| Bolt Replacement
| 
Woodson Anchors that have
been Replaced
|
San Diego is plagued with outdated
and dangerous climbing anchors. Most of San Diego’s
climbing areas were established in excess of 30 years
ago and are in desperate need of updating. Due to insurance
and liability reasons, ACSD regrets that it cannot,
itself, engage in climbing anchor replacement. We would,
however, like to recognize and report some good deeds
that have been accomplished lately. Some members of
the climbing community have received new hardware from
the American
Safe Climbing Association (ASCA) and
have been replacing old bolts and hangers where necessary.
So far this year approximately 40 old anchors have been
replaced at Mt. Woodson. This is only the tip of
the iceberg. Part of ACSDs mission is to promote safe
climbing. Therefore, we will engage in fundraising efforts
to donate to the ASCA so they can further their much
needed work and continue to support the efforts of local
climbers willing to do the work necessary to keep others
safe!
If you come across what appear to be
unsafe anchors while climbing, please let
us know so we can spread the word by posting the
information on our web site. Though nothing stated anywhere
on ACSD's web site relieves any climbers of complete
responsibility for their own safety, here are a few
tips offered by a local climber who has been helping
with the bolt replacement:
Any 1/4” bolt is a time
bomb. Most come out by simply tapping a knife blade
piton between it and the rock.
The 5/16” bolts that have been
removed were sound. However many were installed with
Leeper, Leeper look-alike, or SMC hangers –
none of which are safe. The thin steel has a tendency
to crack where the steel was bent, especially the
older, thinner ones (there are 3 generations of Leeper
hangers).
Some safety tips:
- Do not belay or top rope off a single 1/4”
bolt or one of these older hangers.
- Do not count on one of these to keep you off the
ground lead climbing.
- Do not trust an aluminum hanger, one swing of a
hammer will break one off.
There are many newer (1980’s) shiny stainless
steel SMC and Kong hangers out there. These hangers
are good, but the 5/16” bolts typically used
with these hangers are not as strong as the 3/8”
and 1/2” anchors used today. These bolts may
also be much more rusted and corroded then the shiny
hanger indicates, especially inside the hole where
it is not visible.
Over the past 10 years many Mt. Woodson
bolts have been replaced with solid stainless steel
Metolius hangers but non-stainless Rawl 5-piece bolts.
Although these anchors are solid now, there are potential
problems with this type of replacement:
- The shiny stainless hanger misleads the climber
of the actual condition of the bolt.
- Stainless steel in contact with regular steel causes
the regular steel to corrode at a faster rate due
to galvanic corrosion.
Some of these bolts also may have
been over-torqued when installed. That, combined with
the weakening of the rust has prevented many of these
bolts from being removed without snapping off inside
the hole, rendering the hole useless. The hole must
then be camouflaged and a new hole drilled next to
it. To correct this I have been removing the stainless
steel hangers and replacing them with regular steel,
as well as applying anti-seize compound to the threads
so it will be removable when replacement is necessary.
For more information about bolts, check
out the ASCA's
Education page. |
