Ethics on Bolting Cracks ...

I know we don’t bolt cracks and it's bad ethics to do so if the route can be protected by trad gear and I have been one to say this to others. However, I have been thinking about this topic recently, and the more I do, the less I can justify my stance with any actual reasons.  Providing the face on the side of a crack can be bolted safely for the rock and the climbers. What reasons are there to not bolt new cracks routes other than that we don’t do that because we don’t?

I’m not saying I’m pro cracks being bolted because it still feels wrong to me, I know I don’t think any existing trad routes already set should be retrofitted with bolts. I am starting to be open to the idea that new developments could include the odd bolted crack to give sport-only or newer climbers the chance to try out this amazing style of climbing. (I honestly think this could increase the number of people who started as gym climbers to transition
to trad climbing.)

What reasons are there why this is unethical or a no-go?  

Ethics aside, no one wants to drag a trad rack to a sport crag. 

There are so many bolted cracks and drilled pockets I don’t even know why anyone cares at this point.

The better ethic question is, if you drill a crack is it okay to perma draw?

Princess Puppy Lovrwrote:

There are so many bolted cracks and drilled pockets I don’t even know why anyone cares at this point.

The better ethic question is, if you drill a crack is it okay to perma draw?

Where does placing trad gear in drilled pockets fit into this conversation?

(Example: Public Enemy, a chipped 13d in Clear Creek, has been led on gear. Including a crucial small cam in a drilled pocket).

Dale O'Brienwrote:

I know we don’t bolt cracks and it's bad ethics to do so if the route can be protected by trad gear and I have been one to say this to others. However, I have been thinking about this topic recently, and the more I do, the less I can justify my stance with any actual reasons.  Providing the face on the side of a crack can be bolted safely for the rock and the climbers. What reasons are there to not bolt new cracks routes other than that we don’t do that because we don’t?

I’m not saying I’m pro cracks being bolted because it still feels wrong to me, I know I don’t think any existing trad routes already set should be retrofitted with bolts. I am starting to be open to the idea that new developments could include the odd bolted crack to give sport-only or newer climbers the chance to try out this amazing style of climbing. (I honestly think this could increase the number of people who started as gym climbers to transition
to trad climbing.

What reasons are there why this is unethical or a no-go?  

Because you are pandering to the lowest common denominator, not all rock has to be accessible to everyone.

With a little more gumption anyone can access any climb they want. Keep the “gym” indoors please.

I will add that you are stunting the technical growth of new climbers by dumbing things down.

Namaste

Tradibanwrote:

Because you are pandering to the lowest common denominator, not all rock has to be accessible to everyone.

With a little more gumption anyone can access any climb they want. Keep the “gym” indoors please.

I will add that you are stunting the technical growth of new climbers by dumbing things down.

Namaste

Dumbing things down to gym levels is the trend now though, racks of gear are heavy and carrying one makes redpointing tiring. 

JCMwrote:

Where does placing trad gear in drilled pockets fit into this conversation?

(Example: Public Enemy, a chipped 13d in Clear Creek, has been led on gear. Including a crucial small cam in a drilled pocket).

I’m mostly tired of the same old discussion lol

Kind of a troll-y thread but I’ll ‘chip’ in: bolts are plain ugly outside of an industrial setting. Useful, but ugly. Kind of like road signs. Rock, and nice routes up it, are at least in part an aesthetic experience with an element of psychological intrigue or uncertainty. Where the compromise lands in terms of what is functional, safe, interesting/engaging, and tasteful for the supermajority of future rock-enjoyers (including non-climber types) is very situational and context dependent - I would even say narrative dependent; or tied into locally held culture, ethos, and yeah aesthetics. And it’ll evolve, along with hardware/tech that may change the equation significantly. Bolts can be mostly disappeared later, but there is an impact and it’s not reliably net positive.

Modifying rock, especially when it's a shared natural public resource, is a serious thing to do and shouldn't be taken lightly. Permanently altering a shared natural resource that can be protected in other ways is damaging it for little benefit; most people that crack climb own and place gear. 

It is sometimes acceptable to bolt near a crack for a variety of reasons, but I truly see no strong argument for bolting a splitter crack and a very strong argument against. 

I'm a route developer and I'm definitely not opposed to putting bolts in rock, but I in general wish people took altering our rock more seriously, and then I think a lot of these conundrums would answer themselves. I think installing bolts should be approached with a serious, sober, austere, and even skeptical attitude. 

Every day that I go out to put up a sport route I start with the first question: should this route be bolted at all? Only after satisfactorily answering this question for myself do I proceed with bolting. This question would never be answered in the affirmative for me personally at least with a route that can be safely protected by other means. 

