Bolting Ethics In Grand Teton

Does anyone know what the consensus is on bolting inside grand Teton national park? I know motorized drills are prohibited, but is anyone going to get pissed offabout bolts on unprotectable sections of new routes?

Michael

Michael L wrote:Does anyone know what the consensus is on bolting inside grand Teton national park? I know motorized drills are prohibited, but is anyone going to get pissed offabout bolts on unprotectable sections of new routes? Michael

Generally frowned upon, unless the quality is so high and the protection so poor.

Seems like there's been a dust up or two in the last couple years about bolted routes in the Tetons...(I don't know the details).

Easier to go east and ply the trade there...(Winds).

Please do not bolt any lines in the Winds.

I'm sure there are people who would be pissed, bolts are exceedingly rare and there are plenty of routes with sections of healthy runouts or marginal protection.

Thanks for the info, it sounds like bolts are generally unwelcome even in 5.10+ free solo terrain

If you're free soloing then you don't need the bolts.

You could just place the bolts and climb the route, and not post anything on the Internet....that tactic worked for several years.

As Gee Double said, it's not difficult to comply with the standards set by the park service, it's just been a place where generally style and adventure have precedence over making routes user friendly and in some cases protecting serious fall potential. There are bolts in the Tetons, but they are thankfully few and far between. So if you want to add a bolt to protect ground fall or serious injury go for it, it's your route. You may want to contact Renny Jackson too, new stuff has been put up since the last edition of the guidebook. It's surprising some of the hard climbing people do there with marginal protection.