There is a bit of debate over on UKClimbing at the moment on abseil station at Gogarth, what started as a good question about replacing the existing rope and malion with a new one, quickly deteriorated into yet another bolt debate thread. I really didn’t want to get involved with the bun fight over their. With people debating whether the Castle Helen Abseil point should be bolted.
Really? Have these people been there, if so do they have eyes, and if so are they actually using them? There are about four pegs in the belay, and it take less than two minutes to equalise another two wires (7 and 9 if I remember?) with a 16ft Sling. It is probably the safest abseil at Gogarth, and if you can’t make your own belay to get yourself down, then the seriousness of the climbing at Gogarth probably means you shouldn’t be heading down their.
Since Castell Helen is the easiest cliff to climb on, to me having a scary abseil where you need to make a decision as to whether the belay is safe, and how you can make it safe is a very good filter of experience. Its a bit like the height law at theme parks, those under 4ft can’t ride. Unfortunately there is no fairground attendant to police the rule at gogarth, so the Abseil Point becomes an excellent self policing barrier.
If you up this then you eventually get to the abseil into Cilan Main Cliff, which consists of 5 threaded rabbit warrens, and a whole brace of terror on the way down. The point is that it keeps the idiots that would kill themselves trying to climb out of the easiest route a long and serious E4, very safe at the top of the cliff, wonder how the hell you get down safely.
With the advent of climbing walls there is a growing group of climbers that are very strong and capable climbers, however they haven’t made mistakes on the easiest routes, where those mistakes are a little more forgiving, they have jumped straight onto a wild stallion, and are hanging on for there life, not actually aware of how they are going to break the beast in. If you want a get rich quick, fast food and cotton wool filled world then go for bolts.
If like many of us who climb and you want a bit of danger in your life, then places like Gogarth are our wembley stadium, they are the MCC, the twickenham or more appropriately our Cardiff Arms Park. It is where we as climbers shows ourselves that we the have courage and determination, where we use all our skills to conquer our own seaside Everest. At the end of the day climbing is dangerous, it kills people every year, and if you think putting bolts makes it safer, then think about this little observation.
I have been in the llanberis rescue team for a few years now, and since the quarries were re-equipped, and new routes that were more akin to sports climbs put up, there seem to have been far more accidents than we usually get in the quarries. So bolts make it safer, do they? What a bolt does is give someone without the experience or necessary judgement the ability to get to places they probably shouldn’t be, trespassing in the deep end of the adventure pool.
Anyway that’s my opinion on the matter anyway