Rock trundling is the act of dislodging loose rocks from cliffs or climbing routes to clear them before they potentially present a problem in the future. Sometimes these rocks are at risk of falling from natural erosion and sometimes they present a potential hazard to future climbers who might grab onto them. Trundling should be left to those with plenty of experience and understanding of the potential hazards created by the act. Ethan Heinrichs, for example, very clearly understands how one safely trundles.
Heinrichs and Daniel Gun were working to put up a first ascent on the East End of Rundle in the Canadian Rockies when they came across this loose boulder precariously balanced on a rock below. Gun came across the boulder first and noted his concerns to Heinrichs who took a closer look when he reached the area. After inspecting the rock and ensuring there was nobody below, Heinrichs sent the boulder tumbling to the ground.
The full ascent included three pitches, the first being a 5.9, the second a 5.10a, and the third a low 5th class. The boulder was located fairly early on in the first pitch, so it didn’t have all that far to fall.
