Erik Sloan’s Latest Victim – Ten Days After

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Tom

Big Wall climber

San Luis Obispo CA

Oct 19, 2015 - 08:52am PT

ONE, SOLE, ONLY and infinitely repeated contribution to the climbing community you f'tards are capable of making

You don't know what you're talking about.

I can't speak for others, but I have replaced all the belay bolts on two El Cap routes, Bermuda Dunes and Cosmos. Both times, permission was granted from the FA climbers. Exactly one extra hole was added mid-pitch on each climb - broken rivet, and rockfall/missing feature. A few other added holes, at the belays, were needed when the old bolts broke, instead of pulling out. The new holes were placed so the new hangers hid the old broken stubs. The in-pitch bolts and rivets were either left as is, or replaced with similar 1/4" gear. No extra holes were added mid-pitch. No belay bolts were added mid-pitch. No belay bolt ladders were used to bypass piton cracks, or copperhead seams. No pussy bolt was placed to pussy-down the hook move I had to lower off and pendulum thirty feet left off of. And, all of the holes were redrilled from 1/4" to 3/8" by hand, without a power drill.

Both of those repair jobs were done this century, not in the 80's

So, A) we older f*#ktards actually do go up and replace old rotten bolts, and B) we do it without a power drill, and C) we don't retrobolt the route to dumb it down, to make it easier, to make it safer, or to make it possible for us to climb a hard route that we have no business being on in the first place.

And, for you to talk sh#t about Ed Hartouni, for example, is just asinine.

As Werner Braun noted above, "The Pussy Class is trying to imitate the Warrior Class . . . . They are clueless."

If it were 10 pitches of A4 madness - Erik probably would have been one of the last people around to add bolts to it.

You're not paying attention.

Erik Sloan is exactly the person who is going to go up and drill all over an existing A4 route. This is what he's been doing for 17 years, and what this entire thread is about. It doesn't matter that you think he can't climb A4 - he drills past the hard sections of the routes he climbs.

And now he's saying he got his eye on the Sea of Dreams and Zenyatta Mondatta.

I've added a few handfuls of bolts to climbs over the years.

He doesn't have huge hands - he has a huge delusional gap from what 6+ billion people would call "reality".

Adding 47 bolts to the Great Slab Route is about ten handfuls, right there, on ONE route. He added another ten or twelve handfuls on Lurking Fear.

Replaced over 100 bolts on Tissack on Half Dome.

Oh well, Robbins was just some old coot from way back in the day. I'm sure that if he were around now, he'd be sad you Nanooked his masterpiece, and added bolts to his route.

Truly sad, Erik.

Brandon-

climber

The Granite State.

Oct 19, 2015 - 10:30am PT

Wow, the audacity of Woot is insane.

I've been climbing since I was twelve, I'm thirty-six now. My climbing has been all free (aside from pulling on gear) and while I learned how to climb on sport routes in NH, I am mostly a gear(trad? I hate that word) climber now. Ok, that's my bio, and I have aspirations to climb walls. I read voraciously about climbing when I got into the sport and I still do.

So, WTF? I want to climb in the valley sometime on routes with history that have sketch gear, that's part of it!

Why is the community letting this guy dumb down routes for the 'masses'? This is total weak sauce and is a part of the slow slide of standards of important, challenging routes.

Changing the original nature of a route is a disrespect to climbers who have balls and want to test themselves. Additionally, I'm short and look forward to the time when I have to figure out how to place the piece or clip the pin that's just out of my reach.

Stop f*#king with other people's routes man! You said that Tom Frost gave you his blessing on a route of his, but have you checked with ALL other FA'ists on 'maintenance' on their routes?

Belay bolts are one thing, but reducing the skill level needed to work out tricky situations isn't a task that you've been appointed with. You are not the decider.

Stop deciding what the route I may climb feels like, it's not your place to do so.

In the end, I don't think you'll give one single f*#k about what I've written, and that's what's wrong with your narcissistic personality trait.

Hugs and kisses,
Brandon Mayo

Tom

Big Wall climber

San Luis Obispo CA

Oct 19, 2015 - 11:26am PT

Why is the community letting this guy dumb down routes for the 'masses'?

We're not letting him do it. The National Park belongs to all people, and sometimes sociopaths break free from their asylum confinement, and come to Yosemite and go even crazier. We, the other climbers, do not have the right, or the authority to physically stop Mr. Sloan from using the National Park as he sees fit. If he breaks the law (i.e., power drilling) that could be brought to the attention of the authorities, who might sympathetically ban him from all National Parks for life.

