THE PROS AND CONS OF HEADPOINTING

If you haven't seen the video "Hard Grit" or picked up a climbing magazine lately, "headpointing" is a term coined by the British to describe the style by which the hardest (5.12 and up), boldest routes on gritstone are being climbed. A prospective route is previewed on toprope, the moves sussed-out and the gear pre-frigged in the hopes of an eventual lead ascent. Nevertheless, these routes are dangerous, as the whopper falls and broken bones suffered by more than a few will attest. These routes aren't for everyone, and headpointing has really only come into vogue because of a strict gritstone ethic forbidding the use of bolts. 

In America, there is no ethic forbidding the use of bolts, only land managers who have closed certain areas, such as the Flatirons above Boulder or the Shawangunks in New York, to all fixed hardware. Regulations like these are both a curse and a blessing, limiting development of hard sport routes where natural gear is simply not available yet preserving the rock from becoming as metal-studded as some hipper-than-thou record store employee's face. 

Like any means of ascent other than the purest/purist ground-up on-sight, headpointing suffers from certain drawbacks. All is not glory and boldness, and before you import headpointing to your local crag you may want to weigh the pros and cons of this method of ascent. 

Pros: 

1. Headpointing preserves the rock: About 15 miles from my house in Boulder Canyon you'll find a newly-developed "area" known as Sport Park. Inexplicably popular, this abomination against Man and Rock features over-graded, heavily-chipped, grid-bolted routes up 30-foot walls covered in bat shit. Had the pristine Flatirons not been closed to bolting more than a decade ago, I have no doubt that similarly worthless routes would have popped up, defacing a singular and historic climbing resource (acres of killer Fountain sandstone). 

Not everything needs to be bolted. True, many of the best and safest gear-only lines were done years ago and the thought of casting off on an unclimbed 5.13 face which may or may not have gear is more than daunting, but so is the sight of some poxy little sport crag that need not exist. A headpoint ascent leaves the rock in its natural state, which to me seems an ultimate symbol of respect for the medium we profess to love. 

Perhaps it would make sense to emulate the Brits, declaring certain types of rock (e.g. granite or Fountain sandstone) as bolt-free while sacrificing others (e.g. limestone or other such choss) to the Sport Gods. 

2. Headpointing advances standards in boldness and difficulty: In the last ten years a "rock gym" mentality has gained an ugly toehold in the climbing community. Many new climbers and long-time climbers who should know better have whole-heartedly embraced the notion that our sport, to be fun for everyone, should be devoid of danger. This means bolts, bolts and more bolts. 

The best climbers aren't necessarily those who can only pull of the hardest sport routes but are the well-rounded individuals who still seek adventure in the sport. Headpointing is the perfect marriage of technical difficulty and adventure, combing the opportunity for sequence rehearsal (as in hang-dogging) with gear-placing and mental control skills. 
 

3. Headpointing leaves us with a legacy of routes that matter: What's another 5.13 sport route, more or less? I can barely remember the name, much less the moves, on a sport route after I've done it. Even the ones that take me multiple days to redpoint quickly become but a faded smudge of memory after enough time passes. 

However, routes like Master's Edge, Parthenon Shot and Meshuga quickly become the stuff of legend, and an ascent of one of these lines is not something you're likely to forget. For up-and-coming climbers, these routes represent mental and physical standards to aspire to, not simply another a representative grade to tick off as the fingers grow stronger.  

Cons: 

1. Headpointing leaves us with routes that are dangerous, if not lethal, to try on-sight: Because these routes are rehearsed on top-route and because the gear is often pre-placed, if not customized to the route, they are very dangerous to try on-sight. I know that when I visit a new crag I like to try as many routes on-sight as possible. It is one of the purest pleasures to be had in our sport! 

So of course I'm bummed when I look over at a cherry line, something I might fall on on-sight, only to hear that it's a "death route" and was led after toprope rehearsal by the first ascensionist. But it stops there. I don't get more than bummed and I certainly don't try to second-guess the motivations of the first ascensionist. It's up to me to determine whether I'm willing to try the route on-sight (a feat which has been accomplished successfully on headpoint routes up to 13c) or walk around and drop a rope down first.

Is it the responsibility of the first ascensionist to ensure that their route be on-sightable? Climbers have been putting up dangerous routes for decades now, yet the debate rages on. A headpoint is a purely personal journey and could be considered selfish in that it limits precludes the possibility of subsequent on-sight ascents. It depends on whether you view putting up routes as a personal accomplishment or a public service . . . 

2. You could get hurt or die: Big numbers are sexy, especially when accompanied by the caveats "R" or "X." While no one that I know of has yet to die while attempting a headpoint, there are plenty of tales of broken ankles, shattered vertebrae and scary skull fractures resulting from long, sometimes ground falls on these routes. 

If you're going to play this game you should do it for all the right reasons, much like free soloing. Fame, glory and sponsorship are probably the wrong reasons, and if you aren't completely invested in climbing the route for the experience it provides you, then you may want to question your motivation for sticking your neck out. Headpointing simply isn't for everyone. 

3. Headpointing is cheating: Each new advance in climbing style, theory or technology has inevitably given rise to vicious polemics. Examples include the furor over Ray Jardine's use of Friends and Hangdogging on The Phoenix in Yosemite or the mid-80's bolt wars around Boulder after Christian Griffith and Dale Goddard imported sport climbing from France. Of course now, Friends, bolts and hang-dogging are taken for granted as being tactically acceptable, even necessary, by the bulk of the climbing public.