Gaston_Lagaffe Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 Ladies and gents. I was wondering if there are people interested in helping me replace old bolts at Static Point. I'm both new to this bulletin board as well as to this area, so I'm not sure on the ethics of this in this region. To me it's simple: some of the bolts need replacing as they are getting dangerously rusty and loose, and I feel it's stupid to loose a climb forever just because of this. I would however like to make clear that I'm AGAINST adding new bolts to the climbs, and that we'd try to use the old bolt holes as much as possible. With that said, I have to admit that I have never either placed bolts, nor removed bolts, so I would be looking for guidance as well. If the general consensus is that we should not do this, then I'll respect that. But I would like comments so as to make sure we do it right. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle_Tricky Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 (edited) When I saw the subject line I thought... But seriously, I don't think anyone would have a problem with someone upgrading existing old bolts--as long as they do it right. Edited March 31, 2003 by Uncle_Tricky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 Uncle_Tricky said: When I saw the subject line, I thought...oh, well--nevermind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 Don't be grid bolting foo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordop Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 I higly encourage you to follow through on these plans, and when you are done At Darr, head down to Yosem and continue your crusade. You have been chosen . . . now go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottP Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 On lead, by hand. With that said, learn as much as you can. and then learn some more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_Schuldt Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 The people who do most of the work up there post on this site. Send a private message to mattp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayB Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 I don't think that you'd find anyone who'd object to replacing jingus 1/4" bolts with modern hardware at Static Point or anywhere else! In fact, various folks that post on this board replaced the old bolts on Cashman, Black Fly, American Pie, and the anchors on top of the last pitch of Online last summer. If you are looking for suggestions for routes that could use new hardware out there, I'm sure there'll be plenty of suggestions though. One suggestion might be to use camouflaged hardware if you can get your hands on some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allison Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 Camoflauged hardware is easy to do, just get a couple of colors of spray paint and do it yourself. That is always a great suggestion, as is pming Mattp re Static Point history and stuff. He might know people who could tell you what you need to know about installing bolts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gapertimmy Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 yep those fancy metolious tanish jobbies blend in quite well down here in coregon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chucK Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 Gaston_Lagaffe said: To me it's simple: some of the bolts need replacing as they are getting dangerously rusty and loose, and I feel it's stupid to loose a climb forever just because of this. Which climbs are you talking about? If you haven't been there in a couple of years, you may find out that your envisioned work has already been completed. That said, there are a couple of pitches up there that could use some bolt replacement that I can think of, Static Cling, 10b extension of Lost Charms, and the two bolts on the start of the Fluorescent Green Crab Traverse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattp Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 ChucK is right that most of the climbs at Static Point have had their hardware upgraded while the two that he mentions have not. However, some of the upgrades have not been as good as they could be and On Line (the most popular climb on the crag) has a number of 3/8" bolts that are not fully driven and some of the belay stations look sketchy to climbers who are used to modern chain anchors and stainless steel bolts. It will be difficult to upgrade these bolts without making a mess out of it, though, so I would highly encourage anybody who wants to clean it up to learn as much as possible about it before they go. At Static Point or anywhere, I would also suggest that anyone replacing bolts take the extra time to remove the old ones so new bolts can go in the same holes wherever possible. Also, I think it is worthwhile to spend the extra money for high quality stainless steel bolts and hangers. I like powder coated hangers because the baked on finish lasts longer than any paint job you could do at home. For belay stations, I prefer the Fixe stations (again, powder coated) but there are good arguments for the more standard sport-crag setup. I don't advocate setting up crag climbs with belay (rappel) stations requiring webbing, because the resulting heaps of old webbing make it impossible to clip directly into a bolt hanger, they can be downright scary, and these belay stations are ugly from afar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaphappy Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 