A Woolly Mammoth Pleads
I am a woolly mammoth from the time when we roamed the cliffs in stiff shoes with Vibram soles. We took to blankish first ascents with little Rawl drills and hammers hung from our swami belts. The quaint bolting rules of the age were to place them: (1) on lead (2) only where natural protection wouldn’t go. Guidebooks gave enough first-ascent history to ensure everyone knew who did what, when, and how. Word of mouth among the small herd filled in the blanks. Bolting rules were kept alive by the example (and preaching) of the best mammoths.
As ice receded and climber ranks swelled, it became difficult to keep track of how routes were done and for the old mammoths to influence the masses. Slowly, bolting rules melted, helped by the advent of power drills. One old rule pretty much remained until now: no altering established routes by adding bolts.
Yet, recently I’ve learned unknown climbers added bolts to Hair Raiser Buttress (Clevenger, Higgins, 5.10, way old) in the desert east of June Lake, California. I’m from that clan of ancients believing that a first ascent is not only a topo of features and moves, but an achievement to be appreciated with fixed protection left as originally done.
If a route has changed (missing bolt, significant feature gone), please contact me before adding bolts. Otherwise, I respectfully request climbers not alter a route where I’m party to the first ascent. Thank you.

Fixed gear fuss
In issue No. 236 we ran a news piece on the stripping of fixed gear from theZodiac route on El Capitan stating that Alexander and Thomas Huber placed extra fixed gear that allowed them to accomplish their free ascent. Alex responds: It is totally absurd to think that I needed all that fixed junk on the Zodiac for free climbing. If you ever would have seen me on the wall, then you will see a completely different way of climbing: I don’t mess around with protection. On the speed ascents I climbed 5.11 terrain with 30-meter runouts on a regular basis. Just ask one of the people who we overtook on Zodiac: Dave Turnbull, president of the British Mountaineering council. I am sure he will be happy to explain to you his experience.
Two birdbeaks on the Open Book are ours. I personally never used those beaks for protection. Before, there had been copperheads in place, but these had been in the only holds we could use for free climbing. It was an effort to replace the copperheads with birdbeaks, and we did that because if we would have removed the copperheads without placing the beaks, then the next party would have placed the copperheads again in the obvious best spots — exactly in the holds we need for free climbing.
On the Nipple pitch, we were not in the position to clip a piece every single meter on a 5.13d pitch. There was a lot of fixed junk on that pitch, but only one brand-new Black Diamond piton. This was placed by us — we needed a bomber piton because past that we were running it out. It is not the free climber who needs a placement every single meter, it is the aid climber.
The truth is, Thomas and I are not responsible for all that fixed junk on Zodiac, from free climbing or from our speed ascent.
You might ask why I take so much effort to explain this. For many years I have been fighting in public for adventure to be a core part of climbing. Adventurous climbing is my passion. I loaded a lot of critics on my back fighting all the climbers who place bolts on existing climbs. And you can imagine how happy these climbers are when I get attacked.

Kilby Correctional Blues
I have been incarcerated for six months now in Kilby Correctional Faculty in Alabama, and have been able to stay in good spirits because of your magazine. Certain articles bring back good memories of nights in Camp 4 or out in the desert at J-Tree.
My main purpose in writing this is to let you know about the local climbing community around the Southeast. Out of all of my close colleagues, friends, fellow Marines, and family, I have found that it is all my climbing friends who have remained the closest. I receive numerous letters, books, and pictures from them weekly. They allow me to feel as though I am still out there. The Dixie Craggers Guide is filled with their names: Johnny Adams, Shannon Stegg, Rob Jackson, Tim Toe, Scott Ackorage, Lyn Pierson, etc. I would just like to thank you for your magazine, and thank them for sticking beside me through this whole ordeal. They all know what kind of person I am, and that I am completely dedicated to the sport, the environment, and non-violence.

Thanks for the hotties
I think I speak on behalf of every female whose hormones are still in gear when I thank you for the fold-out picture of Stéphane Husson in the January issue [a Petzl-sponsored ice-climbing poster]. I’m a counselor at an all-girls camp during the summer where we plaster the pictures of any slightly good-looking man (not that Stéphane is only slightly good-looking) on our cabin walls. Finally I’ll be able to put one of my boys up, rather than staring sickly at photoshopped N’sync pictures for months on end!

Show some respect
I just spend the weekend at two popular sport crags at Red Rocks and was appalled at what I saw. First was the astonishing amount of huge tick marks. Even the jugs were ticked! Then there was the rock “art” people left at the crag. At both cracks there were etchings on the rock. This was really surprising to see at the Tsunami, where only climbers are likely to go. I’d just like to see some more respect for climbing areas, so we don’t have access issues like at Hueco.

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