UKH

Just an FYI, someone has chipped a jug on the 7a sport route, just by the 4th clip.  They have essentially scraped out a whole bunch of mortar to create a perfect 3 or 4 finger jug pocket.

I appreciate that its a bit weird down there as its a bolted gritstone bridge... but this is still poor form.

I plan to fill it back in next time I'm down there but it may be a couple of weeks yet.  If anyone else knows the route/hold that I'm talking about and has some spare time then please do fill it in!

Cheers

The weirdest post I have seen for some time.

The Crispy Cod's your best bet for chipping in New Mills... Or virtually anywhere else, for that matter.

Dave sometimes even bungs you extra peas and gravy for free. 

I've noticed some mortar being removed on the viaduct treverse on the footpath side. This makes what was a small finger tip hold into a more substantial slot, making probably what is the crux easier.

That treverse is aways fun for a quick fix.

I think the bigger crime is the massive chalk dabs (read: streaks) for the footholds, even on the Viaduct Wall traverse at f5 on jugs?! One was an inch and a half wide and a foot high. Grim Reaper Traverse has been just as bad. Not only had zero attempt been made to remove them after, but it shows a complete lack of consideration for other climbers but is also a complete eyesore for the general public. 

Massive tick marks are indeed a crime... not sure they are a bigger crime than chipping hold though...?! 

It was a bit tongue in cheek. Alas it was only the mortar that was chipped.. not the hold as such? The damage is only temporary and it should be made known to the imbecile who did it that their F7a is a cheat and ascent invalid. Full kudos for you for calling them out on it, and especially so to whoever fixes it  

Fair enough massive ticks marks are for morons..!

I'll be taking a little pot of mortar down next time I go 

What are the ethics of using your mortar to make an existing route more difficult, a kind of inverse chipping. Turn that 7a into a 7c?

Any worse, any better. 

I am a bit baffled by this discussion, what next, outrage at the climbing wall following a hold turning through 90 degrees? 

Yeah thats what I was thinking. What would happen if someone decides to re-point all the brickwork?

I appreciate its a slightly odd place and a slightly odd discussion... however if a route was first climbed in one state, then someone obviously changes it to make it easier then that is pretty poor form.  

Its my local crag for a quick fix after work and I'd rather some punter who needs extra holds didn't mess up the existing routes.

Thats what I plan to do!

Maybe just don't use the hold?

The routes are (as far as I’m aware) all climbable on holds on the grit blocks, and don’t make use of any ‘missing mortar’. So someone has made a jug in between the blocks where there may have only been a crimp on a block before. Poor form to be removing mortar from a structure, regardless of the climbing/grading debate.

All the wads of New Mills are relegated to punters to be looked down upon. 

I can't think of a location more perfectly suited to what was once called "designer climbing" than an old bridge. 

I do have an understanding of this style of climbing, I am a veteran of Red Lane, Crewe Flats, Broomgrove, Stricklands Lane (SI may need to ask his dad/grandad). Peculiar thing to be precious about.

I have just remembered, some slots were filled with old fag packets or sweet papers to make variable depth holds. 

If everyone pissed about chasing the pointing out from the brickwork it'd be a right mess and could potentially even give access issues. New Mills is pretty fortunate to have a crag in the town with trad, sport & bouldering, particularly as some of it stays dry on the rain. Anything that could jeopardise that is pretty shit. 

There's a poster's reputation at stake here!

Definitely a weird thread.

So it's okay for a climber to improve (or make) holds on an existing route or problem so that they can do it (and presumably wave their willy around a bit with a little flag saying '7a!' attached)? Come off it. It doesn't matter if it's a bridge or a crag of national importance; if what the OP is saying is right, that it was improved by someone climbing the route, then that's bang out of order. Come back when you can actually do it instead of pretending by bringing the crux down to your level.

Is this bridge at altitude? some very lofty stances are being taken.

What about the stone Mason who chipped those blocks from "gods own rock"? 

Heretic, burn him! 

Lol very good.

I think maybe u are living under it? 😮

I guess you are the expert in weird but it's bloody frustrating to have stonework training venues affected in this way. Morons chipped out mortar and improved holds on Trent Bridge in the past so I know what it feels like and I'm almost as trad focussed as climbers get.. Sure it's not as serious as chipping real rock but those New Mills sport routes and bridge boulder problems are free to use and reasonably popular and very handy (some being pretty much all weather).

Right. And when they go and make an intermediate hold at the top of Telli, or they fancy their first f7A tick and make a crafty line of positive holds up the arete on Trackside?

It's got nothing to do with where the route is, and it's got nothing to do with where the rock has come from to begin with. It's got everything to do with the defective pyche that thinks it's okay to invent jugs on established routes to claim the tick. Let's face it, if it's halfway up a 7a sport route then it's not been done by someone other than a climber. Don't we all know that you can't go round improving holds on established routes (if not anywhere)? It's a pretty fundamental rule of the game, thank God, else God only knows what people might do.

No it's not.

Climbers have gone to the trouble to negotiate access and put routes up on an old man made structure, and people enjoy climbing them. It's pretty obvious that chipping mortar off the old structure will jeopardise access.

Popped down for a couple of hours this afternoon and someone had daubed ‘STAN’ and ‘BOB’ on Bionics Wall in chalk. It’s not acceptable in paint, nor should it be in chalk. It can only be a climber and it’s severely disappointing. 

There's no hope, is there?

That wasn’t your note left under Grim Reaper a couple of weeks back by any chance was it? 
 

If so, well said 

Some of the tick-marks there lately have been daft 

Jay

Definitely a weird couple of posts from you homeboy! A guy shouts out about something climbing related he cares about and you try to turn his thread into something about rock quality or whatever snobbish sh!te was rolling around your head at the time. Someone takes the time to create something and you get yourself online to tell us all that because it's not on some kind of rock you think is worthwhile, his thread is weird. Perhaps you're ??? )))) Climbing is for every one of us, however which way..

Ps. NO response to anyone who took the time to show how astounded they were at your comments. Tw*t!

Really the oddest thing about the whole situation is that the bridge has a perfect series of progressively  harder sport routes on it, plus the traverse for a bit of a training on top. You can easily start at 6aish at progress up nice and steadily to 7a. 

The tickmarks thing bothers me a lot less as this is an education issue and can be solved through communication - chipping is a little more serious as it's often permanent - we're lucky in this situation that the structure is already an artificial one!