Posted by Paul (69.146.25.165) on December 01, 2004 at 12:49:49:
In Reply to: The Texas Mountaineer - Nov/Dec 2004 Issue posted by Arne G/Texas Mountaineers on December 01, 2004 at 09:54:39:
Arne, thanks for caring about Quartz. I'm glad it has fans in Texas, and kudos for your involvement in the climbing community down there. My forthcoming differences of opinion notwithstanding, I’m glad that you’ve approached the issue in a public forum. Other OK climbers who have been around a long time have not paid the community the same courtesy when they felt the need to add or remove anchors in the Refuge without a permit or change bolt positions on others’ routes for their own projects. I’m psyched to see you got Duane Raleigh to weigh in on things. I am also concerned about some of the sentiments you are using your position as editor of the Texas Mountaineers newsletter to promote. You issued the following statements in your editorial preceding Raleigh's article:
“To me, soloing is stupid”
“Climbing a 70-foot solo from the ground up is not necessary to prepare you for a long run-out you may encounter on the fourth pitch of a long multi-pitch route.”
Really? I would say it’s great preparation. Maybe you're more of a Texas Cragger than a Texas Mountaineer. Sorry if that's a bit harsh, but consider that Snakes Head at Quartz is comparable in difficulty and commitment to the friction pitch on the Upper Exum in the Tetons, and BSD is like a long sections of venerated backcountry routes in areas like the Tobacco Root mountains of Montana or Cochise Stronghold in Arizona (both facing their own bolting problems). For climbers who have aspirations beyond Oklahoma and Texas cragging, routes like Snakeshead, BSD, and Amazon Woman are invaluable. You complain that BSD is out of context and out of reach for anyone but the loony hardman solo climber too talented or too stupid to care about the lack of bolts. I disagree, both with your opinion that soloing is stupid, and your assertion that only 5.10 leaders can climb BSD—In the mountains running it out (with consequences tantamount to soloing) is often necessary, even on moderate “trade” routes. In many instances, if you can’t cruise moderate terrain with little or no gear then you can’t complete a route, and unlike Quartz, most of the time rapping off isn’t an option, and storms and getting benighted are a big part of the equation. My first big road trips out of OK and first long routes were in the aforementioned areas, and because I had learned to climb on heady Oklahoma routes, and not in the gym or safety-bolted crags, I could run it out on 5.8 when that was about as hard as I could lead. I also found that committing rock climbing was good preparation for ice climbing, where running it out in a race against the pump is an unsettling and not uncommon predicament. Additionally, I’ve found that even when I’m not progressing in the grades I continue to become more proficient and comfortable in the grades I can climb. Perhaps when you’ve got more years under your harness, you’ll find this to be true as well, especially at areas like Quartz where experience and technique will trump training and power, every time. And you can still climb BSD or Amazon Woman, top-roping is always good style!
I'd like to juxtapose your comments in the newsletter with these from Duane Raleigh a couple pages later:
“Sometimes you just gotta sack up and climb”
“Consider what Quartz is, not what you want it to be”
I would further offer: consider what climbing is, not what you want it to be.