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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 6-Mar-2013 At 7:23:03 PM Andrew Davis

Message

So much added to this tread in the last week I must admit some of it is interesting reading from a number of contributors. Singersmith I think i have read most of your comments as being thoughtful and rational but i have different views to your summary. I have learnt when you leave a comment here the majority of people generally get the gist of what you mean and will gladly further inform and/or persuade you of their views. My philosophical comment about narrow minded intolerant people apply to any cliff uses, that is commercial guides who throw ropes over cliffs or padlock anchors and show no respect for recreation climbers, bolters who show no respect for trad routes. And I did NOT say commercial guides have a right to retrobolt or change the nature of a climb, but for me personally (and I did say it was my opinion only) if I have a group at a crag and a guide turns up with a few clients I will ask my students to step aside and let them go ahead. If a run out section of a trad climb has the potential to be extremely serious then risk management requires that we reduce the risk (ie:top rope only) or avoid it all together. While I know about 3 established climbs at the Horn that had bolts added 3 or 4 years ago, my only crime was to add some rap anchors and a few easier climbs to the right of the crowlands wall in the lower grade 7-9. I have been surprised by the negative reaction to a few easy climbs on rock that had no climbs before, or were climbs near cracks greater that 130mm and only grade 6 or 7 so you simply solo. As the thread has gone on Im trying to understand why a few react so strongly and all i can do to make sense is that some simply want to keep the area for the 16+ climber and have a fear that creeping changes will slowly destroy the hard trad routes. Just looking at a recent thread on Point perp it seems bigger arguments are happening at other crags

Singersmith >it's the one piece of hardware everybody can see from everywhere>

Im baffled what you’re talking about like you have been to a different Horn to the one i visit. If you mean the rap anchors directly above The Songlines then it is very hard to spot and there is also good reason it has been there for quite a while, while most climber never even spot it. In 2006 the RIC was going to place a sign at the top to notify climbers that roping activities were not permitted to use the handrail in any way and rangers made regular visits over summer to make sure it didn’t happen. We use to spend 4 weeks there each summer during that period. Bolt were placed to make it possible to climb peroxide. The rap anchors made it possible to complete LHV, Big Fun, The Songlines, They Dance Alone, Buttock, Change of Heart, Rent A crowd, then cleany rap back to base, climbing to the handrail and raping and retrieving rope was not only prohibited but would often result in rope becoming snagged in boulders and cracks 2nd pitch of Pintle. There is also a rap chain top of Crowlands wall and one top or Profanities which are a little more visible and which you may also find hideous. You may think you have some sort of ownership of the area but im sure a number of other FA in the area have no concerns about being able to cleanly descend off climbs without leaving countless amounts of frayed and bleached tape or cord behind.

Good comments earlier about climbers and egos. Ive asked a few FA who put routes up 20+years ago what motivated them to do it. They freely state it had a lot to do with ego, they wanted to make a name for themselves, however I get a sense another reason grows as time goes on, that they want to give back, or pass something on which they personally gained so much from. To see people enjoying their climb years later is more important than having their name to a route that has never been repeated. For people to say ego is not a part of it … honestly! Why is it there are so many routes in the 18+ grades at Buffalo? A .Because there are few climbs in the lower grades. B. Because there is no hedonistic self-glory in putting up a grade 10. C. Both A and B but mostly B