Mixed Blessings

Jan and I went climbing this morning at Cemetery Face.  I was looking forward to bolting a route that Jan and I were working on last fall.  I already had in the top anchors.  When we arrived at the base, there were bolts already on the route with my anchor as the top out.  Then we saw that there were another 3 routes that had been bolted as well.  

We climbed a Grateful Dead and got a better looks at the bolts.  I actually was able to clip the top bolts of a neighboring line.  The bolts were in good rock, a couple were a little proud but all seemed OK.  A couple of placements were kinda suspect.  We top roped 2 of the lines that were put up.  They flowed well.  There were good clipping stances.  They did a good job

Now my biased thoughts! 

 Someone took my project.  Someone bolted the lines I have been looking at for some time.  This guy has no respect for the first ascensionist or the local ethic.

Now optimistic thoughts.

  There is another developer in town and he is putting up a lot of routes.  He is putting up routes well below his redpoint level, in the moderate range.  He seems to know what he is doing.  He may just see St. John's rock faces as a sea of potential routes not realizing that he may be stepping on toes.  I don't know what to think.

What I do know. 

A guy has recently moved here from Calgary.  Jan has spoken with him a number of months ago.  He said that he had been working on a face out in Bauline.  He said that there were already some bolts there and that he was finishing them up.  Bob and I had started developing there as our first efforts back in 2004 and 2005.  We abandoned it thinking it was too much of a pain in the ass.  I was talking to Jay last week and he was telling me that someone was putting all kinds of bolts down in the International Area.  This is apparently the same guy.

As a developer, especially if you are new to an area, you seek out people to find out what the local ethics are like and try to stick to them.  If you are developing a new area, the ethic is yours to establish.  If you propose to add bolts to a route or change a route, you should attempt to ask permission from the first ascensionist.  It is only courtesy but it helps keep the piece. 

We only have a small community and having a guy who loves to put in bolts could be a huge asset.  I have to assume that he has the best of intentions and by no means is trying to piss anyone off.  I would like to meet him.  I bet we would have a lot in common.  I am not trying to be an A-hole, just venting over my lost project.