I was out climbing in the peak district today. I have not climbed much in the area. My partner and I went out with the intention of doing a few routes and to get practice in setting-up a couple of retrievable abseils.
As I was setting one up a pair climbing on the route next to us topped-out and we had a brief conversation , where we told the guy I was setting up abseil anchors , my partner and I would abseil down , do another route then retrieve the gear .
After we had done our second route and went to get the gear it had gone. I called down the route to see if anyone had taken it , thinking it had been abandoned and had no reply.
When we got back down I approached the guy we had spoken to and asked if he had seen our gear ? He went to his ruck sack and got the stuff out, telling me he thought it had been left behind.
Maybe it was a misunderstanding or just bad etiquette
I feel vexed by this.
I leave gear, kit at the bottom and top of the crag on the understanding that other climbers will respect your belongings.
When I have been out climbing when someone has left a nut in their second could not get out, I retrieved it and gave it back to them.I consider that good manners.
Post edited at 19:12