Does a "TRAD RULES" mentality = weakness?
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anticlmber
- Posts: 3393
- Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2003 12:34 am
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rustyvasectomy
- Posts: 164
- Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2007 12:17 pm
Trad's rad = Can't climb 5.10
What y'all now call trad, we once called clean climbing. In fact, we were quite aware that what we were doing was anything but traditional. We saw ourselves as proponents of a radical new style - no pins, no bolts, and, to the best of our abilities, no trace. The first 5.10s and 5.11s in the gorge were put up 30+ years ago without bolts, pins or chalk (out of choice), and without sticky rubber (because it didn't exist). At one time I think I must have had the biggest rack of cams in Kentucky - three of them.
We were after adventure, and found it in spades on routes like The Quest, Tower of Power, Meteor Maker, Last Day, Jungle Beat, etc. While I'm still proud of a couple of the old fright-fests, I do wish that I'd had some big honking bolts back in those days, as they could have been put to good use on the steeper pocketed walls that we left alone.
So, today, sport climbing is the thing, and I get it. The gorge most naturally lends itself to sport. And for sure, it must be tons of fun, and undeniably makes one strong as hell. What I don't get is why there aren't more somewhat equivalent modern trad test-pieces, and why the old routes haven't become trade routes for the aspiring hard man. Sure they're choss, but that's no excuse. If you're worth a shit you ought to crush hard choss with grace and style. How much traffic do the old Beene brothers' routes see? Not nearly as much as they should, I suspect.
Come on traddies, show your stuff. My congrats to wdub, who just recently claimed rare? repeats of Hamburger and Last Day. Some details in the online guide might be interesting.
What y'all now call trad, we once called clean climbing. In fact, we were quite aware that what we were doing was anything but traditional. We saw ourselves as proponents of a radical new style - no pins, no bolts, and, to the best of our abilities, no trace. The first 5.10s and 5.11s in the gorge were put up 30+ years ago without bolts, pins or chalk (out of choice), and without sticky rubber (because it didn't exist). At one time I think I must have had the biggest rack of cams in Kentucky - three of them.
We were after adventure, and found it in spades on routes like The Quest, Tower of Power, Meteor Maker, Last Day, Jungle Beat, etc. While I'm still proud of a couple of the old fright-fests, I do wish that I'd had some big honking bolts back in those days, as they could have been put to good use on the steeper pocketed walls that we left alone.
So, today, sport climbing is the thing, and I get it. The gorge most naturally lends itself to sport. And for sure, it must be tons of fun, and undeniably makes one strong as hell. What I don't get is why there aren't more somewhat equivalent modern trad test-pieces, and why the old routes haven't become trade routes for the aspiring hard man. Sure they're choss, but that's no excuse. If you're worth a shit you ought to crush hard choss with grace and style. How much traffic do the old Beene brothers' routes see? Not nearly as much as they should, I suspect.
Come on traddies, show your stuff. My congrats to wdub, who just recently claimed rare? repeats of Hamburger and Last Day. Some details in the online guide might be interesting.
Last edited by L K Day on Fri Jun 12, 2009 12:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Its good to hear from you day, I was actually just wondering on my way to the red yesterday if you still got online. Figured there would be some interesting obama propaganda or something. Still, these posts that contain phrases like "The Quest" and "without sticky rubber" are highly entertaining and certainly raise a few hairs, I think I have my trad list for the summer, thanks
How you compare may not be as important as to whom you are compared
he means you'd be surpirsed because they NEVER get climbed. period. there aren't three people on here who can tell you where those climbs are without consulting the guidebook.ahab wrote:you'd be suprised.L K Day wrote:How much traffic do the old Beene brothers' routes see? Not nearly as much as they should, I suspect.
if you give me permission, I'll throw in the bolts that will make them REAL classics.
Positive vibes brah...positive vibes.