Bolt Happy Kids and their Dewalt

It was not hard to miss a climber bolting today on the Northern side of Rock Canyon a few 100' on a cliff band above "The Appendage." Bolt Hangers, bright, shiny, plated steel bolt hangers decorate the Northern upper cliffs in the sunlight today. The hangers are not hard to miss; just look up as you pass the approach to "The Appendage." I realize everyone has different ethics when it comes to bolting, but use some common sense and camouflage your hangers in such a high-traffic, highly-viewable area. It truly was a distraction from the natural beauty...Sad.

I agree with your claim that the new bolts probably look terrible on the natural rock but it does make the climb safer because they are visible to the climber. By no means am I supporting it, just giving a possible explanation as to why they may leave them bright and polished, I'm a trad climber at heart. I'll climb sport occasionally but nothing beats multi-pitch trad climbing!

Avalon wrote:...but it does make the climb safer because they are visible to the climber.

No offense intended but I don't believe this to be the case. Climbers on a route looking for bolt hangers will find them. It irks me greatly to see unpainted, shiny bolts and hangers in areas frequented by non-climbers.

Avalon wrote: nothing beats multi-pitch trad climbing!

except multi-pitch bolted climbing. Try to imagine climbing a 23 pitch route with a dozen draws and a single rope. Don't have to carry all that gear, don't have to place all that gear, don't have to build anchors, don't have to remove all that gear, don't have to re-rack all that gear. Long live Potrero Chico!

Ed Wright wrote:Long live Potrero Chico!

Right on Ed!!

In this day and age at least paint them to minimize visual impact to non climbers. The paint may not last but at least it will give those shiny hangers time to dull.

I don't believe for a minute shiny bolts make a climb safer. Identifying bolts on a sport route is typically done before a climber leaves the ground, shiny bolts or not. Sport routes are all about sending. Part of sending is groundwork.

If a camouflaged bolt is placed where one wished there was a gear placement, but there isn't one, it will not be hard to find.

Avalon wrote:I agree with your claim that the new bolts probably look terrible on the natural rock but it does make the climb safer because they are visible to the climber.

Can we also start marking the correct holds with colored tape? Maybe pipe in some techno and sell protein smoothies at the base. How could this not be progress?

Yawn...unless it's a grid bolted sport crag, it's usually hard enough for climbers to see the bolts, much less non-climbers who aren't even looking for them.

Ed Wright wrote: except multi-pitch bolted climbing. Try to imagine climbing a 23 pitch route with a dozen draws and a single rope. Don't have to carry all that gear, don't have to place all that gear, don't have to build anchors, don't have to remove all that gear, don't have to re-rack all that gear. Long live Potrero Chico!

Or you could travel 20 minutes up canyon from the area described in this very thread and climb all 22 pitches of Squawstruck. Doesn't require much effort to "imagine" climbing 23 pitches of sport, it's like climbing one pitch of sport 23 times, or clipping the same bolts 23 x 12 times. Welcome to being bored out of your fucking skull for 8 hours while feeling vastly superior to trad climbers carrying heavy packs full of fiddly gear...

This is going to sound pretentious and trollish...but won't non-climbers see what is going on in these "low impact areas" when they see climbers on the climbs? Painting hangers is a great idea, but impact is still impact.

Boissal wrote: Or you could travel 20 minutes up canyon from the area described in this very thread and climb all 22 pitches of Squawstruck. Doesn't require much effort to "imagine" climbing 23 pitches of sport, it's like climbing one pitch of sport 23 times, or clipping the same bolts 23 x 12 times. Welcome to being bored out of your fucking skull for 8 hours while feeling vastly superior to trad climbers carrying heavy packs full of fiddly gear...

Golf clap

Am I the only one who considers moving my arms and legs on the rock itself to be the fun part? Placing pro is not the fun part to me. If it was, I wouldn't enjoy bouldering.

Pontoon wrote:Am I the only one who considers moving my arms and legs on the rock itself to be the fun part? Placing pro is not the fun part to me. If it was, I wouldn't enjoy bouldering.

Wrong thread. The trad vs sport vs bouldering discussion can be found elsewhere (ad nauseam). Stay on topic people!

s.price wrote: When in the canyon I mention above and climbing it is impossible to not interact with the flow of curious tourists. When they see us climbing questions always follow. This interaction allows us to explain how it works and that we paint the hangers to minimize the visual impact on non climbers. They leave feeling positive about our actions. Unpainted hangers up a beautiful color streaked wall remind them of what they are trying to escape for the day. To many that cold steel diminishes their 'wilderness" experience, which for many it is just that, the closest they ever get to a wilderness experience. The visual intrusion leaves many with a negative view of climbing. Out of sight, out of mind kinda thing.

+1

s.price wrote: When in the canyon I mention above and climbing it is impossible to not interact with the flow of curious tourists. When they see us climbing questions always follow. This interaction allows us to explain how it works and that we paint the hangers to minimize the visual impact on non climbers. They leave feeling positive about our actions. Unpainted hangers up a beautiful color streaked wall remind them of what they are trying to escape for the day. To many that cold steel diminishes their 'wilderness" experience, which for many it is just that, the closest they ever get to a wilderness experience. The visual intrusion leaves many with a negative view of climbing. Out of sight, out of mind kinda thing.

Who is stopping you from painting them?

Is it time to just rename rock canyon to shitshow canyon?

Andrew Gram wrote:Is it time to just rename rock canyon to shitshow canyon?

+1

By no means don't paint them...according to the "experts" on Mountain Project if you paint bolt hangers they will corrode and break and yer all going to die. I've been painting and falling on painted hangers for years and by some small miracle I'm still alive by I must be extremely lucky.

mountainproject.com/v/anyon…

I don think the shiny bolts and or anchors are too much of a problem. I'm willing to bet most the people who walk up to the first bridge then back to there car even notice them. Whats more upsetting to me is all the graffiti on the signs and several rock faces in that area.