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Carrot bolts with knotted sling? Please help 5-Jan-2012 At 9:16:27 AM Cockatoo

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>>The leader had no bolt plates for this route
>
>Why didn't you buy some bolt plates when you were in the climbing store?
>If you want to climb at crags like Piddo, you need to own some bolt plates!

that day there were no plans of climbing any route that needed them, they bought just one for a multi-pitch route that they were going to attempt the next day

>>.... I
>>told him that that did not sound safe at all, but he angrily insisted
>that
>>he had done something similar elsewhere and that i only thought his idea
>>was bad because being a noob i do not know anything.. He asked me to
>belay
>>him and I said that I did not feel comfortable with his plan, would not
>>belay him and would prefer him to discuss his plans with the third person,
>>who is experienced-- she was in another wall 100 meters away still packing
>>her gear. I went to her, asked her to come to the route and talk to the
>>leader. She agreed to belay him, so up goes the leader with his plan
>of
>>tying the slings around the carrot bolts on a route that he does not,
>>nor does he know the grade for.. Turns out that with difficulty he managed
>>to get to the crux where he almost fell. It was very tense, the belayer
>>agreed with this too.
>>
>>I was freaking out at the perceived lack of consideration of basic safety
>>measures on their part, and when the leader came down a very heated discussion
>>ensued and I decided that these people are being too careless and not
>following
>>what seems to be common safety measures for the type of climbing and
>that
>>I would not climb with them anymore in this trip leave the party
>>
>>Do you think that the idea of using the slings on the carrot bolts was
>>ok or was it as I perceived it, completely stupid?
>>
>>Was I right in not agreeing to belay the leader? Should the other person
>>have tried to stop the leader?
>
>First off, you're coming across as a big dibber-dobber, not cool!

i am not trying to sound cool or uncool or anything. I am a beginner, without much experience at all, and I'm seeking advice from cool headed experienced climbers to get a better understanding of the situation that i faced back there. I am afraid that without such feedback it is difficult to learn much.

I had strong suspicions that they were not acting safely and i though that the leader was taking unnecessary risks for no good reason.

>Second, why are you climbing with people who you don't trust, fight with,
>and then dibber-dob on? Get some real climbing friends and then stop being
>such a bitchy whinger.

again, my lack of trust in their judgement developed during that trip, and the event that i described was the apex. I guess that what you call 'dibber-dob on' is just my wanting to know whether the decisions that were made were made about that climb were correct or not: i thought what they did was stupid, and that is probably what you interpret as bitching.

I just want to know whether you, as an experienced climber, with the advantage of not being on the heat of the moment, would have done the same they did.

>Third, your whole little trip report/bitchy thing sounds like the biggest
>festival of shank in history.

not sure what you mean here (what is a 'festival of shank'?).

>> Try to learn some stuff, and maybe harden
>>up a bit.

i am trying to learn by asking these questions and hoping to get straightforward answers. I do not know what you are trying to say here, but is that you, in my shoes, would have belayed the leader?

>>Thanks
>>
>You're welcome :D