Widespread and significant rock vandalism has been reported at Robin Hoods Stride and Cratcliffe Tor recently.

A large number of problems have been chipped at these two locations last week, as well as a previous occurance of chipping on Joe's Slab at Frogatt at the end of last year. The nature of the chipping means that it is unlikely to be climbers who are invovled as holds have not been enhanced, but rather the well chalked potions of holds appear to have been chipped off entirely.

This appears to be deliberately malicious behaviour targeting climbers and the only common link seems to be that all the hold that were chipped were well chalked. There have been previous complaints about excessive chalk use in the area, so it may point to another user who dislikes climbers using chalk. Either way it's hard to understand how anyone can justify this damage as a response to chalk use.

The BMC is in contact with the landowner and National Park ranger and we have expressed our concern about the situation and offered to help in any way we can. It seems unlikely that the person or persons responsible will ever surface, but if you notice any suspicious activity at either these crags or elsewhere in the Peak, please report it to either the BMC or National Park ranger service.

In the meantime it's worth emphasising that the chipped rock will be extremely fragile now that it's hard patina has been removed, so climbers should avoid using the holds for the timebeing to prevent further damage. General good practice including using minimal chalk and tickmarks, and brushing off any remaining with a soft brush once you're finished climbing should be considered essential here as it is elsewhere.

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