Bolt cutter in Central Mass.

javd wrote:I don't think anyone, unless they were there knows who cut the bolts.

Ken denied that he was chopping Farley, and I caught him red-handed in the act, even though he had a restraining order telling him specifically not to visit the property, much less chop bolts.

He is a zealot and a liar, a very bad combination.

Good luck you guys, that is a great crag, hate to see more bolt scars.

Brian wrote: CT plates: car is: 949-TPF pickup is: 53C-190.

THANKS Brian! This is great info!

There was recently a reliable sighting of KN at Podunk. By someone I trust. Seems to coincide with the chopping. Coincidence?

Do you know whether or not he's going in through private property off Podunk rd or State Forest from Sturbridge?

javd wrote:Do you know whether or not he's going in through private property off Podunk rd or State Forest from Sturbridge?

Jeff, I'm pretty sure he is going up the private road. He is not always in his car. Sometimes he climbs there with others.

I'd kick this guys ass.

No, you wouldn't

lol

I would post on the internet that I would kick that guy's ass.

Bill Shubert wrote:I would post on the internet that I would kick that guy's ass.

No you wouldn't.

I would F--- that guys ass.

mitchy wrote:I would F--- that guys ass.

Hum... in like a man love way?

Why hasn't there been a movement to chop the crappy old pitons and sketchy fixed gear floating around New England?

It seems completely backwards to me that one could take a stance against bolts, but not a 6-piece webbing/piton anchor in the middle of a cliff.

"Trad" as we all know, in New England, is simply a state of mind more than a reality...

Justin22 wrote:I'd kick this guys ass.

If I were going to, I wouldn't post it on the internet first ;)

I agree Jonathan. Pitons are nothing more than old fashion bolts.

The problem with Ken the Bolt Chopper is that he has severe mental health problems. This retard a legend in his own mind. The guy is in his 60's climbs exclusively in pajama bottoms, I think that summarizes his mental state.

javd wrote:I agree Jonathan. Pitons are nothing more than old fashion bolts. The problem with Ken the Bolt Chopper is that he has severe mental health problems. This retard a legend in his own mind. The guy is in his 60's climbs exclusively in pajama bottoms, I think that summarizes his mental state.

Slow down for a minute. While I can not justify the chopping of bolts, and would support the rule of democracy,the unrestricted placement of bolts (bolts instead of gear placements) has without a doubt lead to a lowest common denominator in the demands of climbing. Clipping a bombproof bolt and climbing upward towards the next often visible bolt is no way as taxing as placing your own piece,(hoping it is as good as it looks) and launching up towards the unknown. Whoever the bolt chopper is, however misguided, I do not think he is retarded. He, I would suggest is trying to protect what he sees as the integrity of a sport that he has devoted years of time and energy to (perhaps he should get a life) perhaps he is trying to protect this sport from those who would make it less. Ward had it right when he said he/them was a zealot. Of course this leaves the lingering question when you go off to climb why do you want to do so in a manner that does not demand the most from you?

I think I know the solution

I appologize, "retarded" is not politically correct.

He is a mental midget.

Just to clarify, in this case, the bolts were cut on a route that could not be safely lead with trad gear. It was a mixed 5.10 that required gear for the first half, then became run out and a potential for ground fall. Some of the bolts were left with sharp edges that were a hazard to climbing ropes. He also cut top rope anchors that were there to prevent damage to the trees. It was the only bolted route on the face.

His actions are jeopardizing access as access is through private property.

Jonathan Haggerty wrote:Why hasn't there been a movement to chop the crappy old pitons and sketchy fixed gear floating around New England? It seems completely backwards to me that one could take a stance against bolts, but not a 6-piece webbing/piton anchor in the middle of a cliff. "Trad" as we all know, in New England, is simply a state of mind more than a reality...

This is something that has always bothered me in my access discussions and time in an LCO. Trad folks are so quick to condemn bolting but then just as happy to leave Pitons and all the fixed crap tradies leave, as not a problem. It's a double standard really. IMO any discussions should be framed as fixed protection, not just bolting. To have a discussion about just bolting is to immediately polarize the issue between trad and sport.

The whole situation sucks and ya.. the guy is a zealot and clearly has some mental health issues. And I've shared a rope with dumb ass so I have some first hand exp to base that on...

javd wrote:I appologize, "retarded" is not politically correct. He is a mental midget. Just to clarify, in this case, the bolts were cut on a route that could not be safely lead with trad gear. It was a mixed 5.10 that required gear for the first half, then became run out and a potential for ground fall. Some of the bolts were left with sharp edges that were a hazard to climbing ropes. He also cut top rope anchors that were there to prevent damage to the trees. It was the only bolted route on the face. His actions are jeopardizing access as access is through private property.

Just to give another argument here from a different perspective. I haven't been living here (New England or the USA) long and only just got out on trap rock, which is great btw. I don't agree with bolting routes like this, in fact I think you should have trad crags and sport crags and not mix them but that's another issue.

There are days when you are able to control your fear and set out on a bold climb. The knowledge that gear is poor and there is ground fall potential makes it very hard to commit but once you do and keep it together, well these are the best and most rewarding climbing experiences I have had. They don't happen very often, so when they do they are very valuable. By bolting these climbs you are taking away the opportunity for someone to have this experience. Unfortunately this does require time and effort, experience and commitment. Some people say you could just not clip the bolt but the mere presence of the bolt reduces the commitment required to start up the route. Steep crags with no gear make excellent sport crags. Crags with a mixture of protectable and protectable but bold routes should remain trad.

I was interested in this Nichols character so I read some of the previous threads on here. There were comments like, placing gear takes time and sport climbing is so much quicker, why should I have to buy trad gear. I think it's this sort of selfish attitude, which is not one of safety but one of convenience that he is trying to protect against the encroachment off. I don't know enough of the location yet to make some individual judgements but from what I have seen so far, the bold routes wouldn't make interesting sport routes.

I'm not defending the guy's wholesale chopping of bolts as I think we should consider the bolting of crags on their individual merits. I'm just saying I can see why he does what he does. If I'd had the first ascent of a bold but not completely unprotectable route and someone just bolted it without even consulting me first I would be pretty pissed off too (I know it's not just his routes).

I can also see the frustration of people who's bolts keep getting chopped. Also if you are gonna chop you should damn well do it properly, just like if you're gonna place a bolt you should do it properly too. Sport climbing is fun there is no doubt about it and I am sure there are some great sport cliffs, I can't wait to get to Rumney. It's not an easy issue but I don't think you should be so quick to throw a strong ethical tradition away for convenient clip ups.

On another issue which people seem concerned about, the conservation of the trees on top of ragged but any bolted belay would be cut. In Britain in these situations, for example at the top of sea cliffs (strict no bolt ethic in most areas) where there is no rock or trees available to set up a belay we often hammer big steel stakes into the ground. These do not permanently change the ground like bolts do the rock and they probably last longer in most cases. Has this ever been thought about as a compromise?

I'm not trying to anger anyone with this post, just share a different perspective.