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Jim Hornibrook
Trad climber
Redwood City, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 5, 2017 - 08:42am PT
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I am the Tradlax
I speak for the cliffs
I speak for the cliffs
For the cliffs have no tongues
Come sit for a moment
I wish to tell you a tale
Of rock desecration
When man’s courage does fail
It was a beautiful day
At the base of Serenity Crack
I looked at a neighboring route
And was taken aback
“What’s wrong with you, Tradlax?
Why are you making a futz?”
Maxine’s Wall’s been Disneyfied
By some weak-minded putz!!
I first climbed that pitch
At the age of thirteen
Feet shod in EBs
Definitely not stealth rubber…if you know what I mean
It’s 5.10a slab moves,
Seventeen feet to the first clip
I’d probably twist an ankle
If on those first moves I slipped
The moves were exciting
The holds rather dicey
My heart it was racing
Getting to that first bolt was spicy
But once I clipped in
My heart filled with pride
Facing up to that challenge
Had changed me inside
But now in the name of safety
A bolt has been added
Why not a fixed rope? Or a floor that’s been padded?
The pitch has been neutered
The psychological crux it is gone
This fundamental change
Of an existing route is just wrong!
No one is forced to climb a route
We must all analyze the risk
To the man who added this bolt
I say “tsk tsk tsk.”
It took a few tools
Some time and some brawn
But the Tradlax reports
That bolt is now gone
The 10a slab is still there
Getting to that first clip is still scary
Not each route was meant
For every Tom, Dick, and Harry
Royal Robbins’ wise words
Still echo through time,
“Better to raise ourselves
Than to lower the climb.”
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Matt's
climber
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Seventeen feet to the first clip
I thought there was a fixed pin before the clip...
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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It is also a mediocre climb with few redeeming feature. Nice to speak up for ugly sisters though.
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phylp
Trad climber
Upland, CA
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Wow, that's a whole lot of bad poetry for what I recall to be a nice, but average quality route. It seems to hold some special significance for you.
Since we seem to be voting here, I also did the route (in either EBs or Fires) with a runout to the first bolt. It wouldn't surprise me if the route has gotten much more polished and slick in the ensuing 30 years. The bolt addition did not bother me.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Anyone who calls Clint a "weak minded putz" puts themselves into their own well-deserved and separate category of stupidity and small-mindedness.
I happen to agree that the bolt shouldn't have been added after this many years. I think removing it was the correct move.
But a poem?
Rubbing it in?
Your "poem" contains the words "my heart filled with pride."
Yeah, obviously. And apparently for more reasons than just climbing 17 unprotected feet.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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I thought Clint's explanation of why the bolt went in was rational, it was in keeping with the protection from the FA.
I'll clarify my post by agreeing with this statement.
In the other/first thread, Clint came right out and said that he'd added the bolt. And he stated his reasons, which were indeed rational.
My earlier comment was to indicate that I happen to disagree with his rationale (and I'll bet that he and I could have resolved this "disagreement" with three minutes of face-to-face discussion and zero drama).
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cragnshag
Social climber
san joser
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Jim H:
You have publicly disgraced yourself with this name-calling and spraying about your actions.
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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It saddens me to see the poem posted by the OP. Clint clearly, and without any arrogance or bravado, took responsibility and stated his rational for placing the bolt where a fixed pin once existed. Now we have the OP and his poem which calls Clint a "weak-minded putz." I don't think Clint deserved that remark. It says a lot about the OP and how he conducts his business.
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phylp
Trad climber
Upland, CA
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Yes, calling Clint a "weak minded putz" was mean, and factually inaccurate.
To the OP:
Clint is one of the nicest, most thoughtful, and most generous (with his time and knowledge) people I have ever met. He's also one of the most dedicated climbers I have ever met.
He's climbed thousands of routes, possibly tens of thousands.
He has mentored hundreds of young climbers over the years, myself included.
