At the Cluan Tier yesterday, I noticed that a new bolt had appeared; a single bolt with a red tag to mark a potential project. This behaviour is unacceptable. It looks as if someone has placed the bolt off the ground 2m up the line, red tagged it and claimed it as their project. The route has not been cleaned and there are no other bolts. To stake your claim on a project, I would have thought that abseiling and cleaning the line, then top-roping it to see if it goes, then placing all the bolts would be the minimum requirment. The red tag has been removed, and next time I'm up there, I'll clean it and bolt it myself.
Gerry Narkowicz

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2 Comments

  1. brett banister

    Now you ARE getting carried away, buddy !!!

    Cluan is an ave pile of choss , and if someone has scoped a line , that does 'need' bolts , before you saw the route potential, then GOOD ON 'EM !!!

    A bolt with tape sounds MUCH better than the Nowra chained-on old tyre.

    You will self-erode the support you have fought for , amongst the quiet ' middle ground ' , in the bolting-wars thing, with your new self-appointed policing activities .

    Do ur self a Molly Meldrum, get ur self an XR250 , and get things in perspective, mate !!! (big grin)

    If you can look after the integrity of the Ben Massif , ur doing well ... leave the choss for the vultures .

    Good Luck with it !!!

    Me an Travis an my god-father, dalia (he's a mod on Chockstone ) will be coming to Frews in January to decapitate a few wombats , sh#g a swag of northern girls an establish a 5.13 finger tips classic !!! (big grin)

    Dalia sez we gunna uz crack'n'ups , or sumfin like that, to protect the route , like Flange Desire at Frog Buttress , all because we respect the bolt ban .

    Watch out crossing th street in Lawnceston cos th mighty XR250 Red Devil will be comin thru !!!! (big grin)

    RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA !!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. Gerry Narkowicz AUTHOR

      Seems there were extenuating circumstances. The bolter in question got hit by a snow blizzard after he placed the first bolt, thus preventing him from rapping to bolt the rest of the line, plus his drill bit broke while putting the first bolt in. Fair enough. However, I have heard stories of deliberate placing of one bolt at the bottom of a potential line to claim a project, both at Tasmanian crags and on the mainland. It is this practice that I am criticising. To stake your claim on a line, you should clean it, top-rope it and fully bolt it, before red tagging it as a project.