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Tassy's hardest trad climb 27-Apr-2014 At 9:00:17 AM johny

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Hey Daz. I don't think Adam's was a "valid" ascent and I certainly hope people don't repeat it. What if everyone in Hobart rapped over pleasant screams whacking in pitons? Am I the only person who thinks this is stupid?

Hey Ben. Lets put Adam's ascent ---not "accent" Daz! ;) --- in context:

Let's say someone redpoints Serpentine after many days (weeks, months) of working it (if you dont know what this route is, I am sorry for you) . They then decide the bolts are unnecessary so they fix a line and leave it over the route for a month while they work it some more. They then hammer in some pitons anyway and climb it.

If he did this on Serpentine it would be universally condemned. But Adam did exactly this in sleepy little Tassy and its supposed to be no big deal. Pleasant Screams Direct is the best route in Hobart. The guide book calls it "the Serpentine of Tasmania". Adam tied it up for over a month with a fixed line to follow through with his little project and ended up hammering in pitons. These two points are really the only thing I take issue with.

As far as what Adam did as being a "trad" ascent, I wrote up my opinion about headpointing here:
http://www.thesarvo.com/confluence/display/thesarvo/2014/03/11/Headpoint+Style+On+Potentially+Dangerous+Routes

I think re-climbing a bolted route using gear instead of the bolts would go something like:
1. You notice from the ground that it looks like there is a lot of gear placements.
2. You climb the route clipping the bolts and realize there will be plenty of gear.
3. You go from the ground placing the abundant gear you have seen that inspired you in the first place.

What did Adam do? He talked himself into believing there was plenty of gear but realized there wasn't and instead of just giving up on the idea he smashed in pitons. This is a really dumb idea. Its not a matter of "pitons are used in some trad ascents". There is a world of difference between going from the ground onsight with an emergency piton hammer and hammering in pitons on abseil.

Routes that require the "leader" to rap in and hammer in pitons before climbing from the ground are not considered "traditional" by many people (anyone?).

And one more time... Its not like I want people to march to Adam's house with torches and pitch forks. Hes a good dude and fun to climb with. I think he has a great imagination about climbing. I just think he efforts with PSD missed the mark. Remember, I didn't bring this up but I'm just pointing out what I think are dead obvious problems with Adam's style.