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Personally, I'm not concerned about "cheating" (I've "cheated"/aided plenty of rocks that I was too fat to climb), but personally I don't really like the idea of drones in wild places. I hope they don't become commonplace.
Last edited by Scott P on Wed Jul 08, 2015 10:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
I'm old, slow and fat. Unfortunately, those are my good qualities.
In this thread: people who toprope moderate sport routes giving their opinion on first ascent ethics of adventure routes
- A mountain is not a checkbox to be ticked
- Alpinism and mountaineering are not restricted to 14,000 foot mountains
- Judgment and experience are the two most important pieces of gear you own
- Being honest to yourself and others about your abilities is a characteristic of experienced climbers
- Courage cannot be bought at REI or carried with you in your rucksack
twhalm wrote:They just got a first ascent on a choss tower
No they didn't.
Haha. Um, then who did????
Nobody yet. I know he's a member here, and I'm sure he's an awesome guy, and this was a fun project to do with a drone, and kudos for not grid-bolting the rock, but that does not negate the fact that they were using a drone as an integral part of getting to the top, which invalidates this as a climbing/mountaineering activity. I have absolutely no problem with doing stuff like this, but calling it a first ascent is just silly. Would you have called it a first ascent if they built a scaffolding to surmount the overhang ? Or hired a helicopter to rappel a foot below the summit ?
I don't give a flying !#@ that they used a flying !#@ to claim the FA of some choss pile that no one in their right mind would try to free climb. But I am sick of hearing about it all over the place though. First it was on the e-mail newsletter from Climbing magazine, then someone who's offended by their style started a thread on 14ers.com, and yesterday I heard it on NPR. Will we see TV interviews next? It's really not such a big deal. It's a FA of a giant pile of mud that I for one don't really care. If you care so much about the style of the FA, then go do it in better style. Maybe free it and claim the FFA. End of the story.
"Getting to the bottom, OPTIONAL. Getting to the top, MANDATORY!" - The Wisest Trail Sign
