In Britain after thousands of ascents of the popular routes, the footholds are actually becoming polished but the cracks that protect them are unscarred and clean. The "Nutcracker" in Yosemite, which was deliberately and with great satisfaction climbed often and irreverently; some sections of cracks are continuous piton scars for several feet. It can still be done with nuts — they even fit in some of the pin scars — but no one will be able to see this beautiful piece of rock the way it was the first ascent party did. It didn't have to happen that way. It could still be so clean that only a runner-smooth ring at the base of trees and a few bleached patches where lichen had been worn off would be the only sign that hundreds had passed by. Yet the same hundreds who have been there and hammered their marks could still have safely climbed it because nut placements were, and are frequent, logical and sound. In Yosemite pins have traditionally been removed in an effort to keep the climbs pure and as close as possible to their natural condition. The long term effects of this ethic are unfortunately destructive to cracks and delicate flake systems. This problem is not unique to Yosemite; it's being felt in all heavily used areas across the country. In the Shawangunks a popular route can be traced not by connecting the logical weaknesses but by the line of pitons and piton holes up on the cliff. As climbers, it is our responsibility to protect this part of the wilderness from human erosion. Clean climbing is a method we can use to solve this serious problem. A guide for clean climbers is here presented.

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