Goto Chockstone Home

  Guide
  Gallery
  Tech Tips
  Articles
  Reviews
  Dictionary
  Links
  Forum
  Search
  About

      Sponsored By
      ROCK
   HARDWARE

  Shop
Chockstone Photography
Australian Landscape Photography by Michael Boniwell
Australian Landscape Prints





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 5 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

LittleMac
4-Apr-2005
8:52:49 AM
Having been involved in a Phd reasearch thesis in regards to the tracks etc at Arapiles, the damage caused by the tracks is far greater than it would appear. Whilst the tracks may eventualy be able to be covered over, the species which replace the tracks are predominantly of a pest species. These pest species once able to find a foothold then spread to other areas and out compete native (and endemic) species. With this in mind it has a similar environmental impact to chalk in that the effect isn't localised but actually spreads (ie the lichen issue).

In regards to the working bees to remove chalk, no one is actually asking those of you whom are chalkless(and you currently appear in the minority) to be involved. The work done on Tannin was done predominantly by chalk users who were just trying to do their bit and as this was organised outisde of any other friends of arapiles projects the this contribution can hardly be underestimated.

Nobody is actually bagging out walkers, we're actually bagging out climbers walking to cliffs, and are calling down shame upon walkers in general only in a secondary nature.
dalai
4-Apr-2005
9:32:24 AM
On 3/04/2005 Rocky wrote:
>shame to all you chalk addicts, shame on you cretans!
>:-/

Good to see you intellectually supporting your argument...

nmonteith
4-Apr-2005
9:35:07 AM
I gave 'chalkless' climbing a go on the weekend at Bundaleer. In quite hot conditions i managed to second a 21 and felt quite comfortable just wiping my hands on my pants. When it came to an onsight attempt of a trad 23 it was another thing altogether. I really needed the chalk for the slopy crux holds. I was going up and down the sequence trying to work it out. My hands were very slippery - and I had to apply quite a bit of chalk several times before my hands would not slip off the holds. I am going to continue in my attempts to minimize chalk use on routes that I am comfortable onsighting.

Mike TS
4-Apr-2005
9:49:49 AM
I voted no (although I own a chalkbag) I experimented last Sat at Araps (a hot day). I tried using a little to absorb any sweat before I set off on hard (for me) pitches. Basically this seemed to dry my hands but didn't seem to leave marks. Maybe we should all go on a 10 step chalk reduction program.

sabu
4-Apr-2005
11:19:10 AM
On 4/04/2005 nmonteith wrote:
>I gave 'chalkless' climbing a go on the weekend at Bundaleer. In quite
>hot conditions i managed to second a 21 and felt quite comfortable just
>wiping my hands on my pants. When it came to an onsight attempt of a trad
>23 it was another thing altogether. I really needed the chalk for the slopy
>crux holds. I was going up and down the sequence trying to work it out.
>My hands were very slippery - and I had to apply quite a bit of chalk several
>times before my hands would not slip off the holds. I am going to continue
>in my attempts to minimize chalk use on routes that I am comfortable onsighting.

good to hear, well done for trying

anthonyk
4-Apr-2005
12:19:57 PM
On 4/04/2005 Mike TS wrote:
>Maybe we should all go on a 10 step chalk reduction
>program.

yeah i reackon trying to wipe the sweat off on your pants or something is as good as chalking most of the time. worth trying, but its always easy to slip back into the habit of dipping your paws in the comfort bag.

steph
4-Apr-2005
12:42:58 PM
On 31/03/2005 LittleMac wrote:
>I use chalk and I'm not afraid to admit it. I do however try to use it
>sparingly and I also use a chalk ball which minimises the amount of chalk
>tou spread all over the place. Use of a chalk ball also helps to stop you
>dumping chalk all over belay ledges etc. I don't think the use of chalk
>is a problem, inappropriate use of chalk is a problem.
>
>Also where would I store my precious bolt plates, and I also use the cord
>that attaches my chalk bag to me, to rack items such as accessory cord
>etc.

ditto Mac. My friends and I now call our chalk bags bolt plate bags as within our group chalk use is forbidden on outdoor rock.

I think some of the results of chalk abuse are disgusting like on Tannin for one but I'm not totally against appropriate and unoffensive chalk use.

I've also found chalk use is more addiction and habit than actual need. From my constant use of chalk indoors, I naturally went for the chalk bag before I even touched rock on my first outdoors trip. After a bit of convincing, I sacrificed the chalk bag and cruised my way up the grade 20 ahead of me without a bit of chalk.

LittleMac
4-Apr-2005
12:51:42 PM
On 4/04/2005 steph wrote:
>I think some of the results of chalk abuse are disgusting like on Tannin
>for one but I'm not totally against appropriate and unoffensive chalk use.

It is worth noting that Tannin has been a climb since Apr 76 an is possibly the most climbed 19 in history. The chalk abuse on this climb is in all likelihood a direct result of it's immense popularity.

I applaud your ability to not use chalk, but for me climbing some of the things I do requires me to use chalk simply because my hands do tend to sweat a lot. To coin a Neil Monteith phrase, my hands are slightly damp just sitting here typing. (chalk plays havoc with a keyboard though).

