After decades as the crown jewel of American performance sport climbing, Rifle, Colo., finally has its first 5.15. You might have heard of the first ascensionist, Joe Kinder, before.
Joe Kinder has gone through the wringer. Widely known as one of the United States’ most psyched sport climbers, he’s also been a lightning rod for criticism and derision within the community. But after spending most of the last decade as a pariah, he recently put himself back at the top of the sport again.
His new route, “Kinder Cakes” (5.15a), is Rifle Mountain Park’s first 5.15. After bolting and working it for at least a year, Andrew Bisharat’s Evening Sends reported Kinder redpointed the line on Wednesday.
It’s the first time in a while that we’ve heard from Kinder, who used to enjoy widespread fame for his high-standard redpoints (over 200 5.14’s) and inspiring first ascents.
In 2013, the New England native lost all his sponsors and narrowly maintained his career after cutting down a tree while new-routing in North Lake Tahoe. The incident hurt not only his career, but his self-made pride and sense of belonging — he’s transparent about all of it in his interview on The Enormocast.
By 2018, the fallout from the tree fiasco had all but blown over. But, as Bisharat put it, “no one could have prepared” Kinder for the hurricane he was about to instigate by cyberbullying Sasha DiGiulian. That year, Kinder got caught fat-shaming DiGiulian via Instagram and earned a swift, vicious cancellation in an internet culture that’s only grown more polemic.
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In the wake of the scandal, he apologized, explaining that he’d made a joke he understood to be hurtful. His nearly immediate contrition didn’t pan out — almost all of his re-earned sponsors dropped him like a hot rock for violating their bullying policies.
If you’re not friends with Kinder or at least follow him on social media, you might not have seen his name since the controversy. His absence has been notable — when he arrived on the scene in the ’90s, his big personality and skater/hip-hop aesthetic contrasted starkly with a vibe that was slowly but steadily becoming austere and monochromatic.
Does Kinder Cakes signify the comeback of Joe Kinder? Time will tell, but it also heals.