At Static Point or anywhere, I would also suggest that anyone replacing bolts take the extra time to remove the old ones so new bolts can go in the same holes wherever possible. Also, I think it is worthwhile to spend the extra money for high quality stainless steel bolts and hangers. I like powder coated hangers because the baked on finish lasts longer than any paint job you could do at home. For belay stations, I prefer the Fixe stations (again, powder coated) but there are good arguments for the more standard sport-crag setup. I don't advocate setting up crag climbs with belay (rappel) stations requiring webbing, because the resulting heaps of old webbing make it impossible to clip directly into a bolt hanger, they can be downright scary, and these belay stations are ugly from afar. Well said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeclimb9 Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 I'll add that 5 piece bolts are the best. Easier to replace later, and have a low profile (no unintentioned carabiner openings by levering on a protruding bolt). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleblebleb Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 I'd be willing to help with replacing old bolts with new ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glen Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 Have hand drill, will travel. PM me when you are planning on heading up there and I'll help out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaston_Lagaffe Posted April 1, 2003 Author Share Posted April 1, 2003 You've all made great suggestion on how to do it right, thanks. But how about calling it the Eh-Team instead? http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/photos/face_final020224.jpg PS. This is absolutely not meant to offend Canadians. I partly grew up there and am very fond of the country and its people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 fleblebleb said: I'd be willing to help with replacing old bolts with new ones. Hey I'll pay for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaston_Lagaffe Posted April 2, 2003 Author Share Posted April 2, 2003 ScottP said: On lead, by hand. With that said, learn as much as you can. and then learn some more. Ok, so I did Online/Offline twice last fall. What I mean by that is that I was unable to do the 5.10 pitch of Online and opted to finish via Offline. Anyone willing/able to clean-up the 5.10 on Online? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chucK Posted April 2, 2003 Share Posted April 2, 2003 (edited) Gaston_Lagaffe said: Ok, so I did Online/Offline twice last fall. What I mean by that is that I was unable to do the 5.10 pitch of Online and opted to finish via Offline. Anyone willing/able to clean-up the 5.10 on Online? I thought the Online bolts looked pretty good, with the exception of the anchors at the top of the pitch [ETA: oops looks like JayB already got to these. Right on JayB! ]. I think they're good enough for rapping though. What did you find problematic about the 5.10 pitch? Are you sure you're not talking about American Pie? That top pitch of Offline is what needs to be cleaned up. That succession of belay anchors is ugly. Edited April 2, 2003 by chucK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaston_Lagaffe Posted April 2, 2003 Author Share Posted April 2, 2003 I'm pretty sure I was on Online the whole way. As I finished the 5.8 pitch before the 5.10 pitch on Online the anchors were some slings, an old chain and lousy bolts. I wouldn't want to take a lead-fall on the anchors, taking my belayer with me. I weigh 220, so it's not a trivial piece of force that would hit that anchor IF I fell. At that point I went up a "dihedral" a little to the left, straight up from Offline, so I'm sure I was not on Am Pie. As for the problem of me getting up the actual 5.10 pitch of Online, I started sliding down with every step and couldn't find good feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayB Posted April 2, 2003 Share Posted April 2, 2003 If you went left right after reaching the last set of anchors prior to the crux pitch of Online, that would have put you right in the vicinity of American Pie if you traversed far enough to that side. There is a short right facing dihedral on the far right of Tombstone ledge where the ledge and the slab intersect - that's the only one I can remember in the area - but you'd have to traverse a ways to get that far over. If you did head over that far and climbed the route above and slightly to the left of the dihedral that would have put you on Black Fly, and the anchors at the top of this route are now stainless 1/2" deals. As far as I know the triple-jingus anchor on top of Offline/The Right Line is still in place, and would be as good a candidate as any for replacement out there. You could access these anchors without climbing any 5.10 slabs by heading up Black Fly and continuing on the easy 5th stuff to the anchors on the top of Online (also new), then rapping down to the triple-jingus set-up on Offline/Right Line and continuing down from there. When are you planning to head out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaston_Lagaffe Posted April 10, 2003 Author Share Posted April 10, 2003 I'm thinking of heading up there late May during a weekend. That way the folks who want to go can play with their schedules. How does that sound? Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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