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Case example of blind Vs bold Oslo slabs first bolt... high with some dodgy little foot chips, if you were a 26 climber of old school Queensland vintage I can only suppose you would be dead if you consistently climbed at that grade on those type of routes, to be that blind, bold or hard is your choice. Perhaps it would take some gear down the bottom, however it is bolted as a sport route...or is mixed climbing to apply? I backed down and then stick clipped the first bolt after looking at the rock quality I would have been blind to lead it.

The choice to climb is mine, but if a route is way to bold for you and you take offence at the style of the first ascent, perhaps siege it like the english on head point. The reason I climb is both for the physical challenge and mental one; there will always be points where falling is not an option and the mental challenge of keeping your head together is as much a part of climbing as anything else, be it sport or trad (trad you aren't always at the whim of the first ascentionist bolting) and have far more ability to get your head back together with pro (if available) . The quality of the rock makes all the difference for me personally as I have some awareness and control of my physical limits but not of the rock quality.

I generally don't see it as a problem that there is ground fall potential if the rock is of ok quality and not close to the difficulty of the crux sequence (relative to the grade of the climb). On poor quality rock I think bold bolting rude and if the FA is happy to almost solo it then why are wasting their time bolting it for others to make OS attempts where holds are likely to change? Though I suppose the other logical extreme is via ferrata at KP.

The very sparse bolting of Ceuse (and I am sure many other places) on very nice rock was due to a lack of money and a desire to put up as many routes as possible, by default making it a great place to visit with lots of amazing routes & character. So in that respect an area benifited from dirt bagin mad men doing as much climbing as they could not thinking of repeaters, why would they? They're mad and get bitter about living in the dirt so get back at those who have comfortable lives by bolting stupidly, could it be a conspiricy of the elite dirt bags?

I have seen many a safe route made bolder by a belayer. Perhaps if you want a part of the answer try lowering the first bolts and see what happens, and ban stick clipping at Coohlum. I am sure the 'elite' would be as pissed off and injured as bumblies at KP.

But the point is not to many people are dying at the moment, possibly meaining the elite... are just that and that other people are exerting common sense and backing of stupid things they know they can't do (unless it were in the gym with no fear, which may be a source of frustration for many, but tough biscuits I say).

@ devlin, do you find that there a lot of badly bolted climbs that piss you off for being to scary? If they were such stellar routes surely surely the FA would see sense and improve the route from its terrible state when asked; if they refuse take the path of all dirt bagin mad men and do as you see fit, and let the public decide. If they burn you at the stake for retro bolting the route then it didn't need it. If it gets climbed by more people hey you were right poor bolting corrected.