Det var den kjente polske klatreren Marcin Tomaszewski som falt for fristelsen til å bolte en spektakulær taulengde opp til toppen av Preikestolen. Dette hadde nok gitt en fantastisk klatreopplevelse og kanskje enda finere bilder.
BRV (Bratte Rogalands Venner) og lokale klatrere tok tak i saken, og fikk stoppet prosjektet. Boltene skal nå fjernes. I kjølvannet av dette har BRV kommet med følgende uttalelse:
Les også: Polakker med ny rute på Kjerag
Regarding use of expansion bolts on Preikestolen
It was brought to our attention the 5th of June 2016 that a number of expansion bolts were placed by the Polish climber Marcin Tomaszewski on Preikestolen in Forsand for the sake of protecting a single pitch climbing route (“Thor”) leading to the top of the rock formation. The bolting was done while abseiling from the top of the route.
What follows is Bratte Rogalands Venner’s (BRV) official view on this matter. Bratte Rogalands Venner is the largest and most influential climbing club in Rogaland, and the only climbing club in the region with traditions for big wall and multipitch trad climbing.
Preikestolen is an inspiring rock feature for climbers; steep, exposed, esthetical and clean. Some teams have previously attempted lines on and in the vicinity of the feature. All attempts have been done purely with natural protection. It is obvious that the most direct lines would require bold top level climbers and it would be a great loss if these impressive unclimbed lines were reduced to trivial (though hard) sport pitches.
The governing bolting ethics in Rogaland are similar to those in other parts of Norway:
In general, bolts should not be placed in the mountains but only on sport climbing cliffs
Bolts should not be placed on lines which are possible to climb with natural protection
The local climbing club and community should be consulted before placing bolts
Bolting must not be done without the consent of the land owner
In this case all guidelines were violated. We are surprised and sad that such a well-respected climber would proceed in this manner, whose merits (including the impressive first ascent of “Catharsis” in Trollveggen last winter and a new route on Kjerag last summer) puts him among the elite alpinists of our time.
In Marcin’s defense it must be noted that Preikestolen is among the least preserved natural features in the Norwegian mountain landscape. The path has been made to accommodate thousands of tourists with minimal mountain experience. There are carved stairs, wooden walkways and rails almost all the way from the parking lot to the top. The presence of a small number of expansion bolts is in many ways quite insignificant in comparison. Also, there were already a few expansion bolts placed on the summit which were used for securing crew during filming for commercial and promotional purposes amongst other things.
However, none of this means that the climbing community can look away from the governing bolting ethics. On the contrary, because Preikestolen is such a famous landmark it is even more important that the climbing community preserves it as natural as possible, even though local tourism organizations have done otherwise.
Because the bolting was done without the consent of the land-owner there are also juridical issues present, but as a climbing club it is not our mandate to comment on these.
As we see it the bolts must be removed as soon as possible. We are very pleased that Marcin has agreed to do so himself and we expect it will be done shortly. We also encourage that the other bolts previously placed on the top plateau are removed. Hopefully this incident will send a signal that bolting of such a route is not accepted within the Norwegian climbing communities.
Harald Kleven and Leiv Aspelund,
Leader and deputy leader of Bratte Rogalands Venner
Les også: Polske klatrere med imponerende ny rute i Trollveggen
Tomaszewski er altså kjent som en meget dyktig og erfaren alpinklatrer, og som det står i uttalelsen over gikk han vinteren for et par år siden en ny, imponerende rute i Trollveggen, i alpin stil.
Han plasserte et drøyt 30-talls bolter på ruta, og boltingen fikk da ingen negative reaksjoner.
Norsk Tindeklub har uttalt at de støtter uttalelsen til BRV.
