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how many routes do you climb on sight with no abseil checks?

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 BolderLicious 19 Jan 2013
What percentage of routes do you climb on sight with no abseils to check holds.I have done most of my climbs this way 95 per cent I would say.
And I never covered boulders with mats.I just bottled out of the climb in the first place.Is it fair or right to add new routes to guides when people from another generation did not use top roping or boulder mats
or chalk to do the climbs?
 csw 19 Jan 2013
In reply to BolderLicious:

Firstly, there's a world of difference between putting up a new route and climbing an existing one. Even George Mallory inspected routes by abseil on occasion. Secondly, provided you don't step outside the usual ethical boundaries, any method you use to get up a route is ok - as long as you're honest about how you did it afterwards. That's my opinion anyway - there are others I'm sure
 s.scott 19 Jan 2013
In reply to csw:

Never, I find that it doesn't really help when I'm cacking myself up a vs
 Bulls Crack 19 Jan 2013
In reply to BolderLicious:

Trad? 100%
 Jon Stewart 19 Jan 2013
In reply to BolderLicious:

Reminds me of the description of Supercrack, Gogarth in the Ground Up guide, "the crack which follows the line of the abseil is hard to onsight".
 John_Hat 19 Jan 2013
In reply to BolderLicious:

I've never abseiled down the line of a route to check holds.

John Hat
3000 routes and Not Dead Yet.
 John Ww 19 Jan 2013
In reply to BolderLicious:
> What percentage of routes do you climb on sight with no abseils to check holds?

All of them, both trad and sport - mainly because
a) I can't be bothered to walk up to set up an abseil and

b) I'm not sure how much help it would be anyway, given the fact that I don't climb hard enough for it to make the slightest bit of difference!

JW
 Fredt 19 Jan 2013
In reply to BolderLicious:

All of them.
 ad111 19 Jan 2013
All of them.
 Phill Mitch 19 Jan 2013
In reply to BolderLicious: All of them, even indoors. Just because I like the pressure of reading routes on the lead and onsight. I find top roping and practicing the same route boring.
 JayPee630 19 Jan 2013
In reply to Phill Mitch:

Is this bloke a troll? Constant weird questions...
 deepstar 19 Jan 2013
In reply to JayPee630:
> (In reply to Phill Mitch)
>
> Is this bloke a troll? Constant weird questions...

There is something strange about his threads.
 Goucho 19 Jan 2013
In reply to BolderLicious: All of them.

Unless you're putting up a new route, or making a significant repeat of a very hard route, why would you?
 Jon Stewart 19 Jan 2013
In reply to Goucho:

Cleaning up something filthy. I've done it on Chee Tor, and made what would have been an exciting route near my limit into something much more boring.
 Mark Collins 19 Jan 2013
In reply to BolderLicious: Yes.
 Goucho 19 Jan 2013
In reply to Jon Stewart: I somehow don't think the OP was meaning abbing down to clean a route which has become dirty and overgrown due to lack of traffic.

However, this a very altruistic gesture, and hats off to all the people who selflessly do this.

 kwoods 19 Jan 2013
In reply to BolderLicious: Many of my routes are redpoints. Having started on indoor walls I definitely prefer a technical challenge, so getting my trad grade to match my bouldering/indoor grade is a tough one. I sometimes prefer to do hard moves on a shunt (my climbing partners all boulder!) and go for a lead/solo if I like the route enough.

Should really get on some more VS onsights and work up. Being intimidated by o/s'ing is a major limitation.
 goose299 19 Jan 2013
In reply to deepstar:
very strange. i call troll
OP BolderLicious 19 Jan 2013
In reply to kwoods:

When you use the shunt do you have a knot tied in the rope in case it slips? Someone on the internet said they witnessed a 45 metre slip on a shunt.Fortunately non-fatal because of the knot!






 kwoods 19 Jan 2013
In reply to BolderLicious: Sometimes, not often. Always have a huge coil of rope chest height off the ground that provides tension in the rope.
OP BolderLicious 20 Jan 2013
In reply to kwoods:
This is what the guy who witnessed the 45 m fall on a shunt said:

The only thing i'd say with a Shunt is to avoid steep routes OR tie a backup knot about 6m off the deck. Many years ago i watched a guy zipper 45m down his fixed line and he only survived because of his backup knot at the 6m mark! Shunts don't 'catch' the rope when weighted sideways (ie on an overhang). Seeing this guy plummet so far right next to me was truely frighteing. There were several recorded serious accidents at KP in the 90s with people using shunts on overhangs without backup knots. Take care!
http://www.chockstone.org/Forum/Forum.asp?Action=Display&ForumID=1&...
 Jonny2vests 21 Jan 2013
In reply to BolderLicious:
> What percentage of routes do you climb on sight with no abseils to check holds.I have done most of my climbs this way 95 per cent I would say.

I think you'd get less troll shouts if you gave a reason why you're asking. I don't think you're a troll, just ever so slightly odd. Which isn't a bad thing necessarily.

FWIW, I think the vast majority of climbers that use this forum, will very rarely if ever check holds on ab.

 jkarran 21 Jan 2013
In reply to BolderLicious:

Most of my trad climbing is done ground up. Likewise my sport which is mostly redpoint.

When recording new routes I don't think 'fair' comes into it. Ideas, equipment and tactics change, normal to one generation can seem contrived and artificial to the next. If your methods are a little out of step with the current trend you may find yourself a trend setter. More likely you'll see your routes repeated in the style of the era. If you're way of of step you'll generally be mocked and your routes ignored.

jk

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