Ugly gouge marks from pulling ropes

[johnswelchvi]

Last fall I spent a few days going down Spry, Mystery and Pine Creek canyons in Zion. I had a great trip, but was dismayed by the deep gouge marks being made when people pull ropes over ledges to the anchor. I've been trying to find solutions to this problem. I came up with a technique for extending the anchor below the ledge and still retrieving the extension. For ease of access, I put pictures of this, and every other solution I've come up with, on a web site.

Other solutions that I've found include using really long webbing to extend the anchor, but this gets expensive and is really ugly. You can use the macramé knot on a sling, but not everyone seems wild about this. If you know you can pull the anchor (ie you are rapping off a tree) you can use two rapides on a long sling with a pull line. But this only works for raps off trees and horns, not bolts or other fixed points. You can rap off a flicker knot or a flicker dowel, but I'm not real comfortable with this just yet, especially for long raps.

Any other ideas???

John Welch
www.geocities.com/welchworks@sbcglobal.net/home

[mtngoat59102]

The problem you state is not a new one. The canyons you mention are frequently traveled and considered to be easier venues that tend to attract not only the masses but the less experienced. Rope grooves are a common issue and something that anchor builders need to do their best to avoid. Extending the anchor past the lip to create a better pull is common. The downside is that this makes for scary starts in some instances not well suited to novices and the canyons you mentioned.

I read your blurb on the Macrame'; I might suggest just using a friction hitch for the party to descend on and then have the last person tie the macrame' and descend. Repeated use of the macrame' can aid in it being more difficult to release.

YMMV,
Neil

[ratagonia]

While it is noble to not personally add to the rope pull grooves, the real problem is to have ALL parties not add to the rope pull grooves. So using extended anchors, macrames, dowels etc may be useful for the first, but do little for the second.

This is a common problem in land management. Do you (or the land manager; or us, discussing how to minimize impacts) leave things alone (let things run naturally) and allow impacts to develop and accumulate. OR do we actively manage the 'natural' environment in the interest of maintaining a natural appearance.

There is no answer to this - it is a sliding scale, and a matter of personal taste. In Zion's canyons, it has come down to: "when do we place good, solid and carefully located drilled anchors (very unnatural) in order to maintain a natural appearance (except for the bolt) in the canyon".

Tom

[hank_moon]

Tom's post is spot on. But I'll go a little further and say that bolts should be placed "anywhere they are truly needed - and before it's too late" (where/whenever that is). :rolleyes:

Check out this photo (http://www.caves.org/soapbox/attachment.php?attachmentid=187&stc=1) of in-cave grooves in limestone.

[johnswelchvi]

Tom,

I’ve been meaning to write about canyoneering ethic for some time, especially the problem of bolting. Since you’ve called me out, I’ll finally put pen to paper as it were.

I think you’re right; there is both a public and a private ethic. The private ethic says that when I descend a canyon, climb a mountain or camp in the woods, I should leave as little trace of my visit as possible. Not only that, but I should clean up the mess someone else may have left behind by packing out trash and burying old fire-rings. In recent years I’ve taken to bringing an extra trash bag exclusively for this purpose and managed to nearly fill it on a trip to Mt. Whitney. The “Leave No Trace� motto is always the standard. However, let’s be honest, even with care we leave footprints, skin oil in the water, anchors and pull marks. I’d like to avoid my own impact as much as possible by using natural anchors, releasable anchoring devices and extenders to cut down on abandoned equipment and unsightly pull scars. Still I know the mere presence of people in remote places undoubtedly changes fragile and isolated ecosystems and small blotches on a pristine canvas can blight the whole.

This leads to the public ethic. The community of canyoneers, climbers and mountaineers must ask how they can minimize the impact of many people moving through the wilderness. This is, as you say, a management issue. And while it may feel inappropriate to “manage� wilderness (it is wild after all), it’s what a community of canyoneers and climbers must do to maintain access to their treasured places. The wilderness must remain wild to be worth entering. Furthermore, the local political community must not come to think of these activities as unnecessarily reckless and destructive or like B.A.S.E. jumping and skateboarding, they will be mandated against.

