Fifty Words For…
…Get A Life?? …A Job?? I’m not really sure what to make of the mini-melodrama that took place at the Red this weekend. Here is a brief synopsis for those interested in reading about immature climber antics.
There is a route at the Red River Gorge in KY called Fifty Words For Pump (5.14c). It was an open project for about a decade before Michael Fuselier made the impressive FA at last year’s Petzl Roc Trip. One of the difficulties that had stymied prior suitors was a very difficult clip that Fuselier skipped during the FA. Subsequent attempts by other climbers revealed a more logical, safer, and easier sequence mere feet to the right of the original bolt line. After discussions with the original equipper and Fuselier, Mike Doyle added a couple of bolts to make climbing the right variation more feasible (and safe). That is how the route has stood for the past year or so. Every repeater of the route since the FA has apparently used this easier right variation while still calling it 5.14c.
I’ll let Joe Kinder pick up the story from here (Emphasis mine):
After taking a well needed rest day I was WELL ready and VERY prepared mentally and physically to send my project (”50 Words Right”)
…[snip]…
We soon learned that Adam Taylor took a hammer to the bolt hangers on “50 Words Right” the night before. For what reason I am still not sure. He claimed “his draws were stolen 7 times and he was sick of it”, “‘THEY’ don’t count it”, and “it will never happen again”…All expressed in a very aggresive and agitated way. It was very apparent that Adam Taylor had some built up anger over the fact that the right variation exists.
You can read Kinder’s blogsite link above for more of his reaction if you are interested. Apparently Taylor’s venom was directed at Kinder in part because he felt that Kinder was the one who had been stealing his draws. Kinder has denied this.
In addition to Kinder’s blog, there is an interesting discussion taking place on RedRiverClimbing.com if you care enough to read through it all. Most people there don’t seem to support Taylor’s actions and I would have to agree. He might have a point, but his tactics for making said point seem poorly thought out. You can learn more about Taylor by reading this interview he did with DPM this summer.
On a side note, it was good to see Joe Kinder tone down his reaction to the situation (somewhat) today. Unless I am remembering incorrectly, he had some pretty immature comments on his 8a.spray scorecard regarding the situation that he has since changed. His reaction of taking the situation so personally and calling for others that have sent the right variation to change the name on their scorecards to “Fifty Words For Drama” seems overblown, but what do I know…
HCR…
We spent this past weekend at the Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in Arkansas. HCR was made famous in recent years by bouldering segments in Dosages 3 & 5, and we were very hyped to check it out. Unfortunately it didn’t quite live up to our (probably exaggerated) expectations, but we still had a good time. Arkansas is really beautiful in the Fall, and HCR is an incredible place to hang out. I will have more on the climbing later in the week. In the meantime, here is a sequence of photos of Danny sending a fun dyno called High Five (V4).
hcr bouldering is kinda overhyped…it’s less dense than you would think and the sandstone pales in comparison to the deep south. but there are some really good lines.
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DING DING DING! We have a winner…
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Very well put. Im excited to see our pictures.
“50 words”- this whole ordeal is incredibly disrespectful in my eyes. Even if kinder had been stealing draws, im sure their is some other way to deal with this, and i take it that their is other people working it that don’t appreciate it.
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brian did you see the stuff from Dosage 5? any thoughts on that?
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Why would Joe Kinder be stealing draws? Petzl won’t give him any?
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Did not. Many of those problems are not at HCR itself, but rather they are at areas nearby. The one’s that are at HCR were not at the areas we climbed at, or I didn’t notice them. Slightly bummed that I didn’t get to fondle any double digit problems…
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@Jake – First off, Joe denies any draw stealing. The allegation is that he was taking the draws off to make for prettier photos of him climbing his version…
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yet the basher clown says “stealing” repeatedly on that rrg page. if the draws were returned before the bashing, he should choke himself. if joe was taking the draws off, then i’d say that he should be respectful and have replaced them after the photo shoot. respect goes both ways, even if you have personal issues with someone. unlike crashpads stashed in an area, there has been little fallout from land managers when sport climbers leave draws on a climb… with that being the only compelling reason to remove the draws and not replace them, it is common sense and important that joe would replace the moved draws any time he took them off the adjacent bolts after the shoot was through.
seems like my list of sport climbers deserving a quick punch in the nuts has grown. this ‘controversy’ is retarded on all fronts.
