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Setting up anchors in an Wilderness Area

john strand · · southern colo · Joined May 2008 · Points: 1,640

IMO climbtech hanger suck..either go Fix or pay for Metolius.

C Williams · · Sketchy, Blackvanistan · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 1,556

+1 for the Climbtech hangers from rapbolting.com. They are more or less the Petzl hanger but almost a dollar cheaper. Plus they are nice and compact meaning you are hauling less steel (ok just a little less) into the backcountry. The new ones have a nice matte finish too.

Steve Jones · · Fayetteville WV, · Joined Jun 2011 · Points: 105

Glad you are going to use stainless. It's worth it. I think the climbtech stainless hangers are good and certainly cheaper. We've placed hundreds of them with no problems. I get 3/8" stainless wedge bolts from Concrete Fastening Systems ( confast.com), 3/8" Bosch bits from Lowes and use the Drill Doctor 350X ( drilldoctor.com/) to sharpen the bits, you get an extra use out of each one that way. Too many sharpenings however, will reduce the diameter of the bit, so that the bolt won't fit the hole.

Be sure to blow out the hole, brush it a few times and blow out again to get all the drill dust out. Don't use wedge bolts in very overhanging placements - there is not enough surface contact, that's where you need the 5 piece bolts. The 3/8" stainless wedge bolts tighten to 25 ft lbs, or a touch less if unsure. Over-tightening will strip the wedge. I pulled an anchor bolt out by hand last year that someone had over tightened. I think 3/8" 5 piece bolts tighten to 12.5 ft lbs, but you should always look up the specs.

caribouman1052 · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2012 · Points: 5

J. Broussard - I have an extra Chouinard/ BD hammer I can sell.

Thanks to all for your feedback about placing bolts. Sounds like I will be using 2.25" x 3/8", all S/S, and check out specs for 5-piece bolts for overhanging sections.

More questions - what about epoxy? I have used crushable glass capsules with the wedge type bolts on construction jobs - is epoxy ever used in climbing anchors? I can see a positive in the epoxy filling any air space, and not allowing water in, thus reducing corrosion, thus extending bolt longevity. I see a negative when it comes time to get the bolt back out for replacement. Any thoughts?

J. Broussard · · CordryCorner · Joined Feb 2011 · Points: 50
caribouman1052 wrote:J. Broussard - I have an extra Chouinard/ BD hammer I can sell.
Looks like you're out in WA. I'm in Boulder and shipping would probably be prohibitive. Temping offer, so thank you anyways.
smassey · · CO · Joined Dec 2008 · Points: 200

@NickVotto, a good resource for finding specific regs for your local Wilderness is wilderness.net/. It may take a little poking around, but can be handy. Most Forests and National Parks that have Wilderness have a Wilderness management plan that tends to lay out regs for fixed anchors. Another way of finding out it looking on the individual Forest/Park website. Typically under the Management/Planning (or similar) tab, there are links to relevant plans that should have that info. Many Wildernesses allow drilling with a hand drill without any need for permits or the like, but some Parks are now starting to require you to obtain a permit prior to placing a bolt. There are even some BLM Wildernesses in So. NV that prohibit bolting entirely. Totally depends on the area.

C Williams · · Sketchy, Blackvanistan · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 1,556

CM - Epoxy is used for glue in type climbing anchors like the climbtech Wave Bolt. These use 1/2" holes which are a real pain to hand drill and hauling in the epoxy and gun into a wilderness area is just silly. These are best suited to easily accessible sport areas. If you do venture into the world of glue-in bolts the gold standard for epoxy is Hilti RE-500. I have never used epoxy on mechanical anchors like wedge anchors for a couple of reasons. First, a 2.25" x 3/8" 5-piece, or even wedge anchor, in granite is way stronger than any forces a climber will be able to apply and the added strength epoxy gives is not needed. Second, when bolting in wilderness areas I again find myself reluctant to drag in a gun and epoxy. Third, and I could be wrong on this one, but as I understand it the freeze-thaw cycle in many alpine areas can actually detach the glue plug and cause the bolt to fail. Might be wrong on that one though. Either way, stainless will last a crazy long time in the mountains even with out the help of epoxy.

applewood · · Tonasket, WA · Joined Aug 2012 · Points: 16,382

I hand-drilled at least 100 bolt holes back in the mid 90's (before I discovered power tools) - and at $10 or so SDS bits should work just fine for you. I'd also recommend stainless bolts and hangers (3" bolts) - as I just had a plated bolt I placed in 1999 pull out today (in good granite) - apparently from the wedge part corroding enough to no longer hold. As for hammer - I use an old Estwing metal shaft claw framing hammer - works fine but will give you carpel tunnel. Btw, I remember the holes for a 3/8x3" bolt taking about 30 minutes to "drill". Have fun...

caribouman1052 · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2012 · Points: 5

Applewood,
Might I ask - where were you that that galvanized bolt pulled? I'm doing more and more climbing in the Casdades, and I'd like to be prepared.

applewood · · Tonasket, WA · Joined Aug 2012 · Points: 16,382

Caribouman1052, that bolt was in the Kettle Valley of N Central WA. The rock there is excellent granite, and the environment at that site dry, but the bolt was a short one (only 2.25"), and that may have been a contributing factor. The scary part is we usually don't know what we're clipping. (I'm going to replace all the bolts at that small isolated crag with 3" SS.)

caribouman1052 · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2012 · Points: 5

I'd like to join you for one of those bolt replacement trips - I've never pulled a bolt before. Driven a few thousand of the sleeve anchor type.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Fixed Hardware: Bolts & Anchors
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