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General Climbing Discussion

Topic Date User

Removing bolts to create trad paradise 5-May-2007 At 4:32:20 PM AlanD

Message

On 5/05/2007 tmarsh wrote:
>Which ironically is probably the reason behind the Victorian tradition
>of mixed gear and bolt routes in the first place: the rock for the most
>part takes great gear, but every now and then requires a bolt to keep things
>safe/sane/sensible etc.

I'm probably going to say this poorly, hopefully you guys will get the gist.

Whilst climbs are graded on the technical difficulty, I think "keeping things safe/sane/sensible" is a factor worth considering when considering placing a bolt or chopping one, relative to the grade. For someone climbing near their limit, that bolt is making that climb safe if the climbing is running out, it's a different situation for someone cruising past who usually climbs 10 grades higher and the run out isn't an issue as they could probably solo the climb. Some consideration should be made to make the climb safe for those climbing near their limit* and I'm sort of suggesting letting people that normally climbs that grade to make the decision if the bolt should be chopped, rather than letting someone else who climbs 10 grades higher.

* I'm not talking about making the climb suitable for dogging or something.