honesty, trait of a good climber.

When I climbed Chalkstorm, an mildly infamous route which has destroyed a few ankles of people I know in it's time (3 and my last count, and one was air lifted out), there was a big psychological barrier for me on it. I was climbing really well (for me) and seeing as it is a 5c slab climb it should really be me thing. Earlier that morning I'd also done Appaloosa Sunset, also graded E3 5c. This is a longer grit route found on the third cloud in front of the Roaches. Actually it's probably in front of skyline area but who cares. Appaloosa sunset was an awesome route in every sense for me. It was long (enough), hard and had enough of a risk that I really didn't want to fall off. It's a wall climb, like straight up and the crux is right in the middle of the slab and your gear is a long way off. If you mess it up your going for a swing but you'll be ok, maybe a bit battered and bruised. Basically Appaloosa was awesome.


So high off my success of Appaloosa I set off for Chalkstorm, seeing as I was climbing well. At the base, weary of the many people who I know who've messed up on it I decided that 1, I would NOT top-rope it, or abseil down it. I've never done it before and I don't see why I should start doing it now and 2, I would place side runners because the risk/gain ratio just wasn't worth it for a non side runner lead. I'll happily admit it. Instead I placed some side runners, probably reducing the grade to around E1, maybe even HVS by some peoples standards and lead it. It wasn't too bad but didn't really strike me and a route of merit. I can apprieciate that I didn't do it in what is percieved as the "best style" but who cares. I don't lead things for other people, I rather selfishly climb for well guess who, me! 


So I did the route in the style I felt most appropriate but in the looses sense of the word I'd still done Chalkstorm. I'd climbed up it, however when I comment or tell someone I climbed chalkstorm I always, always make sure I tell them that I did it onsight and placed side runners bringing the abjective grade down. 


This post was originally entitled "lying in climbing" but I decided against that because when someone does a route and doesn't comment of the 6 hours of top-rope practise they had before hand or the spare rope that was hanging by for them then they aren't lying, they still did the route, but they are NOT telling the whole truth. Maybe it is just a pet hate, or maybe it's something a little deeper but if you're honest about how you climbed something it means much more. I know plenty of people who've done this route and done that route and tell everyone that "today I climbed [insert route here]" and there is no mention of the pad that they placed beneath the start to protect the bad landing, or the abseil inspection and cleaning of holds, or the top-roping/redpointing they've been doing for the last 6 months, or the beta they received from a guy (or girl) who'd done the route previously. 


Maybe I'm being pedantic and all this is just silly. Maybe how you do something doesn't matter.