Setting up anchors in an Wilderness Area

And I'd like to wisely invest in the right tools.
Hand Drill seems easy to settle on: ROCPEC
But what about bits (do I really need to drop $50+)?
And hardware?

Thank you for your suggestions.

It's usually best to go to established areas, especially trad areas when you want to put up bolts. Most people are too lazy to put up bolts, but they'll be super grateful when you do it. Focus on really popular routes that don't seem like they have enough bolts already. There, you'll get a lot of feedback from area climbers on where exactly you can put your bolts.

JasonP wrote:It's usually best to go to established areas, especially trad areas when you want to put up bolts. Most people are too lazy to put up bolts, but they'll be super grateful when you do it. Focus on really popular routes that don't seem like they have enough bolts already. There, you'll get a lot of feedback from area climbers on where exactly you can put your bolts.

Jason, the OP is looking for a shopping list. Have you hand drilled any routes?

i have used Bosch sds bits for years and never spent more than $10 for a 3/8". Depending on the rock bolt sizes range from 2.25" to 3.5"..for granite i like a 2.75 powers powerstud for longevity, though a 2.25 is plenty strong.

Deals can be had on Fixe stuff sometimes, especially if you get 100 hangers or so (share)

I think a Fixe plated hanger with a regular ,carbon steel bolt is fine..other say stainless only...just don't mix your metals up.

A small tube brush, blow tubing( 3' is fine) and a good hammer. get small wrench, only adjustable if you place diff sizes and a small bag for everything.

if you have not placed bolts before, i suggest trying out a torque wrench first to get a feel for the right tightness.

If you're going to be installing or replacing anchors in wilderness, please do us all a favor and use stainless. Yes, it costs ~50% more, however it is likely that those anchors will be there for a very long time before they are replaced again.

Fixe has a killer deal on 3/8" stainless hangers right now, $1.90 each with no minimum purchase. fixehardware.com/shop/hange…

3/8" stainless wedge anchors are the way to go, should last 50 years. If drilling in granite, you can get away with 2 1/4", which you can find for less than $1 per bolt.

John, Jeff: Thank you

As you've both have guessed, I will be drilling into granite.
And I think that spending a couple of extra bucks for longer lasting hardware is a no brainer.

I'm looking at:
ROCPEC + Bosch SDS 3/8" bit(s) + (brush, blow tube, hammer, torque wrench)
Fix hangers
fixehardware.com/shop/hange…
3/8'' x 2-3/4'' wedge bolt
confast.com/products/thunde…

I've always been really curious why the Petzl drill bit for the RocPec costs $50. That's about 5 times the price of even other premium bits. It's weird.

In any event, I just drilled a 3/8" by 4" hole with my $8 Home Depot bit with my RocPec, in granite. Other than being a lot of work, it was no problem. I'm a hand drill newbie, but my cheaper bit (an $8 Bosch Bulldog or some such thing) worked fine.

teece303 wrote:I've always been really curious why the Petzl drill bit for the RocPec costs $50.

For (bolting) newbies like us that don't know any better right out of the gate. I am glad that I asked. So thanks again for the useful (patient) replies).

Make sure the bolts you use have an ICC-ES approval if they are not specifically designed for climbing. It is the construction industry's equivalent(ish) to a CE approval. Better quality control and testing. Hilti, Powers, ITW-Redhead and a few others have that approval.

J. - I haven't drilled a lot by hand but I have drilled well over 1,000 bolts with a hammer drill at work. I have mostly used Bosch SDS bits since the late 80's, and they hold up quite well. You can sharpen the carbide tips as they dull, by using a diamond abrasive (Do a search for Eze Lap. They used to make a tongue depressor sized sharpening plate, perfect for the mountains.)

Remember your safety glasses. A chip in the eye is bad on a job site, much worse at the sharp end of a rope. If you are drilling a lot of holes, you might want some foam ear plugs.

I second everything else said - blow tube & brush are requirements, and similar metals are also best.

If I may deviate slightly from initial post? For FA belay bolt anchors, and bail-out anchors, would you all use anything smaller than 3/8" in wilderness granite?

CM - I feel 5/16" or even 1/4" button heads are acceptable if they are temporary. I feel if these little time bombs are placed they should be upgraded at the soonest opportunity. Leaving anything less than stainless 3/8" as permanent protection is irresponsible route development.

In high quality granite, a 5/16" is plenty strong. BUT they are harder to place properly and come in limited sizes. A 2.25"x 3/8 ' isn't that much more drilling and much stronger.

The blow tube/brush/ etc should only be $5 at any hardware store.

Fixe hanger with the rap ring is a good ,low profile belay/rap set up

Not a big fan of thunderstuds

In my limited experience, 3/8" by 2.25" in granite is easy enough to drill that I would not feel ok leaving behind anything else. And strength is surprisingly not hugely correlated to length in hard rock like granite, so the shorter bolt really isn't a bad compromise at all (again, in a hard rock like granite).

I really expected hand drilling to be a lot of work: it's hard, but doable, if the number of anchors is limited (as it should be in a wilderness area).

Agreed.. longer bolts like 3.5" and such really are better for stuff like Tuff and such. i have used plenty of 2.25' powers and they are fine in good rock.

I also don't tend to use the Powers 5 piece much..IMO it's a bit fragile when tightening down and prone to dirt clogging.

Spend your money on a good hammer

john strand wrote:Spend your money on a good hammer

What's a suggestion for a good hammer?

I may be completely wrong but I was under the impression it's illegal to bolt in wilderness areas??
If it's not then I have a couple projects in mind myself.....

Nick Votto wrote:I may be completely wrong but I was under the impression it's illegal to bolt in wilderness areas?? If it's not then I have a couple projects in mind myself.....

Illegal to power drill, and certain wilderness areas have their own policies (e.x. the Superstition wilderness near Phoenix, AZ) that ban bolts, but typically bolts are allowed as long as they are hand-drilled.

J. Broussard wrote: What's a suggestion for a good hammer?

The best drilling hammer is the old A5 but they are rare now and super $$ and you can't have mine !
i have not used the petzl but other like it OK

The BD is a bout your best choice..if you look around, maybe $50-75. it's got decent weight and a good pick to flatten out the rock.

I have always thought that traditional framing hammers are silly for hand drilling.

Alex McIntyre wrote: Illegal to power drill, and certain wilderness areas have their own policies (e.x. the Superstition wilderness near Phoenix, AZ) that ban bolts, but typically bolts are allowed as long as they are hand-drilled.

Thanks Alex, I was specifically thinking of a few spots way out in the Trinity Alps, amazing walls, lots pretty devoid of natural pro. If I ever get to it I'll be sure to talk to the Trinity rangers.

Check your specific area, and always follow a wilderness ethic, but I'll go out on a limb and say that it is legal to *hand drill* bolts in most wilderness areas. I think the default policy is legality for wilderness area bolts: specific places have to override the default. You can't use a power drill in any wilderness area.

I just got a Faders hammer. The BD is heavier, and I think a slightly lighter hammer is better for hand drilling. Many small whacks is better than fewer big whacks.

I appreciate the rubberized handle of the Faders compared to the simple wooden shaft of the old Salewa that Locker gave me.

But again, I'm new to this, so you should listen to the grizzled veterans more than me.

Check out rapbolting.com. Fixe tends to nail you on shipping, I really love the climbtech hangers, they are quite shiny though. Stainless hangers are around 2.60 each.