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Cut anchors at Rocky Butte


Knottygirl

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Here's a question that maybe Bill (only because he been climbing there longer than most of us and knows more about the history) can help answer. Why is it that it is mainly the same climbs that keep getting chopped ie: white rabbit, blueberry jam, birds of paradise and not some of the stuff over by video bluff or beyond.

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? ? Sorry Paul. Not sure. I suspect it's cause those climbs did not use to have any bolts on top for years and years while video & silver bullet area pretty much had bolts installed from day one mostly by the folks developing and cleaning the routes. I suspect thats why my added bolts at the top of tiger paws got yanked. Pajunas did those routes and he didn't put in bolts and there weren't any for 15 years or whatever till I selfishly plugged some in. blush.gif Course, those are down close by Video bluff. I put them in cause I liked to solo those routes and could also save some set-up time, so I'd get more climb time. Selfish.

 

Who can say, I'm still trying to figure out the reason the US entered WW1 and don't have that answer either.

 

I met some guys out there once who argued for no bolts anywhere, but it was under the guise of keeping folks from falling off the top and old school kind of "if you don't need them you shouldn't have them " kind of talk. It acutally was very persuasive. I hadn't thought of it before, but it's true that most of the climbers who get hurt and injured out there seem to going for the anchors on top just to get set up. If theres no anchors, climbers tend to be tied in with a rope or sling off of a tree while they set up, instead of reaching over the edge of a muddy ground 60 foot cliff with just 2 draws totally unroped or protected. Now I seem to see even more of that than back then like 3 years ago, maybe cause people are coming out of the gym and don't know about tieing in off a tree. ? who knows.

 

The news people reported 10 accidents there last year. I knew of only 3 or 4. I suspect the city will start noticing the increased accident rate, or there will be some lawsuit and they will close it for all of us at some point. blush.gif

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I don't really care that much one way or the other, but chopping toprope anchor bolts because they are thought of as a hazard is ridiculous. Chopping toprope anchor bolts to maintain some dilusional fantasy that Rocky Butte is some pure, clean climbing destination is equally ridiculous. I sure hope it's just vandals or some other entity that is not climbers. I like some of the Butte routes, I want to see it clean, but it's Rocky Butte for crying out loud!

 

If there is some further information about the reasoning that is not clear to me, it would be great if it was posted here.

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Yo Pax! (then again maybe Paxil might be more appropriate hahaha.gif) wazzup.gif Why all the hate brother?

 

Pardon me if I answer this question somewhat seriously. I've heard NOLSEY is an alright chap in-person. However, I think his online personality is pretty pompous and that pisses me off. Thankfully his pomposity has been tempered recently and we haven't had any "well you ain't shit if you haven't taken XX number of alpine Lamaze classes while working in outdoor retail" stuff in a while.

 

Anyway, I met the guy once before he was much of a regular here I think, buckskin vest and all, and didn't think he was an ass, so maybe its just an online thing.

 

Necronomicon translation of the above:

 

the_finger.gif

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I realize it's stupid of me to get involved, especially because the people who chopped the bolts are likely immune to reason, but here goes: Using trees at the top of popular crags for TR anchors causes more problems than bolts. Those problems are: increased erosion and damage to vegetation at the cliff tops; damage to the "anchor" trees by ringing their bark, which eventually kills them; increased visual impact. These impacts often lead to increased access problems.

 

You do not get any points from the ethics police for tying a knot in a sling instead of clipping a bolt. Nobody is more impressed with your badass self because you TR'ed a 5.9 off webbing instead of a chain. And you are not injecting any ethical purity into rocky butte by chopping bolts. It is a quarry surrounded by an interstate in the middle of a city. Jesus, people...

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I will say that Bill's and others' comments about the dangers posed setting up top ropes out at there are not without merit. Due to the top slope angle and the slick nature of the mud/soil I consider Rocky Butte to be of most dangerous places I've ever encountered in all my 32 years of climbing. And that is just to climbers let alone the proximity / lure factor to non-climbers. With even a hint of moisture out there you have to really pay attention regardless of what the f#ck you are doing. If you are on top you are risk.

 

I'd add to that the risks posed by malicious non-climbers is real enough out there such that I'm wary of setting up top rope anchors back to trees without some form of gear backup at or just over the edge (another dangerous proposition just to setup and not always possible). I would suspect any chopping is likely by climbers though I don't know the history so am in no position to say who might take enough interest to police it. If it were non-climbers I'd expect one or two of the fatalities would have been the choppers...

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