This is a conversation we climbers need to have. While these routes were bolted with power drills, the area wasn't part of the cliffty wilderness then. But, to maintain those routes today, would mean hand drilling. FRC is the main area with sport routes, but the anchors at Tower, Eagle point, Wall of Denail, the small walls, and maybe a couple more would be effected.captain static wrote:
I personally think us climbers as a community need to pursue how we can maintain the fixed anchors in Clifty in a manner that meets or exceeds the ideals of the Wilderness Act.
If we are going to keep these routes reasonably safe, and follow the law, then we need to think about hand drilling, or about stripping some of them.
And, if we decide to try to keep them safe with hand drills, we need to use hardware that will last the longest, even if it means more work with the hammer and drill.
I, personally, am not super psyched about hand drilling, but if we can get 15 or 20 people to commit to doing one route, we can probably get it taken care of. It isn't rocket science...
