UKC

Whilst climbing Barbarian on the sunday bank holiday I was rather un-impressed by a couple abseiling off the route on top of us while we were climbing. The second was struggling and couldn,t complete it so had to be lowered down.The leader dropped the ropes (no warning)in order to ab and strip the route. Why on a bank holiday chose to do something like that?

Then to make things worse another couple just selfishly dropped their ropes off the top and abseiled off. This is pretty bad form on a busy bankholiday with people below and on the route. There is a perfectly good path that someone has gone to the effort of maintaining that takes you safely down.
I asked the guy as he abseiled down, why? Reply was "cos there is an abseil point" . I wouldn't shoot someone just because I had a gun.

In reply to Mike Hutton:


If i had a gun i'd shoot someone like that...

In reply to Mike Hutton: The first situation is understandable - people do get into difficulties and have to bale out. Or should no one attempt a challenging route at busy times? Bad form not to warn you though.

The second situation is just thoughtlessness and lack of consideration for others. Unfortunately there's a lot of it about, and not just in climbing.

In reply to Mike Hutton:

Lazy, Inconsiderate, Selfish, Thoughtless idiots!
Next time try tying their ropes in a knot so that they then have to walk back up to retrieve them.

In reply to Mike Hutton:

You should see the poor souls trying to climb Asterisk at Gimmer. Dodging light debris and ropes is the order of the day. Not even any shouts of "below" or "rope" when I was there. Pretty poor.

In reply to Mike Hutton: Exactly why I avoid place like that on a bank holiday.

Selfish people wind me up and it would ruin my day.

In reply to Mike Hutton:

I think fair go to the team retreating. Assuming you began the route with the second still on it (and failing) then you have to accept the consequences of gang banging the route! Lowering then abbing for the gear is totally acceptable, not their fault imho if you were too impatient to wait.

However, abbing off out of lazyness, when not necessary, and not warning others, is poor. I'll sometimes abseil myself if it saves time, so I can pack more routes in, but consideration for others should always come first.

In reply to Mike Hutton: Were they French guides

In reply to Will Hunt:


Maybe slightly more forgivable than the Tremadog indiscretions in that there isnt really a scramble descent from Ash Tree Ledge. I suspect that the installation of the chain higher up has made this secondary abseil more popular. This does concern me as there are definate incipient fractures around it.

In reply to Jamie Bankhead:

Apart from the fact that there is and that's its desperately easy to find and follow if you just look in the guidebook?

If Arthur Dolphin can get from the Ash Tree Ledge to the Bar in the ODG inside 13 minutes then I'm sure you can make a bit of an effort and not inconvenience everyone on Asterisk!

In reply to Mike Hutton:

Abbing from top is unfortunately far too common at Trem. Happens all the time on Christmas Curry and Grim Wall.

remember asking one guy why he and his team of three were abbing right on top of us (again no call down) - he gave a response "our shoes are at the bottom"....words fail.

Guy stripping the route - totally acceptable as long he was suitably contrite (and providing there was a chance the second was going to make it when they set off). Not acceptable that he didn't give a call down (maybe he did and you didn't hear).

In reply to Mike Hutton:
I was in the line of fire at Pembroke a year or two ago - giant boulder shattered near where I was belayed and a bit went in my leg, luckily not the lot on my head. The perpetrators seemed completely unable to understand how dangerous their laziness had been, even greeting me with a cheery wave the next day, being a bit shirty when I gave them chapter and verse about crag safety. Those who have had to abseil in anger because it was the only way home find it hard to understand why anyone would ab on loose ground when there is a walk to the bottom of the crag.