Painting grades on rock with a marker...

Classic 8A.nu fodder...this Jens guy, wow!

Pat Goodman wrote: Classic 8A.nu fodder...this Jens guy, wow!

Just as an FYI, this is a fairly common practice in parts of Europe.

In Chullila, Spain many of the routes would have the name and grade written in sharpie at the base. It was very helpful when combined with the guide to locate routes since there are minimal landmarks on the photos to locate the correct route. That being said I'd never advocate doing this in the states.

Now plaques on detached blocks like seen in Indian Creek don't bother me at all.

Maybe put lines on the route and circles at belay stations so it looks like guidebook photos?

As has been said, this is a common practice in much of Europe. I don't think that we have any business to critique or ridicule what they do at their own crags.

Some crags are equipped with that kind of graffiti, others - aren't. It's all 'bout local ethics.

Nathanael wrote:

Red river gorge is the only place I have ever see that done in the US.

There are a couple routes in Mission Gorge here in San Diego with little plaques like at the Red, but they're typically at the TOP of the route. Kinda limits the usefulness...

The only place at the Red where I've seen those plaques is in Muir Valley which is private property and therefore open to whatever the landowner allows or wants.

Seen it at Kingston Quarry in NY. But it is a manufactured crag, complete with drilled pockets and more.

Common in Europe but not ubiquitous.

Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in AR has a few, like Crimp Scampi, for the really high grade routes. It is private property, and stamped on a small brass plate. Maybe bad taste in the wilderness, but not much different than a trail sign or a blaze marking the way. Sharpie is kinda ghetto.

cragmantoo wrote:Maybe put lines on the route and circles at belay stations so it looks like guidebook photos?

And color code the holds to make it easier for the gym climbers....

I wish it were more common in the states. In actuality, most of us buy huge expensive guidebooks or spend waaaay to much time look at climbing porn on the proj. Few of us in the states take the true wild approach and just show up and blindly climb shit. So wouldn't it be just a little bit sensible to have this practice applied here and there? Indian creek is a good example of labeling routes with placards instead of on the wall itself but every year some holier than thou purist breaks em. If you want unknown adventure it exists everywhere, but in a world renowned place like the creek, those little scraps of rock so beautifully inscribed and labeled should be there to make it a better place for all to climb.

The Poison Ivy Wall at West Point, NY has the routes names (or maybe numbers I forgot)spray-painted on. However it is also private property (well semi-private since owned by the government)

redpoint

mountainproject.com/v/saint…



very sad

I don't know why but the sharpie looks awful to me, but the nice little metal plaques seem cool and useful. Maybe because one looks like graffiti, but the other looks like a hanger? Anyway, I'd love to see those metal plates, I've gotten on the wrong route more than once and wasted my time on a route much harder or easier than I wanted. But even though I'd like it, it also feels like another step in the gym-ification of the world.

Even though I posted that it is done at West Point, I do not want it done. Half of the adventure to me is finding the correct route.

Mudflap Girl, Glenwood Canyon. I like route markers if they are creative.

Bill Shubert wrote: feels like another step in the gym-ification of the world.

I agree. Finding the correct route really isn't typically difficult and I don't believe we should treat every crag like it's a climbing gym.
Painting things on the rocks just seems unecessary and looks bad.
Might as well color code all the holds on route to dumb things down for anyone who might have trouble figuring it out...