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Sonnie Trotter Goes Down on Tasmania 19-Feb-2016 At 12:24:03 PM johny

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>Actually, I'd kinda appreciate your input on a 'hypothetical' example.
>Imagine that a friend of mine is working on what will almost certainly
>be the hardest trad route in the country. He's pretty close to climbing
>it clean with the gear in, but placing on lead both becomes the crux and
>adds significant danger (blind placement of single wire, with 15m groundfall
>assured if wire pops). Now, the concern is that if he were to climb the
>thing gear-in and report it as such, a whole host of internet bitches (who
>will never be strong enough to climb the route themselves) will chime in
>and claim that the ascent is invalid. So, speaking hypothetically, as an
>internet bitch who isn't strong enough to climb this thing in any style,
>what would your response be?

well minus the aggression I would agree with these hypothetical internet critics and say it is an invalid ascent.

What you just described hypothetically is pretty much the route sonny climbed! Except its like a 6 metre ground fall. The route is over after 12 metres. Locals were battling with this for years with the crux really being placing the gear on lead. I never put alot of energy into it because of the gear thing. I dont like headpoints. But that is the route. Its a borderline gear is just there kind of thing. Its a mind f*ck.

Actually of equal concern is not "the hardest" trad climb but people pre-placing gear on run out moderate routes.
Supposedly a grade 22 was recently done on Ben Lomond where the leader asked a guy above him to rap in and pre-place a wire to protect the crux after said leader had already top roped the moves and dialed the gear. It was written up as bold but 3 stars.
So my concern is that first, the leader is full of shit about being bold and more important that repeat ascentionists repeat this moderate grade route and waste themselves because it is impossible to actually protect the moves.