There seems to be a general acceptance towards bolting limestone cracks. I think there are a couple contributing factors. Limestone tends to be predominantly face climbing, so the cracks exist within sport areas. The sharp brittle surface features common on limestone can make it difficult or impossible to place solid cams even in seemingly splitter cracks. Even if the cams held, they would crunch those surface features changing the nature of the climbing.

This leads to a plethora of existing bolted cracks in areas such as Ten Sleep which is already considered a good gym to crag destination. So I wouldn't worry about the accessibility of crack climbing to new climbers.

Ricky Harlinewrote:

Modifying rock, especially when it's a shared natural public resource, is a serious thing to do and shouldn't be taken lightly. Permanently altering a shared natural resource that can be protected in other ways is damaging it for little benefit; most people that crack climb own and place gear. 

That's probably because almost all crack climbs aren't bolt protected.

Marc801 Cwrote:

That's probably because almost all crack climbs aren't bolt protected.

Fair point. Mass scale bolting of cracks could possibly change this and make sport climbers get into crack climbing, but in my experience sport climbers think crack climbing is weird and lame. 

Anyway, regardless of this philosophical conundrum we shouldn't bolt the cracks. 

JCMwrote:

yes placing gear in drilled pockets is the future of hard trad.

It's because it's more challenging and better style to climb a crack with clean pro than with bolts you typically leave it in it's more challenging state. If you bolt it you affect the challenge that nature provided, kind of like chipping a climb to make it easier to free climb. It's about leaving a better climb for future climbers. 

Ricky Harlinewrote:

Modifying rock, especially when it's a shared natural public resource, is a serious thing to do and shouldn't be taken lightly. Permanently altering a shared natural resource that can be protected in other ways is damaging it for little benefit; most people that crack climb own and place gear.

Very well said!  Thank you for this post.  It eloquently states an ethic that I hope all will subscribe to.  Remember that when you drill a hole in rock, it will likely be there until the end of humanity. 

Another point I don’t see often made is that the people who want bolted cracks are invariably new sport climbers who’ve never seen or participated in the process of bolting. Bolting is hard, expensive work, and most people who develop routes know how to trad climb. So if these new climbers want bolted cracks, a lot of work needs to be done to make it happen. If they learn how to do it themselves, they’ll probably acquire the skills and gear to just lead the damn thing on gear before they ever get around to drilling. And if they don’t do it themselves, they’re just whining and asking someone else to do it for them.

peterfoggwrote:

Another point I don’t see often made is that the people who want bolted cracks are invariably new sport climbers who’ve never seen or participated in the process of bolting. Bolting is hard, expensive work, and most people who develop routes know how to trad climb. So if these new climbers want bolted cracks, a lot of work needs to be done to make it happen. If they learn how to do it themselves, they’ll probably acquire the skills and gear to just lead the damn thing on gear before they ever get around to drilling. And if they don’t do it themselves, they’re just whining and asking someone else to do it for them.

They may say that but really that is quite a blanket statement in modern times where 5.11 gym climbers are buying and using drills. It seems to me they are the same ones bolting over perfect placements because they don't understand perfect placements and don't trust the gear.

peterfoggwrote:

Another point I don’t see often made is that the people who want bolted cracks are invariably new sport climbers who’ve never seen or participated in the process of bolting. Bolting is hard, expensive work, and most people who develop routes know how to trad climb. So if these new climbers want bolted cracks, a lot of work needs to be done to make it happen. If they learn how to do it themselves, they’ll probably acquire the skills and gear to just lead the damn thing on gear before they ever get around to drilling. And if they don’t do it themselves, they’re just whining and asking someone else to do it for them.

They may say that but really that is quite a blanket statement in modern times where 5.11 gym climbers are buying and using drills. It seems to me they are the same ones bolting over perfect placements because they don't understand perfect placements and don't trust the gear.

Call me an elitist, but I think it's okay to have routes that don't appeal to most climbers. If I'm honest with myself, this is my main reason for not putting bolts next to good natural pro. I recognize that the preference for the sounds of wind and birds over speakers and spray will probably be entirely bred out in a few generations, and that anything decent I've developed will be retrobolted someday. I just hope I'm dead by then.

I also think the leave-less-trace ethic stated above is valid, and if I were a better human being, that would be the primary motivation behind my style.

Holes drilled into rocks permanently alter the rock.  Bolts age and eventually will

need to be replaced. Who’s going to do this work? Trad gear is removed and has a smaller effect on the rock.  Trad is rad.