Really, the issue is that Mr. Sloan should be able to control his psychotic urges to drill the hell out of every route he climbs. He should be able to police his own actions, especially after so many people have indicated to him that what he's doing is wrong. The climbing community has a long tradition of having respect for other climbers' routes. Sloan's Nanooking of existing routes is a rather new phenomenon, and seems to be largely restricted to just him, for now.

The reason it's new phenomenon is that in the old days, if he'd Nanooked just one route, the locals would have punched him out, and thrown his gear off the El Capitan bridge and into the river. If he'd Nanooked a second route, he would've gotten punched out and then thrown into the river himself.

What do you suggest the community "do" to curtail the damage?

We might try getting together a petition, wherein we demonstrate, in writing, that the vast majority of climbers don't approve of what Erik is doing to existing routes, and we want him to stop.

Erik claims that "currently active climbers", and those "in the Valley right now" are all really stoked to get onto routes that have been dumbed down.

So, even a petition might not work. Erik might rationalize that most or all of the signatories are old fogey has-beenians who don't climb anymore. He might then invoke the WOOT WOOT club, a bunch of pansy-assed narcissists who want to say:

Yeah. I did Jolly Roger. I don't know why people make such a big deal about that route. The free climbing has a big bolt every five or ten feet. The route goes totally clean. It's just a clip-up. There were no hook, copperhead or piton moves at all. The FA team must have been really weak, to call it A5. Guys back then must have not had any sack at all.

overwatch

climber

Oct 19, 2015 - 11:30am PT

I would think his admissions would be enough for banning from the park. Like others have said, if they kicked Chongo out...

Club

climber

Birmingham

Oct 19, 2015 - 11:31am PT

Just take him out-Woot! Woot!

That's what I do. Over 2000 now, 17 years and still going.
Feel the stoke!

Get after it. Woot!

MC

Tom

Big Wall climber

San Luis Obispo CA

Oct 19, 2015 - 11:48am PT

He solos routes, and thus minimizes witnesses. He also retrobolts on rappel, according to what he has said in this forum.

He'll sometimes climb with unsuspecting noobs. One of them posted above, and claimed that Erik was putting in 3/8" belay bolts on a Tangerine Trip rivet ladder, but not using a power drill that time.

A few people who have climbed with him and seen his tactics have posted here to declaim any further association with him.

I would think his admissions would be enough for banning from the park. Like others have said, if they kicked Chongo out...

There was a whole due-process thing with Chongo. It was demonstrated that he was living the National Park illegally. It took many years of people trying to get rid of him.

If people can video tape Nanook in action, that evidence could be used to convince a Federal judge to ban him. For sure, if just the threat of being filmed caused him to not use a power drill, that would be a 90% improvement.

Lloyd Campbell

Social climber

St. Cloud, MN

Oct 19, 2015 - 12:06pm PT

Good luck. The guy is a complete reverse-Ken Nichols from the sound of it.
Big problem in climbing when someone decides to do whatever they want and everybody else can go to hell. The only way to deal with it is retaliation and retribution for the offending acts. Chop the bolts, chop his routes, pull the Alcove rope. He'll get the message eventually.

I would also add I'm really sick and tired of guys like this using the adoration of gutless nOObs slobbering over how he overprotected something as some kind of confirmation that he's doing the right thing.

overwatch

climber

Oct 19, 2015 - 12:16pm PT

Keep your day job, Crusty Cur

donini

Trad climber

Ouray, Colorado

Oct 19, 2015 - 01:19pm PT

Power drills make a lot of noise, the Valley is small and Rangers abound.....how does anyone get away with using one? Hell, I got lectured for leaving a power bar on the back seat of my car.

c wilmot

climber

Oct 19, 2015 - 01:27pm PT

I worked the valley trails for a few years with the NPS. We used roto hammers all the time and generators to power them. The valley has a way of hiding noise. To clarify some misconceptions the Park service in Yosemite does not follow the wilderness act in the same manner as other parks. Power tools are used in the wilderness.

