Sad, Sad, Sad!

[Dwayner]

Ahoy. Dwayner here. Very serious this time. Ain't gonna posture about drinking Mickey's or spraying about ex-girlie friends; serious as serious. Been away for awhile and had the opportunity to drive through Leavenworth today where I paid a visit to Castle Rock to view the Dan's Dreadful Direct controversy up-close for the first time. After all the chest-pounding I've read on this list about erasing the bolts, I was surprised to see they were still intact. And after viewing the site myself, my personal impression was that it was truly

a sad scene. I first climbed at Castle in 1976 and although a few bolts were added to the crag afterwards, mostly with addition of new routes on Lower Castle, the rock for the most part has remained a traditional crag, and until recently, nearly in the same state I fondly remembered during my first visit 25 years ago. Back then, and until recently, DDD was a thing of awe, a difficult intimidating route led by few and top-roped by those who weren't up to the challenge of leading it, including myself. I feel that the addition of the bolts here has thoroughly cheapened the route and has set a horrible precedent for the future. While hiking down, I was lucky enough to run into an old friend who was taking his son and another young boy up Castle. It made me think about what kind of crags we want to leave for our kids...relatively pristine rock, leaving as few traces of our passage as possible?, or a rusting trail of defaced rock, the result of someone's vision of self-gratification? Perhaps it's time to draw the line. No more sport bolting of traditional routes or crags, even if that means that one's "creative" ego will have to be suppressed or expressed elsewhere.

I have been told who the architects of the DDD fiasco are. They are both excellent climbers and smart guys; one, in fact, is probably one of the most experienced climbers in the Northwest (I don't know much about the other fellow). I have no interest in "outing" them; they can do that themselves if they choose. However, I would suggest that they be given the opportunity to dismantle their handiwork themselves. And even after the outrage that has been loudly expressed, should they not feel compelled themselves to do so, perhaps someone who knows them should at least remove the hangars and return the debris to their owners. A suitable plan for restoring the route should follow.

Apparently these two fellows solicited opinions from friends before doing this. I suppose they must have received a few nods of approval or ambivalence from someone. I still can't believe they did this; one of them I know has been climbing at Castle even longer than I and is intimately aware of its history.

Why not just-top rope such routes? What's next? The nearby MF Overhang (which I find to be a scary lead)? or perhaps Brass Balls on the Lower Rock? We better figure this stuff out on our own or "The Man" WILL step in, as they tend to do. In this case, I'm afraid that their nearly predictable response of banning further bolting, is probably the more sensible solution for the long-term preservation of the climbing environment.

Sincerely, Dwayner

P.S.....Sad, sad, sad!

 

[EV]

Well put. Pretty soon the whole rock will be bolted.

[Peter_Puget]

I agree well put. And I second your view of the abilities of the "bolters." Knowing one of them, I can say that besides being an excelent climber he is also an genuinely nice guy who has made a great contribution to Cascade climbing.

[Dwayner]

I don't know if the bolting party participates in this board or not, but I think this should be brought to their attention. Perhaps a liberal deadline is in order. If they, themselves(or their proxies), haven't repaired the damage by say, the end of August, perhaps others will elect to do so (unless someone else is totally outraged and motivated and can't wait so long). In the meantime, perhaps those who wish can protest the climb by doing DDD on toprope, or leading it and ignoring the bolts. DO NOT attempt the latter unless you are confident and capable and maybe have top-roped it first so you know what you're going to need. If I recall, the protection is a bit dubious, and that's what probably inspired the sport-bolting in the first place.

- Dwayner

[EV]

It seems as though everyone knows who the bolters are but me. Who were those guys? Or is it bad form the publicly state who they are?

If they had the audacity to bolt such a classic, they probably wouldn't mind having their names known.