Boreholes in Dalkey

[rocky]

When Anthony Latham climbed Erewhon in 1976, he did it on top rope followed by a solo ascent, no tricam, no mat, no chalk, no sticky boots.

Steve

[Didds]

When Anthony Latham climbed Erewhon in 1976, he did it on top rope followed by a solo ascent, no tricam, no mat, no chalk, no sticky boots.

Steve

There ye go. No chalk, no sticky rubber lads and ladies! Anything less is cheating the route!

[Stephen_Mc_Gowan]

Bollocks to that. I for one would rather walk away without a messed up ankle thank you v much. The extenstion of that arguement beomes is placing gear cheating? Is using radically sticky rubber shoes cheating? You do get people arguing (and being serious unlike Stephen here) that using a mat should lower the grade...so what if it does, it only lowers it in their heads and who cares? Do what you enjoy doing but why look to break bones doing it when you dont need to?

 

Does it change the grade? Of course it does. It changes the danger of the route but not the climbing, it doesn't really matter to most people.

Have I tried Space Shuttle...yes...would I do it without a pad...probably not.

Have I tried Solitary Confinement...yes(failed miserably)...would I I do it without a pad...definitly not.

Now lets see if we can go way off topic and get this thing burning 

[simonmcg]

Stephen if you really want to go off topic suggest bolting the climb!

[johnhealy]

Surely a traditional climbing grade applies only to an 'on-sight, gear placing lead' or to an on-sight solo.

Anything else - top-rope practice, mats, preplaced gear etc - definitely lowers the grade.

There have been several discussions elsewhere, the UK and US for instance, for introducing a separate grading system to suit the types of climbs that are almost always done after lots of practice.
 How much of claiming high grades after lots of practice is driven by ego versus driven by people seeking a challenge? Look at the 'controversy' over the route that James Pearson climbed (E13?) that was subsequently brought down 2 or 3 grades by Dave McCleod. Or at another level what grade is "Ground Control" if you're 6'2" against 5'6"...?

As I know very little about bouldering can someone tell me if the risk involved in highball or bad landing boulder problems increases the grade or is just simply the technical difficulty

Any grading system should just be a guide so that people have some idea what they are getting themselves into. Not an absolute

[deargmhor]

hi john
  as far as i know bouldering grades only take into account the technical grade. higher risk stuff is just sometimes noted in description...or noticed by folk....so, when are you gonna throw aside that heavy rack and come out for a boulder then?!!!!    

[johnhealy]

When the mountains of the world have eroded into the sea....or been overcome by global warming induced flooding!

[Terence]

When Anthony Latham climbed Erewhon in 1976, he did it on top rope followed by a solo ascent, no tricam, no mat, no chalk, no sticky boots.

Steve

What a long memory you have in 1976 the ground under Erewhon was proably 6" higher with with long grass and softer clay backed by furze bushes nearly up to the rock do you not remember ?
Terry

[Paul Brennan]

When the mountains of the world have eroded into the sea....or been overcome by global warming induced flooding!

So......July?