Stolen Nut at the Gunks 9/30/25

To the free soloist who passed us on his way down one of the most popular newbie routes at the Gunks, and then helped himself to my stuck #8 nut at the beginning of the climb, I say thank you. Sure, I could've cleaned the nut on rappel and re-racked it to place another day, but you've lifted that burden and shown my first-time multi pitchers what impeccable climbing ethics they can aspire to. Well done, sir.  And I thought I had seen it all in 20 years there!

[facepalm]

Josh Giblinwrote:

To the free soloist who passed us on his way down one of the most popular newbie routes at the Gunks, and then helped himself to my stuck #8 nut at the beginning of the climb, I say thank you. Sure, I could've cleaned the nut on rappel and re-racked it to place another day, but you've lifted that burden and shown my first-time multi pitchers what impeccable climbing ethics they can aspire to. Well done, sir.  And I thought I had seen it all in 20 years there!

[facepalm]

Did he have any indication that...

• it was yours
• you intended to go back for it
• that it wasn't abandoned

????

I mean the fact that we were still on the climb might be an indication, plus the fact that this is a trade route means no stuck piece will last long. I'm not used to people solo downclimbing the route I was currently occupying, so I didn't think to mention it (was more concerned that he was about to downclimb over my follower, and expressed that). But he made it all the way down and went back up for it with a rock to clean it. Imagine if you had a second that couldn't free a piece and someone came along the base, with people obviously on the climb, saw the piece, and scrambled up to it and helped themselves to it. Is that cool? I'm not sweating the nut, just found it an odd choice.

Josh Giblinwrote:

I mean the fact that we were still on the climb might be an indication, plus the fact that this is a trade route means no stuck piece will last long. I'm not used to people solo downclimbing the route I was currently occupying, so I didn't think to mention it (was more concerned that he was about to downclimb over my follower, and expressed that). But he made it all the way down and went back up for it with a rock to clean it. Imagine if you had a second that couldn't free a piece and someone came along the base, with people obviously on the climb, saw the piece, and scrambled up to it and helped themselves to it. Is that cool? I'm not sweating the nut, just found it an odd choice.

If you saw him scramble back up with a rock, did you not ask him to leave it? Seems like there were lots of solutions to this before coming to mountain project to complain over losing a cheap piece of gear... I would have done the exact same thing as the soloist, there was no indication that it wasn't up for grabs. Ya win some, ya lose some. Tis the game.

Edit to add, since I'm being a snarky asshole. What size was it? I have literally dozens of extra nuts I've acquired over the years that I have no need for, I'll send one to you. Weird to get bent outta shape over a nut, but to each their own.

if you have been climbing that long, and it was an easy route, why were you / your partner unable to clean the nut?  if you were the leader, it's on you to place gear that your newb second can easily clean.  alos, why didn't you just ask the soloist if he could leave it and let you have another chance to clean it?  doesn't really seem like the soloist's ethics are the thing here.

Wait, who stole my nut???

Don't worry I'm gonna get your nut back!

I wonder if we can form a posse? (I said posse!)

You know what we do with nut thieves around here?

Die, nut thieving scum!

I'm just feeling the community out on booty ethics, and expected a variety of responses so thanks for the color commentary! I don't need the nut back, thanks for the offer. I only know how it was cleaned because someone nearby (that I spoke with later) saw him do it, I hadn't made it back to the ground yet myself when it happened. Of course I try to place gear in such a way that a new follower can retrieve, but this was literally their first nut cleaned and I'm sure it cleaned easy with a tool, they just didn't figure it out, that's on me. I wanted to give them the opportunity to try. 

All snark aside, my real questions to folks are:
A) would you clean a piece from a route people were actively climbing, without talking to them about it first?
B) if so, would you keep it or leave it for them?

If I had left a piece and another party was coming up, I would obviously ask them if they got it. In this case, the other party was headed in the opposite direction, and we didn't get to talk about it. Climb on!

Since you are feeling the community out, I would say that unless me or my partner had specifically communicated to someone that I was intending to recover a piece of gear, I would fully expect other people to consider it abandoned and up for grabs.

It's pretty easy and kind to just yell up to a party and ask if something is theirs before I take it. If the route is free of people, then obviously booty. 

Josh Giblinwrote:

Of course I try to place gear in such a way that a new follower can retrieve, but this was literally their first nut cleaned and I'm sure it cleaned easy with a tool, they just didn't figure it out, that's on me.

Did you train them at all with a ground-school session?

Hi Josh. I'm on your side. You should have, in the finest traditions of Punks in the Gunks, peed on him when he went back for your nut.

I’m all about the booty, and actually don’t like a lot of the internet enabled “beer for my forgotten gear” culture, but it’s kinda lame not to shout up. You just down soloed on em, maybe do them a solid. I mean, maybe it was a tense exchange? Fairly antisocial on the face of it though.

Was it Lincoln Knowles? From his new series; down soloing occupied routes every day until I accrue a trad rack

Kyle McPheeterswrote:

Was it Lincoln Knowles? From his new series; down soloing occupied routes every day until I accrue a trad rack

It’s only thanks to this Forum that I even get this joke because before the recent LK thread, I had never heard of the guy. 

Jay Goodwinwrote:

Hi Josh. I'm on your side. You should have, in the finest traditions of Punks in the Gunks, peed on him when he went back for your nut.

Love that.  Or all noobs can climb maximally hydrated and pee on stuck gear.  If the lubricant doesn’t free it, the urine is a strong deterrent and an excellent identifier.  (I cannot grow up!)

Punks in the Gunks = Vulgarians?

There was an article in Climbing back in the early 1980s titled Punks in the Gunks decrying the presence of punk climbers (they toted a full size electric guitar or bass (can't remember which it was) along with them on the climbs. Author complained of being peed on at one point - not clear to me if intentional or he just happened to be in an unfortunate location. I thought it rather alarmist and humorous but I was 2000 miles from where I could have been peed on.