RRC Archives

Lynne wrote:and someone needs to find the other half of Half Dome!!

Good call!

Hey Wus, What makes you an authority on any thing in the Gorge? You weren,t even posing when the sport routes went up in the RED! You might have seen some bolting in the Southern Region without permission on private land! Crowbars are used for removing bolts!!!!!!!!

I pass under this beautiful reinforced concrete bridge with butressed arches and gothic columns several times a week, and then I hike under this mangy railroad bridge with a deteriorating concrete abutment that I can get a leg up on before the cracks dissappear. Which do you think would be most "ethical " to glue holds onto?

There was this "tree farmer" on a news show yesterday morning who just happened to be the Stones keyboard player. He was also this impassioned tree hugger. They showed him in one of his "forests" which consisted of all same-sized rows of pine with no understory to speak of (roundup?) ie, no diversity in the canopy.

It seems there is this obcessive tendancy to want to alter what we find, that "managing" it makes it better, more aesthetic or vituous. Many considered it slovenly to not cut your grass or maintain your fence rows or leave the lichen alone. I don't get it except that there is a very long heritage of it.

I am an authory on nothing. But, I have seen to bases of new sport (and some trad) routes and there is plenty of rock on the ground that used to be on the wall. My point is that people tend to vilify some things, while accepting others even though those things are the same in many ways. Routes in the Red are not always on perfect rock, so there is going to be rock that comes off. While the intent may not be the same is chipping, the net result is.

I am totally comfortable with the fact that my climbing impacts the rock, that I change things. The rock doesn't care, and in the geologic scale, the whole RRG is just a bink of an eye.

Wes

I would never chip a glued hold since two wrongs don't make a right. And I usually need a good right to get up a route.

On the other hand, I would never glue on a chipped hold since there isn't much left. And without a left, again, I wouldn't get up the route.

I think gluing holds to protect them is a good idea. Perhaps gluing on some sticky rubber to protect them from scuffing. Like trundling to remove dangerous flakes, this could also prevent gumby climbers from stepping on slick rock after it rains. I've also noticed a disturbing tendency for trad routes to select the most pebbly conglomerate rock for cracks. Why kill trees taping up when we can do the whole gorge a favor by just gluing on some nice padded sticky rubber? I think FA's really need to consider the ecological impact of not gluing. Scuffed rock is not happy rock.

Also without ray and kris chiselling those pesky fistcracks, we'd never have any good offwidths in the gorge. "Hidden knee jam" or "god my foot just won't fit yet. One more tap with the hammer... oh god, what have I done?" I think we know the real story.

Nobody is going win this one. Think about it. What standard was set by old school climbers. "Get to the top" no matter what.
Hammer the shit out of everything.
What is a little glue to re-inforce(that piece of shit boulder problem at roadside, to the right of Stay the Hand), a couple of little pockets(Nicoderm), or even knocking off some unsightly jugs(southern region) compared to a super classic crack like Nut Cracker in Yosemite that is almost entirely manufactured by pitons???????????