I think at the core of your question is the issue of bolting. I’m not a fan of bolting. My introduction to ropecraft was learning traditional alpine rock climbing. I quickly came to enjoy the solitude of unspoiled, long climbs with only the occasional ancient piton to pull out as a memento of the trip. My partner and I preferred to place our own protection rather than climb on bolts. This granted us greater freedom to explore the mountains and greater autonomy in our climb. Mountaineering and canyoneering are fundamentally about independence. You go into the wilderness to learn about yourself, your skill and your stamina. By using someone else’s anchors, you give up a critical part of establishing your own route and taking responsibility for your own safety. Still, I think there is a role for bolts. They do scar the rock, but the question is, does a well-placed bolt in a high trafficked canyon prevent more destruction than it creates? Is there a precedent for this kind of obvious human impact to decrease a greater impact? I think there is.

There is nothing like a trail across the face of a mountain to scar the whole thing. You could easily make the argument that trails are ugly blights in the woods and on mountainsides. And they are. However, a single well maintained trail is much less invasive and erosion-prone than the destructive cow paths that ensue when many people each cut their own route. Trails also grant a level of safety to traverses and mountain passages. Bolts may have a similar function. They provide a well-trod anchor that can be repetitively used with little further impact. It therefore behooves the anchor placer to use care and skill in designing the anchor for safety and minimal subsequent impact.

This does not mean I should like to see trails and bolts everywhere. I am happiest climbing tall alpine peaks where trails are not established and where I can take responsibility for my own route. Recently I have extended my creative autonomy to sewing my own gear. Like Reinhold Mesner, I agree we should climb “by fair means or by none at all.� Independence and self-reliance are integral to the wilderness experience. People who call from cell-phones for rescue because they are tired or sprained an ankle have no business leaving the asphalt tourist trails.

I agree with the discussion (http://www.canyoneeringusa.com/rave/0308eng/) on natural anchors in Englestead canyon. There are many areas where a natural anchor could be constructed. However, “natural� anchors constructed like this are arguably no less ugly and obvious than two small bolts. In this specific example, they mention a log thirty-feet up-canyon that provides a superior anchor to the jerry-rigged anchor shown. This would be great, but I’m still looking for techniques that use the log up-canyon without leaving pull marks at the lip, which are uglier than the would-be two bolts. There is also the safety factor. While bolts may be intrusive, damaging and obnoxious, I think their impact is pretty small compared with the damage of a rescue operation should a frequently used marginal natural anchor fail.

That being said, there is a lot of unnecessary bolting occurring. In Mystery canyon we rapped off two bolts placed next to a very fine wedged log that could easily be used instead. The worst example I’ve seen is in Pine Creek where you can rap into The Cathedral either off a very well located, solid log or from a chain. The chain is placed for maximum pull scars and is itself scarring the rock as it swings back and forth.

Like Yvon Chouinard, I hope canyoneering and mountaineering will not be destroyed by the availability of lots of fancy equipment. “We are entering a new era of climbing, an era that may well be characterized by incredible advances in equipment, by the overcoming of great difficulties, with even greater technological wizardry, and by the rendering of the mountains to a low, though democratic, mean. Or it could be the start of more spiritual climbing, where we assault the mountains with less equipment and with more awareness, more experience and more courage.�(1).

Finally, there is the question of training up the next generation. If every difficult drop is bolted, where will people learn techniques needed to get themselves down an unbolted canyon or out of a jam? (Heaven help you if an expected bolt should go missing, scoured off the canyon wall by a flood or a renegade bolt cutter.) First, there is no definitive canyoneering text. I understand one is underway and look forward to reading it. In the mean time, I’m glad to see technique cross-pollination on blogs and web sites. Second, from trips down Zion canyons and emails with other canyoneers, I’m concerned about the skill and care the Zion fare use when approaching anchors. On my last trip we cut down a lot of very old looking webbing and pulled a few very sketchy looking rap rings. In an email from Shane Burrows, he indicated that he found his webbing tied into anchors in Echo canyon four years after placing it. This is poor form and asking for trouble. The rule I was taught was always to cut everything and put up new webbing. On rarely climbed alpine routes this makes enough sense. In Zion, where four-something parties descend a single canyon every day, it is tempting to think the webbing must be relatively new and therefore safe. I fear there may be too many people taking complacent attitudes toward their anchors.

