About ethics in bouldering

Well, this subject will propably be like sticking your head into an ant's nest but still well worth it if we want to assume proper ethics in bouldering still exist. If they didn't you could as well use ladders and put a new brave and humble ascent to your 8a scorecard or whatever you prefer.

When you go out bouldering mostly you want to have fun while climbing but you know there are also some rules to follow when claiming something sent or repeated. On the basis of alarmingly growing number of tales and rumors about questionable ascents in the couple of last years this clearly isn't the case any more. Unfortunately "give me everything now no matter how" seems to be more important than sucking it up you didn't quite yet make it this time and sticking with proper ethics.

In the following examples it should be pretty clear you should rethink your ethics: You hit a separate stone in the proximity of the boulder you are trying while doing the crux move but it's ok as that's just how your sequence goes. Hmm, when a dab was allowed?

A one meter high landing has been built under a boulder and now you have to start three moves in compared to where the first ascent and couple of repeats were made. Does this make it the same? For pure safety a landing would be ok, but as one meter high it ruins the whole boulder. It cannot be climbed like it was opened any more.

You start a boulder from different starting holds than first ascentionist, in some cases as low start and some moves in even though it is a sit start. Or you stack up many pads to make the start easier for you. Well, do we even have to discuss about this, who do you fool but yourself?

The following may not be so clear but still pretty obvious in this era of recording an ascent to video and putting it to internet:

During climbing you did or did not notice hitting the pad but later on while watching the video it is clearly visible and audible it happened. Well, what can you say, there is always the next time when it goes. You hit the spotter when he/she is spotting too close. Safety comes first of course but a dab is a dab.

If we don't address these issues now but carry on spreading poor ethics in the crags and even on videos on the internet what do you think the next generation of climbers would consider as proper ethics?

Back in the early finnish bouldering days a climber dabbed into a pad while making a remarkable first ascent. While others were cheering about the ascent one purist just said what he had seen. The first ascentionist sucked it up and finished the boulder without a dab couple of days later. A first ascent was made without no questions to come.

Of course everybody can climb as they want, that is they beauty of our sport but if we wanted that bouldering we know now still exist and stays the same in the future we should keep the proper ethics and not forget them in our quest for glory. Getting something done by no means necessary should not be the ultimate goal.