37 | Climbing On Wet Rocks...An Ethical Debate w/ Mike Tagg

The Climbing Majority

I don’t know about you, but this winter has been insane for us on the west coast. Record snowfall, rainfall, and constant cold weather. While it does seem like we are finally coming to a close of this long winter as temps are warming up, one thing in my mind that has stuck out the most, and that is the debate of climbing on wet rocks.

Wet rocks are a part of nature…but certain kinds of rock become brittle and fragile after considerable saturation. With a season as wet as 2023, this topic sits at the forefront of many climbers minds. I have personally become very interested in the topic and feel that we all, at the very least, need to be aware that it is a real issue. People are getting injured, classic climbing routes are being changed forever, and public land owners are potentially getting more ground to ban us climbers from the areas we love the most.
Todays conversation is with a fellow recreational climber named Mike Tagg. I met Mike via Facebook after finding his post about an app he had developed, that consolidates the information we need to better make a decision on whether or not to climb on wet rocks.
We talk about the ethics behind climbing on wet rocks, dive deep into both sides of the coin, and ultimately realize that we, the Majority, are in control of when we climb….and hope this conversation makes us more aware of the impact that we have on the world around us….and provide a tool for us to use to better make critical decisions… like when to climb……when it might be better to either stay home….or simply climb somewhere else.

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Resources:
Mike's Weather App
The Wet Rock Police