A visiting climber reported that while they were climbing End Game at Cochise they saw someone rapping to the right of End Game with a cut-off saw. The bolt-chopper was chopping bolts right of End Game. The visiting climber asked the bolt-chopper what was up and the chopper said something about 'rock cleansing'.

EDIT: The majority of the variation bolts were confirmed to be in place on Feb 14. The removed bolts may have been different than the described bolts (variation). The bolts may have also been moved (without consent). Perhaps hardware may have been changed. Or/and, perhaps only a few of the bolts were removed. Info? I changed the title to reflect second hand information (from a reliable source) and I am not really interested in identifying any involved party. Due to the current closure, it is not possible to legally validate the story until mid-summer. I was interested in ideas as they pertain to community based resource management.

FYI: if you are using Geir's topos or MP comments for navigation, note that the variation EFR discusses (11+ on Fixe bolts) in the End Game comments may be different.

The Questions: When does (or does) an individual have the authority to claim ownership of a public resource? A first ascent is typically a unilateral decision. Is bolt-chopping the same or should the community collectively decide how to mitigate controversial climbing resource issues. Does a first ascentionist own his or her route (and the rock nearby that route)? What are the limits?

However: "Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge is "empathy", for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another’s world. It requires profound, purpose-larger-than-the-self kind of understanding." - Bill Bullard.

EDIT: I initially had a comment about bolt choppers but I know that discussion never goes anywhere, so I've taken it off.

Thanks for the beta update. Sorry to hear about this unfortunate "rock cleansing". I'd contend that the only folks that would marginally have a legitimate right to do that would be Scott Ayers or Mark Colby.

The only people who'd have any right to do that are the folks who put the bolts in in the first place.

This sort of thing never leads anywhere good.

Lame...

Here comes the rain.

I was climbing on End Pinnacle shortly before the closure, and everything seemed undisturbed. I talked with someone who was at End Pinnacle the last day prior to the closure, and he said that the routes were still up. Hopefully, people haven't been violating the closure.

I heard it was raining down on Sheepshead today. Can anyone confirm this?

The ones who end up on the receiving end of a bolt-chopper's actions are usually random climbers, not the person(s) who put the bolts there. It can be incredibly dangerous, especially in the Stronghold where bolts can be few and far between. If bolts/hangers were removed, I hope Mr. Chopper left a note behind, at the start of the route(s), so that climbers don't have to find out the "holy shit where'd the bolts go?" way.

Scott Ayers via other people says the climb was still there as of Feb. 14th. Scott also claims not to have chopped the variations so we will have to wait for the closure to lift to see what is up. That is unless the person seen wants to step up and tell us who they are and what they were doing.

twas not me.....

(I am no coward)

and was not DDC, he is out of town.

Thanks, rick. I doubt many people have referred to you as a coward, though. :)

Scott if you have any justification that stands up to public scrutiny then start typing. Other than the fact that I knew you would be unhappy with my adding them, your chopping them years ago (and if you messed with them again) is just your fear(ego) that somehow these additions take away from Endgame. They don't, ask anyone who has climbed them. They add to it just as the route you added that goes out and left from the first pitch. Now the climbing community has options and more climbing.

Once more it's deja-vu all over again.

geir-

well I own the tool that has done a number of chops in S AZ (and it is not a hack saw). Someone (not me) wrote "equalizer" in sharpy on it and it has a clip in sling.

The tool is currently on rebar duty away from any rock climbers care about (see avatar).

Hey Rick,

What routs have you chopped? Just curious,

JF

begun, this bolt war has.

So I've never climbed in AZ though I am considering a Cochise trip next month. That's not the point.

What was this route like? Was it a route that could be led with gear or was it an unprotectable face climb? Chopping a route that won't go without bolts is pretty lame but if it goes with gear, I'd side with the chopper.

So which is it?

Bolts needed. The route the variations are on would take gear in many places. The original route was threatened with the axe by many people (not me, never chopped a bolt that wasn't mine) but cooler heads prevailed and it is what it was after Scott finished with it. The variation off of the third pitch was drilled on lead with no pre-inspection and no aid.

John,

To clarify, here's a topo showing the area in question:
http://www.geir.com/end%20pinnacle%20w.pdf

The lower green route is the one that is mentioned in the OP. It does not go on gear. If the OP is accurate, it sounds like the chopper was rappelling from the anchors at the end of the first pitch of Welcome to the Machine.

Hopefully, we'll get out there once the closure is over and find that all of the routes are intact. If not, we can decide as a group how to fix this mess.

If I may assume...

The chopper probably felt that the route in question was a bit of a squeeze job. It looks that way on the topo but it's impossible without being there. I don't know if the route is 10 feet away from the others or 50.

Just being the outsider looking in on this, I'd say that I wouldn't have established the line but would leave it there if someone else did. It's not the sort of thing I'd put my name on or waste my time removing.

Now if it was a sport route that had 4 bolts within clipping distance of the hardest trad route on the cliff, now that might be something I'd be more inclined to take care of. Hypothetically of course.

JohnL, hypothetically speaking of course, if you visit here you will see that it's a rather spacious wall and no variations are within clipping distance of anything. To lead any of these routes on trad would mean soloing the majority of its length, they are all face climbs.

Nice topo Geir. Hmmm... there are a lot of variations on End Pinnacle. Personally, I think that End Pinnacle will stay proudest if we minimize variations of routes and keep the nice independent lines.

Though I of course don't support the bolt chopping.

johnL, if you do come down next month (April) keep in mind that the Rockfellow area is closed and you wouldn't be able to see the routes in question. But there are lots of others that are open.