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The way it was ~ aka history for the young ones.

IdratherbeclimbingM9

27-Dec-2019
12:50:31 PM

I’ve been doing a bit of holiday reading lately and thought I’d share some historical information from first hand sources so we remember various aspects of our climbing roots.

Here’s a starter... feel free to contribute!

Joe Brown - The Hard Years.
(Abridged from P78/9 - year 1952) - On the use of pitons...

“Pegs were either scarce or expensive to buy. They were made abroad and only a few types were imported because the demand from British climbers was small; their use was esoteric and misunderstood until the climate of opinion changed a few years later.

Pegs opened up new vistas in British rock climbing. By planting them with various attachments in ‘unclimbable’ rock an artificial route could be made. Contrary to the impression of cheating, artificial climbing involved complex and precise techniques and was invariably strenuous. The climbing was also very sensational but usually quite safe because the climber was attached to the rock every few feet by the rope running through snap-links on pegs.
Many prominent faces and buttresses could only be tackled with the peg hammer and artificial techniques. The horizontally jutting overhang, called a roof, could be scaled by these methods.

Proficiency was gained with patience and a lot of faith - driving in a peg completely upside down and swinging into space on it. Swinging about under a roof was very exhilarating; sometimes a peg popped out and one was left hanging from another with shattered nerves.”

Duang Daunk

28-Dec-2019
1:33:56 PM

Ay M9 bro, I’ve got a current one for you about the way it was.

2019 Grampians climbing - no longer allowed.
... Due insensible insensitive overchalking overzealous overbolting spurt climbers...
Vale, RIP, condolences and all that.

Heads up for 2020 - Arapiles is next!

Miguel75

29-Dec-2019
7:49:16 PM

On 27-Dec-2019 IdratherbeclimbingM9 wrote:
SNIP...

>Proficiency was gained with patience and a lot of faith
SNIP

I went for my first climb in quite a while the other week; heading out for a late arvo Werribee Gorge session. There were a few people around (a number of them very easily climbing Redex, though I won’t say proficient climbers as they seemed very unsure of setting top anchors and belaying from above, and their anchors were way worse than mine) and I heard, more than once, that many of the climbs needed more bolts; Scipio Africanus, Snatch and Grab, Slave Girl, Barbara Streisand all in their current state required more bolts to make them better/safer.

I pondered whether they actually required more bolts or more skill/proficiency

dan_b

30-Dec-2019
12:36:08 PM

In fairness at Werribee the bolts are just to hold the cliff together

Miguel75

30-Dec-2019
5:24:12 PM

On 30-Dec-2019 dan_b wrote:
>In fairness at Werribee the bolts are just to hold the cliff together

Haha, very true. And I’m not a fan of belaying from the top on certain climbs though more bolts aren’t the answer.

dalai

30-Dec-2019
6:41:18 PM

Many of those routes were already severely retrobolted!!! Should have told them to go back to leading in the gym if they can't climb above a bolt!

gfdonc

31-Dec-2019
7:51:04 AM

I don't believe any of those need more bolts. Slave Girl is part trad isn't it?

dalai

31-Dec-2019
8:57:24 AM

Slave Girl was all trad till an extra bolt was added to the start of French Revolution.

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