Lepton

In the annals of field testing by marketing I thought the old Chouinard aka Great Pacific Ironworks company took the cake. Like the lithium battery headlamp I bought, took out of the package at Ingraham Flats, installed the batteries then had to throw it away before I got burned. It melted down into the glacier so far I was never able to dig it out. Or the ice climbing gloves with precurved fingers, gauntlets and sticky rubber like palms, they were great at room temperature but the rubber palm material became stiff and brittle below 10 degrees and shattered on Mt. McKinley on the first day (but thank God for their handy dandy sewing kit so I could put the cool gauntlets on the Gates gloves - with dental floss). Sounds like the use of consumers as product testers is a time honored tradition that will continue.

It has been some time since I have climbed, a retirement forced from stress injuries to joints from stupid training. Recently it came to my attention that there was some controversy surrounding Dan's Dreadful Direct, and I thought it appropriate I should add my voice to the equation, since I had the moment of privelege granted to me by Jim Yoder and had the belay and support of John Stoddard to free climb this wonderful route for the first time. Indeed, John's point of view, that the existing manky old fixed pin on Damnation Crack did contribute to some level of safety for the crux section of the route, is an accurate statement. It was an ackward clip, but it was also a critical piece of protection. Personally, I have no problem with the addition of a good bolt in a location that would be in about the same area as the original pin. One bolt is more than adequate. Additional bolts to make a sport climb of this route is not acceptable. When Jim, John, and I did the climb we did it with the idea of using the natural protection available on the climb. The use of RP's was critical to success, and I understand that new protection has replaced RP's as the gear of choice for ultra small placements. For many of my climbs I logged "air time" figuring out moves, with many a fall onto RP's down to #1 size. When used properly they provide psychological and sometimes real protection. Climbs that are conceived as bold statements of ability for control with long runouts over difficult rock should stand in as original condition as possible. In the event the original climb is altered with the loss of a fixed pin or bolt, then the climb should be restored to as near to original condition as possible. In my opinion this climb, while having an element of danger, was not a lethal proposition, but certainly had the potential for painful consequences for failure. Not all climbs are for all people. In fact the ability to do a given climb is a temporary condition and a privelege that should be enjoyed fully at the moment.