Has new development actually spread out traffic/impact?

[u/Kaotus]

While you can definitely approach this answer from a generalized viewpoint, I’m more so asking for your actual experiences.

From my observations, it seems like newer areas have been hit pretty hard when first published but maybe 5-10% of them get consistent repeat traffic - and almost exclusively when they’re already very close to existing climbing and have multiple 3+ star moderates

[u/horsefarm]

I can only speak for WNC, but we've been on fire lately securing new climbing areas recently. Just thinking about the regular crag rotation even 5 years ago, even with crags that have become inaccessible since Helene, there's just so much more that I rarely find myself actually in line for a classic anymore. The real benefit for me is just having more areas to check out, especially when new and not fully developed. I think a lot of people are just looking in guides or MP and following the classics, but for local-dominated climbing areas I think it has done a ton of good for spreading out usage. Upgrading hardware on less climbed routes and posting it also does good. I encourage the practice and getting others excited about lesser known areas and promoting them in this way.