Re-bolting corroded hardware in the Dominican Republic -- Playa Fronton

Hi folks,

We have just launched a not-for-profit crowdfund campaign for re-bolting dangerously corroded climbs at a magical place in the Caribbean called Playa Frontón. This is one of the best places you will find to climb in the Caribbean. Please have a look at our page. Even the smallest donations will make a difference!

Link to page on generosity.com: igg.me/at/tS0QLem5TeI

Please feel free to post back here with any questions or discussions!

thanks for your support,
Ben

BUMP. Our Indiegogo fundraiser campaign is on the home stretch. We have purchased 100 titanium glue-in bolts for our re-bolting effort but we need many more bolts to see the project through to completion. Please visit our link and help us get one step closer to our goal before the time runs out on our 30-day campaign! Thank you for your generosity and support!

It's not much but I dropped $10 in there.

I think it's important to support rebolting efforts and other climbing communities even ones I'll probably never visit. I hope a few others on here follow suit.

Good luck!

Thank you Kris for your kind donation. We appreciate it very much!

To follow up on what Kris wrote, our campaign page on indiegogo has been viewed many thousands of times, yet we have received a relatively small number of donations to date. If each of those page views had donated $10, $5, or even $1, we'd be in great shape to see this project through to completion. Please consider even a small donation. Crowdfunding is all about small donations from a large number of people, rather than just a few larger donations from a handful of people.

Every little bit adds up and makes a difference! We thank you for your support.

BTW Kris, I see that you are from Burlington. I learned to climb and boulder many years ago in Smuggs and Bolton Valley.

cashmab wrote:BTW Kris, I see that you are from Burlington. I learned to climb and boulder many years ago in Smuggs and Bolton Valley.

Ha, no shit. I think in the last 2 years I've put more bolts in Bolton than anyone. Glad to help even if it's just a little.

When does the campaign end?

Our campaign ends in 9 days (April 2).

Nice, just after this dirtbag gets paid! I also have some hardware I would be happy to donate. I'll send you message.

Good work and easy to donate!

manuel rangel wrote:Good work and easy to donate!

Thank you very much for your kind donation Manuel! We are extremely appreciative of your support. Your contribution has made a significant impact on the project. Thanks!

Ben

Hi all,

Our campaign will be live for only 3 more days -- this is your last chance!

We have made a solid dent in our goal thanks to our incredibly generous donors, but we need to rally and keep the momentum going to see our project through.

Please tip your hat to your fellow climbers by contributing a small donation for the good we are trying to do, before it's too late.

I know it can be easy to rationalize not contributing your money to a place that you perhaps may never visit, but just think that for the cost of one Starbucks beverage or for the cost of eating out at a restaurant one night you could help preserve classic routes that climbers will enjoy for 50 or more years!

We appreciate anything that you can give. We thank you for your kindheartedness!

Link to page on generosity.com: igg.me/at/tS0QLem5TeI

Last chance to contribute to this campaign! The campaign will be closed today in just a couple of hours. Thanks to all who have donated and for those who are still thinking about it, please help us get that much closer to our goal! We sincerely appreciate your support!

Now that our campaign has ended, I want to give a shout out of thanks to everyone who contributed to the project.

We raised about $2300 which was enough to get our hands on 130 titanium bolts from Titan Climbing, and also a bunch of Hilti RE-500, plus some extras including SDS bits, some other tools and cleanup supplies, etc.

This is all enough to re-bolt 12-15 classic sport routes at Fronton - a very successful start! Sincere gratitude to all who helped this cause! We couldn't have gotten this far without your support! THANKS!

Well done! Glad the fund-raiser went well.

So by the way, what are you doing for top anchors?

John Byrnes wrote:Well done! Glad the fund-raiser went well. So by the way, what are you doing for top anchors?

Thanks John.

For now, we are going to use pairs of Ti U-bolts for top anchors, glued in with HIT-RE-500. It seems to be the most economical way to provide strong, corrosion-resistant anchors with redundancy. Of the 130 bolts we are getting from Titan, 24 are U-bolts and the rest are Eternas.

cashmab wrote: For now, we are going to use pairs of Ti U-bolts for top anchors, glued in with HIT-RE-500. It seems to be the most economical way to provide strong, corrosion-resistant anchors with redundancy. Of the 130 bolts we are getting from Titan, 24 are U-bolts and the rest are Eternas.

So you're planning on two U-bolts, vertical orientation, about a foot apart? What diameter is the stock? I think the ones I have (with the fat lowering ring) are 8mm.

Just FYI, I still have a good stock of the Tortugas. I use the Eternas for climbing bolts and the Tortugas for the top anchor. The larger eye is easier to thread with the rope, and the larger diameter (10 vs 8mm) should wear longer. I place them at about a 15 degree angle, angled toward each other, to lower the torque on them when lowering/toproping.

I don't know if Martin told you, but last year I took a micrometer and tried to measure the wear from the rope on some anchor bolts that were 14 years old. The wear was visible (a polished section) and tactile (smoother) but the difference in diameter was unmeasurable with the micrometer, so less than .001".

John Byrnes wrote:The wear was visible (a polished section) and tactile (smoother) but the difference in diameter was unmeasurable with the micrometer, so less than .001".

Wow...good wear data.

I've always wondered about applying a ceramic epoxy coating to help extend the life of top anchors...some are available as brush on.

Replaceable titanium rings and rapides might trump having to do coat a top anchor...

..or Ramshorns

John Byrnes wrote: So you're planning on two U-bolts, vertical orientation, about a foot apart? What diameter is the stock? I think the ones I have (with the fat lowering ring) are 8mm. Just FYI, I still have a good stock of the Tortugas. I use the Eternas for climbing bolts and the Tortugas for the top anchor. The larger eye is easier to thread with the rope, and the larger diameter (10 vs 8mm) should wear longer. I place them at about a 15 degree angle, angled toward each other, to lower the torque on them when lowering/toproping. I don't know if Martin told you, but last year I took a micrometer and tried to measure the wear from the rope on some anchor bolts that were 14 years old. The wear was visible (a polished section) and tactile (smoother) but the difference in diameter was unmeasurable with the micrometer, so less than .001".

I think they're 8.8mm grade 2 stock. Yes, vertically oriented about a foot apart is the plan. That's great to hear about the wear (or lack thereof). I hadn't heard that detail from Martin but glad you mentioned it.

Ideally, we would come back in later with Ti threaded gate quick links or ramshorns but given our lack of budget those are considered luxuries we can't afford at the moment. Step one for now is to rebolt what's there now to avoid an accident caused by SCC. Giordanno down in the DR just had a 10 year old SS glue-in fail under body weight a couple of weeks ago, which further reinforces the urgency to get Ti hardware into the rock.

I'd be curious to hear more about your Tortuga supply. I'll send you a PM to that effect.

M Sprague wrote:..or Ramshorns

Yeah the ramshorns look great -- Martin is sending us a pair just to try out. We hope to maybe add those to our anchors in the not-to-distant future, as funding allows.