wstmrnclmr

Trad climber

Bolinas, CA

Oct 19, 2015 - 02:24pm PT

Mike,
I respect your opinion because it sounds like you are one of those doing the hard work and you are right that not mentioning solutions is so much hot air although I would still argue that Sloan is still out there doing what he's doing largely unimpeded and has been for some time. The reason I'm interested is because I too am involved in rebolting but have been reluctant to help on El Cap because it is a tough neighborhood and I've spoken to those who work harder than I do and they feel the same. I think you and I may be brothers in arms and the fact remains, as you say, that the few doing the heavy lifting have a hard time keeping up with power drill desicration.
So solutions....A friend in Jtree just told me about an effort between the NPS and volunteers to allow power drills for bolt replacement there. I will get more info on this (maybe someone here knows more). Maybe this is a pilot project but I'm wondering if NPS in Yosemite has been approached about allowing power drills for replacement work. Can you imagine one on the hands of Roger Brown? I'd be up there helping him in a heart beat and that's not talk. Set him loose on El Cap and it would get done.
But people really need to rally and meet with Sloan in person and set him straight if possible. Call a meeting here online. He's communicating.
El Cap has a lot of replacement but it's a tricky thing due to style and intracacies not present in other simpler forms. So my approach would be to ask to meet with Sloan directly here and then find out about what's happening in JTree. If I had a power drill and direction from those like you Mike that know, I'd be right beside you.

brotherbbock

Trad climber

Alta Loma, CA

Oct 19, 2015 - 02:31pm PT

How much of his own personal money has Erik spent on his bolting jobs?

the Fet

climber

Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La

Oct 19, 2015 - 02:42pm PT

Erik I appreciate the work you've done and the money you've spent to replace the bolts than need replacing.

But you should really examine your ethics because you are NOT getting it. This goes to the heart of climbing and WHY we climb. One of the big reasons why we climb is because it's challenging. You have no right to change the challenge of a climb someone else put up.

Yes I advocate changing/adding bolt locations if the original locations are a)either too far apart for shorter folks b) are not in the best spot(many old anchors were drilled very close together, with two bolts within 10" of each other).

Changing bolts too far apart for shorter folks is B.S. Let me guess you are short? Get a stick clip. Don't change the difficulty of a pitch, period.

It seems since you have some flexibility in your ethics and it leads to other times you justify adding a bolt where you shouldn't like the 3rd pitch of The Nose. That pod was too hard to free climb or it was tricky aid so just put a bolt in, right? Wrong. You are removing that challenge that nature provided for the thousands of people that climb the route after you.

I've added a few handfuls of bolts to climbs over the years. These could easily be removed.

No they can't because no one knows all the bolts you added. Like on the 3rd pitch of The Nose. People will just clip that bolt, not knowing that a unique challenge that spot previously presented is gone and now instead of the crux and most memorable part of that pitch it's a forgettable A0 bolt clip.

Studly

Trad climber

Oct 19, 2015 - 02:48pm PT

Its the fine line between maintaining fixed gear and anchors and the animosity that comes with any change. The guy doing the work feels he has some artistic license for the effort, while the armchair mountaineers lodge complaints like salvos across the bow. I've seen it a thousand times..

WBraun

climber

Oct 19, 2015 - 02:52pm PT

the Fet to Eric -- "Let me guess you are short?"

You definitely are guessing ......

Wade Icey

Trad climber

www.alohashirtrescue.com

Oct 19, 2015 - 02:58pm PT

the line between maintaining fixed gear and adding gear is not a fine one. Nor is the line between artistic license and vandalism. And the assumption that anyone or everyone posting to this thread is an armchair mountaineer or an old codger is just that, an assumption.

Jon Beck

Trad climber

Oceanside

Oct 19, 2015 - 03:12pm PT

I got lectured for leaving a power bar on the back seat of my car.

damn Jim, that is a major faux pas, how do you manage to find partners?

JLP

Social climber

The internet

Oct 19, 2015 - 05:14pm PT

The slander, logical fallacies, lies and misinformation in this thread have rendered it and all opinions expressed within as totally worthless.

You all get an F for effecting a change.

F is for f'tard...

August West

Trad climber

Where the wind blows strange

Oct 19, 2015 - 05:17pm PT

Again, if the decisions made by the first ascent party aren't to govern the route after the first ascent, then what will govern it? What rule will apply?

If this rule isn't valid, then can a route be changed after the first ascent by consensus? If so, how strong a consensus, and who decides? How is a consensus to be formed? Would a consensus to make a route more dangerous require a stronger consensus?

I agree this is a reasonable argument. The FA can act as a final arbiter on any changes as long as the FA is alive and of a reasonable sound mind and the climbing community generally respects this rule. However, as already pointed out, there are some major trade routes where bolts got added (and are still there) anyway. And at some point, the FA won't be alive to act as a final arbiter.

I grant that there is a huge pragmatic difficulty in knowing what a given community wants in a specific case. However, on idealistic grounds, I think that if there is an overwhelming majority, then the minority should respect it. If 95% or more of the climbers at a given area/route would like gear belays changed to bolted belays, then I don't think the tyranny of the 5% should prevent it. And yes, it is still possible to build a natural anchor.

Adding bolts should, of course, always be done judiciously. But I would say that the same argument should be made before chopping them.