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Poll: Retrobolting Trad lines? 18-Jul-2014 At 9:21:24 AM PThomson

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The poll at the start of this thread is as loaded as a question can come, and thereby invalid for any real discussion.

I could point at a 50m cliff which might go at grade 30 with 1 piece of gear at half height and say: "that's my trad project, that would totally go on trad", thus it's now inviolate by the logic of this thread.

I've said before, a trad climb is based on a trad LINE: an obvious line that is naturally protectable with -say- an average distance between gear of not more than 5m (across its entire length). Some things are obviously trad LINES (such as a clearly naturally protected crack, or perhaps a face with a perfect line of horizontals all the way up for gear), but some things are OBVIOUSLY not a trad LINE, and -since that makes the style it's climbed in contentious- I think that it really comes down to the style of the cliff in question (you'll notice that most of the mixed routes that once encompassed all of Shipley are now bolted routes with the blessing of the First Ascensionists), and -assuming a degree of interest in a contentious line being a "trad" line-, the first shot should be given for the line in question to be climbed on gear. Where that falls flat, then its free to be bolted.

Furthermore, where a line is contentious, to call it a "trad project" necessitates the act of PROJECTING IT, not simply saying: "that's my project" and then letting 6 months lapse between attempts.

-Paul