UKC

Visited a centre today. More than a third of the bouldering area roped off for resetting. Probably 2/5ths. They could easily have halved the area roped off. It stinks of setter convenience over paying customer's enjoyment or ability to use the facilities they have paid for.

I haven't seen such poor consideration for climbers in a long while. 

My local walls do this much better, roped off small sections for work.

Have you let said wall know your thoughts and experience?

I will.

Busy at the moment travelling between airports 

I've on a few occasions just asked for my money back and left. I mean it's a bit annoying having half the wall roped off but to be honest it's the crazy amount of noise 2 people with impact drivers are capable of making. Scrambles my brain. If it's too close I'm off. 

I can't understand while this sort of thing doesn't get done overnight or on an early shift while the centre is closed.

You do realise real life, actually existing people have to put effort and labour into this, right? It's time-consuming (and therefore expensive for centres) and you need enough staff who are willing to flexibly work antisocial hours outside of their usual working hours. Should staff have their working conditions degraded so that someone doesn't get in a huff because they turned up during setting?

For me, the only thing centres (especially small ones) should do is flag up to visitors when resetting will happen, so that people can choose to avoid this.

It is surprising just how far a steel bolt can travel if it bounces after being dropped from height. Cordons need to be large enough to account for this.

I've been tempted to ask for a refund and then leaving but my nearest walls are over an hours drive so it is tricky to not just put up with it... I'd be happy with a percentage discount based on the wall space that is unavailable...

Money saving plus staff and setters probably not wanting to work unsociable hours? Can be a long old job to strip a wall then set if you are doing a quality job. There's also the inevitable test climbing, is that something you'd want to do at midnight to 4am?

Of course they do put it effort and labour most jobs need this, but a lot of freelance setters would probably go for the opportunity to work an early or late shift as it would then free up time during the day for them to do actual climbing, training etc.

I've been involved in other workplaces with shift patterns.... the 0600-1400 shift is always the most popular for people who want time in the day. A lot of posties do this.

Have you considered that: a) this is for the safety of both customers and staff; b) that, with covid, staff may have preferred to have more room to operate; c) that working conditions are more important than consumers' enjoyment; d) that in a civilized society human relations should not be reduced to monetary exchange?

Aren't these all arguments for setting outside normal centre operational times?

What time where you at this centre? I assume during the day as most do start early. Have you ever done a days setting? It's a long process.

It's not poor consideration for climbers more the centres specified area of work to protect members of public from flying screws and holds. If a hold explodes whilst being drilled on it can travel quite far.

I assume your post and frustration comes from lack of knowledge of routesetting and wall operating. 

I admit it can be annoying but if you have the luxury of climbing outside of peak hours then this is one small inconvenience you might have to endure. A quick check of any walls social media will tell you if they're setting that day and you can make a decisions to whether you'll go there that day.

And according to your post you still had 2/3rds of the walls to climb.......

To be fair these days I only really climb at the depot in Nottingham and they are pretty good with it. It's big enough to get away from the drills and they usually have it done by early/mid afternoon. I tend to climb early when it's empty as well. It opens at 9am after covid which I quite like. I hope that remains when I start going in again in autumn. 

4pm - 6pm

I'm not a route setter but I've been visiting walls for 12 years and this stood out. I assume you are and feel bound to defend something you didn't see.

It comes from my experience of climbing at other centres as could easily be inferred from my OP.

Nothing on their page and no word when I checked in and had a reintro to safe bouldering (first revisit to that particular wall since Jan 2020)

3/5. Its not cheap and not easy to get to.

That's a straw man positioning

What's it got to do with human relations?

For a start the centre is the one making the money here, not me. The exchange is money for bouldering facilities, not friendship. Its a large commercial centre. 

So cram the customers into 3/5 and 3 setters into 2/5? Makes sense in your world? Three setters who were working in close proximity despite the available space. The centre also does not mandate masks and none of the setters were masked. 

It was a bouldering reset and, to repeat, its based on my experience of other bouldering walls who must have less regard for their customers / better insurance.

I'm not a routesetter actually and I don't even work in a wall I just have a better appreciation for people working.

I assume by now you've contacted the wall and told them how unhappy you where instead of whinging, afterwards, on an Internet forum?

Isn't that what internet forums are for?

Can you explain that? Your better appreciation for people working. Its not evident.

Its not their work being questioned but the excessive closure of facilities that people paid to use. Clearly I've a better appreciation for the customer.  This is really no different to paying for a large portion of chips and getting a small. Or a half pint after paying for a pint or a campsite thats misrepresented its facilities.They could have carried out their job by roping off less. I've worked all my life, in a variety of jobs, from fast food to call centres to offices. I find my appreciation of people working usually better than most but that doesn't mean I am blind nor consider every practice unquestionable.

And perhaps no one should moan about covid responses or politics or anything on the web? Have you thought about disengaging? You're freely whinging back.

Same thing happened to me the other day. I really enjoyed it; concentrated on just a few routes which were too hard for me, taking 5 min between attempts. I spent each 5 min either studying a route on which I was failing and trying to work out if there was a better solution for me, or watching the setters, who are of course very good boulderers, trying out moves. It was kind of like a free coaching session and I got a lot from watching them. At the end of the session I'd climbed my first route of the second hardest colour there after about 10 attempts; had it been a normal session I'd have moved on after a few fails. So two sides to the coin... 

OK, so you've spoken to the wall and found out what their policy is for routesetting and what they feel is the minimum space needed to keep the setters safe and paying members of the public??

In your bio (sorry for creeping) you say you predominantly Climb indoors and have for many years. So I'd fairly assume this isn't the first time you've come across people routesetting. A normal working day for setters finishes around 6 as that's when the busy evening period starts up.

If you still had 2/3rds of a centre to climb, during off peak hours, it does sound like you're being a smidge precious about your climbing time.

P.s. I'm not whinging I'm trying to understand your point of view which seems to stand at

"I went to a wall, they where setting, this irritated me, i didn't speak to the wall, I came home and whinged on UKC" 

That's wooden plank positioning...

You know, I don't particularly care about whether or not you were inconvenienced. I just wanted to write because in your original comment you espoused this world view in which human relations are subsumed by the cash nexus. Here you suggest that this social interaction has nothing to do with human relations and that it is a simple economic transaction, completely abstracted from human beings, including the possibility of friendship.

I mean, this is the most boring thread on the internet, but encoded in it for all to see are these enormous questions and issues. It just seems a very sad indictment of our society that many people think as you do.

Take care!

Most freelance setters are so broken from the physicality of their work that they really wouldn't want to do actual climbing/training after a setting session. Especially after one that finished at 4am.

Those who also compete often have to reduce their workload during the comp season so they are not quite so broken.

Most walls i know aim to finish by 4pm (including testing) so the early work finishers and then the evening busy time is not disturbed.