In reply to the thread:
We all know that the single-push, ground-up, no falls or rests ascent is the gold standard, and I'm delighted that Donald and Andy have now achieved this. They're two throughly likable individuals with a real passion for what they do, and I'm hopeful this wont be their only big shout this winter...
However, as winter grades ramp up in difficulty, it's inevitable that climbers will run up against stuff that just wont go in this style and which will require a degree of "working". Top-flight rock climbers realised this decades ago and have tangibly upped the game by accepting abseil inspection, yo-yoing, top-rope rehearsal, pre-placed gear, etc, etc, etc. OK, sometimes this has seemed a bit flawed but overall we've been pretty good about stating ethics (as Andy an Donald have), and it's created lots of challenges to streamline the performance, in much the same way as recent free/in-a-day ascents of the Needle (for example) have built on MacLean and Nisbet's original.
Look at something like Anubis. Is there a winter climber out there (save the FA) who has the strength, ability, tenacity, etc to flash it, ground-up it or even to place the gear!? Would it really be catastrophic if somebody abbed down it, pre-placed the gear and proceded to work it? Their journey, not yours. It's certainly going to better their climbing and make them better able to on-sight Satyr..
Or imagine a harder version of The Hurting with less gear (but an easily-accessed top-anchor). Why not stick a top-rope on-it and work it towards reality? This would be the norm on hard trad; where unsurvivable falls are concerned people want to control the odds a bit. I actually know one strong performer who has contemplated headpointing The Hurting, but is worried that they would get shot down in flames; this seems a bit limiting and discouraging of enterprise to me.
None of the above stick bolts (or in Dave's case even pegs) into the rock; as long as they are accompanied by complete honesty I dont see the problem. There will always be those for whom the ultimate goal is to do a big, hard, exploratory route like Marathon Corner completely on-sight, but I think the definition of a healthy scene would be to embrace different approaches and to learn from them.