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Bolting in the Warrumbungles 5-Jun-2011 At 8:48:15 PM king335

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hi all, sorry for my late response. i've been away for the last few days.
Ranting continued... (this installment- reply to posts)

First off. Citationx and TND. i have to ask what my age and name have to do with the ethics of bolting?

Rod W. if you really want i can post some pics of the bolts and the removal scars. i did for get my camera so i will try and get the ones off my co-conspirator. at the moment there are two holes slightly larger then what the bolts were. we do intend to fill the holes with putty but are waiting to remove the ones on lieben so we can do both on the same trip. if the bolts weren't placed in the first place then it would be imposable for any bolt removal scar to be there. perhaps the bolters should be responsible for the mess that they started.

Linze. yes i am a wanker with some unjustified elitist jerk off ethics views and opinions. however my post was deliberately over the top. i did this for two reasons.
first, to set the bar high so others could rant as hard as they like without fear of becoming the biggest "wanker" on chockstone.
second, i was hoping for a "who are you to enforce your rules on other climbers" comment. although no one did on this blog, Mr Monteith did say this in a personal email he sent- "Who are you to enforce arbitrary rules?" well i ask this. who are you to enforce your probolt ethics on others? placing bolts has a far greater impact, both mentally and visually to any climbing area then no bolts. maybe you should consider this every time you take out your drill.
In regards to pins, i think Eduardo explains it well enough

Minguel75- perhaps the silver scratchy stuff could come with the guide as a set of stamps. each climber gets her/his own symbol. that way everyone knows who to beat up in the pub for chopping their bolts : )

Winston- i have spent a lot of time in the blue mtns. i enjoy climbing there both sport and trad. The nature of the sandstone in the mtns lends itself well to sport and mixed climbing with far greater access and use by other climbers. there is also more rock there then anyone could climb in a life time, perhaps the bolters time would be much better served there then on some route at some place in the middle of nowhere that would be lucky to see 3 ascents a year.

Kuu & Dr Nick- The bolts in in question were added to CR and L. not replacing old ones. they were not to reduce a run out or make a bad belay safe, they were added to make retreat easier and more convenient.

M9 and WM- thanks for your input. it's good to see some people read through bullshit attitudes (in this case mine), friendships and whatever else to discuss the real issues that are being spoken of.

mikl- I cant believe that you are using the "it's hard to retreat" line on cornerstone as reason to bolt it. Listen to yourself. the climb is a 180m grade 14. one of the easiest climbs out there. if climbers aren't competent to retreat off CR (which should only need be done if a climber is injured or rained on) then they should probably climb somewhere else first and gain the knowledge and experience they need to climb safley in the bungles. (from what i could find out from NPWS no one has been killed in any climbing related accidents in the nation park so far.)
it's not your local city crag with rescue services a short 10-30mins away you need to be able to look after your self out there.
and the whole ugly tat thing. i think both M9 and Andrew M made the point, if everyone removes what they see as they climb past it then it would not be an issue. (also to those interested, the second bolt on CR was "backed up" with a sling around the bollard that they had to cut SO MUCH tatt off.

it would seem that this evenings rant has come to an end. stay posted for the next installment of-
THE ELETIST JERK RANTS ON BOLTING