UKC

Vandalism at the Roaches?

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 Darron 03 Nov 2015
What on earth has happened to Damascus crack?
I was up there today and it looks as if it's been sand blasted 18 inches either side of the crack. Very odd.
 Mark Collins 03 Nov 2015
In reply to Darron:

Bl**dy laybackers, they need to get jamming!
 timjones 03 Nov 2015
In reply to Mark Collins:

> Bl**dy laybackers, they need to get jamming!

You don't need to jam it or layback it!
OP Darron 03 Nov 2015
In reply to Darron:

It's not been done by climbing thats for sure. The clean streak is about 3 ft wide and extends the length of the crack. It stands out clearly from the green/weathered rock around it.
Someone has been up to something strange.
 Michael Gordon 04 Nov 2015
In reply to Darron:

So someone has brushed the dirt off?
In reply to Darron:

Pictures?
dwb 04 Nov 2015
In reply to Darron:
Its been like that for several years. I fancy its been treated with some nasty chemical.


> What on earth has happened to Damascus crack?

> I was up there today and it looks as if it's been sand blasted 18 inches either side of the crack. Very odd.

 Pkrynicki1984 04 Nov 2015
In reply to Darron:

been like that for years!
 Babika 04 Nov 2015
In reply to Darron:

I climbed it a couple of weeks ago and thought the same.

The guy who climbed after me said that the chalk kills the lichen and this is what had caused it,
 Chris Craggs Global Crag Moderator 04 Nov 2015
In reply to Darron:
It is to do with the lichen being killed by water washing down from above, chalk has a similar effect but it looks to wide to be chalk alone,


Chris
Post edited at 10:19
1
 Mark Collins 04 Nov 2015
In reply to timjones:

> You don't need to jam it or layback it!

Well I kinda get what you mean, its not a traditional jamming fest like say Saul's Crack for instance but I try and get a jam in wherever possible to get my mind and muscles used to the idea (still vaguely holding onto a wall rat legacy), as I believe that jamming has efficiency over laybacking and other methods.
OP Darron 04 Nov 2015
In reply to Darron:

Chalk or water don't seem right.
If you look at James's 2012 pic above the 'damage' is the same size to the left of the crack and now stretches to the ground.
Chemical would seem the best explanation but who & why?
 planetmarshall 04 Nov 2015
In reply to Darron:

> Chemical would seem the best explanation but who & why?

Well, a natural process would seem the most likely explanation for precisely that reason.

 Lemony 04 Nov 2015
In reply to Darron:

Sorry about that, I've been teaching my Roomba to climb.
 ianstevens 04 Nov 2015
In reply to planetmarshall:

If my memory serves me correctly, soil round those parts is quite acidic? Could easily be seepage of acid via rainwater down the crag from the soil above. Increased climbing traffic = increased soil erosion at the top = increased permeablity = increased throughflow of low pH groundwater = clean crag.
 jon 04 Nov 2015
In reply to Darron:

A friend of mine once bolted a 2 or 3 m long copper strip above one of his routes that featured a very tenacious thick green moss. The rainwater from the copper killed the moss over a period of months and left suspiciously clean rock. Much like your latest photo. Have you looked in the soil at the top...?
 Neil Foster Global Crag Moderator 04 Nov 2015
In reply to jon:
I just read your reply and thought "that's interesting. I've seen that done too"

Then I spotted it was your post, and realised we will be both thinking of the same route...!

Neil
 jon 04 Nov 2015
In reply to Neil Foster:

Fesse d'huitres...
 Marek 04 Nov 2015
In reply to Chris Craggs:

> It is to do with the lichen being killed by water washing down from above, chalk has a similar effect but it looks to wide to be chalk alone,

The 'cleaned' areas don't appear to correlate to how any water would run off. Quite the opposite in fact. Very odd.
 jon 04 Nov 2015
In reply to Marek:

> The 'cleaned' areas don't appear to correlate to how any water would run off. Quite the opposite in fact. Very odd.

On the contrary, I think the lower area left of the crack looks just like that. It looks like it's dripped down and hit that tiny slightly diagonal groove/seam, then run down the rock underneath, no?
 Chris Craggs Global Crag Moderator 04 Nov 2015
In reply to jon:

I agree - I think it has been fed by the short diagonal crack at the top of the crag,


Chris
 Dave Garnett 05 Nov 2015
In reply to Darron:

> It's not been done by climbing thats for sure. The clean streak is about 3 ft wide and extends the length of the crack. It stands out clearly from the green/weathered rock around it.

Aren't there other patches of clean white rock in that area? I seem to recall Libra is like this too.

OP Darron 05 Nov 2015
In reply to Darron:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.php?id=267047

Sorry about the delay - here's a pic.
 Rob Davies 12 Nov 2015
In reply to jon:

What a good idea. We need a continuous strip of copper installed along the top of Pex Hill - but it wouldn't take long for the local scrap merchants to remove it.
 Rob Davies 12 Nov 2015
In reply to Darron:

Amazing - easy to forget that's the natural colour of the rock. Maybe it's the start of a BMC-sponsored programme of pressure-washing famous crags...
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