In reply to UKC News:
I think this is a fantastic new feature!
One of the great by-products of the on-line Logbooks is being able to find out when obscure trad routes have had an ascent. This doesn't matter one jot for sport routes, but for tricky or bold trad routes (particularly on mountain rock), which are often dirty and unloved, having some chalk to follow can make life so much more enjoyable.
However, I have been known to take this one step further. On more than one occasion, I have contracted people who have noted in their Logbook, or on the Forums, that they have recently done a difficult route to which I aspire, in the hope of teasing out some useful information or beta. You know the sort of thing - where the crux is, how you do it, what is the crucial nut (or indeed the full rack).
I do this because following chalk, or having reliable up-to-date information or beta, makes things easier. And at my age I need all the help I can get.
I should perhaps take this opportunity to apologise to those innocent folk who have found themselves on the receiving end of such unsolicited approaches (particularly Tom Briggs), as they receive a series of polite but forceful e-mails, demanding ever more information. But I have generally made good use of the beta, so their time and trouble wasn't entirely wasted.
I should also apologise to those who I will be contacting in the future. You may not know me, but I assure you I am harmless. I just want a bit of help to realise my ambitions before it is too late, and this marvellous new page will make it so much easier for me to track you down.
So, bravo to UKC, and for those who might suppose my tongue is lodged firmly in my cheek, you don't know the half of it....
Cheers
Neil