r/climbing • u/AutoModerator • 23d ago
Daily Discussion Thread: spray/circlejerk/memes/chat/whatever allowed All Questions Allowed
Welcome to /r/climbing's Daily Discussion Thread, a thread for questions and comments everyone wants to make but don't warrant their own thread.
Have a question about what color carabiner speaks to your soul? Want to talk some smack about pebble wrestlers? Wondering how chalk buckets work? Really proud of that thing you did? Just discover a meme older than most of our users? Awesome! Post that noise here.
**If you have a more serious question about climbing gear, technique, systems, etc. check out our Weekly New Climber Thread.**
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u/Dotrue 22d ago edited 22d ago
The number of sketchy things I've seen at crags has absolutely skyrocketed in recent years. It seems like a good chunk of it stems from either ignorance of potential dangers, or lack of awareness.
A few weeks ago I witnessed a person climb a classic finger crack, get off route, barely place any gear, and then complain/brag to his partner about how sketchy it was. This person was at risk of decking until he was probably 50 ft up. Like maybe if you placed more than 4 pieces in a 70 ft route, adequately protected the crux, stayed on route, wore a helmet, and had a competent belayer it wouldn't have been sketchy.
Consult the guidebook, consult MP, talk to locals, and then look critically at the route before you commit to it, and you'll avoid 90% of problems. And if something feels off? Bail! Downclimb! There's no shame in either! If you can't handle climbing in no-fall territory, maybe the route is above your pay grade. There are tons of things that influence climbing that have nothing to do with our physical ability to do the moves.
I'm not specifically referring to that bolting post, I'm just ranting.