Route developers should follow best practices when putting up new routes. The following document provides a framework of best practices. In the past, information like this was found in guidebooks. It has been several years since a printed guidebook has been released in NB and there have been many routes put up since then. Making these guidelines more visible will increase awareness of what the standards should be for new route development. Ascent New Brunswick encourages route developers to follow these guidelines as much as possible. Like climbing ethics these guidelines can evolve over time to reflect changes in both the environment and in our approach to balancing the needs of our environment with the wants and desires of climbers.
Consider donating to the Development Fund! The Development Fund helps support route development in New Brunswick. Any donation from 5$ and up is appreciated. Donations are accepted via Email Money Transfer to ascentnbdevelopmentfund@gmail.com . Click the link above to see the Development Fund Policy.
Cleaning: The modern standard to development of new routes is that the rock be clean and free of anything that takes away from the enjoyment/safety of climbing the rock. Dirt in cracks, vegetation (such as lichen/weeds) and loose rock must be removed in order to consider the route developed and ready to climb. Gone are the days when routes were climbed ground up with little to no cleaning, recorded as first ascents and then left alone. The practice of the ground-up, onsight, first ascent is still well and good but the fa will need to go back after the send and clean the route properly. Routes left uncleaned are often not repeated, become forgotten and then have the potential to be inadvertently recleaned and reposted as a first ascent. This can lead to confusion and conflict.
Loose Rock - developers must do their best to ensure that the route is free of loose rock. Any rock that could come off with someone pulling on it while climbing the route must be removed by the developer. Rocks that may appear suspect should be thoroughly tested with a reasonable amount of pressure/force. Parts of the cliff that appear to have suspect rock and would require unusual or extraordinary measures to remove the suspect rock should be left alone and not developed.
When removing loose rock or trundling (deliberately throwing rocks off the cliff) it is the developer's responsibility to ensure the safety of the scene. Trundling has the potential to be very dangerous. If someone becomes harmed by an act of trundling the person who trundled the rock can be held responsible and charged in a court of law. Any rock trundled that is larger than a pebble has the potential to cause injury. Prior to trundling you must ensure that no one will be hit by rocks you caused to fall. Mitigate the risk by ensuring that the area is clear of people. Choose a time when there is little to no traffic at the cliff. The area affected should have warning signs and be roped off to prevent someone from accidently wandering into the area. For cleaning routes less than one pitch where the developer can clearly see the ground the risk is low and mitigation practices are minimal. For routes that are longer where the ground can not be seen more mitigation is required. One of the best ways to do this is to have lookouts on the ground to monitor the area to make certain no one is in harms way.
Trees - in general, tree removal from the cliff during development is acceptable. Trees will often present a safety concern on a climbing route as they can cause considerably harm/injury to a climber if one were to fall on a tree, therefore removal of trees should be at the discretion of the developer. If there are a large number of trees on a route, then it may be best to leave the route undeveloped. Removal of trees from the base of the wall is sometimes necessary to keep the area safe and free of hazards. A general rule of thumb for tree removal at ground level is any tree within 3 meters of the wall. When removing trees clean up the area properly and make the stump as close to the ground as possible. Prior to removing trees at ground level consider the impact this would have in regards to loss of shade and whether or not the tree is providing soil/slope stability. If removal of the tree will compromise a slope and promote erosion it would be best to leave the tree in place.
In general tree anchors should be a last resort. Bolted anchors in rock are far superior. If you must use a tree anchor, install chain around the tree as a rap station but do so in a manner that does not compromise the health of the tree. Do not use cord or webbing as a rap station unless you intend on replacing it yearly. Soft goods used for anchors will appear compromised quickly and no one will want to trust them.
Protection - when developing sport routes, bolts should be added to provide adequate protection for the leader and follower. When placing bolts take into consideration the varying heights of other climbers and adequate clipping stances. Bolts should be placed where needed based on the difficulty of the climbing and overall protection for the climber. Sport routes with deck fall potential are unacceptable. There should be no R/X sport routes at our crags. When developing a trad route, bolts should be added when natural protection is not available. If a section of the route is easy or good holds are available some run outs can be ok but run outs over difficult climbing should not be the norm. Add bolts to keep routes safe. The development of R/X routes should be avoided and exceptional. When R/X routes are developed they can be viewed as the removal of opportunities for other people to climb. These are community resources that are being developed and remember that not everyone will share your point of view on protection or tolerance for risk. Very few climbers are willing to give their lives to climb a route. Take into consideration what the majority of climbers will want for protection. It is simple and easy to increase the degree of danger on any route by choosing to place less protection and everyone has the freedom to do so. FAs should not get to unilaterally dictate how future generations interact with the rock. The number of rock climbs is finite and developed routes should be viewed as community property.
New Cliffs - there are 20 crags in Southern New Brunswick that comprise over 1000 rock climbs. We have a small climbing community spread out over these crags and because of this, the threshold for developing new areas should be high. If a high value crag has been undiscovered it may be worthwhile to develop but at this point the number of crags for our use is more than adequate to serve the needs of our community. If you want to develop a new area, you should first determine if it is worth developing. If you think it is, get a second opinion. If you get confirmation, your next step should be to determine who owns the land. If it is privately owned you should approach the land owner for permission to develop. A written agreement must be drawn up and then development can begin. Ascent New Brunswick should be contacted early on in the process as we can provide a great deal of support for the development of a new crag.
Bolting – no one should be installing bolts without adequate knowledge of how to properly do so. There are veteran developers who are available to teach/coach new developers how to bolt. Contact Ascent New Brunswick for more info. Hardware must be stainless steel preferably 304 or higher grade. All hardware installed must be UIAA approved and purchased from reputable sources (MEC, Vertical, Climb On Equipment, Fixe, Grand Wall Equipment). Do not mix metals when installing bolts and hardware. In most cases it will cause a galvanic reaction in the metal and the result will be corrosion. Use titanium glue in bolts at cliffs that are in close proximity to salt water or in rock that is not suitable for expansion bolts. Bolts installed on the Bay of Fundy coast would be a prime example of where titanium glue ins should be used. Learn how to adequately assess rock quality for the purpose of bolting prior to putting up new routes. If you have any doubt or question of the integrity of the rock, you should probably not put a bolt in it. Assess twice, bolt once.
Publishing - all routes must be properly documented with the following information: route name, nature of the route (trad, sport, mixed), yds grade, protection rating, length, type of anchor, date of fa and names of the fa party.
Route Naming - first ascentionists should take careful consideration prior to choosing a name for a new route. Keep in mind that words can be hurtful and something that may not be offensive to you could be so to someone else. Route names should be thoughtful, fun and clever. They should not be misogynistic, homophobic, racist, or in any other way offensive, especially to marginalised communities.
Other Notes
*If the cleaning of a new route pollutes an existing route you have a responsibility to re clean the existing route. A leaf blower is probably the best tool for the job. Ascent New Brunswick can loan a leaf blower if needed.
*Ascent New Brunswick can also loan a drill and some cleaning tools as well. Reach out to the executive for more info. *Try to be expeditious about putting up new route projects. Sitting on new routes for months or years at a time is not cool, especially if it is a line that others would like to develop. You should red tag the project to let others know that you are actively working on it. The tag should include your name, contact info and date when you started working on the project.