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acw
May 30, 2004, 9:16 PM
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I'm doing some writing and I've grown curious about the history of the bouldering pad. I've been out of touch with the sport for a long time, and I'm wondering if there was any sort of ethical debate about using pads to lessen the risk of high-ball boulder problems. I really wish we would have had them when I was bouldering in the late 70s to mid-80s. However, I'm pretty sure that there would have been an uproar if someone would have carried a bunch of mattresses below Midnight Lightning, for instance, in the early 80s to lessen the risk. I remember when I climbed it 20 years ago, most of the difficulty involved getting up the courage for the finishing moves with nothing but hard ground below. A stack of pads would have completely changed the nature of the problem. It's ironic, but during the same years that sport climbing developed, I would have considered any bouldering ascent "protected" by a pad to be highly questionable. Now it seems like a good thing Was there any controversy when bouldering pads became an accepted tool for repeating boulder problems established without them? Or was everyone so sick of the sport climbing vs. trad climbing debate that bouldering pads became standard fare without any controversy.
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c-money
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May 30, 2004, 10:08 PM
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Sport vs Trad controversy was regarding, in large part (as I understand it - I was of course not at "the Great Debate"), to the effects of bolting and other alterations to the rock. The use of a pad, while it may affect the ground/flora (and the popularity boom associated with the introduction of pads has certainly changed the climbing scene), does not really carry over to the same level of debate. The latest portable pads arguably leave less of an impact than the old carpets and bed-roll mats that still linger under the boulders in some areas. Is it a good idea? Fewer broken/sprained ankles, etc... Of course it is! I bet a lot of the old hardcore's wish they had a pad under them back in the day. Beyond the "you're a wuss if you use one" vs "enjoy your sore knees" argument, I am not sure what the debate/controversy would be about? It can get a little silly - the monster pads that get put down under some small boulders, but it is hard to argue against a trip to the hospital.
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sandbag
May 30, 2004, 10:14 PM
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Hell, i still remember people just bringing old couch cushions out to Rotary Park and the tropics etc..... If i had known that people would pay for 10lbs of $hit in a 5lb wrapper id have bought a sewing machine, nay, contracted with some 3rd world sewing shop to produce the bags that people now swear by. John Gill et al didnt use any crash pads, and from what i see, most of the people that still cant send those problems shouldnt be either ;)
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areyoumydude
May 30, 2004, 10:28 PM
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Crash pads are for sissies.
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andy_reagan
May 30, 2004, 10:44 PM
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sometimes I won't carry mine bc its unwieldy but I always regret it when I start doing problems that really should be protected...
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saskclimber
May 30, 2004, 10:52 PM
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In reply to: Crash pads are for sissies. It's hard to climb with broken legs, so I guess I'm a sissy.
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c-money
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May 30, 2004, 11:47 PM
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I think that was supposed to read "slacklines are for sissies."
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areyoumydude
May 31, 2004, 12:07 AM
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In reply to: I think that was supposed to read "slacklines are for sissies." Yea, slacklining can be for sissies. You must be talking from experence. I know I am a sissy when it comes to bouldering. I sometimes even use two pads.... way sissy. Don't be so uptight sissy boy.
