40 - The Great Snake Dike Debate

Snake Dike has become one of the most talked-about routes in climbing after a controversial retro-bolting effort—and the equally controversial decision to chop those bolts. So we brought friend of the pod, Trevor Jones, on to debate one of the biggest questions in climbing today: should classic routes ever be changed?

The three of us come at the topic from very different perspectives as we discuss retro-bolting ethics, preserving climbing history, adventure, risk, and who gets the final say when it comes to an iconic route.

We also tackle another climbing ethics question: if you fall onto a ledge but never weight the rope, did you actually send the climb? Finally, we wrap things up by talking about Janja Garnbret's incredible ascent of Bibliographie and whether she's already the greatest all-around female rock climber of all time.

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A huge thank you to our sponsor, Misty Mountain, for supporting The Ground Up Podcast. Since 1985, Misty Mountain has been handcrafting climbing harnesses and equipment in North Carolina, building gear that's trusted by climbers no matter the challenge.

As a listener of The Ground Up Podcast, you can save 15% on harnesses, gear, and apparel with the code GROUNDUP at checkout.

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Read about the recent retro-bolting of Snake Dike

Check out the Climbing Magazine article about why the bolts were chopped

Hear John Long's take on this classic debate

Read about the infamous 2024 accident on Snake Dike

Peruse the borderline obnoxious Mountain Project thread on the topic

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