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[Russian_Alpinist]

on Sunday October 21 our party lost a rope...we had left it on the route No Money Down at the Meadows; went to another area to climb and when we came back to get it it was gone. The rope is 50 meters, dynamic, nondry, 10.5 mm and purple in color. I suspect someone accidentally took the rope down thinking it was theirs; if anyone has any information about it please email me or call (617)352-5174, thanks a lot in advance.

[Lizz_Bartlett]

RA,

I'm not trying to start anything here, but another possibility is that someone took your rope as booty. Theft is increasingly a problem at many areas such as the Gunks and may also be creeping to Rumney. Earlier this fall, Justin Hayes had brand new draws stripped off Predator. These were draws that were replacements for old raggedy draws. You may just be the latest victim.

I've only climbed there a handful of times, so I'm not a regular at Rumney and I don't know the local customs, but it seems kinda risky to me to leave your rope on a climb and then leave the area. It shouldn't be that way, but climbing isn't free of undesirable types who would look at an unattended rope as booty.

I hope I'm wrong and that a friend gathered up your rope to keep safe for you. If not, we should all be more vigilant.

Ta,
Lizz

[RatBoy]

Yes "stolen" rope is more accurate.  But the real question is: What the f__k were you doing leaving your rope up on a climb while you went "to another area".  That was rather dumb no?  It wasnt the adjacent climb but "another area".  Hey, whoever took your rope is a prick, no question.  But you were either dumb to leave it there (which is exusable), or you were trying to hog the climb so others wouldnt get on it (which is not).  Didnt your mom teach you anything?  That is bad form, even at a sportclimbing area where so many people dont seem to know what is appropriate etiquette.  

[Admin Al]

my goodness RatBoy... tell us what you "really" think!!! of course it isn't too smart to leave anything around these days, but still. we all leave our packs at the bottom of climbs and go up 3 pitches, sometimes more, where we can't possibly see our stuff. then we rap down & do something else, still leaving our stuff. it happens. that said I have been hearing more & more about stuff being picked off. there was an incident where a car was broken into at Humphrey's a few weeks ago & that was right on the road!

just beware... there are some nasty folks out there.

[Edge]

     Leaving your stuff at the bottom of a crag is one thing if you are in the immediate area.  However, overcrowding is becoming a real problem at Rumney on weekends, and the No Money Down area is one of the hardest hit.  It is just plain rude to leave a rope hanging on a route, trying to save it for yourself later.  
    People go to the cliff with a specific route in mind, and quite frequently it is busy.  If you want it bad enough, you wait your turn at the bottom and get on when the party ahead of you is done.  I can certainly understand someones frustration at reaching the climb and finding a rope hanging there.  You wait, hoping they are on a short bathroom break, and when no one shows up after a while you get pissed and pull their rope so that you can jump on.  Personally, I would not do that, but would understand if another personality would.
    I hope that whoever took your rope found it on the ground from the above circumstance and figured it had been forgotten.  There are people out there though who would sieze the opportunity to grab and run.  I know that area was packed on Sunday, as I hiked past it on the road, and would find it hard to believe that someone didn't see what happened to your rope, unless you were gone for a really long time.        
    Your best bet for reaching the Rumney crowd is via the message board at www.newenglandbouldering.com.  I wish you luck with the rope, but keep in mind that the routes are there for everybody.  

Cheers,
Loran

[RatBoy]

Al, this is WAY different than leaving your pack at the base of a route.  The ropless individual indicated that he:
"had left it on the route" and then "went to another area to climb".   This is either someone new to climbing who learned a lesson the hard way, or somebody who is trying to hog a climb.  If its the latter, there is NO excuse for it.  Some people should learn some manners.  When I originally read the posting I thought it was so friggin stupid that I considered that someone was trolling for a flaming response, which is sorta what they got.  

I was at Rumney this weekend, and was trapped next to a small hoard of ragged looking youngsters who were new to climbing.  One guy seemed to kinda know how to climb and he dragged his budds along with him.  All well and good, its public property and you are welcome there just like me.  But they spent the afternoon smoking butts, putting them out in the dirt, littering the base of the climb, hocking up lungies all over the place and acting like it was the local street corner.  Hey, bonehead, you are in the woods and its kinda nice here.  Dont act like such a crude dude will ya.  Rumney is destined to go the way of all places that have been "discovered".

[Russian_Alpinist]

ratboy, no I'm not new to climbing, I have been doing it for a number of years. We had a fairly large group, about 10 people total including 3 kids (one of whom climbs 5.13 on lead, without falls, so i dont think the description of "novice" is exactly appropriate here, also his mom was on Ama Dablam in Nepal this summer...) In any case, half of our group was at the Meadows while the other half with the kids was at Orange Crush...we left the rope so that the kids could climb there. When we got there they were climbing something else and never did go to No Money Down...we kind of forgot about the rope, I guess we should have gone back and taken it down, but still I think you're being a little overly critical, kind of rude actually.

As for everyone else I acknowledge we should have taken the rope down, if anyone knows anything about it it would be greatly appreciated, and thanks Al i will check the sport site.

[Russian_Alpinist]

I do understand your frustration...and i agree with you about the kids you were talking about, though I'm not that old myself. Places like Rumney are real popular these days, and they can quickly lose their appeal when people start acting like "it's the local corner" as you say and not the woods.

[Erik]

Just a quick thought on climbing ethics,
I think it would be fair to say that anything left at the base of a cliff is personal property and should not be touched. However,  as soon as it's on the cliff we call it BOOTY.  Who's not excited to find a cam left on a route.  Some might even call stuff ie.slings, old ropes, cams, quick draws as trash when left on a route and it's their job to clean it up.  Now obviously some common sense and courtesy applies but if you leave "stuff" on the cliff I woudn't be surprised to see it gone.

[Edge]

So I guess the real burning question for me is did vasya get Predator?

[Russian_Alpinist]

haha!

Yes! No falls! (I didn't see it though, we were still at No Money Down at that point)

[Edge]

I'll have to congratulate him next time I see him!  I won't be surprised if Nadya gives it a look next...

[Eric]

Zeb is envious.  Congrats to Vasya

[Russian_Alpinist]

Good news: the rope has turned up. There was a big women's climbing event that day, sponsored by Sterling rope, apparently they thought our rope was theirs. It is currently sitting in the Rock Barn at rumney, we have notified them they know it's our rope and we'll be picking it up probably next weekend.

Eric, I'll rely your congrats next time i see him


Loran, it's possible. That time I didn't see Nadia climb that much - I was busy trying to get my own out-of-practice ass back into some kind of performance

I did watch her do that 5.11 that goes basically down the middle of Orange Crush, which ends on a slopy ledge about 2/3 of the way up the cliff. She did it 3 times in a row, no falls...

I took at least 20 minutes and peeled off about a dozen times  

[Edge]

     Congrats on finding the rope!  It's good to know that it was an honest mistake and not something devious behind it's disappearance.
    Sounds like Nadia was on Tropicana.  My daughter Meaghan (age 13)did that last year during the Sterling Women's Day.  She was near there again this year with the Sterling group, and ended up leading Debbie Does CPR for her first 5.11 lead!  While she was doing that on Saturday, I took a few flights myself off of Tropicana...