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The Irish Solution to The Ben Lomond Problem 24-Sep-2017 At 1:10:28 AM Tastrad

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Hi, John, thanks for supporting both the ideal and romantic notion of a bolt free Ben Lomond. It is an ideal because it is a pure standard of traditional ethics. It is also a romantic idea because in Australia it has become so rare, that it is no longer the norm. It is an appeal to retain something of the way climbing used to be, with self reliance and adventure in an untainted landscape being a high motivating factor.

Bob McMahon never got involved in ethical debates. He was a very pragmatic climber; whatever it takes was his attitude. So when he appealed for a bolt free Ben Lomond, including removal of the bolted rap stations, it was to the romantic notion. “Wouldn’t it be bloody marvelous to have one last bolt free crag left in Tasmania,” he used to say. He spent 40 years walking the scree slopes, camped by the tarns, enduring the storms, discovering the cliffs, climbing whatever took his fancy in ground up style, and enjoying the freedom of the mountain. The Ben was a special and spiritual place for Bob, and there is something bloody marvelous about leaving no trace and fending for yourself in the mountains. People can still go to Ben Lomond and experience something of the golden age of discovery from the 70’s. Sure they’ve got a guidebook now, but they still have to do it all themselves, which includes getting off the crag safely.

Now to address some of the practical issues brought up by this thread. The issue has nothing to do with safety. Climbers since 1970 safely negotiated the access and descent from crags on Ben Lomond without bolted rap stations. Bob took a screamer or two, but no-one came to grief accessing or descending the cliffs..and there was no tat on the Flutes either. We climbed to the top and walked down.

The rap stations went in for convenience..not safety..and also to protect the descent gully. But this is a nonsense reason, as the descent gully is primarily on scree slope. People also seem to forget about the access gully which was doubly trashed when the bolts were in place..accessing and descending from the crag via the same gully.

As for Wendy's contribution. Seriously, are you on the same drugs as the yes campaign for same-sex marriage? Just because alot of people agree with it, doesn't mean that it's right. I chuckle when I hear people say that the majority want bolted rap stations on Ben Lomond. Their majority is the peer group they talk to at the pub or around campfires. But what about the majority I talk to; the dozens of people who pioneered the new routes on the mountain over the last 47 years, who hate the idea of any bolts on the mountain whatsoever, including rap stations. Their opinion has the most value and weight because of the time, effort and emotional investment in the mountain over many years.

Tat only appeared since the bolts were removed in 2008, and now a well meaning person has installed a chain to replace it. The tat is the convenience mentality again, littering the cliff, too lazy to walk down, bringing a sport climbing attitude to a big alpine cliff and not willing to embrace the whole trad ethic. The weetbix is not an issue on the established classics. I've done Defender, Rigaudon, Ramadan, Barbe di Vendetta, Rajah, many times and never broken a hold on the upper pitches. If you don't top out, you haven't done the climb.

The slippery slope is real. The first bolts went in on the Organ Pipes in the early 90's to the dismay of many old timers, and now the place is completely festooned with bolts. I used the abseil bolts on Ben Lomond for the 8 years or so they were in place. But when a couple of people were seriously considering bolting climbs, I argued that the mountain should be bolt free. But the would be bolter came back with the argument that it wasn't bolt free, because of the abseil bolts; that a precedent, grey area was established. To have a bolt free mountain, there had to be no ambiguity and the rap bolts had to go.

Future generations who don't understand the background or historical progression and angst that the introduction of bolts brought to climbing, might not see the difference or have the respect to distinguish between a rap station and a bolted climb..a bolt is a bolt. Sooner or later, rap stations would appear on every buttress on the mountain, because there is no logical reason to restrict it just to the Flutes, and then how about that lovely arete?

And unless they learn self reliance in the mountains, they will always be bolt dependent. But then how can we climb safely on Ben Lomond?..learn the traditional skills. UK climbers are accustomed to it because the community upholds the ethic, and beginners have to learn to build anchors on dodgy cliff tops, and walk down from most of their crags.

If you want convenience without trashing the place, the Irish solution is the way to go. Everyone does it at Fairhead, and out of the 300 climbers at the festival, everyone seemed to have access to long static ropes. Buy one, borrow one, tie two ropes together and bypass the knot at a ledge. Its very doable and finding the routes should not be an issue on Robins Buttress..the cliff is only 50m wide at that point, so scramble around to your chosen route, with the excellent topo in Climb Tasmania.

Which reminds me Wendy, the guidebook does describe the top down access via the plateau. So for your summer holiday in Tassie, check out the guide at climbtasmania.com.au , get your static rope and come on down.