challenges and hardships, Shivaun, Tanvi, and Gowri explained factors like the 40 degree celsius midday sun, the tribulations of transporting high quality gear to India, and one community member who dissuaded them from bolting an area he wished to bolt himself. However, these paled in comparison to the good that came out of this project. “People wanted to trust us,” says Tanvi, “and having 40 plus donors, many of whom had never met us, is a clear sign of the unifying nature of this sport and how much it means to people.” As to what went well, Gowri says that “welcoming scrutiny from the community and engaging with their concerns to find unified ground rather than pushing our views forward” was essential.

Speaking of the future, the organisers believe that this initiative will serve as proof of the good that can come from working together as a team diverse in gender, identity, and geography. However, whilst this project is a good example of the spirit of the community, “it’s not future-proof” says Shivaun. “The act of bolting is simple. The act of developing something for generations to come is not.” Ultimately, the goal should be the creation of a more organised and formal institution in India that climbers contribute resources to and whose charter furthers community-based, sustainable initiatives taking into account biodiversity considerations, local communities, and protection of climbing spaces. It will be challenging to agree on the “lowest common denominator” when it comes to ethics. However, the PowerStart project is the embodiment of a group of people from across the country who accepted diverse viewpoints, agreed on how to develop an area taking into account multiple factors, and then worked together to achieve and surpass the intended goal. Perhaps, the very thing to celebrate and encourage is that doing something for the community requires input from the community, and therefore inviting everyone into the conversation is the most equitable way forward.

You can follow updates on the PowerStar Community and find out where to watch the film on their Instagram page @powerstarcommunity.