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Chockstone Photography
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Chockstone Forum - General Discussion

General Climbing Discussion

Poll Option Votes Graph
Yes I use chalk 126
82% 
No I don't use chalk 28
18% 

 Page 4 of 12. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 40 | 41 to 60 | 61 to 80 | 81 to 100 | 101 to 120 | 121 to 140 | 141 to 160 | 161 to 180 | 181 to 200 | 201 to 220 | 221 to 227
Author
To Chalk or not to Chalk
Goodvibes
1-Apr-2005
2:08:53 PM
Ok maybe I got a bit carried away itchy but if you go back and read the first page you will see a number of posts indicating that they thought it ok to use chalk on vert or slabby routes as the rain washes it off. Thus inferring that using chalk on anything steep is not acceptable.

Good on you for holding back but for me, I feel it gives me too much of a boost to give it up. Like I said earlier, use it only when you need to.

As an aside, there are plans to go ahead and wash much of the chalk off Wave wall and Ratcat wall at The Glen due to the visual impact of chalk on the large numbers of walkers in the area. As was the case with Tannin a while back I doubt you could ever completely remove it but you could certainly make it a lot less noticeable.
kcwat
1-Apr-2005
2:16:57 PM
To those that are suggesting everyone climb without chalk, have you ever tried to climb in hot and humid Queensland in summer? I think Neil can attest to the fact that climbing anywhere in Qld in the height of summer is a little crazy at the least, but to climb without chalk is close to utter insanity.

I have climbed in Vic and found that I used much less than half of the chalk I would in Qld. Those calling for a ban on chalk should perhaps expand their field of vision.

I realise that this is a Vic climbing site and I am from Qld and as such my comments are perceived as both irrelevant and archaic, but surely a more open minded stance can be adopted.

LittleMac
1-Apr-2005
2:29:29 PM
On 1/04/2005 Goodvibes wrote:
>As an aside, there are plans to go ahead and wash much of the chalk off
>Wave wall and Ratcat wall at The Glen due to the visual impact of chalk
>on the large numbers of walkers in the area. As was the case with Tannin
>a while back I doubt you could ever completely remove it but you could
>certainly make it a lot less noticeable.

The cleaning attempt on Tannin was not as effective as it could of been mainly because of time constraints. The group doing the cleaning was a unversity group who had other things on their agenda for the short period of time that they were there. Given more time most of the chalk on that route could have been removed.

I agree with dalai when he says that climbers create much bigger environmental impacts by creating mazes of tracks etc around cliffs. One only has to sit on the ledge below Tannin to see the damage tracks have had and when I compare this damage with the chalk on Tannin I feel that the chalk is far less damaging. Attempts to remove the tracks have been higly ineffective (considerably less so than chalk removal attempts).

sabu
1-Apr-2005
2:45:56 PM
i have to agree with rocky and ichy. chalk in victoria's climate isn't really needed, i understand that i might be at say Thailand or Queensland where it is hot and humid but here i really don't think it is necessary. mayb clmbers should try giving it up, see how u go, and if u lose a grade or two fine, work at getting back without the aid of chalk. just try it won't u feel that u hav acomplished more by toppin it without chalk? u don't hav to go coldturkey take it slow slowly reduce the amount and for fun keep it closed so when u get the urge u hav a choice : risk falling by trying to open ur bag or keep climbing and enjoy the satisfaction of climbing!

JJ
1-Apr-2005
3:13:48 PM
I use chalk, it seemed to worked for Nadia Comaneci. I place tick marks too, don't tell Adski, gulp!

Mike TS
1-Apr-2005
4:14:21 PM

>If you take the ethical and environmental approach to stopping chalk use,
>then I am sorry to say you should quit climbing outdoors. The paths created
>by walking to the cliff, using descent gullies which can be quite fragile
>ecosystems, just climbing on the rock, placing and removing traditional
>protection; even driving in the car to the cliff itself are just a few
>examples of far greater impact we make as climbers.

For me, it's that chalk changes the route: it can turn it ifrom an adventure into just connect the dots, & in the worst case make it slimy.
The environmental issues are important, but this is not the basis for disliking chalk.

LittleMac
1-Apr-2005
4:29:16 PM
On 1/04/2005 Mike TS wrote:
>The environmental issues are important, but this is not the basis for
>disliking chalk.

Mightn't be yours but it sure is a lot of other peoples. The whole path thing follows the same level of thinking though, despite being an environmental impact issue it is also a visual issue etc.

swissCRACKERS
1-Apr-2005
4:59:38 PM
is chalk actualy bad for the environment?¿
quite frankly i dont think it looks that bad and i dont think i ruins the rock.
i think sweaty palms groping around on holds would have a much worse effect on the rock.
and i dont think that the chalk is to blame on the routes in the photos either,
it would undoubtidly be caused by a million flailing bodys scraping up the wall.
i dont know if this has already been spoken about as i havnt read the rest.:)
Hmmmm yeah, i dont think it looks bad at all.It adds an extra dimension to an otherwise blank
wall.still, blank walls are good but yeah.

Nick Kaz
1-Apr-2005
8:05:22 PM
On 1/04/2005 nmonteith wrote:
>On 1/04/2005 Nick Kaz wrote:
>>An alternative?
>>"Tite-Grip is a non-slip antiperspirant hand lotion that dries clear
>and
>>will not stain clothes." http://www.tite-grip.com/
>
>I will try anything once! I just ordered some off their website.
>

Yeah, I got a sample on order too.

Regarding the chalk changing the PH of the rock and killing leichen, does dried salts from your sweaty hands do something similar?
rightarmbad
1-Apr-2005
10:40:52 PM
Somehow I think the problem is not sweating, but oil produced under stress. A bit of sweat can easily be wiped off on your clothes.The oil seems to stay deep in the skin and make your hands slippery, not wet.

