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chalk 17-Aug-2008 At 9:33:57 PM Tlockwood

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>All chalk is not equal.

but without it we are! :)

>don't get me started.....

I will!

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The latest gripe my parents and I have is with the cover photo on the latest rock, of a climber (i cant remember who) on one of those hard climbs (once again i forget) on the front of uncle charlie's nose at araps. The holds were caked in chalk, everyone one of them, the pockets had star like chalk marks indicating where they were and chalk marks almost a foot long indicating where the hold out of sight over the bulge was. what's the odds those tick marks are still up there?? I know some people say they clean off their chalk, or the rain washes it away.. what nonsence, over the years chalk has built up and remained, even if some people clean up after themselves. these climbs are now join the dot climbs, you can see where the holds are, infer how the sequence is likely to go, so much for the adventure of leading, and this isnt just the really really hard climbs. On the back of lizard procrastination pinnacle, english ethics is a join the dots climb, the way lit up for you by chalk caked holds. most people dont leave their finger tape, cigarette buts, toilet paper, food wrappings, etc lying around the cliff, so why can the chalk stay? NIMBY? just because the rock isn't a living organism, doesnt mean there's an effect by it being there. graffiti doesnt have any effect other than being aesthetically displeasing but it's frowned upon by many people, why not chalk? because the majority of people seeing it would be climbers who use it i reckon..
anyhow, thats my gripe, if i raised a few hackles, well boo... my hackles were raised too, now they've relaxed slightly, i can get back to my assignment.

post edit:
another thought, what would people honestly think/how would they react if chalk was banned in say the grampians? i know people would then say, well why not get rid of bolts too, but i guess it could be argued they are there for 'safety' reasons in the way perhaps a railing at a lookout is...
but back to the point, what if it was banned, chalk isnt there for safety, a massive effort went to cleaning the cliffs, then on the spot fines were handed out for using it? is that so unrealistic?