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Chockstone Forum - Crag & Route Beta

Crag & Route Beta

Area	Location	Sub Location	Crag	Links
VIC Buffalo	The Horn Environs	(General)	The Horn	[ Horn Guide ]

Topic Date User

Bolting at The Horn, Mount Buffalo 7-Feb-2013 At 3:58:03 PM Andrew Davis

Message

Hi Stu I have no idea who you are, how you were introduced to climbing, who you climb with, and what your experience has been, but you eplain your points well so i do get some sense of your values and probably share many of them, certainly your respect for the stunning natural environments where climbing can take you. My journey into climbing, and my reasons and motivations for it probably come from a very different paradigm than your own, but i hope you dont think your views are the only right ones, although a couple of your buddies priase you for them. Try to imagine what your experience and motivation would be if you had worked 10 years of your life on residential and recreation programs with high risk difficult and disengaged teenagers. Maybe you would see the values in some things a little differently

Having said that and having read your comments it still sounds like this topic has wading into the long running war in the climbing world between trad and sport. I enjoy both forms but agree there is nothing better than climbing a good natural trad line. Some climbers seem to have a fundamentalist type disdain for bolts regardless, but I think most climbers would say sport certainly has its place. Im not a fan of every bolt at the Horn but I think there has been restraint shown and its hardly going to become a grid of bolts. Buffalo is know for its discrete carrots and not sure why they were changed to FH on Parrot or the changing nature of things in Dreamworld, but i do think a climb you’re suppose to protect by somehow getting up there and throwing a knotted rope down was surely only a temporary measure. Therefore I cannot understand why anyone would object to Profanities being bolted and when someone said they wanted to do it i was all in favour and even bought them some ss bolts. A nut, sling, and cam are still used in the second half. I have contacted and chatted with Andrew at VCC since seeing this thread and will keep in touch with them so I can avoid a repeat of offending others. Nothing in the area being discussed was put there in an impulsive manner but was rationally discussed and though about for a least 2 summers.

It takes a lot more effort and cost to establish something than it does to remove it, so I hope those who decide something needs removing show logic and restraint, and don’t just think out of self interests or personal disdain for bolts. And if a few vocal people here think they are in the majority and have outnumbered everyone else then they should consider maybe the majority is usually the quieter group who would be in favour of what’s there.

Apologies for only visiting this blog a handful of times in the last 12 years, but I don't find it an inviting community I want to be part of, but that is another topic which i just might start in another thread.