Have Drill, Will Travel

Good for you guys Rav!:) Can't wait to see what I'm missing out on...maybe you'll have some good stories behind some of the route names for us. Be safe young man...be safe!

Don't use the willy stick!
Licentia Haud Vestigium

I definitely need a willy stick. Will try to be safe. Am definitely not young anymore. Will try to get some good pix.

I don't get it. Take time to 'hook and aid up, bolt away at some rocks and later think about 'sending' some sweet new long routes somewhere along the line? Another new manufactured playground for sport climbs is it? Yes, I'm baffled at this way of life, that's for sure. No wonder I don't read or post on many, many posts on this site.

WC, you're baffled by multi-pitch sport routes? A lot of CLASSIC free climbs started out as Aid nail ups...and the scarring from those "traditionalists" is what made it even possible to passively protect some of those lines.

Oh that I know, I understand. That was a result of the lack of 5.12+ abilities in those days, and limited gear tech of the time, that resulted in the routes later going free with the aid of previous bolts. They tried their best first to succeed without bolting. Many of those bolts were sadly, hesitatingly placed against the personal wishes of the actual climber. They gave it their best on a natural line and aided when desperation became the issue. Often with no easy retreat possible.
I'm just not impressed with the intentional, casual bolt, bolt, bolt up something with the only intention being to create a protected region for future 'sport' routes. Sorry, just against my philosophy of rock and nature.

That's cool WC! I guess I'm just as equally baffled by the philosophy of which you speak.

Let me put my 2 cents in, WC. Probably you'll disagree: In the U.S. there are plenty of long, moderate sport routes for beginning or chronically bad climbers. So it makes sense to question 'yet another long bolt line'. In Chile there are virtually none - yet at the same time the sport is growing in popularity - much as it did in the States in the 80's. There have been a lot of senseless deaths in Chile recently, because one is forced into adventure climbing.

My idea is to provide some nice, long, safe routes for everyone else. The climbing federations agree with us and are providing money to equip SOME cliffs. We would never touch anybody else's route and would never bolt in an established trad area. Let's face it, the best climbers in the world come from countries where it's easy to get strong on safe climbs before cranking it up a notch and getting adventurous.

The locals like the idea, the guy running the hut loves the idea, since I have a toddler at the base of the cliff these days I like the idea.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.