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Tick Marks - Good or Bad?

Original Post
Euan Cameron · · Mammoth Lakes, CA · Joined Jan 2007 · Points: 65,346

Recently the amount of chalk scratched into the boulders on the Eastside is getting crazy Volcanic Tablelands (Happy/Sad Boulders)

Are tick marks really necessary, or just a sign of folks that are trying too hard?

Aaron Martinuzzi · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2008 · Points: 1,485

tick marks don't really meld with my ideal of climbing. i don't care if people use them, or think any less of them for it, but it would be nice if they brushed them off after leaving the rock. they're sort of ugly.

Greg D · · Here · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 883

Lets see. Beautiful, pristine environments. Rocks rich in color form grey to red to black. Then, intentionally splat some white on it so you can remember where to place you mit 5 seconds later. Her dee der!

tick marks are for thsoe that don't want to think. Put the road map in place. Just grab here! Then you can dumb it down for everone that follows just like the rest of America.

Richard Fernandez · · Flagstaff, AZ · Joined Nov 2008 · Points: 859

Good. After all it is a "climbing area", not just a staring at the rock area.

Jeffrey Arthur · · Westminster, CO · Joined Mar 2008 · Points: 290

Tick marks/chalk marks you can complain about all you want, but they aren't going away because it's the nature of bouldering and sport climbing. The Happies/Sads hold chalk more than most areas so moaning about seeing chalk, or tick marks on boulders at those areas with the amount of traffic that they see every year is pointless. I'm in no means advocating tick marks, but I've never walked away from an area because of tick marks, or too much chalk. In fact I find it pretty hilarious when people get so worked up over tick marks. I saw an older guy start cussing about tick marks on a sport route one time. "Some damn sportclimbing gym rat SOB put tick marks all over the crux of this route." The funny thing is it could have been anyone that put those tick marks up there young, or old. It seriously ruined his day. My day gets ruined when I forget my gear, hike in a couple miles with no water, or come back to a car that's been broken in, not about some tick marks.

Jake D. · · Northeast · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 365
jarthur wrote:Tick marks/chalk marks you can complain about all you want, but they aren't going away because it's the nature of bouldering and sport climbing. The Happies/Sads hold chalk more than most areas so moaning about seeing chalk, or tick marks on boulders at those areas with the amount of traffic that they see every year is pointless. I'm in no means advocating tick marks, but I've never walked away from an area because of tick marks, or too much chalk. In fact I find it pretty hilarious when people get so worked up over tick marks. I saw an older guy start cussing about tick marks on a sport route one time. "Some damn sportclimbing gym rat SOB put tick marks all over the crux of this route." The funny thing is it could have been anyone that put those tick marks up there young, or old. It seriously ruined his day. My day gets ruined when I forget my gear, hike in a couple miles with no water, or come back to a car that's been broken in, not about some tick marks.
haha.. should show him the pictures of Dean Potter and Steph davis ticking the shit out of crack routes with gear placements and everything all mapped out..

i think ticks are a bit out of control and i try to brush them off when i either make my own or see ones people haven't brushed off. There's a huge difference between a tick on some horizontal roof with blind tosses and stuff and some 10' vert face where everything is right there in front of you. people just see one and then think it has to apply to every route/problem
seth0687 · · Fort Collins · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 375

I tried putting a tick mark on ice once, everybody just laughed at me....why?

Fat Dad · · Los Angeles, CA · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 60

I think we all know the answer to this one.

Greg D · · Here · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 883
Jake D. wrote: haha.. should show him the pictures of Dean Potter and Steph davis ticking the shit out of crack routes with gear placements and everything all mapped out.
Yep, saw a formely pristine line in a pristine canyon all ticked up by same. Looked like a crack with the chicken pox. They were quite friendy though, the climbers that is.
AWinters · · NH · Joined Apr 2007 · Points: 5,120
WeBeJammon wrote: if you have a problem with ticks, actually put some effort in and establish your own problems
...says the over-ticker. that's ridiculous, and hilarious. are you saying it's ok to walk up to a clean boulder, tick the sh!t out of it, and walk away when you're done without brushing them off??? if so, go buy some spray paint and hit up a Detroit over-pass.

everyone knows tick marks are ugly, but not everyone takes the time to rid them. it may be a combination of laziness to brush, and not seeing or appreciating the beauty in a large boulder, or a clean aesthetic face with or without a striking crack up the center of it.

tick marks are sometimes necessary, like 10 percent of the time. if it's a blind throw to an edge over or around a lip, or if there's a key foot nubbin on a lichen-spattered face that blends in, go for it, just clean if off when you leave and let others figure out the sequence on their own. people definitely go overboard, and need to respect the rock a little more. it's not yours, don't deface it- and if you do, simply brush that sh!t off.

if you want a map, go to the gym.
Hank Caylor · · Livin' in the Junk! · Joined Dec 2003 · Points: 643
Jake D. wrote: haha.. should show him the pictures of Dean Potter and Steph davis ticking the shit out of crack routes with gear placements and everything all mapped out..
I assure you Dean and Steph erase all their tickmarks after the send.
Tim Stich · · Colorado Springs, Colorado · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 1,520

Tick marks mean you mighty have Lyme disease. Not good, imho.

