Chockstone Forum

      Sponsored By
      ROCK
   HARDWARE

Chockstone Photography

Australian Landscape Prints

Chockstone Forum - General Discussion

General Climbing Discussion

Topic Date User

Araps Rebolting 14-Jan-2006 At 3:11:43 AM Mike Graham

Message

Neil, that’s cool this should all be just plain fun, don’t know if I ever risked death but early on took a few long falls, they’re never pleasant. The skeletons in my closet keep me far from residing at Mt Zeus and I didn’t mean to come off high and mighty. Today’s standards are far greater than I humbly accomplished. In the end I can only try and give perspectives to perhaps help people maintain some vanishing ideas.

Simon, More insight into RLTW which should be well known already. Mark had a very strong ground up ethic as do I. that era was a turning point on how to manage placing bolts in a no holds situation yet maintain an on-sight approach. Our concept here was a blindfolded abseil for the second bolt (not that hard to actually pull off with a spot from below). Mark placed the first bolt on the lead. I know there are photos of this side show floating around. In hind sight a “bat hook” could have been used but that technique hadn’t been thought of yet. It’s the approved method in the US for a “ground up ascent “Although I have issues with the crutch of being able to fall back on it at any point. Neil, in your scenario above the second ascent may be the finer effort. So here is my skeleton but still proud of the end result and standing by a non previewed route.

Jonesy, it thrills me to hear the enthusiasm both you and Dave share on doing the route. I was asked if I regret not having more people to have done it. My answer would be no, it gets done when your ready to do it. If it were a clip up you wouldn’t get the same result.
No disrespect taken from the elder statesmen. Really the only thing that feels elderly are my joints, wish I took better care of them when I could… I’m actually trying to get Henry Barber on this site, I hope he makes it he has good things to share.

Sorry this thread has drifted off topic some what.

Cheers