Lichen and moss, cleaning views?

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  • 13 April 2004 at 12:00 AM #1946 Reply
    John Knight

      G’day!

      Around my area, there’s lots of boulders and faces which are unclimbed or only just recently touched. The rock usually is covered either in lichen, moss, or loose crystal from lack of use.

      What does the rest of the climbing community think in terms of face cleaning? Does it ‘ugly up’ the rock, or would most consider it acceptable to aid in friction?

      Any thoughts and tips on face cleaning would be appreciated.

      Cheers! 🙂

      13 April 2004 at 12:00 AM #1947 Reply
      Charlie

        What the eye does not see the heart does not grieve.

        Best not to think about it.

        14 April 2004 at 12:00 AM #1948 Reply
        ben

          DO:

          Pull off loose flakes otherwise they will break and smash into your face or spotter when loaded.

          Brush off moss & lichen with a nylon brush (tooth or dunny) to unearth existing holds & smears. No need to take a firehose to the whole boulder though.

          DONT:

          Chip, drill or glue.

          No bolts on boulders. Anything smaller than 6m high can be climbed without fixed protection.

          14 April 2004 at 12:00 AM #1949 Reply
          Toc

            Hi there,

            I wouldn’t go cleaning a whole boulder just to climb a little bit of it. Just what I needed and absolutely no more. Use your discretion, lichen is life as well and is part of our environment. If we sterilize every boulder in Perth, we will catch some flack and rightly so.

            Cheers

            14 April 2004 at 12:00 AM #1950 Reply
            John Knight

              So just uncover lichen for the line then?

              How about excess crystal, okay to sweep?

              15 April 2004 at 12:00 AM #1951 Reply
              Andrew

                Id take off enough moss/ lichen to make the line? though if theres that much moss that its really thick wont the holds be pretty damp? just a thought. ditto for the excess crystal on the climb.

                I think its pretty silly to make hard and fast rules about the placements of bolts. a 6 metre boulder could still harbour a nasty fall especially if the landing is nasty. Maybe a topic for the bolting forum though…

                15 April 2004 at 12:00 AM #1952 Reply
                John Knight

                  Personally I wouldn’t have any objections to bolting a boulder that was 6 metres or so, provided it was discreet and not visually obtrusive. Perhaps a bolt with no hanger, or as Andrew suggested to me, a carrot up there?

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