The Ethics you wish everyone knew...

zosowrote:

So no new routes ever then? 

Did Warren own a leaf blower? Fred and Helmy pack one in?

If a person needs a leaf blower to create a new route, they're definitely bolting choss. In all my days bolting choss (and there were many), I never felt that was remotely necessary. Seems intrusive and obnoxious to the natural environment. A broom, however ...

LL2wrote:

If a person needs a leaf blower to create a new route, they're definitely bolting choss. In all my days bolting choss (and there were many), I never felt that was remotely necessary. Seems intrusive and obnoxious to the natural environment. A broom, however ...

Electric leaf blower is more efficient and so quiet most people can’t even hear them. It’s definitely quieter than a drill and a hammer. How you clean should be totally dependent on the climbing area. The top outs on boulders a leaf blower is particularly helpful and safer. Brooms also end up smearing mud even if there isn’t much dirt to be smeared. Get a broom wet and dirty once and it’s end of life for that broom.

Don't TR lead lines or be prepared to give it up when someone shows up to lead.

Trevor Taylorwrote:

Electric leaf blower is more efficient and so quiet most people can’t even hear them. It’s definitely quieter than a drill and a hammer. How you clean should be totally dependent on the climbing area. The top outs on boulders a leaf blower is particularly helpful and safer. Brooms also end up smearing mud even if there isn’t much dirt to be smeared. Get a broom wet and dirty once and it’s end of life for that broom.

Well it sounds like we're talking about bolting routes and cleaning boulders now. And everything's situational these days to a degree, lol ... but I still say I've never felt a need to bring out a leaf blower, nor do i feel like I screwed any of my routes up with a broom.

Michael Catlettwrote:

Don't TR lead lines or be prepared to give it up when someone shows up to lead.

Why do you feel entitled to a route you didn't get to first? You wouldn't do that in a gym. It's this behavior that makes new climbers not want to climb. 

Don’t yard sale your gear along the base of the crag or across the approach trail. Keep your junk reasonably contained within your pack when not in use.

This is a fairly minor pet peeve of mine compared to other ethical violations, but not one I’ve seen mentioned yet.

This thread is turning into a meaningless airing of a grievances.

My grievance is with the total lack of respect for the dangerousness of climbing. 

Tradibanwrote:

This thread is turning into a meaningless airing of a grievances.

My grievance is with the total lack of respect for the dangerousness of climbing. 

Tradiban at his best when actually not trolling.

I think a lot of the grievances people are mentioning would be solved if there were more respect for mentorship, and for the natural progression of experience.

Number chasing leads to a lot of sketchy scenarios, damaged routes, excessive tick marks, spraying bros, hammocks etc. You may be an indoor climbing beast but outdoor grades, particularly trad climbing, need to be earned and you need to build your judgment and gear skills along with your climbing ability.

You can apprentice yourself to the routes for mentorship if you listen to what they’re trying to teach. 

Bolts don’t need to be every 4 feet apart.
climbing can be scary and that’s ok. 

More crag dogs.

Belayers not paying attention.  Drives me bonkers when I see a leader in terrain where they’d be fine with a slip, but probably not cause their belayer is slacking.

Tradibanwrote:

This thread is turning into a meaningless airing of a grievances.

The ability of a crowd to keep focus on a given topic is ~3 pages.

Franck Veewrote:

The ability of a crowd to keep focus on a given topic is ~3 pages.

Not if it's a Tradiban thread!

Michael Catlettwrote:

Don't TR lead lines or be prepared to give it up when someone shows up to lead.

This is an interesting ethic that honestly I've never seen acknowledged anywhere without tons of qualifications, even at a place like the Gunks where the guidebook explicitly says "topropers should yield to leaders."

In most climbing areas I can think of, it would be a bit over the line for a climber to ask topropers to pull their rope so he can lead it. Less over the line if you were at a trad or headopint area where a lead effort is legitimately more badass than a toprope sesh, but if you think that leading a sport line gives you more stylistic points than toproping it, you're pretty clueless.

Whomever gets to a route first gets to do it, toprope, lead, pinkpoint, whatever. If someone is walking around to the clifftop to set a TR and a leader shows up at the bottom, sorry, the leader got there first. 

A common enough scenario: a troop of relative beginners congregates one or even two or three top rope set ups. The climbers take turns. In this configuration the top rope could stay in place a half day, or more! It is this scenario where top ropers should yield - a 2-person teams asks to take a turn, but also to lead it. If they want the top rope out of the way it should be pulled then the leading party can reset the top rope upon completion.

The top rope party should yield in this situation and only dicks would refuse.

I want everyone to know my ethics are superior and how I climb is the way you should climb. Also, until you conduct yourself in the manner I approve you will be considered a Gumby. 

When is the feats of strength going down? This thread doesn't end until someone is pinned down. 

something that i would like to see stop is SPI's setting up 6 or 8 TR's at a nice crag, and then letting them basically sit useless all day while their horde of clients toprope 1 or maybe 2 climbs. super annoying.

Cherokee Nuneswrote:

The top rope party should yield in this situation and only dicks would refuse.

Nah I've seen cunts refuse, too.