UKC

I've seen a number of climbing vids recently showing top climbers climbing routes with the first one or two pieces of protection ostensibly pre-placed. What the videos leave out is the fact that another climber has climbed up first and drilled a bolt into the rock then climbed back down to the ground. To leave this out is understandable as it hardly makes for riveting (excuse the pun) viewing and its not the job of the video to teach the rules of climbing.

However at the crags there seems to be an increasing number of people who now lead routes with pre-drilled bolts having never climbed up from the ground to place protection in the first place. They're obviously under the illusion that they're climbing the route but they're not. A climb means climbing up and placing every piece from the ground - though you can downclimb at any time and leave gear above you clipped in. If you climb a route with pre-drilled bolts then that is better described as a top rope ascent (even if you lead the upper part of the route).

I'm not blaming anyone here. I can see how this misunderstanding has come about. Even at a crag it may appear that good climbers are climbing with bolts. That's because usually once a climber has climbed up, drilled the bolts and downclimbed they will leave the bolts in place for all of their subsequent climbing attempts that day.

For inexperienced climbers confusion on this issue is understandable. Maybe those of us with more experience need to highlight this whenever the chance arises.

In reply to PPPatrick: Well, they mostly didn't climb up to drill, they most likely abseiled. That would also be boring to watch.

Surely the most 'Pure' way to climb would be not place or clip anything, not bother with a rope, and just traverse with your eyes closed so you can climb the ultimate clean way.. the 'nosight'.

:P

In reply to PPPatrick:

Does this still apply if you climb out from under a bridge with Billy goats on it?

In reply to Ron Rees Davies:

By replying to you this means it can't be a troll. Which it wasn't. It was just a light-hearted take on the earlier redpointing post.

(And of course people abseil down not climb up to place bolts but that didn't fit with the original).

In reply to PPPatrick:

Very good!

Re abseiling, it depends, some bolting in mountain areas has been done ground up, with hand drills.

In reply to PPPatrick:
Thanks for this post. Refreshing 'traditional' view of the issue...