No one knows what classic climbing is anymore

I would like to call the attention of the climbing community to an issue that has been weighing on me heavily recently: No one knows what an actual classic climb is anymore.  See threads like “choss is classic” - people are not only accepting that climbs of mediocre quality are being put up, they are actually saying that these climbs are classic and worth your time. 

The main question that must be asked is why this is happening.  The answer is, of course, bolts.  Hear me out.  Bolts have opened the door to mediocre routes by enabling suspect rock to be protected.  As a result, countless uninspiring lines have been put up, diluting our notion of classic climbing.  This issue has snowballed, and the more mediocre lines have been introduced and called “classic”, the more people have grabbed the Hilti and put more up.  

So what can we do?  First of all, if you see someone on one of these mediocre lines, the simplest and most effective remedy is to shame them after they get back down.  Let them know that they should wipe that smile off their face, and that the route they were stoked to climb actually sucks.  Without getting into physical remedies such as chopping bolts, I think that we as a community should start with shaming and move from there.  I think this would go a long way towards ensuring that people stop grid bolting the local choss pile and calling their boring and subpar line a “classic”.

Choss is boss.  Any rube can climb on solid rock, it takes real skill and gumption to wrangle choss.

Si you miss the good ol' days where pounding pins was the way and to climb a classic you had to destroy a part of it in a kind of love hate relationship. 

#OkBoomer

 “classic climbing” is just a fraction of what can make a “classic climb”.  

You should know better.  

I like it. Now we can redact entire climbs, not just their names.

Bill Lawry wrote:

 “classic climbing” is just a fraction of what can make a “classic climb”.  

You should know better.  

Fair enough, but the other factors are usually something like a brutal approach, incredible exposure or massive runouts.  These things are noticeably absent from the lines I’m talking about. 

A complete troll thread.  Pure rubbish.  

You’re  gonna be ok Roc. Take a deep breath, and show me on the doll where the choss touched you?

So, if I climb bolted choss, but refrain from calling it classic, am I concerned by this post or am I free to choss on?

Shirley, you can't be serious.

“One man’s choss is another man’s classic”

3/10

5/10

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/119911393/the-glen-canyon-challenge#ForumMessage-120595801

-0/10

I sometimes wonder if I somehow happened into 4chan...

Franck Vee wrote:

So, if I climb bolted choss, but refrain from calling it classic, am I concerned by this post or am I free to choss on?

Concerned.  If someone else sees you enjoying it they might think it’s classic and fall into this trap. 

Don't call me surely

Rocrates wrote:

Fair enough, but the other factors are usually something like a brutal approach, incredible exposure or massive runouts.  These things are noticeably absent from the lines I’m talking about. 

This makes no sense

Francois Dumas wrote:

Si you miss the good ol' days where pounding pins was the way and to climb a classic you had to destroy a part of it in a kind of love hate relationship. 

#OkBoomer

So ... another noob who thinks the sport didn’t exist until they did it ...

#OkExtra

This reminds me a lot of my moms friend, I think her name is Karen and she has a yappy toy poodle. Karen won’t shut up about how the Bordeaux is so much better than Napa wine. Well I guess, but not everyone can buy $200 bottles of wine sometimes your wine is Mike’s harder grape flavor and if that makes you happy why waste energy on Karen’s wine. Roc you probably think you are Karen in this situation. Your actually the yappy dog barking up the wrong tree.

Also I trundled a car today if that isn’t classic I don’t know what is.