Retro Bolting/Chopping Bolts

Chopping bolts is just silly.

USBRIT wrote: Fully bolted climbs are a different pastime/sport altogether to trad climbing ...

Bollocks! There are hundreds, if not thousands, of "fully bolted" routes that are squarely in the "trad climbing" realm.

Many were put up in the 60's, 70's and early 80's (before "sport climbing" was invented) and are multi-pitch slab routes where the rock is so monolithic there's no possibility of placing gear.

Because they were done ground-up on lead, the (hand-drilled) bolts are only in places with a no-hands stance; never at the cruxes where you want them. You either on-sight it or take a serious fall.

While many places across the US have routes like this, Colorado (Splatte, RMNP), California (Yosemite/Tuolumne) and North Carolina (Looking Glass) are flush with routes like this. The Verdon has a lot of routes where you only need quickdraws but where, so many times, you look up and can't even see the next bolt.

The bottom line is that a "fully bolted" route can be either a trad or sport climb. Anyone who doesn't believe that can go lead Bachar-Yerian. Hell, it's only 11c, a pedestrian grade by today's standards.

Zappatista wrote: That is a bold statement. So someone finally takes all the goading, prodding, grandstanding, and so on to heart, and retrobolts the Bachar Yerian. The guys that CHOP the route back to it's original state are SILLY? Please explain that one to me.

Chop it all Killer, the most ethical thing would be to pass a law saying everyone has to barefoot free-solo with no chalk.

Perhaps naked.

Everything else is cheating and silly.

Yes. Climbing is going mainstream. But there is great news. Chopping is about to explode. I saw this YouTube video of a guy doing a rope swing while chopping. There was super hip music in the background. I think he got engaged right after cuz his woman was so turned how fast he chopped it. . There's another video of this chick Meph Mavis chopping and then launching into a BASE jump. Incredible. But the sickest video out there is this guy Malex Monnold. He's chopping while free solo. I saw it on 70 Minutes the other day. Totally badass. Choppers are getting after it. Freakin awesome.

!!!

Greg D wrote:Yes. Climbing is going mainstream. But there is great news. Chopping is about to explode. I saw this YouTube video of a guy doing a rope swing while chopping. There was super hip music in the background. I think he got engaged right after cuz his woman was so turned how fast he chopped it. . There's another video of this chick Meph Mavis chopping and then launching into a BASE jump. Incredible. But the sickest video out there is this guy Malex Monnold. He's chopping while free solo. I saw it on 70 Minutes the other day. Totally badass. Choppers are getting after it. Freakin awesome.

In lieu of this I am bringing my hammer and pins for real. If questioned about why or someone hears the knocking sounds, I will just say "oh I was just chopping the ugly bolts" , high five, and everyone thinks I am doing everybody a favor. Done and done !!

GO!

rockclimbinglife.wordpress.…

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What is the route?

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sapiecha wrote:GO! rockclimbinglife.wordpress.…

Imagine what would happen if Bachar-Yerian was retro bolted...

Great photo, by the way!

I vote for a bolt every 6 feet. The other day I got on this 5.6 sport face. Bolted beautifully every 6 ft or so. Clipped every bolt. Did I have to ? No, not really. But nobody got but hurt I suppose and none of the old timers got a new hemorrhoid over it. Deal with it!

Dude, electric eels live at like 300 ft! I don't go that deep.

Zappatista wrote:Try.

+1

You can do it Elena!

94 ft is the deepest "action dive" , which means I was actually swimming and excepting energy. Went through air pretty quickly. I freak out at depths like that, kinda like a fear of heights. Your brain is playing tricks on you down there. My favorite depth is at about 30 to 40 feet. Nice and cruising...not cave dives yet though. The eels are spooky. I would not chum them. You can lose a finger like that.

No eel chumming: noted.

"Newcomers want climbing to be safe. Old schoolers want climbing to be bold. Trad climbers want it ground up. Sport climbers want it top down. Climbing, like the rocks we climb on, will forever change shape, even if it be ever so slightly. But one thing that will always remain is the notion that climbing should be fun."- Tom Slater.