Does bolting a highly trafficked canyon prevent people from learning and testing natural anchor systems? Not necessarily. You don’t have to use the bolts. On any drop you could set up a natural anchor and back it up on the bolts if you’d like. I’m relatively new to canyoneering and in my rock-climbing years I never learned to place a bolt properly. On previous canyon trips I’ve mostly rapped off the bolts. Maybe in the future I’ll actually learn to place a bolt so I can get out of an otherwise rescue-requiring jam, but for now I’ll look to alternatives that are creative and minimize my own impact even when bolts are available. After all, building your own anchors is an essential part of route finding. It would be shameful to always concede such a critical creative element of the canyoneering experience to someone you’ve never met.

John

(1) Mountaineering, The Freedom of the Hills 7th edition Cox Steven M and Fulsaas Kris ed. The Mountaineers, Seattle, 2003. Page 132, quoting Chouinard, Yvon, “Coonayard Mouths Off� Ascent 1972.

[ratagonia]

Tom,

I’ve been meaning to write about canyoneering ethic for some time, especially the problem of bolting. Since you’ve called me out, I’ll finally put pen to paper as it were.

.

Beautifully stated, John.

Tom

[ratagonia]

... Second, from trips down Zion canyons and emails with other canyoneers, I’m concerned about the skill and care the Zion fare use when approaching anchors. On my last trip we cut down a lot of very old looking webbing and pulled a few very sketchy looking rap rings. In an email from Shane Burrows, he indicated that he found his webbing tied into anchors in Echo canyon four years after placing it. This is poor form and asking for trouble. The rule I was taught was always to cut everything and put up new webbing. On rarely climbed alpine routes this makes enough sense. In Zion, where four-something parties descend a single canyon every day, it is tempting to think the webbing must be relatively new and therefore safe. I fear there may be too many people taking complacent attitudes toward their anchors.

...

Has been discussed at some length before. "Replace webbing every time" is a simplistic rule, and is obviously conservative, assuming you can tie the knots right every time.

I suggest people get in the habit of carefully inspecting the webbing, and replacing when necessary. Please please please remove the crappy stuff and carry it out.

And John, please realize that your judgement of when the webbing is crap and my judgement may be different - so please don't consider me "unsafe", "reckless" or "inexperienced" for being happy with a piece of webbing that you are not happy with and replace.

Tom

[johnswelchvi]

No offense intended. If it makes you feel better I have also occasionally rapped of what looked like very new webbing found at an anchor. Certainly good judgment is required. I guess I was just surprised at the state of some of the webbing and rap rings (http://www.geocities.com/welchworks@sbcglobal.net/bolting_ethics.html) and wondered who had the courage to rap of it last. Seems like they made it, as the stuff was still intact. So, maybe I’ve overstated my case.

John

[ratagonia]

No offense intended. If it makes you feel better I have also occasionally rapped of what looked like very new webbing found at an anchor. Certainly good judgment is required. I guess I was just surprised at the state of some of the webbing and rap rings (http://www.geocities.com/welchworks@sbcglobal.net/bolting_ethics.html) and wondered who had the courage to rap of it last. Seems like they made it, as the stuff was still intact. So, maybe I’ve overstated my case.

John

The rap ring shown is a good case in point. Sure, I definitely over-think things - I am a mechanical engineer with 20 years work in the climbing industry. The ring shown has some deep groove marks and is ready for replacement, but how strong is it? If it is steel, it is most likely (****) still plenty strong for rappelling.

But let's get back to the main point - people should not blindly trust the stuff that is there, but develop a sense of judgment, replace stuff before it gets too dodgy, and rig it correctly.

And the original point: When figuring out anchors, folks should choose locations that will minimize rope grooves in the rock.

Tom

[rcwild]

... people should not blindly trust the stuff that is there, but develop a sense of judgment, replace stuff before it gets too dodgy, and rig it correctly.

Yeah, but ...

Ultimately, yes, everyone should develop a sense of judgment. But good judgment does not develop overnight. It takes time. So what advice should be provided to beginners? Or provided broadband when it is certain that a significant percentage of the people reading the advice are beginners?

Inspect the webbing, the knots, the rings, everything ... IF you know what to look for and have developed the necessary judgment. If you have any doubts whatsoever -- in the material or in your ability to evaluate it -- REPLACE IT. Webbing is cheap.