I wasn't around in '66, nor in '78 when it was free'd, but imagine it was 2018 and this happened Television Route (E4 5c). And there's Pagan (E4 5c) too. Go to Chicama (E9 6c) or Treacherous Under Foot (E7 6b), and there's about as many pegs as natural runners (and yes, I'm guilty, and felt as such, of having removed and replaced one of those pegs after Caff snapped it).

It seems we're fluctuating at a level of minutiae around the mean of a well established ethic, that I'd argue is adventurous, accepting of tradition, but more generally sensible and balanced, than it's ever been. I've seen the person that's ok with a bolt at the top of Left Wall eye's after they did Helmet Boiler (E5 5c). They're not after sanitising the experience of adventure, but balancing other factors at play.

Of course, people don't all share the same view on this, a black and white argument is easy to argue, but more much difficult to implement in practice. It's always been a grey area, and we've always been somewhere on the wedge. If anything, we're at the better end of the wedge than we've ever been with respect to Gogarth.

The thin end of the wedge argument also does a disservice to that fact that the climbing community is generally sensible and good at ethically self-regulating itself (with the help of the BMC and others at times), and sometimes the community's sentiments change through action, new facts on the ground and debate. It's about balancing all the different aspects; environment, access, conservation, adventure and tradition. Each edge case (pun intended), like the Rhoscolyn belay, and the Strand lower off, or Castell Helen need to be dealt with on a case by case basis, accepting the general ethical consistency Rob mentions, and particularly where there's a likelihood of renegade action.

On the basis that I bet 100s of people have used that bolt (many of whom will have strong views about it) have left it be, (probably immediately after having pondered how to build a good belay there, and deciding it's not acceptable to use the wall and cut off the path), it's probably a marker of where the ground lies in this single case. Everyone that's done the route since 2005 seems to know about it, and it's mentioned in the guide. I don't think a bolt at the top of Left Wall would last as long, the ones at Castell Helen didn't (look closely). The reality is, the discussion ideally needs to happen beforehand if possible (which I think it might have done to an extent here), and not as a result of renegade action. Get it on the Local Area agenda Rob, though I have a vague memory from discussions at Rhoscolyn when I saw that bolt that it's been on it before.

Post edited at 15:17