Keep up the inspired thoughts and hope to see you on the cliff (if I can see you through my cloud of chalk dust)

Cheers,

Mac

Rich
4-Apr-2005
12:55:17 PM
how about not using your chalk when its a cold day? that would reduce it a bit. i tend to use chalk too much and i applaud those who try to kick the bag!

sabu
4-Apr-2005
3:48:05 PM
CCP (Chalk & Chipping police) we will shoot anyone off the cliff at araps if we see them commiting these offences..... my friends wanted to start that up!! one of which was good d Stempy! (Brendan Stemp for those who don't know him)

LittleMac
4-Apr-2005
4:01:09 PM
On 4/04/2005 sabu wrote:
>CCP (Chalk & Chipping police) we will shoot anyone off the cliff at araps
>if we see them commiting these offences..... my friends wanted to start
>that up!! one of which was good d Stempy! (Brendan Stemp for those who
>don't know him)

Now that I would like to see. I can just imagine the fisticuffs that would break out in the Organ Pipes or the Flight Deck. Probably a wise decision to take the far more sensible approach of dicussing this topic on chockstone. Don't think you'd have too many complaints about chipping police but chalk police................................


alrob
4-Apr-2005
6:58:04 PM
how about swapping chalk for a bag of dirt?
Rocky
4-Apr-2005
10:17:47 PM
On 4/04/2005 dalai wrote:
>On 3/04/2005 Rocky wrote:
>>shame to all you chalk addicts, shame on you cretans!
>>:-/
>
>Good to see you intellectually supporting your argument...

my bad! (shame on you cretans!) it's something one of my teachers at school says, i guess i got carried away!

>Tannin was done predominantly by chalk users who were just trying to do their bit

good on them then!

>how about not using your chalk when its a cold day?

i cant say for sure, but you dont really sweat that much on cold days do you anyway, so whats the need for it, or is it a mental factor that's required?

>how about swapping chalk for a bag of dirt?

true that, russell Crowe manages to use it fine in Gladiator, besides, a little bit of fine dirt, sort of sandy like would work wouldnt it, theres something for you chalk users to try, give it a crack and report back with your findings.

>It is worth noting that Tannin has been a climb since Apr 76

thats true and the old timers that put up all the old classics before chalk was introduced should be applauded for doing so A) without cams, etc and B) without chalk congrats to the old timers that forged the rock climbing industry by their skill and lack of fear!!!!



anthonyk
4-Apr-2005
11:11:06 PM
On 4/04/2005 alrob wrote:
>how about swapping chalk for a bag of dirt?

or to ween people off the white-powder addiction you could fill your chalk bag with bullants and pins, a couple of painful dips later and you'll quickly learn.

;)

ShinToe Warrior
4-Apr-2005
11:41:41 PM
On 4/04/2005 anthonyk wrote:
>or to ween people off the white-powder addiction you could fill your chalk
>bag with bullants and pins, a couple of painful dips later and you'll quickly
>learn.
>;)

Anthony, you can feel free to lead by example, I shall watch with amusement.
And a video camera.

anthonyk
5-Apr-2005
12:10:05 AM
>>how about swapping chalk for a bag of dirt?
>
>true that, russell Crowe manages to use it fine in Gladiator, besides,
>a little bit of fine dirt, sort of sandy like would work wouldnt it, theres
>something for you chalk users to try, give it a crack and report back with
>your findings.

except i generally find sandy holds pretty unpleasant so i don't think 'sanding up' will help much. sand sticking to sweaty hands is possibly worse than just sweat. but maybe if its fine enough it could be good.

it'd probably be a start if they made chalk in more natural colours too.. its not like the bright white is functional.

LittleMac
5-Apr-2005
10:20:52 AM
On 4/04/2005 alrob wrote:
>how about swapping chalk for a bag of dirt?

Good idea except then we would be encouraging erosion because people could just fill their chalkbag from the dirt at the base of the cliffs.
Rocky
5-Apr-2005
11:12:05 AM
On 5/04/2005 LittleMac wrote:
>
>Good idea except then we would be encouraging erosion because people could
>just fill their chalkbag from the dirt at the base of the cliffs.

true that, we cant fix one problem by making another

itchyfingers
5-Apr-2005
4:37:12 PM
i suppose we could sandpaper our fingers down to get rid of sweat glands. it would solve sweating problems, and also give more grip from the skin being red raw. might hurt a bit...

i guess if you want to use chalk then go ahead, but i think it's great that you guys have tried to cut back on your useage, that's about all we "CCP's" can hope for, unless they bring in the death penalty... i can almost hear the screaming...

Mike TS
5-Apr-2005
5:12:37 PM
Has anyone had problems carrying a bag of white powder across country borders?

 Page 5 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.

 

Home | Guide | Gallery | Tech Tips | Articles | Reviews | Dictionary | Forum | Links | About | Search
Chockstone Photography | Landscape Photography Australia | Australian Landscape Photography | Landscape Photos Australia

Please read the full disclaimer before using any information contained on these pages.



Australian Panoramic | Australian Coast | Australian Mountains | Australian Countryside | Australian Waterfalls | Australian Lakes | Australian Cities | Australian Macro | Australian Wildlife
Landscape Photo | Landscape Photography | Landscape Photography Australia | Fine Art Photography | Wilderness Photography | Nature Photo | Australian Landscape Photo | Stock Photography Australia | Landscape Photos | Panoramic Photos | Panoramic Photography Australia | Australian Landscape Photography | High Country Mountain Huts | Mothers Day Gifts | Gifts for Mothers Day | Mothers Day Gift Ideas | Ideas for Mothers Day | Wedding Gift Ideas | Christmas Gift Ideas | Fathers Day Gifts | Gifts for Fathers Day | Fathers Day Gift Ideas | Ideas for Fathers Day | Landscape Prints | Landscape Poster | Limited Edition Prints | Panoramic Photo | Buy Posters | Poster Prints