Hey Josh.

Why do you think everyone is an asshole for wanting to discuss the chopping of bolts on a route? The ideas explored in this thread are relevant to many climbers and for the most part, well presented.

Does anyone have the right to chop bolts from existing projects (abandoned or otherwise)?

What will a new route of any style add to the local climbing community and area?

Is headpointing a style of climbing necessary for North America?
Unlike the UK where headpointing originated, in North America we’ve agreed to allow bolting on relatively blank sections of rock and leave cracks and obvious natural gear routes unbolted. This decision preserves our tradition of ground up onsight climbing while allowing sportclimbing to exist. With enough rehearsal climbers can headpoint routes on almost any blank wall and at almost any grade. Unfortunately this often takes place on good sections of sport climbing rock eliminating future sport climbing options. Just as folks would not like Cobra Crack to have been bolted and sent as a sport climb, many climbers don’t see the merit in chopping the bolts and headpointing a marginal gear route.
And suddenly we’re back to my second point, what does this line really add to the local climbing area. With climbing maturing as a sport and good climbable rock a finite resource, first ascentionists should consider what their new routes actually contribute to the area.

This is the issue with Sonnie’s latest send. Almost no one on this thread questions his ability to climb hard routes. What many wonder is why he chopped the bolts on an existing project only to create a marginal headpoint testpiece. He’s said the bolts were old and some were in the wrong place. He could have replaced them. He mentions that this is an obvious gear route that he simply returned to its former untarnished state. I saw the complete online video and find it difficult to see the obvious gear and natural line. Much of the climbing seems to take place on blank rock with holds and gear only found after much rehearsal. Contrast this with Cobra Crack where you can easily see the natural line and protection and you realize that the Path is not a traditional gear route but rather a sport climb that takes the odd piece of gear.

When Sonnie climbed Cobra Crack, there was unanimous praise for his trad ascent. Cobra Crack embodies all the traditional climbing ideals we value in North America. It is a proud obvious route climbing the lone line of weakness on a blank granite wall. You can stand at the bottom and easily see where the route goes and where you place gear.

The Path lacks this purity and was bolted as a sport route. Chopping the bolts and headpointing the line does not change The Path into a legitimate trad route anymore than slapping bolts beside a perfect crack makes for a viable sport climb. All it does is take away a finite resource from the broader climbing community to create a marginal route in a headpoint style not accepted in North America. 

It seems some climbers understand this subtlety and perhaps explains why The Path has become such a questionable ascent.

I grew up in the UK and headpointed a load of gritstone E7 and E8 routes while working at the now defunct British climbing magazine On The Edge. The magazine had a strong focus on grit climbing and at the time headpointing was all the rage. Being in that scene and watching it evolve, it’s amusing listening to some of you wankers go on about headpointing as an improvement on climbing style.

Having been a part of the headpointing scene during its peak, the only ones on this thread that seem to understand the motivation and history behind headpointing are Jenny and a few other posters. Headpointing is not trad climbing. We started headpointing routes in the UK because we had no other options. All the obvious classic lines had been done, we could not bolt Gods Own Rock and it was too costly to fly to Spain every weekend. Magazine articles were written, films were made and the myth was born.

And if you believe that sponsored climbers don’t climb projects to promote themselves, satisfy their sponsors and hopefully sign a more lucrative contract the next year, you’re either naïve or smoking too much of that good BC bud.

The UK managed to export such classic cultural icons as the Spice Girls and marmite. It now seems North Americans are ready to embrace headpointing.

I guess you can never underestimate the discriminating tastes of the colonies.

To the opposers of Sonnie unbolting the route; nothing like making a HUGE thing out of NOTHING now is there. Pathetic.

I agree colind.

Judging from sonnies blog he was very thoughtful about what he did, and likely added to the climbing community.