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tahoe_rock_master
May 31, 2004, 12:26 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: Crash pads are for sissies. It's hard to climb with broken legs, so I guess I'm a sissy. That would make Tommy Caldwell a sissy too, as well as Sharma
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areyoumydude
May 31, 2004, 12:29 AM
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yep
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saskclimber
May 31, 2004, 2:32 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: In reply to: Crash pads are for sissies. It's hard to climb with broken legs, so I guess I'm a sissy. That would make Tommy Caldwell a sissy too, as well as Sharma Geez...I guess I'm in good company then. Anyone care to join me...I mean us? :D
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theboss
May 31, 2004, 2:44 AM
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Pads save your knees and back. Use them and climb longer. errrrr, maybe. In the past couple of years I saw some friends get pretty injured by the overuse of crashpads. Doubling crashpads seems to be a bad thing. You'd better reley on a singel pad and a few spotters than a stack of pads that will shatter away and ruin your ankles. G
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yezad
May 31, 2004, 2:57 AM
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How precisely are crash pads for sissies? By that logic why don't we just come out and say that ropes and quickdraws and cams etc. are for sissies. How about anything that keeps you from getting killed is designed solely for weaklings. That makes sense now doesn't it? As for the ethics around the advent of crash pads, I'm afraid that I'm not very knowledgeable about that, but why would it a safety feature, designed to allow climbers to climb with less risk of injury be considered unethical. I mean, I know part of the appeal of climbing is that it is a dangerous, potentially life-threatening sport and that danger has an appeal to it, but what kind of sport would climbing or bouldering be if no one could climb for an entire season due to broken limbs or worse? it's not like a crash pad is making bouldering easier or less challenging, it's just making falls less traumatic for the body. If anything I would say scientific/technological advances in shoes would be more unethical because they ARE actually making climbing easier by adding an unnatural advantage to the body. can anyone explain this to me? peace
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theboss
May 31, 2004, 3:05 AM
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The question is not how to make it easier for the body, but: how did it become easier for the mind. Did active protection, smashed pitons, glue-ins, toprope... make climbing easier? I think so. Same thing for crashpads. If you want to be rewarded for whatever repeat, stick to the ethics. Crash pads DO make a difference. G
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c-money
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May 31, 2004, 4:48 AM
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Stick to the ethics... well, what about spotters? If I had John Long spotting me, I might not worry about the landing either... Do spotters make bouldering easier? Sure they do. Does that make it wrong ethically?
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theboss
May 31, 2004, 9:27 AM
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Spotters won't help a lot when falling of a highball.
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climbingfreak45
May 31, 2004, 3:57 PM
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"Sissies of teh world unite". Ya, you can call me a coward, wimp, or a low down yellow bellied chicken. I DONT CARE, id rather not die.
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yezad
May 31, 2004, 4:01 PM
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In reply to: The question is not how to make it easier for the body, but: how did it become easier for the mind. I totally get where your coming from the psychological/mental strain placed on the climber is a huge part of the challenge, but I still think it's easy for a route to psyc you out once you're up there and faced with a crazy problem even if you do know that a fall won't kill you. And with anything but bouldering, even if you have set a bunch of pro, a fall might still kill you. No piece of protection give you a 100% guarantee that it'll catch you if you fall. THe only thing that gives that guarantee is the ground below you. So I think the psychological demands of climbing are still there, for the most part. peace
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andy_reagan
May 31, 2004, 5:13 PM
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In reply to: No piece of protection give you a 100% guarantee that it'll catch you if you fall The ground does.
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yezad
May 31, 2004, 5:16 PM
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yes...as stated in the next sentence of my previous post :wink:
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andy_reagan
May 31, 2004, 5:18 PM
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yo dude edit your peice so i look clever.
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yezad
May 31, 2004, 6:07 PM
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riiiiight. gotcha 8^)
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andy_reagan
May 31, 2004, 7:30 PM
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thumbsup
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curt
Jun 1, 2004, 8:07 PM
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Alan, Actually, mentioning Midnight Lightning reminded me that the very first "bouldering pad" I probably ever saw was the disgusting mattress that sat below Bachar Cracker many years ago--not too far away from M.L. in camp 4. I first started using bouldering pads when bouldering with Sherman and Chris Jones at Hueco. They had a couple of home made pads and an early prototype of a comercially available pad too--although I can no longer recall the manufacturer. Its hard for me to say if pads constitute cheating or not, but I'm old and don't want to get hurt--so I use them. I wish they would have been available earlier, in fact. Curt
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denmarkbob
Jun 1, 2004, 8:51 PM
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I bouldered for about 25 years without pads.We would talk about having them but never thought we would go through the hassel of carrying something like that around...now my partner carries 5 pads and i own 3 and i now feel naked without one...now we go for the 25'highballs so the fear factor is still there...you still dont want to fall.we put a rope on recently to try a high one..it kind of ruined the experience...I knew it could have been much deeper...like six feet under! :roll:
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