RRC Archives

Who the F*** is the mad ticker at the Red lately?
Almost every route we got on in the southern region was tic-marked to the max.
If you have to use tic-marks, scrub the damn things off when your done Oh yeah, and no, it's not an "outdoor gym".

I agree. Also if you use alot of chalk, don't cover the route in chalk. Some of the routes I got on were really chalked up, even the holds that were not good had alot of chalk on them. I'm new at climbing and I don't want to become dependent on tic-marks or chalked up holds, and it's especially hard when every hold is covered in chalk--and it looks bad.

Do you all carry brushes? I know I have spent a lot of time brushing the hell out of routes. The number one rule should be "If you are hanging you should be brushing", and maybe brush while being lowered. There have just about always been tick marks on the more popular routes, sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller. The sad thing is, on some, there is so much chalk, you can't even use regular tick marks, you have to make a "negative tick" by brushing a clean strip....

Wes

Is there rock climbing on the cliffs of Dover? If so, would you take a chalk bag? Or maybe a bag of sweat?

Yeah, I spent a good amount of time brushing off tic marks.
It just kinda annoying...like picking up other peoples trash.

The tick marks aren't as bad as the layers and layers of chalk build up on the holds. One of the problems is that so many wrong holds get chalked up, you need tick to remember which ones are good. I use tick marks, and usually brush them when finished. But to many people, it is perfectly normal to leave tic marks "for the next guy".

Wes

Yeah, it's just sad to see a climb that just 2 weeks ago was relativly "clean" to become coated in chalk and tic marks. Kinda like Military Wall.
To me, when a route is tic marked, it's like picking up a crossword puzzle and seeing the answers already filled in. Where's the challenge?

The short list would be who does'nt tick? Most people working routes tick. I quess sometimes they don't send and the ticks don't get brushed. So feel free to brush away. I bet someday you may even tick that one key foot hold that you just can't seem to remember where it is.

I left a tick mark on Infectious last week. I'm guilty. Just forgot about it.

I honestly can't remember ever tick marking any routes at the Red. I also try to reserve certain routes for on-sight attempts & tick marks left by others kinda mess that up. I think many people focus too much on redpointing. Horst says that too much redpointing runs into diminishing returns on improvement and increases chances of injury. A better method for approaching redpoints is to make a route map. Such a practice will help you to improve your climbing by sharpening your mental focus rather than just looking for ticks. It will also decrease the appearance of those ugly marks.