Booty announcements

[smallman]

Just have noticed a disturbing trend in people announcing where and what booty they are leaving around Squamish. Don't do this! You are ruining the booty finding and collecting experience for the rest of us! Finding a good piece of booty is like a mini lottery win. By announcing where you left your booty (abandoned) gear, you spoil the whole surprise factor and create a gold rush mentality for others to get your gear. Is is that people are vainly expecting to get their abandoned gear back? In doing so you are announcing that you lack problem solving skills and are not accountable for your actions. Just consider leaving the occasional piece of booty as the price of learning an important relatively inexpensive lesson on overestimating your abilities, ignoring your sixth sense, not being situationally aware in terms of weather and route finding or just lacking experience and knowledge. Plus usually karma balances things out in the end.

PS: If you seem to be leaving Cams everywhere, maybe improving your nut and hex placing skills is in order. Smile

[Dru]

This essay on the ethics of booty was on will Gadd's blog, but he took it off SuperTopo.com. It's pretty good, methinks.

When I first started climbing back in the early eightys I was taught the booty game. It was supposed to be fun and honorable. the rules went something like this.

#1 Any gear that you lose due to incompetence, getting spanked, fear, lack of skill , retreat, etc. becomes booty the moment that you give up attempts to recover said gear. The exception would be if you let it be known that were returning the next day at first light to resume recovery attempt. Once you give up on recovery attempts it is in fact BOOTY;)

#2 Gear left in the parking lot is lost and found, NOT booty.

3# Any gear left in the process of a rescue is NOT booty and shall be returned to the rightfull owners or next of kin.

#4 Finders of booty may offer to return booty to the spanked party but you will lose face if you accept the offer.

#5 it is extremly poor form to ask for lost booty to be returned to you. If the finders offer and you refuse the offer and they offer again then you may acept the return of the booty but you will still lose face and owe them a debt of honor. This debt may be eased but not completly erased by a gift of beer. (You and they will know that you are their b%$ch) It is best to suck it up and just say, hey, thanks for offering but you guys earned it.

The booty game is supposed to be fun and a way for strong poor climbers to build their rack at the expense of rich weak climbers. As soon as someone gets hurt it is not fun anymore so everyone should pitch in, help out and try to get everyones gear back at the end of the day.

The best form is to solo up to snag the booty gear or lead up but rapping in is acceptable providing that all recovery attempts by the losing party have been exhausted.

[mocco]

That is sooooooo funny...too true! That little manifesto pretty much defines the booty thing.

[hafilax]

There was a fixed nut on the Buttress on Saturday.

[little_miss_negative]

i love booty

[smallman]

that nut on the buttress has been there a very long time - at least three years.

[pinnbasher]

MMMMMMMM booty