Maragda Gabarre : “I love setting boulder and lead”
Route setter for the IFSC (paraclimbing) and at the Climbing District gym in Saint-Lazare, Maragda Gabarre is an atypical climber. From the young generation, she is perhaps the most Parisian of Spaniards, and the most cliff-oriented of the Capitale’s setters. With great enthusiasm, she told us about her journey. Interview.
How did you get started with route setting? What do you like most about it?
Maradga Gabarre : I started climbing thanks to my brother who encouraged me at the beginning of 2018. Since then I have not been able to stop climbing, to the point where I am now. After a few years of climbing and discovering this amazing sport and way of life some of my setting friends around me encouraged me to try it. And join them during their setting sessions. After a few setting sessions I ended up discovering what I really liked and that I would be able to do it all the time in the world. It’s something I really enjoy and like.
What I love about routesetting is all the experiences that you can learn and do in that profession. You can experiment what you want that the rest of the climbers will experiment on the wall, all the new things you can learn from another setters, all the possibility to travel and discover more ways of seeing setting. Is something that never ends. And this infinite of new things makes me feel more addict and excited of setting.
How long have you been route setting? Do you set mostly boulders or mostly routes, or both? And in which gyms?
Maragda Gabarre : That’s funny because everything has been really fast for me. I started working as a freelance thinking about setting would be my main job, at the beginning of 2021. This opportunity arose after having spent some time setting as a freelance, more in my own country with the goal to learn more about setting. But at the same time, I was getting opportunities to join some setters in some regional or national competitions. Obviously, nowadays this way of getting experience has changed quite a lot. There are more lines that you can/should follow to grow up in that profession and get better.
In those times, it was kind of the way to be able to experiment what it was setting for commercial gyms. And also experiment what is the competition setting. Fortunately I was able to experience that feeling of setting for competitions. Because that is when my head clicked and I wanted to take the road of setting seriously. The more I did courses, many experiences in competitions, my path was engraving itself better.
The feeling that I had could not erase it from my head, I wanted to experiment and discover how far I could go in this world. I gained experience. And little by little I created a niche for myself in the world of international setting. Everything really flowed more when I moved out of Spain, as I was able to meet amazing setters, places… Being surrounded by so many stimuli and different vision. I think that being surrounded by a lot of stimuli and different scenarios helped me a lot.
Do you set mostly boulders or mostly routes, or both?
Maradga Gabarre : I can not answer that question. Because I love everything about climbing. And I love setting boulder and lead. I think both disciplines are really interesting as a setter. Because : in one, maybe you can experiment more with the movements, the part more creative of what is setting. But on the other hand, you can experiment more the endurance and performance in just one try in a long wall. I mean, there are two different games, systems and what are you checking in the athletes. So, in my perspective, the setting has to be accordingly on these aspects.
Is it more difficult for women to make a name for themselves in this field?
Maradga Gabarre : Well, this is a really difficult question. A would say we would need more visions of female setters to have the global vision. And maybe we would be able to answer something truly and honestly about that topic. I have friends who started setting a long time ago and I can say that back then it was much more difficult than it is now. I do not want to say that now it is a piece of cake to become a “national”/“international” setter etc… But to be honest, times have changed. And other points are considered in order to take into account a setter.
But if we consider the different levels of IFCS to have a name in this world, the process is quite intense. Even for male and female setters, it starts to become harder and harder. For example, if we checked how many setters were available or interested in setting 30/40 years ago versus now it is going to be way different. That is why if you want to grow up, first will have to want to work from the beginning. And create a really strong character and behaviour.
And this point is way different if you are female or male setter. I could feel for all this years that, we have to create a strong protection in front of external opinions and constant additional opinions if you are capable or strong enough for competitions, rather than, if you are a good or bad setter.
To your knowledge, are there many women working in this industry? Do you know what the proportion of women is among route setters?
Maradga Gabarre : Well, statistically I do not know the proportion of male and female climbers, and conversely, of male and female setters. Looking at the community, I can believe that there are more male climbers than female climbers. And proportionally, there will be more men practicing this profession than women.
