In reply to Offwidth:
Whilst I certainly understand the sentiment behind your concerns (especially with soft and somewhat fragile Gritstone), I find myself divided on the notion of keeping routes "secret".
On the one side, the past has shown that the inconsiderate actions of few can severely undermine the interests of many (see drytooling at Millstone); and surely no one could approve of winter tool scars on the Downfall vista. Despite the existence of an unspoken codex, it remains unenforceable by its very nature.
Contrastingly, climbing of any colouration is and should be an egalitarian pastime. By actively omitting routes from guidebooks, or in this case even an online community (albeit a particularly polemic bunch), we determine that other people aren't "good enough" to share the same experience. This elitist outlook is one I certainly don't agree with.
On a completely different note and maybe tooting just the elitist horn I criticised above:
Particularly in the case of these often fragile ice routes in the Peak, is toproping really necessary? This is not Rjukan where and abundance of thick ice makes for plentiful choice, if the ice is not well-formed enough to lead it, maybe it best be left alone to consolidate? I'm sure Richard took great care to avoid damage to rock, but the practice of toproping leaves even the thinnest layer of ice (and more critically the rock underneath) susceptible to the attacks of climbers unwilling to take the risk of the lead.