I've done many routes with him and can attest that he is steely-minded, not weak-minded when it comes to leading.
he has spend so much time replacing worn and dangerous bolts and anchors.
He has spend thousands of hours documenting climbs he has done and has contributed to many guidebooks. The new Yosemite guidebook, when it arrives, will be a resource for years.
You didn't like the bolt he installed and you pulled it. OK. But this poem reflects poorly on you.
P.S. Hi Jeremy!
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
Nov 20, 2017 - 05:10pm PT
I placed it a couple of weeks ago.
My partner told me that back in the 70s, there used to be a fixed pin before the first bolt.
You can see the pin scar at the overlap there.
It looks like some rock broke off at the pin scar, as it's very shallow there now and you can't place clean gear there.
It used to be an aid climb, after all.
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thebravecowboy
climber
The Good Places
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can somebody please buy the OP a mask and cape?
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Let me tell you a story about how dedicated Clint is to "doing the right thing" when it comes placing and replacing bolts.
A couple of years ago, Clint and I were replacing the bolts on the aid ladder on Daedulus, a 5-pitch route on Machete Ridge, at Pinnacles National Park. The bolts were very old Star Dyrvins with either pop top or SMC chromoly hangers. After leading the aid ladder on those old, bad, bolts Clint started replacing the bolts from the top down on rappel.
The route is very overhanging and even with down clipping each new bolt(which was put in the exact same hole) Clint could not reach the first bolt. So, I unclipped from the belay and climbed up onto the horribly loose and sloping ledge at the start of the bolt ladder. Neither of us could reach the first bolt with enough height to replace it from the ledge, Glen Denny is one tall dude.
I clipped myself into Clint, who was on rappel, as my belay and standing on the crumbly ledge, I had just enough purchase and strength to be able to pull him in close enough to the rock so he could get a few good swings with the hammer to help deepen the hole before I had to let go and he swung out into space over 300 feet above the ground.
It took us about an hour in this manner to be able to deepen the original hole and then put in the bolt, but we got it done. I would have been easy to just say "screw it" and put the replacement bolt in a more convenient (for us!) location, but we didn't. That's not how Clint is wired.
This is just one of many instances where Clint has shown that he truly respects the rock and those who have tread there before him.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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^^^
Bruce, as you no doubt know, your example is barely the tip of the iceberg.
I'll go further and outright state that there is no better steward, no one with better ethics and no better representative of the climbing community than Clint (and few, if any others are as good in these areas).
But I sense that I'm preaching to the choir too. He's well known for these things on this site, and throughout California.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Dang, looks like it came out easy. So much for the rock quality....
No need to apologize; it's called "poetic license."
I am sympathetic to your line of reasoning.
Do I get the hanger back? :-)
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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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I can't believe someone got up and actually did something about the sacrilege of some bolt instead of forever whining here about it.
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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So Are you Famous enough yet?
This reminds me of the fool who scrubbed the chalk bolt from that boulder,
in order to write a click-bait post, did anybody ever physically, (not just in writing) stomp that guys fingers? should have.
As I remember the telling; It was a spot where 'we' once slept. & that the bolt was put there to see the spot in the dirt, after dark(?)?
So ya famous enough now? (It may take more than 6 posts to achieve)
if any one cares a as to this stooges' name, hey his brother had(S)
SOME 1ST ASCENTS, but both are weak and disreputable for actions both old and new.
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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yes, taken as it was spew'd, the removal of the bolt( BOTH THE CHALK ONE AND THIS ONE TOO) to draw views to one's blog, deserves a stomping of the hand(s)
Back in the Day,
As climbers back then knew, only a very few members of the circus could do as they pleased. It was a very "Locals 1st" kind Of a place. The denizens of the ditch were known for messing with visitors who showed any pluck, and dared to throw hard at test-pieces. If you were one of the cognoscenti, you could add a bolt to free a pitch & re-name the route(?), but if you ever dared to bang an extra pin, those '80s masters would . . .
Leave a Steaming 'coiler' on yer rope (for example)
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