They don't bother me that much, as they are amusing to see holds everyone keeps trying to use that are the wrong ones. Ha ha.

Dustin B · · Steamboat · Joined Jan 2006 · Points: 1,275
Greg D wrote: Yep, saw a formely pristine line in a pristine canyon all ticked up by same. Looked like a crack with the chicken pox. They were quite friendy though, the climbers that is.
As much as I don't like tick marks greg, I'd rather not see them washed away like this....
mountainproject.com/v/south…

  • edit-wish I'd known about this earlier. Does anyone know whats going on with this?
Evan1984 · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 30

I don't have an inherent problem with tics, but I think they're overused, unsightly, and should be cleaned off.

Its kind of like bringing anything into the wilderness...it's only a problem if you leave it there.

Now, I definetly think that chalk buildup at popular spots is a bigger problem that tic a hold. We have to remember we are not the only user group in most places we climb. Sure the areas we chalk up at "climbing areas" but they're not "climber only areas."

Cheers

Chase Gee · · Wyoming/ Logan Utah · Joined Jan 2009 · Points: 105

If we're not careful un cleaned chalk spots will piss someone powerful off and they'll ban everything but Eco Balls.

Chase Gee · · Wyoming/ Logan Utah · Joined Jan 2009 · Points: 105

I think Eco balls are great it just limits your options...until everyone starts working on their own formula. ok it's not such an awful thing. I'm with you John haha.

Senor Gringo · · Albuquerque, NM · Joined Jan 2008 · Points: 20

I see SO many tick's up on flagstaff everytime I'm there. Why tick a problem that was done over 30 years ago. They figured it out way back then, why cant you get creative with your style. and these aren't insane v14 problems with all the chalked ticks, people do these problems regularly without ticks. Its a selfish mentality that contradicts us going outside to be fully immersed in nature. Don't dumb down nature, just go to the Spot to get that kind of fix! Down with ticks!

MattWallace · · Center Harbor, NH · Joined Nov 2008 · Points: 8,752

the only time i can see "needing" to put a tick mark on a rock is for a blind throw, in a situation where you cannot see the hold but even then clean them off after... when you are ever in the wood's climbing or doing anything leave no trace is the best option, so please try to clean the routes you are workin to the best of your abilities when you are done..

Nick Stayner · · Wymont Kingdom · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 2,315

So basically, besides all the ranting and raving, people are saying if you use tick marks, you should scrub them off when you're done, and if you find others in an area that offend you, scrub them off too. Right? Sounds pretty reasonable!
A brush, even a toothbrush sized one, is a pretty lightweight investment that can do a lot for a climbing area.

Jeffrey Arthur · · Westminster, CO · Joined Mar 2008 · Points: 290
WeBeJammon wrote: no, i am saying it is the idiots that climb at horse tooth, carter and other popular areas in colorado who don't think just a tick is necessary, they want to see a 16 inch arrow so there is no doubt. i don't like seeing that, maybe you do.
Correct me if I'm wrong because I have the utmost respect for the guy, but weren't all those arrows at Horsetooth by John Gill anyway? I remember reading something about "Gill Arrows." My point is tick marks have been with us from the beginning. Next thing people will complain about is all the shoe rubber in Rifle. It's like my friend Dean Melton once said, "The only way to save the Earth is to just shoot yourself."
Elijah Flenner · · Fort Collins, CO · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 820
jarthur wrote: Correct me if I'm wrong because I have the utmost respect for the guy, but weren't all those arrows at Horsetooth by John Gill anyway? I remember reading something about "Gill Arrows." My point is tick marks have been with us from the beginning. Next thing people will complain about is all the shoe rubber in Rifle. It's like my friend Dean Melton once said, "The only way to save the Earth is to just shoot yourself."
The Gill arrows are not tick marks. They do not mark holds, but are an arrow which shows people where the problems are. They are an interesting piece of history. Note that in Fontainebleau many circuits are marked with paint and dots, but these are also not tick marks.
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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