blue tick marks

[tbwilsonky]

post-send chillout sesh.

[der uber]

post-send chillout sesh.

very well played.

[TradMike]

Tick marks are lame period - be it white or blue. It's aid climbing because you surely can't do it by yourself if you need tick marks.

I'll save the crowds the the pain and say it first...same thing could be said about chalk, sticky rubber, dynamic ropes, and SLCDs....surely you can't do it yourself if you need these aid climbing tools...

Chalk is aid - yes and way overused by many. Tick marks are the epitomy of chalk as aid.

Everything else just weighs you down and hardly aid unless you pull on it.

[Saxman]

You should have taken a picture of him and posted it.

[dustonian]

Actually, he sort of insinuated that we should "settle this online". So, here it is...virtual democracy at work.

[shear]

White chalk has been accepted by the community as a whole as the "norm"...blue has not, and I doubt, will not be accepted as a norm in the community. White tick marks, despite being a gray area, when brushed off, at least match the color of the already white caked chalky holds. Blue tick marks are one step closer to making the outdoors the gym....and don't use the fixed draw argument. You're in the red, fixed draws abound....blue tick marks do not abound. I say draw the line here...it's stupid.

And why the hell do you need to tick mark Way Up Yonder and Far From God? Every damn hold is a jug?!?!

[dustonian]

I should clarify for those who haven't already experienced the joy of climbing a route he's given "the treatment": we're not talking about a few blue ticks at the crux, but rather long blue ticks all the way up the route on every single damn goddamned hold... even the bad ones you don't use. It would be just as heinous with white ticks (with one exception--see below). The dude is a 5.11 climber tops on a good day, so my guess he is trying to dumb 12- down to his level... ironically, by doing exactly what you shouldn't do on these routes--using every single shitty hold between the jugs! Climbing these routes "onsight" is pretty much a drag in their current state.

Also, blue classroom/sidewalk chalk is indeed harder to remove than standard white gymnastic... most brands of colored chalk are actually chemically different than gym/climbing chalk and some even include an oil resin binder in the mix intended to increase their adherence to sidewalks and chalkboards! Only a wire brush and squirt bottle would fully remove the blue trail of shame--and no, I didn't use either before anyone goes all ballistic.

[camhead]

Dustin, if he suggested "settling it online," you should just tell us who he is. Regardless of what community opinion is (and we're seeing what it is right here), he needs to stand behind his actions.

[the lurkist]

I realize we are all self interested in spending inordinate amount of time rock climbing, but like has been said in this thread, there are agreed upon norms, and regarding splotching up the stone, we have all agreed that white chalk is ok. And to be clear, we have agreed that chalk to improve your grip, increase friction, etc is ok. I think it would be less unanimous to say we all agree that putting big white ticks is ok. I remember Jeff Ashley being particularly agrieved a few years back when someone but big white ticks on Golden Boy.
Basically ticks are unneeded when all holds on any route in the red with a modicum of traffic stand out in bold relief against the gray to orange stone.
But this guy sounds like a particularly self interested juvenile. I mean, how myopic do you have to be to not see when you are using blue chalk, and no one else is, and you are called out about it, that you are transgressing community norms?
Such is climbing. It attracts a special kind of narcissist. I know, I was one (still am).

[toad857]

blue tick marks? sounds pretty lame. makes me a little sad.

i rarely feel the need to confront a stranger at the crag... but if i run into this guy i'm going to have to say something