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Naming rights on FAs (aka The Law of Ming) 10-Jul-2006 At 11:13:08 AM Nottobetaken

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The Law of Ming: A law declared by the mad genius Ming the Merciless, stating that anyone attempting to document a first ascent by way of a Top Rope or aid-move will have their house attacked by hot hail, and their minds re-programmed by way of the Ming Mind Re-Programmer...

You get this a lot in the climbing world - guidebooks containing...
- routes written up that still rely on some aid (ie. they haven't been completely freed) - but are named and recorded nonetheless
- uncompleted projects that - though not freed, are still named and recorded (virtually the same as above)
- or more rarely - those that have been TR'd, named and recorded

Example A - the TR: let's deal with the worst of these crimes - the 'TR' syndrome. Ming's Law states that any route written up in a guidebook that has the letters 'TR' in brackets alongside it - is open season, and shouldn't be recorded in a guide as a FA. Who in their right mind thinks that top-roping a route nowadays gives you first ascent rights? Not in Ming's domain it doesn't!

Example B - the Open Proj: A route that has been an old open project for some time - and has a name attached - is a lesser evil - but one nevertheless. Take for instance the famously documented case of Le Plafond. A long-standing French project dubbed 'Le Plafond' - until the Brit Ben Moon came along and made the first free ascent in '89 - then re-named it (rather cheekily) to 'The Maginot Line' (great name). Nowadays the route is referred to by most by its original working title (mainly by the French) - but why? They didn't put the thing up - did they? Ming says this is bollocks!

Example C - the ex-Aid Route: And then finally there is the aid route - named and recorded. You don't get many of these nowadays (aid routes that haven't been freed - big walls withstanding of course) - but does the eventual first-free ascentionist have naming rights - thereby changing an aid routes name of some 20, 30 , 40 or so years - to something different? Ming's Law states it can be done!

Over here in the land of Planet Mongo (South Australia) two routes put up by lizard men back in 1991 - and both with the letter's 'TR' attached to the first ascent details in the guidebook, have recently been soloed. As a result, they have also been re-named and re-graded.

Anyone opposing the Law of Ming should make their thoughts known by way of this topic - then prepare to have your house attacked by hot hail. The Law of Ming has spoken...