was reading this the other night and i always love this stuff.
this is taken from Clint Cummins old index guide book and it is sorely missed from his scanned copy.
http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/index/
The use of non-fixed pitons was abandoned on free routes in the early 70s, due to their obvious destructive impact. Since
then, many aid routes have also gone "clean" (hammerless), thanks to modem gear.
Strangely enough, people are still nailing some of the clean (and free) routes
at Index a person was seen nailing Iron Horse in winter '97 and became abusive when confronted.
Dana's Arch is still nailed occasionally, in spite of the bolts added to preserve what is left of the crack, and the rating has dropped by a full grade from when it was originally toproped due to the enlarged pin scars.
Nailing on clean routes must be stopped, since with modern gear and the huge choice of routes at Index, there is simply no justification for its destructive impact. Please stop anyone who is nailing a
clean route be nice at first (a phrase like "we don't do that anymore around here" is useful)
Nailing on "unclean" aid routes should also be minimized. Many beginning aid climbers believe that aid is synonymous with nailing, and that nailing is an essential skill to learn for big walls. In fact, most popular big walls (Liberty Crack, Grand Wall, Washington Column, Leaning Tower, Half Dome, Nose, Salathe) are done hammerless by at least 95% of current
teams. Longer walls with more extensive aid (Green Dragon, Town Crier, Golden Arch, Shield, Mescalito, Zodiac) are done with minimal pin racks; using clean gear is simply faster, easier, and more familiar, not to mention being non-destructive.
Accordingly, aid is best learned on clean routes first (free routes are fine, but avoid the popular ones since aid is slow). Nailing (and bolting) is best learned (if at all) by borrowing a hammer and some pins (Lost Arrows to a 3/4" angle -- many old-timers have extensive collections gathering dust in their closets); don't buy them since you may then feel obligated
or justified to use them! Select a cracked boulder in a talus field, a road cut, or a blocky area where free climbing would not be popular (such as the area immediately left of Snowdonia on the Lower Lump, or the Wart). Experiment and you
will soon discover how destructive pins are (and how to place them) without hurting any climbs.
Chipping an editorial
A few new routes at Index are chipped. This is defined in the Introduction as holds enhanced/crack enlarged deliberately by FFA party to make the moves easier (or harder). While a guidebook should be factual and impartial, to fail to identify the chipped routes and
to say nothing about the issue would implicitly endorse the practice. The climbing community is in fact divided, and it's not just the top climbers vs. the bumblies. I feel that a moratorium should be placed on chipping. while the current chipped routes and projects are evaluated. Try the routes, and let the FA people know your opinion (pro or con). Personally, I feel that the use of artificial holds and created routes should be restricted to the gym; when we go out to the crags, we
are expecting to encounter "real" climbing! If a section of a route does not go free, AO bolts should be used; it gives others a chance to free the moves (or aid the moves and try the remainder of the route), and the bolts can be easily removed later if necessary (while chipped holds are much harder to "remove").
Chipping raises several complex issues (for a background, see Climbing #106 p.122-123, #112 p.6, #122 p.l34-136,p.34, #126 p.30). Chipped routes are really just thinly disguised aid routes (with free ratings except for the "chipped" notation here). The FA or "FFA" party couldn't
do the moves and instead of using aid bolts, they decided to alter the holds to make the route "go" (usually on a short and not completely blank section of rock).
I see three main questions/problems with chipping:
1. Will it go free without chipping? The only way to honestly test this is to leave it unchipped and see if anyone can free it. People who think it can be freed must be willing to give it a try, but if they fail, it still proves nothing. 'If it does go free, the FA party will still get some credit for discovering and cleaning and bolting the route, so they have little to lose (except their pride) by putting it up for grabs.
2.Chipping has a bigger (rock) impact than bolting, and it is hard to reverse. Drilled holes and pockets can be 99% filled in, but pin scars are nearly impossible to fix, and enhanced edges are also hopeless to restore since the original shape of the holds has been lost. Also,
asking aid climbers to stop nailing if we are chipping is hypocritical.
3. Are chipped moves better than pulling on an AO fixed sling or quickdraw? Both are aid, and chipped holds on granite are usually painfully obvious the illusion of free climbing is hard to maintain, although the physical challenge is there. Pulling on a sling may result in a rest between two sustained sections, even if it is held
only briefly. A true free climber will reject chipping as (ironic) aid, and will tolerate an AID section if attempting to free it. A climber just looking for a good workout will say anything goes. Probably most of us lie somewhere in the middle, we like a good physical challenge, but we do not enjoy artificial holds on the crags and we feel that routes above our abilities should be left for other more talented climbers to try. Perhaps the good workouts should be had on other routes, at the gym, or at steeper climbing areas (Smith Rock and the new limestone and basalt areas), instead of trying to construct them at Index.
Other definitions are possible. For example, "chipped" could be
defined by the current condition of the route, rather than the condition at the time of the (apparent) FFA. Under this definition, the
"retro-filled" (as claimed) route would not have a t, while the "aggressively cleaned" route would. However, extending, the definition to all routes with old pin scars or all that have been cleaned (or bolted) would be pointless, because the focus on "free climbing potential, as modified by the FFA party" is lost.
