[Hide Comment] Having led it before the bolt was replaced I cannot imagine why fixed gear is necessary on this route. Bomber gear at the start as I remember. I'd be interested to hear from Gary why he feels this bolt is needed.

ADK Rock lists this as 5.10b, Gray's own guide says .10 thomannengineering.com/soft… but it's given .9+ here? Jul 18, 2016

[Hide Comment] Having led the route without the bolt and with it, I think that the route is better with it. It is true that gear is available near the bolt, but it has to be placed mid-crux with the risk of a ledge fall if you blow it. This makes the route safe for 5.11 leaders and hazardous to 9+/10- leaders, which is at odds with the style in which this cliff was developed (and may I add, the development of this cliff entailed a ton of hard work and scrubbing that neither you nor I participated in). In any case, nitpicking route-developers for judgement calls that err on the side of safety is misguided. Jul 25, 2016

[Hide Comment] J. Nickel, you're entitled to your opinion but I respectfully disagree that without the bolt this route is hazardous for a COMPETENT 5.10a leader. I know of at least one climber who's max lead level is around that grade who had no trouble protecting it adequately (and she's about 5'2" so it's not a reach issue). If you read the above description you'll note that the bolt does not protect the crux of the route. You can call me misguided if you like but my opinion is that this bolt is a serious mar on an otherwise excellent pure crack line.

In this thread: mountainproject.com/v/too-m… Gary even admits he "made a bad mistake" by placing a bolt here so my question is why would he double down on that mistake by replacing it?

I've done my share of scrubbing and cleaning and you're right, developing routes IS a lot of hard work, which is a good reason to make sure you do it right. In my mind that involves not putting in fixed hardware which is completely unnecessary. I've always said people can establish their routes however they want but should be prepared to accept both the praise AND criticism they get for their decisions. Jul 25, 2016

[Hide Comment] When I mentioned making a mistake on a bolt it was not this first one on Mean Sister. There were a couple of other bolts nearby that I should never have put in and I admit it. They got chopped and at the same time the first Mean Sister bolt got it too. Considering the climbing style Lost T was developed for I think the bolt very appropriate, so we put it back in last summer. Of course others may not agree.

Remember, everybody makes mistakes. On every cliff we developed there are routes where at the end I thought - "I wish I hadn't done that." Each route seems to require a hundred decisions, particularly when bolts are involved. We mark with chalk, climb the route, move the mark, climb some more, and still sometimes put the bolt in the wrong place. There was a mistake on Parthenope that Bill and I made, resulting in an extra bolt. In any case, I have seen a lot of people having fun at Lost T and I am very proud to have been part of it. Mar 4, 2017

[Hide Comment] I removed the side pull/jug right above the initial roof today, it wiggled when I grabbed it, and a few shakes was all it took to come out. We worked it without the hold, and it still goes, just at more like 10b/c than 9+/10a/b; the start is probably the crux now, not the crack switch above. Jun 22, 2018

[Hide Comment] That was a real nice jug! At my age I was having trouble getting over the roof with the jug, so I guess I have no chance now. But things do change and thank you for removing something loose and possibly dangerous. I will look at the route the next time I am at Lost T. Jun 23, 2018