Comments on: Dab & Die Followup

By: tbwilsonky

tbwilsonky — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:31:59 +0000

they key to ‘fixing’ bad landings is to do it early. the longer a piece of talus sits under the v8 heave to the jug, the more it becomes a part of the problem’s history and terror (i.e. ‘classicness’). once the landscape is cemented in the collective memory of boulderers, even alterations for safety are read as defilement. so when i’m cleaning up a little used area or a brand new area, i go ahead and wipe away the (x) and (r) and (r/x) traces from the field. am i changing the nature of climbing in that area? undoubtedly. do i think the change is positive? certainly. in terms of actual practice, there is no technical difference in rolling a 500 lb. boulder down a hill and kicking a small ankle-buster out of the way. and, imho, if we’re really interested in leaving no trace, we shouldn’t be climbing in the first place. i’ve never seen a climbing area that has been ‘improved’ by pad draggers or sport climbers.

cheers!

By: the treacherous baron "big poppa" von chosscrush VII

the treacherous baron "big poppa" von chosscrush VII — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:25:30 +0000

get a henchman.

effing DUH !

although myself and the other springs crew ‘henchmen’ are booked with cleaning the actual climbing part of the boulders. all landing ‘cleaning’ will be delayed or relegated to subcontractors.

By: Climbing Narcissist

Climbing Narcissist — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:52:24 +0000

HOW DO YOU PROPOSE I MOVE HUNDREDS OF POUND PIECES OF TALUS WITH A BUSTED WING???

By: Tony

Tony — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:49:38 +0000

Maybe since you won’t beclimbing this season you can just do a public service and make some of the landings at the lake less trecherous.

By: Climbing Narcissist

Climbing Narcissist — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:30:12 +0000

I agree, we should definitely explore this topic more.

Here is a photographic example of some landing re-routing at camp d from back in the day:

http://climbingnarc.com/2007/05/summer-2001-road-trip-camp-dick

By: the treacherous baron "big poppa" von chosscrush VII

the treacherous baron "big poppa" von chosscrush VII — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:25:23 +0000

this would be a good topic for discussion. generally, i am for removing blocks such as these and in fact, many classic problems in colorado required the use of car jacks, come-alongs, and other mechanical devices to remove large blocks from a landing or from resting against the base of the problem.

many folks do not even know that some these problems had this kind of work done on them, since such was done under the radar and without discussion.

however, when this has occurred more recently, it has sparked controversy. my understanding is that parks departments are not happy with this practice. however, if a rock is turned over in the woods and there’s nobody there to raise a fuss… does it really matter?

not really certain, myself.

i believe that this is less offensive than pad stashing, which was a huge source of debate over the last few years, and will probably be again this year…

but simply moving a rock… is that different?

difficult to say when mechanical devices come into the picture.

on one hand, it certainly improves the safety of many climbs, which, theoretically, will over the years require less ranger hours for helping walk down broken boulderers… and in many cases this practice substantially improves the movement and enjoyment of rock climbing…

is this “leaving a trace”? in most circumstances, even light foot traffic from hikers creates a more obvious ‘trace’ than moving stone.

hmmm.

By: tbwilsonky

tbwilsonky — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:38:32 +0000

i had a dab conundrum just this past week. rather than simply repeat the problem in hopes that I could miss the offending boulder (notice that I am not the offender), I simply moved the 300+ pound pile of volcanic dabbiness. not only did I send next go sans dab, but i also annihilated the possibility of soul-crushing dabs (and possible back breaking falls) for future climbers. am i a hero? yes. i think i am.

By: the treacherous baron "big poppa" von chosscrush VII

the treacherous baron "big poppa" von chosscrush VII — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:42:52 +0000

nope, just that i’ve never dabbed in front of her. only high quality movements, all the time.

–hunka burning love.

By: Climbing Narcissist

Climbing Narcissist — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:34:55 +0000

is that what happened to Mrs. BPC?? Is that why her blogsite is not updated with the regularity??

By: the treacherous baron "big poppa" von chosscrush VII

the treacherous baron "big poppa" von chosscrush VII — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:32:46 +0000

when i dab, i erase all evidence off the face of the earth and deny, deny, deny.

unfortunately, this is why i have no friends… all were potential witnesses at some point…