Sometimes I have received the same question and we should clarify in which scenario we are talking about. Because if we are talking about commercial gyms I am seeing more female setters. And it is getting more equal sport. A lot of gyms want more equal teams for setting. Because all the people realised that with a diverses teams you will have more diverse boulders/routes. So in the end, you are giving to the people more and more experiences on the walls.
But, if we are talking about competition setting it is another game. In general I would say there are less people interested in this kind of profession and line of setting. Is another type of work: working more than 8hours per day, day plus nights, new teams and persons who you are going to work with, the roller coaster of emotions in all this week of work… Like I love that, but I guess this is another kind of setting that maybe it is hard to enter or want.
Maragda Gabarre, in your opinion, what can the presence of one or more women bring to a setting team, whether it’s for a private gym or for organizing an event/competition?
Maradga Gabarre : Well the same as any other setter. Male or female, beginner setter or experienced setter, taller climbers or smaller climbers… Like, we are going to set what we have to set, competition or for a gym. For me, this vision is the important thing and what I truly believe and defend.
I am a setter, maybe I have some preference styles that I love to climb and maybe some styles that I am not the best one but that is why there is a team behind the competitions. All the female or male setters, they are going to bring their visions for the setting process. And after their own abilities testing and adjusting the boulders with the same goal all together, adjusting the boulder or route for the specific scenario.
I do not believe when people just want a female setter because we “need” the abilities that the female setters have. All the girls are not the same, all the males are not the same. So in the end, all these phrases, instead of helping equality, emphasize the fact that we, as setters, have set standards and that we are going to meet them.
Maragda Gabarre : “We are labeled with the fact that strength and power are our weaknesses”
Maragda Gabarre : We are labeled with the fact that strength and power are our weaknesses but on the other hand, more technical things we are better at because of our flexibility. I’m just reading labels and more labels.
And if there are women better in strength styles and worse in technique? And if there are men better technically and not so much in strength? Those men are also worthless because they do not meet those standards? For me the conclusion with all of these topics I would say : “We are setters with likes and dislikes, with styles, with different visions/ways of setting. See all of these points instead of the gender, or all the multi different labels. The team work is important.”
Have you ever experienced any form of discrimination or implicit questioning of your route setting skills or work capacity due to the fact that you are a woman? How do you deal with a “macho” attitude if you encounter it?
Maragda Gabarre : Wow, direct question. I would say I did not experiment with any hard or really direct discrimination. But indirectly, I have had many situations where you are being judged as a setter. You are not taken seriously or even your opinion is not relevant and has to be said by another colleague to be heard or valued. This is really sad. It gives you a lot of insecurities and bad thoughts that you are going to bring at home after work. But the rest of your colleagues of work do not and this is really unfair.
Putting all my experiences together and analyze all of them together I would say some setters did not appreciate my vision in some cases or my feedbacks in some moments because: or it was some male boulder so I do not have the capacity enough, if I am not trying the boulder not chance to give my opinion for some changes even if you are understanding what is happening on the wall…
So I guess, multiple times I come back home thinking I just need to be as strong as the first top athletes in the world to prove I am a good setter, but this does not make sense. I need to set well, be creative, be a good human being, be respectful, be strong enough,… but it looks like you have to shock them and performance well as a climber rather than as a setter.
Maragda Gabarre : “To deal with all of these things and maybe “attacks” it is not easy”.
Maragda Gabarre : There are comments that do not deserve a reply. Because it seems that you are looking for that. I prefer to respond with ignorance and go on with my work as a professional. Stoping to that level is not my way of being. But for sure, in front of another kind of comments it is important to stop them in front of the other people. To mark that this situations are not good, be quiet could not be an attitudes.
Living against the clock and in tunnel mode, without pauses or concerns, for me means fear of the unknown. I learned to break that barrier, and it was wonderful to discover who I was and what I wanted. I would like the new generations to learn from those references who did not hesitate to question things and pursue their dreams.
Photos coll. Maragda Gabarre
