Replacing Alpine Bolts

[j_b]

unless unnecessary, historically significant or not, unsafe bolts should of course be replaced.

 

a couple of comments about scott_j's examples (not to be argumentative but for the sake of providing a different perspective):

the direct east buttress of sew wasn't an obscure and forgotten climb before some of the bolts were replaced. the traffic on it has no doubt increased since rebolting but i'd say it was regularly climbed in the mid-to-late 80's. replacing the bolts on the cruxes was indeed well worthwhile since the combination of falls and rust had made them quite ugly.

I don't recall tooth and claw as being particularly bold (and i am no hardman even though i occasionally 'act' like one). some of the bolts are (were) somewhat dubious-looking since the rock chipped around a couple of studs. call me naive, but i never felt unsafe on the first pitch even though i recall falling on it once; granted, they may look much worse now. it'd probably be a good idea to replace a few of the critical bolts (if anyone is so inclined) since it is a great climb with easy access.