Richard
2-Apr-2005
8:20:36 AM
the poll options are a bit balck and white aren't they? all or nothing.

how about:

I chalk-up before almost every hold
I use chalk on every climb but only on the crux holds
I only use chalk if it is really slimy
I carry chalk but really try and aviod using it
I don't even carry chalk


anthonyk
2-Apr-2005
10:37:53 AM
does anyone ever clean up their holds on sport routes after they've chalked them up? i've never seen anyone do it. i think there's more of an attitude of keeping things clean and getting rid of your mess a bit in bouldering, often i'll see people watering down a problem when they're done with it for the day.

the watering thing is gonna be hard on a sport route (and get in the way of other people wanting to jump on), but do you think its worth people taking a toothbrush and cleaning up their chalk a bit afterwards? it wouldn't do that much for the aesthetic but i think it would help

sabu
2-Apr-2005
3:36:15 PM
On 1/04/2005 swissCRACKERS wrote:
>is chalk actualy bad for the environment?¿
>quite frankly i dont think it looks that bad and i dont think i ruins
>the rock.
>i think sweaty palms groping around on holds would have a much worse effect
>on the rock.

how can sweaty palms affect the rock? chalk is a chemical and putting it on the rock would hav more of an effect of it than sweat. i think that chalk on the cliff looks awful. would u prefer to join the dots or hav an adventure???

adski
2-Apr-2005
6:37:02 PM
On 2/04/2005 anthonyk wrote:
>does anyone ever clean up their holds on sport routes after they've chalked
>them up? i've never seen anyone do it.

Recently I found terminal insomnia a very satisfying onsight, having explored a few options and finally found a way through. So I was a bit miffed when next in line Captain Kneebar pulled out his white stocking and ticked up all the holds for the next person.

After Kman pinked the route I shouted out to clean Captain Kneebar's ticks off on his way down. I wasn't expecting him to do it, but he spent a good few minutes spitting at the wall and doing his best to scrub them off. Thanks for the effort Kman!

alrob
2-Apr-2005
6:46:15 PM
i always try to clean up my boulder problems, especially big tick marks.

rhinckle
3-Apr-2005
9:23:42 AM
On 1/04/2005 Nick Kaz wrote:

>Regarding the chalk changing the PH of the rock and killing leichen, does
>dried salts from your sweaty hands do something similar?

sweat is acid, chalk, alkaline.

Nick Kaz
3-Apr-2005
9:32:30 AM
On 3/04/2005 rhinckle wrote:
>On 1/04/2005 Nick Kaz wrote:
>
>>Regarding the chalk changing the PH of the rock and killing leichen,
>does
>>dried salts from your sweaty hands do something similar?
>
>sweat is acid, chalk, alkaline.

So the question then becomes: which one is the killer? Is the varience from neutral simmilar for chalk and sweat, or is one a far stronger acid or base?

LittleMac
3-Apr-2005
9:41:02 AM
Chalk is a stronger base than sweat is an acid (if that makes sense). The acid created by sweat is able to be neutralised by water, but in climates such as Arapiles where most of the climbing occurs during the very dry Summer and Autumn seasons much damage can be affected during this period. Also this doesn't solve the overhanging route problems. Climbers kill more Lichen by removal with their feet (and brushing etc), than chalk could ever remove.


LittleMac
3-Apr-2005
9:43:53 AM
On 2/04/2005 Richard wrote:
>the poll options are a bit balck and white aren't they? all or nothing.
>
>how about:
>
>I chalk-up before almost every hold
>I use chalk on every climb but only on the crux holds
>I only use chalk if it is really slimy
>I carry chalk but really try and aviod using it
>I don't even carry chalk

I felt that the issue needed to be black and white, people either use chalk or don't. The comments ection is the place to discuss how much etc and this seeems to have been done extensively.

Thanks for the suggestions though Richard and also Rod (M8)
>
>
Rocky
3-Apr-2005
4:30:24 PM
wats all the fuss about cleaning up chalk, if people didnt use nearly as much or none at all, there wouldnt have to be working bees to clean tannin or the gallery, why make people who detest the use of chalk clean up after others who put the chalk there in the first place. with the whole sweating thing, if you actually keep yourself calm and try to relax when on the crux, as hard as it sounds, it is actually possible, you wont sweat as much. even so, just wipe the sweat on your pants, its not rocket science.

> One only has to sit on the ledge below Tannin to see the damage tracks have had and when I compare this damage with the chalk on Tannin I feel that the chalk is far less damaging.

i dont kno how recently people have actually been to arapiles, i actually live in Natimuk, but the blocking of tracks and revegetation has been highly successful at the Organ Pipes.

>Real climbers dont use chalk, chalk is for little girls who play hopscotch!!!!!!

very true rocky, but slightly more violent then i might have put it. i happen to like hopscotch... but i'll take that hit.

i actually used to have a shirt that had that written on the back with a hand behind one of those circles with the cross over it. i wore it with pride!!

to all youse bagging out walkers, whats wrong with them? what did they do wrong? there is absolutley nothing wrong with them going for a walk in the natural environment, and if they should complain, bad luck on chalk users, they deserve it, you wouldnt complain if you came home after a day at the rocks and found your home graffitied all over, you wouldnt complain would you? its the same principles. the bush is there for every one, not just rock climbers, you cant blame walkers for being human!

shame to all you chalk addicts, shame on you cretans!
:-/

 Page 4 of 12. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 40 | 41 to 60 | 61 to 80 | 81 to 100 | 101 to 120 | 121 to 140 | 141 to 160 | 161 to 180 | 181 to 200 | 201 to 220 | 221 to 227
There are 227 messages in this topic.

 

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