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Topic Date User

Single Bolt to mark Projects Unacceptable 30-Oct-2007 At 2:02:05 PM Tastrad

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Communication is a real issue here. When I discovered the red tag on the single bolt, I was with a 46 year old climber who had no idea what red tags mean, yet he has been a key figure in Tas climbing for 30 years. So there is an older generation who don't know the peculiarities of sport climbing behaviour, let alone know the different meanings that red tags have ie - project, unsafe bolt, not glued in yet etc. He was all for ripping out the bolt completely. Not everyone reads internet forums/magazines to keep up with latest trends. I have not retracted my criticism of the practice of deliberatley placing a single bolt and red tagging it to claim a project. This has happened at other Tasmanian crags. On the surface, without knowing the full story, the bolt at the Cluan looked like another example of this scurrilous behaviour. As it turned out, I jumped to this conclusion, however the bolter had extenuating circumstances - a snow storm and a broken drill bit. Fair enough. Once again, communication might have solved the problem. Not that I own the crag, but I have been the main developer and have a keen personal interest in the place. A phone call or email explaining the situation, or a post on the internet, would have diffused the situation. Otherwise, it was reasonable to assume that the single bolt red taggers were at work, and this practice should be denounced, and the practioners flogged with a rack of hexes. How the climbing community can communicate the various ethics, standards of behaviour and subtleties of our sport so that it is generally adhered to by everyone is a massive question, as it is nigh impossible to get consensus.