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“the basher clown” says the draws were never returned, apparently in the possession of some mystery “draw stealer clown”
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I’d have to agree with Sock Hands. Respect works both ways. Such a trivial situation blown out of proportion. Remove the draws for the photos, replace them when done…no problem.
And who says women are the source of drama?? Come on, boys!
Oh, and Kevlar…shouldn’t you be doing school things, like studying?! 🙂
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What does the General say in first Star Wars movie?
“this bickering is pointless”?
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At the end of the day, bashing bolts wrecks things for everyone…
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lesson learned… dont sport climb cause only dummies do that and eat dryer sheets by the box for sweet smelling deuces.
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sport climbing *in colorado* is for dummies. rrg is actually quite rad.
NEVER MENTION THAT I SAID THIS SECOND STATEMENT EVAR OR DIE!
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I never took any draws. HILARIOUS how screwed up things get…..I never made photos on that route either. Facts.
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wow. was a lot of mescaline done in the rrg? how is the armchair climbing public supposed to make important internet character attacks if we’re not fed with reliable facts? judge judy or thunderdome this crazyness, narc.
regardless, and it’s been said x10000, it seems like someone who thinks they know who took their draws should take it up with that fool directly instead of taking hammer to hanger/rock.
i’d figure that if draws got nabbed once, i’d be inclined to clean up my toys after every play date w/ the route rather than leaving them up to be taken six more times? wtf?
like most things in the climbing world, perhaps i just have no clue and am speaking out of ignorance, but seriously, that’s very strange.
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Since when were reliable facts required before launching internet character attacks??
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never…
In other news Sock Hands was caught outside a local elementry school trying to sell ice cream cones, ropes, and quickdraws to students out of a creepy old white van…
I for one will say that we as a climbing community should not stand for this kind of behavior! Currupting our youth with thoughts of climbing routes. He was probably telling kids how ‘rad’ the red was. As far as I’m concerned I’m appauled. Those sweet imprecionable little kids. You bastard.
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no, you’re confusing me with Acorn’s tactics to get more warm bodies to vote. all the kiddies were given fake IDs, icecream, and an obama action figure that has an inaccurate, yet mesmerizing money shooting flamethrower, and hopelessly lackluster basketball skills despite a good trash talking mouth.
!
[note: sockhands fully supports social change throught the provision of liberties and re-allocating war spending to address domestic issues such as education and environmental policy reform/implementation, corporate fraud, and the repugnant salaries of hollywood celebrities and baseball players, yet sockhands is very fiscally conservative and therefore is a fence dweller on political issues since he does believe in social liberties, but he does not believe that his colleagues who work harder than him should be taxed at a higher rate after having devoted their entire lives to their careers to the exclusion of many other enjoyments of life…and sock hands does not believe his elderly clients who worked their entire lives to create a nest egg should be taxed at the proposed higher capital gains rates during the balance of their lives or that their children and grandchildren should have to pay 45% tax on their inheritance that is over the estate tax exclusion, which may be significantly reduced under a democratic regime, thereby wiping out even more that someone can give to their children, including the family ranch that has a high appraised value despite the cash-poor nature of the business, therefore requireing the subdivision and sale of the historic family property. sockhands also finds it hard to swallow that a national health care system would be more efficient than his goddamn HMO that makes him wait 2 months to see a doctor who thinks his concerns are *no big deal* but then performs a biopsy anyway because sockhands demands it and such biopsy comes back from the lab positive and therefore sockhands, because of his own insistance, probably saved himself from developing skin cancer that would require an icecream scoop to remove later in life, if *lucky*…goddamn HMOs!]
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although i’m certainly willing to discuss the above topics with those more left at any time in a cordial way, while being respectful and listening to the arguments for a more socialist state as long as my arguments are similarly respected, therefore coming to some mutual conclusions that may make everyone happy.
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I was just trying to hint at u being a kid toucher under the comedic guise of sport climbing accessories… but yeah taxes are cool too.
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i’m just freaking out on obama overload x10, though i’m psyched for bits and pieces of it.
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