UKC

Spotted a bit of "booty" at the top of the North Buttress / Ardus area of Shepherds Crag. Turned out to be a huge DMM cam plus a lightweight screwgate krab, probably worth about £70 in total.

Was very pleased with this find and put it in my rucsac. Asked the next team we met if it were their's, but no. I was belaying Annette on Brown Slabs Crack when a couple of guys came past whom I'd met earlier whilst I was belaying my second on Delight Maker. I asked if they'd lost any gear - they didn't think so, but after some questions turned out they had indeed done so...

Q1: what is the correct response, on both sides?
Q2: what do you think transpired?

In reply to Peter Metcalfe:

Well seeing as it seemingly was forgotten in a belay. You either stole their gear or didn't .. or it's a troll. 3/10?

In reply to Peter Metcalfe:

You would know if you'd lost a cam that large. They didn't, so I'd assume it wasn't theirs!

In reply to Peter Metcalfe:

As soon as its cold it's yours!

In reply to Peter Metcalfe:

Ask them what it is. If they know, it's theirs.
If not, I'd put a post on ukc as it's worth a fair bit (I wouldn't bother for a nut)
And if no one responds, crag swag

In reply to goose299:

That's what I did. They didn't initially realise they'd lost anything. Given a fairly accurate description I'm happy that that the gear was actually their's. I was a bit taken aback, however, by the complete absence of niceties when handing the stuff over. Just wanted to know what people would normally expect in this situation.

Peter

In reply to Peter Metcalfe:

I guess taping or nail polishing your gear helps a lot in such situation.

In reply to PPP:

I would prefer to apply tape or nail polish to the gear losers if they didn't offer me a thank-you or recompensatory pint in the nearest local at the end of the day !

In reply to Peter Metcalfe:

Of course they should have been grateful and said so.

However, even if they were charmless, returning it was still the right thing to do.

In reply to Peter Metcalfe:

It sounds like the gear had been lost rather than knowingly abandoned, so the correct etiquette is to offer it to them and for them to gratefully accept it.

Of course, if it had been knowingly abandoned (bailed from or jammed with failure to extract) and therefore legitimate swag, the etiquette would have been for you to offer it back and for them to refuse it (acceptance in this case is shameless and invites huge loss of face).

In reply to Peter Metcalfe:
You did the right thing and should have been thanked along with the promise of a pint/cup of tea should your paths ever cross again.

I can't remember where I got them from but all my gear has stickers on it with my name and phone number, they are long and narrow and will wrap round a crab and then you put a clear protective sticker over the top.
I was sceptical but some of the stuff is over 5 years old and still marked.

In reply to Peter Metcalfe:

Crag swag booty rules apply

Can be kept as swag
can be offered out for reward
if pirate is also philanthropist pirate ethics remain intact on offer out for non finders fee or donate to charity,
any swag that is tried to be obtained by deception hoaxer can be made to walk the plank and deal with life in a sea full o sharks


ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

In reply to Peter Metcalfe:



You mean they did not or barely said thank you. Yes I have had this most noteably with a Blackberry mobile phone which I found in the Ogwen and posted back to possibly the most ignorant git in the London, no thank you nor kiss my arse.

In reply to Dax H:




Tough Tags?

http://www.toughtags.co.uk/

In reply to Peter Metcalfe:


Sometimes when you do the decent thing, people are just dicks. Try not to let it put you off, for every one of those hopefully there'll be a few more who will supply you with cake and beer.

In reply to Peter Metcalfe:

It isn't swag as it has clearly been forgotten/overlooked and the party (not having noticed their error) may well have returned to look for it later.
Perhaps they were reticent in their thanks because they felt you weren't entitled to pick it up (not that I'm agreeing with that)
A few years ago I left a belay device at the bottom of a route. We moved to a different crag then noticed it was missing. It must have been unattended for 2 or 3 hours before we got back to it but it was still there.

In reply to NottsRich:


Not necessarily. Many years ago we were climbing at Pen Trwyn mid-week. There was one other party at the crag. After they left I noticed a set (yes a full set) of Friends hanging off the Marine Drive wall. As we were heading out of Llandudno the pair were hitch-hiking. We pulled up: "What colour gear tape do you use?" I asked, "Blue" says one, "Yellow", "Lost anything?", "Err, dunno". At which point I held up the rack of Friends and the guy nearly fainted!

In reply to Timmd:



They are the ones, pretty bomb proof.

In reply to Dax H:

Just out of curiosity, what information do you write on them? Name & Surname, E-mail address and phone number? That sounds better than home address as that changes quite frequently (at least for me). Also, that should work while you are abroad, too.

In reply to Peter Metcalfe:
I don't really get the whole crag swag thing. My approach is that if it is feasible for me to figure out whose stuff it is and return it then I will. If something isn't marked up and nobody claims it then I might hang on to it if I really can't return it, but I will at least try to find its home first.

In reply to davidbeynon:


Totally agree. Some years ago I was soloing on a little crag in Yorkshire. Some guys came along and we chatted about this and that. The next day I went back and discovered some cams, deduced that aforesaid guys had left them, had a guess who one was (well-known activist/guidebook writer), guessed we had a mutual acquaintance and handed 'em in to a mate who climbed with aforesaid acquaintance. Cams returned to rightful owner, who sent me a charming letter and a copy of the new limestone guide (worth about £20). I certainly wasn't expecting any reward (though thanks is always appreciated) but it was very decent of him. As he was a serving police officer, he was probably more used to folk nicking stuff rather than making efforts to get it back. But my own ethic will always be to do the best I possibly can to get stuff back to its rightful owner.

Mick

In reply to Que Sera Sera:

I had a similar experience with an English snowboarder in France. He dropped his phone on the piste, I chased him, stopped him and handed it back - no smile, no thanks, no kiss my arse. I didn't even get a response when I gave him my most sarcastic "oh, no trouble, you're absolutely f*cking welcome"! Wanker.

JW

In reply to John Ww:

I very belatedly returned a wedding ring I'd found at the car park at Stanage (It looked like a washer & had rolled under the car seat for the best part of year- out of sight out of mind). Contacted the police who looked back at their Lost Items records, and gave me the name of the guy who had lost it. After posting it to him with an apologetic letter regretting the delay, he sent back a quicker with a grateful thanks. Which was very decent of him.
Most people are pretty sound and I always make an effort to return found stuff.
Lex