When climbing on hard routes, how are the quick draws already up there?

Question

I have always wondered how when people climb on really hard routes where there is not a lot of time to put the draw into the bolt how the QD is already there in the first place.

Answer 1

maybe someone placed them there while repelling down witch gave them plenty of time.

Answer 2

Bruce C provides one possiblity.

Another situation is when a pair of climbers have differring climbing ability, you sometimes see the better of the 2 lead the route as normal. Then, instead of the 2nd climber cleaning the route, they pull the rope and allow the less experienced climber to lead w/ the QD already there. They can then concentrate more on the climb yet still lead. This creates a problem, however, if the 2nd person to lead cant finish the route. The first climber will have to reclimb the route in order to reclaim their QDs.

Answer 3

1. They are left there from a previous attempt at the route (you can only clean ALL the draws if you make it to the top).

2. They are left by another climber - the rope was pulled but the draws remain.

3. There are also "fixed" draws - usually made from steel cable that won't rot in the sun - on very hard climbs, but these are rare.

Good Luck