[slackline]

Just clocked a write-up from Black Diamond on Mongolia.





They've also produced a free guide.  Looks brilliant out there

[Fiend]

Looks cool. Plenty of knobs which I like.

[Tom de Gay]

Mixed feelings about bolting this area...

[dave]

Plenty of knobs which I like.

sn**ger.

[SA Chris]

Mixed feelings about bolting this area...

Is this the same area Grieve, Gresham and co went to a while back? Seem to recall they managed to avoid a lot of drilling.

[slackline]

Mixed feelings about bolting this area...

I was wondering why they were bolting "blank" lines when there looked to be lots of seductive cracks to climb.

[SA Chris]

Possibly because they are sport climbers?

None in Mongolia mentioned in the "trad climbs for sport climbers" thread?

[slackline]

Yes perhaps, but the topo I linked to includes climbs that are indicated to be trad, and "sport" / "trad" / "bouldering" are not mutually exclusive (see Honnold's comments in this video).

[Will Hunt]

I much preferred the Gresham et al. write up. I was inspired to start organising a trip to go there but had to cancel as people started pulling out. This doesn't look so great. The prevalance of bolting is a bit of a shame from my perspective when there is an abundance of trad lines to be done. Each to their own I guess.

Part of the appeal of Mongolia had been the adventure aspect but the bolting removes that somewhat.

[SA Chris]

Yes perhaps, but the topo I linked to includes climbs that are indicated to be trad, and "sport" / "trad" / "bouldering" are not mutually exclusive (see Honnold's comments in this video).

I think the topo includes routes not FAed by them. I understand they are not mutually exclusive for everyone, but they certainly are to some people.

I'm not agreeing with what they have done by the way, just giving a possible explanation?

What Honnold thinks is not really relevant.

[Tom de Gay]

Mixed feelings about bolting this area...

Is this the same area Grieve, Gresham and co went to a while back? Seem to recall they managed to avoid a lot of drilling.

I believe it is, there was an article in one of the mags a few years back but I don't recall much mention of drilling; I do remember some scary looking trad slabs.
The Terelj National Park is 'roadside' in Mongolian terms, as it's just a couple of hours from Ulaan Baatar. It's a stunning landscape, and like much of the Mongolian steppe home to nomadic herders. However its proximity to the big city does place it at risk of unsustainable and high impact methods of tourism, eg the dinosaur theme park - life size fibreglass models of dinosaurs, not too far from some of the climbing areas pictured here. This is a shame, as it really detracts from the remote feeling of the area.

I'm not opposed to bolting per se, but in this case I do wonder if it will detract from the climbing experience - why go to Mongolia for a clip-up?

I found it ironic that they forgot to charge their drill. Many of the families I met in Terelj a couple of years ago lived a near-subsistence existence and had no electricity; some who did took it from solar power; there are few a settlements with basic power lines (which have to be rerouted when they move from summer to winter pastures). They are incredibly resourceful people and nothing goes to waste. We're talking about using a single candle to light your family's ger through the dark winter evening, carefully saving the the quarter-burnt matchstick to re-use. A power drill would be a real luxury and could certainly be put to good use doing repairs to the ger or livestock enclosures.

I also wonder who will maintain these routes and be responsible for rebolting them, generations down the line?

It's not a black and white issue of course. Tourism is a really important part of the economy in this area and some decent mid grade clip ups and a guidebook will probably entice a few more visitors. But at what cost?

[slackline]

I think the topo includes routes not FAed by them. I understand they are not mutually exclusive for everyone, but they certainly are to some people.

I'm not agreeing with what they have done by the way, just giving a possible explanation?

It does indeed contain lines by others, its all in the linked topo.  The routes they didn't FA were bolted routes by Conrad Anker from 2000 or Andy & Holly Meriman in 2007.  The trad lines were done by the BD people in 2010, so they were putting up trad lines as well as bolting lines, perhaps a step in the right direction, but not as far as they could have gone as they did bolt and FA a few new lines.

What Honnold thinks is not really relevant.

I mentioned it as its a point of view other than mine that demonstrated that the activities are not mutually exclusive (but primarily a cool video).