[Stu Littlefair]

This is a public service announcement,

Yesterday, persons un-named, ripped the top hold off the joker. An enormous piece of rock came off. And no, it wasn't me.

The person in question is going to try and glue  the hold back on, so if you can all be a bit careful with it for the next few weeks.....

[Bonjoy]

Shit the bed. Damp rock = weak rock I guess. Is said un-named person considering dieting now?

[Nigel]

Ha ha! Be reet, get it glued back on. Pantontino, you'd better tell Katz  :?

[Pantontino]

I think CJD will be crying into his Cocopops as well.

Anyway, it might be a better problem now, has anyone thought about that?

[Stu Littlefair]

I was quite keen not to see the hold glued back on, so everyone would have to use jerry's original sequence. It has left a big, ugly, useless sidepull though.  Large holds you can't use might be considered a minor negative point....?

[Sloper]

Just for the record (and with my record for pulling off bits of grit it needs saying) NOT GUILTY

[jimbo]

With the jokers classic status and difficuly and would have thought scouse D was the prime suspect, especially with his track record.

Guilty Dave ?

[Scouse D]

Wasn't me Guvnor. Saying that, I'd probably pull the crimps off...

[dave]

crimps? its not rubicon out there kids.

[cofe]

somebody better tell steve then, i wondered why he was muttering "...bigger tail..." when he was trying it. he's at raven tor today trying the joker.

[Andy Harris]

Not sure if it was Steve Fearne or not. But if it was the hold couldn't be in etter hands. He's an antique restorer of high esteem and given the quality of some of his masterpieces at Rubicon (most don't realise they're glued) the Joker would be in safe hands. If it's not him then maybe someone should procure his services.

Let's not make it a John Hart job!

[james]

Leave it off.  The problem is still completely possible and more original in a strange sort of way.  The jokers crown has been restored.  It can once again hold its head up high as a hard boulder problem, safe in the knowledge that no "easy method" can be used.

[c.j.d.]

If it's a fucked up mess, glue it on, if not, leave it - the problems pretty odd any way unl;ess you r on the Ace I guess, but if it looks shite, then the problem will be totally shit really.  The Joker is the same grade either way - its a trick thang innit.

[clm]

Anyone got a photo of the damage?

[fatboySlimfast]

Its back on, was there this aftie

[c.j.d.]

Thank fuck for that!

[a dense loner]

it's a F***in good job well done whoever glued it back. by that i mean the quality of the workmanship is second to none :up:

[Johnny Brown]

Not sure I can agree with that. I mean its not a mess, but holds with grey sika lines round them belong at rubicon.

[dave]

i for one would love to see that joker hold at rubicon, would really add some variety. If anyone wants to sika it in the gap between top of bigger tail and kudos then I say go for it.

[Mr.Fontainebleau!]

Leave it off.  The problem is still completely possible and more original in a strange sort of way.  The jokers crown has been restored.  It can once again hold its head up high as a hard boulder problem, safe in the knowledge that no "easy method" can be used.

 :D I agree, whats happened has happened ! LEave it off, glueing looks shit, problems evolve with time, thats nature!

[Percy B]

Not the best glue job I've ever seen, and this is grit we're talking about - not some pile of horrible limestone choss. If grit breaks, it breaks and we try to reclimb the line with what evers left. The jug at the top of The Ace/Joker was never bombproof, and it was a fairly sure bet that at some point it would come off. The problem will still go without, but it may be a little harder to stick the top. Why not accept the challenge, rather than make an un-natural mess of it. As it is, the jug still looks like it will come off again in the near future due to its shape and the nature of the grit on this boulder (ie: coarse and slightly friable). As and when this happens, I reckon it should stay off and we should endevour to climb the new problem rather than start messing about with glue.

And whilst I'm not saying the current repair is a horror show (it could be a lot worse), I do think that more effort could have been made to make the repair look better instead of using Sika (a nasty light grey colour) to stick the thing back on. In the past grit repairs have been made using resin which is colourless and can be mixed with a little ground up grit so it goes the same colour as the surrounding rock. If the present jug breaks again, a large patch of grey sika will be left behind which will probably be more ugly than a natural rock scar.

[Doylo]

i agree it probably should have been left off. We should just be grateful that grit is generally so solid, almost every problem in Bishop has lost a hold at some point or another.

[Danny]

I'd say it would have been better to leave it off.
Although my opinion is worth sod all considering I'm not a peak based climber and I wouldn't even get close to climbing said problem...

Peak ethics

[Paz]

Jug?  Have I completely imagined the fact that the top of the joker was a flat `top of the crag' ledge at the top of the crag?  The one that JM's hand comes off of in Stick it then he tags it with t'other.

[dave]

as you can see in this photo, the top righthand hold is actually like the top of a  flake thing, think this is whats come adrift.