I just finished reading about some recent newsworthy sends on the gripped homepage. Great work by Sean McColl, sending Evilution ground up.  Unfortunately this send seems to the exception…  Honnold did Ambrosia after TR rehersal, the Huber’s freeing alpine aid routes after working the crux sections on TR, the American grit trip where the boys went further than just headpointing by using haulbags to simulate the crux falls, the new 5.14 gear route with preplaced gear…  all these and other similar ascents are super strong climbs, and I have respect for all these climbers.  The tactics just don’t sit well… if the gear is so finnicky to place that it must be preplaced why not add a bolt?  If the highball is so tall, difficult and dangerous that it needs to be rehersed, why not just climb it on TR and be happy?  I watch videos of Gaia, the route looks awesome, so awesome that I want to fly to England to try it…. on top rope.