Would You Install Rings on This Bolted Route's Walk-Up Anchor? (Photo Included)

I bolted a short (25 ft / 7 m) 5.10c traverse. As shown in the photo, the anchor bolts are located directly beside an access walkway. The route can be climbed on lead or top rope, but to set up a top rope or recover anchor gear, all someone has to do is step over the guardrail, hold the railing, and reach the anchor from the ledge. I'm fairly short with a negative ape index and have no trouble reaching them.

Given this setup, would you bother installing rings, or are two bare hangers sufficient for a walk-up top-rope anchor like this?

Photo annotation:

• Route highlighted in red

• Anchor circled in red

• Access walkway and guardrail circled in blue

Edit: added a second photo 

If it were me I would stick with the general ethics/norms of the area. If there are other routes with bare hangers you could go that route, but I would probably lean toward installing some kind of rap/lower off hardware. 

mussy hooks

If it's bolted for lead you need to install something so a person who leads it can clean their quickdraws off unless you are putting permadraws on each bolt.  Otherwise, they have to climb it twice to top out/walk off unless i'm not understanding the route setup.

If is is truly trivial to walk back to the base from the top after climbing it then you don’t need lowering hardware. However, the picture makes it look a bit sketchy to get to the rail once you have cleaned the anchor. Maybe it’s not.

If it’s truly no big deal then I wouldn’t be surprised if someone steals the lowering hardware. Some people are assholes.

It is also true that if everyone is leading it will need to be climbed again if you don’t add rings or something. 

Rachael v2wrote:

If is is truly trivial to walk back to the base from the top after climbing it then you don’t need lowering hardware. However, the picture makes it look a bit sketchy to get to the rail once you have cleaned the anchor. Maybe it’s not.

If it’s truly no big deal then I wouldn’t be surprised if someone steals the lowering hardware. Some people are assholes.

It is also true that if everyone is leading it will need to be climbed again if you don’t add rings or something. 

It's a trivial walk back to the top. I have added a second photo to the post show the anchor + access clearer.

Is the it does not need to be climbed again because after you clean the leading draws on the route you can literally just walk up to the top you using the stairs to clean the anchor.

Adam Wwrote:

If it's bolted for lead you need to install something so a person who leads it can clean their quickdraws off unless you are putting permadraws on each bolt.  Otherwise, they have to climb it twice to top out/walk off unless i'm not understanding the route setup.

Is the it does not need to be climbed twice because after you clean the leading draws on the route you can literally just walk up to the top you using the stairs to clean the anchor. I added a second photo to the original post.

Someone has to follow it to get all the rest of the draws off the route; this is unrelated to the anchor draws. 

Rachael v2wrote:

Someone has to follow it to get all the rest of the draws off the route; this is unrelated to the anchor draws. 

No, the leader a can clean it. I did so yesterday. The climb is one traverse so like most traverses it's extra work to clean. 

Clearly I’m misunderstanding something. If I start at the bottom and place draws as I go, and then walk off the top, when do I clean the draws?

Doesn’t seem like rings are necessary.  Just hangers are sufficient if it’s easy to lower off your own draws, clean the route, then just walk up and pull the two anchor draws off.

Rachael v2wrote:

Clearly I’m misunderstanding something. If I start at the bottom and place draws as I go, and then walk off the top, when do I clean the draws?

climb, lower off and clean draws, then walk up and retrieve anchor.

route looks pretty minor...anything else around? being cheap seldom makes a route better

For the nominal cost, all anchors should be usable for normal purposes, which does include rappelling and/or lowering to clean. I also think your proposal encourages unsafe practices: leaning over an exposed cliff—not tethered—to clean an anchor is far from ideal.

Just do hangers with two permanent rap rings pre installed so nothing gets stolen. Fixe, Lappas, Petzl, etc all sell these hanger setups. Quick links + rings and/or Mussy hooks would probably get stolen; I’ve had anchor hardware stolen (likely teenagers) in top setups like this. 

Is the railing sound? Tether to it and lean out / over to clean the anchor?

Seth Oliverwrote:

Just do hangers with two permanent rap rings pre installed so nothing gets stolen. Fixe, Lappas, Petzl, etc all sell these hanger setups. Quick links + rings and/or Mussy hooks would probably get stolen; I’ve had anchor hardware stolen (likely teenagers) in top setups like this. 

Theft is an issue here. We’ve had several anchors and hangers go missing on other routes.

I started working on this route last year and then forgot about it. I could have sworn I left quicklinks on it, but I wasn’t completely sure. Actually, scratch that. I just checked my bolting logs, and I definitely left two quicklinks there.

If I add hardware, I would use Loctite. I’m leaning toward an open carabiner anchor: blue Loctite for the hanger and bolt, then red Loctite for the quicklinks that connect the carabiner.

Lower offs or at least rings (if acceptable  in the area) would be nice the route is only 25 feet, should not have to spend more time cleaning the anchor than climbing the route. 

I would only go blue loctite to keep people honest, if you use red it will be a pain to remove without heat (torch) unless you plan to do all route maintenance don't screw the next guy.

For the ultimate theft proof use glue ins with rings on them if you have the tools/etc .

Julian Jwrote:

Theft is an issue here. We’ve had several anchors and hangers go missing on other routes.

I started working on this route last year and then forgot about it. I could have sworn I left quicklinks on it, but I wasn’t completely sure. Actually, scratch that. I just checked my bolting logs, and I definitely left two quicklinks there.

If I add hardware, I would use Loctite. I’m leaning toward an open carabiner anchor: blue Loctite for the hanger and bolt, then red Loctite for the quicklinks that connect the carabiner.

Uff yeah if you’re getting hangers stolen do as Ian said and get glue ins with the two rap rings. 

I never thought of myself as a bolt chopper, but I am definitely against bolting boulder problems next to trails. FFS have some self respect?

Hate me now, you'll thank me later.