By: Mark Poelzer – 5/16/19
Booty! The word conjurs many a feeling depending on who you ask. I know two pirates named The Brother’s Galahvan – I really do – and their “booty” comes in the form of anything pirate related. Climbers can sometimes look like pirates out there, too: often dirty, bruised and battered, sometimes foul-mouthed – but we seek out safe passage through a different kind of ocean – a vast and vertical ocean of rock and uncertainty. And along the journey we sometimes come across treasures that lure us and call out like sirens on the high seas. Ahoy booty! That’s “Hello booty!” in Pirate…if you didn’t know Pirate.
What’s booty to a climber? What calls out so strongly to us that it could drift us so quickly off course, completely changing our plan of attack for the day? When it comes down to it, just like pirates, it’s all about the Benjamin’$ baby! Booty is free gear we find out on that vertical ocean. Or, sometimes, resting on the ground at the base of the massive ocean that is El Capitan, like it did for me. That was some easy booty!
But sometimes it’s not so easy retrieving that treasure you’ve spotted. And believe it or not, there are RULES when it comes to retrieving booty in the climbing world – perhaps this is where we stray most from our ruthless pirate brethren.
There are no “official” rules, but Mountain Project highlights the big takeaways: #1 – Any gear that you leave on a climb due to lack of skill, persistence or courage is booty once you give up on retrieving it, and leave the crag for the day. You get a 12-hr reprieve if you announce your intentions to recover your gear, but you need to be at the base of the cliff at first light. Sleeping in will result in your gear becoming booty. #2. Gear left due to inclement weather or conditions is booty as a lack of skill was involved in the decisions that you made. You were not fast or perhaps strong enough to beat the weather, or you made a poor decision regarding the weather or conditions. The mountain beat you and therefore your gear becomes booty. #3 Any gear left in a rescue or accident resulting in real (not imagined) injury is not booty and shall be left at the rock/snow/IME, the Mountainere etc. to be returned to the proper party involved. The booty game is supposed to be fun. Once someone gets really hurt it is not fun anymore. #4 If you lose booty do not be a whiny little ____ about it. Asking for your booty to be returned is very bad karma and results in a huge loss of face. If the booty hounds offer to return your lost booty and you accept you lose major face. The proper response is, “No, you keep it, you guys earned it.” If they offer to return the booty, and you refuse and offer to let them keep the booty, but they then insist, “No you go ahead and take it back we have plenty of gear” you may then accept the return of your booty gear. You will still lose some face but not too bad. At this point you need to offer them a libation or other form of good will to show your appreciation.
Keep in Mind – There are different rules for fixed gear on difficult routes, which is meant to stay there, and is not considered booty. Sometimes, one will find only a crux move to have fixed gear – leave it! Also, someone may be projecting a route and the rules are a bit fuzzy here depending on who you talk to. Bottom line, don’t be a thief – the booty game is meant to be a fun one. https://www.facebook.com/whiteraven29/https://www.instagram.com/thebrothersgalahvan/
