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Quincy Quarries bolts

Original Post
drewdogg2112 · · halifax, MA · Joined Aug 2015 · Points: 20

So I noticed that someone has recently rebolted Pins (I think it is Pins) on the K wall.
1. Does anyone have any idea who did this
2. Did said person do this properly and are these actually safe to fall on.
3. The hanger on one of the anchor bolts is spinning. Not sure that this directly affects the strength of the bolt but it makes my think the bolt is not sunk as deep as it should be.
Has anyone fallen on these?
I will say I know nothing about actually bolting routes so i have no input on that kind of stuff. The bolts look nice new and shiny and I know they are much better than the rusted out soda can tabs that were there.
Thanks for your feedback cuz I'd love to have some sport climbs close to home but I'm also not confident it wasn't some drunk nooby highschool climber trying to do something cool

Charles Proctor · · Somerville, MA · Joined Apr 2016 · Points: 75

This could easily devolve into a fight about whether it needed to be bolted or whether it should have stayed a scary Trad climb. FWIW my buddy took his first lead fall onto the 2nd (I think) bolt hitting the big ledge with his hip on the way down. The bolt held fine and he came away with only a minor bruise but last time I was there I think it might have been chopped. Either way you can try it easily on TR and check out the bolts on your way up. There are some areas with very slippery graffiti.

Ken Noyce · · Layton, UT · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 2,648
drewdogg2112 wrote:So I noticed that someone has recently rebolted Pins (I think it is Pins) on the K wall. 1. Does anyone have any idea who did this 2. Did said person do this properly and are these actually safe to fall on. 3. The hanger on one of the anchor bolts is spinning. Not sure that this directly affects the strength of the bolt but it makes my think the bolt is not sunk as deep as it should be. Has anyone fallen on these? I will say I know nothing about actually bolting routes so i have no input on that kind of stuff. The bolts look nice new and shiny and I know they are much better than the rusted out soda can tabs that were there. Thanks for your feedback cuz I'd love to have some sport climbs close to home but I'm also not confident it wasn't some drunk nooby highschool climber trying to do something cool
No idea as I'm not from the area, but depending on the type of bolt used, a spinning hanger does not necessarily mean that the bolt is unsafe.
drewdogg2112 · · halifax, MA · Joined Aug 2015 · Points: 20
Charlie P wrote:This could easily devolve into a fight about whether it needed to be bolted or whether it should have stayed a scary Trad climb. FWIW my buddy took his first lead fall onto the 2nd (I think) bolt hitting the big ledge with his hip on the way down. The bolt held fine and he came away with only a minor bruise but last time I was there I think it might have been chopped. Either way you can try it easily on TR and check out the bolts on your way up. There are some areas with very slippery graffiti.
well im definitely not looking to start any fights., I just figured if its bolted by someone that actually knows what they are doing Ill check it out on lead.

As far as bolting the quarries goes I think it would be cool if there were some bolted climbs on the faces that don't take gear so much but I def have no problem with people wanting to stick to trad ethics in general. Im not that confident of a trad climber at the moment that Ill be running up Pins or POP Thinking on gear any time soon but there is plenty of fun stuff in the 5.5 -5.7ish range for me to practice on.

as for the spraypaint... I always just think of it as a practice for when you get to that slippery moss covered backcountry pitch.
Eric Engberg · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 0

The bolted climb is actually Needles - slightly right of Pins. I don't know about the new bolts - hopefully they are in approximately the same location as the original ones? I lead it on the old bolts but not on sight. Somewhat of a headpoint IMO - but maybe I am just a wuss. Sloping Staircase across the way has more friendly spaced bolts. I lead that one too but not without rehearsal AND stick clipping #1. I guess you can take the "maybe" out of the previous wuss question. Still fun though.

Max Forbes · · Colorado · Joined Jan 2014 · Points: 108

So not to digress completely but this topic begs the question - how do you know any bolts are safe? Whenever you clip a bolt you are assuming it was properly placed by someone know knew what they were doing. One skill of sport climbers should be the ability to evaluate the safety of a bolt through observation, especially at places like the quarry where lots of the hardware is cold. Might be worth doing some reading, as you'll often never learn who placed what, and when.

Ryan Scott · · Watertown, MA · Joined Feb 2011 · Points: 0

How recent are you talking? There's a diagonal route across the face that was bolted a couple years ago and caused some outrage (see comments on mountainproject.com/v/tensi…).

drewdogg2112 · · halifax, MA · Joined Aug 2015 · Points: 20
Max Forbes wrote:So not to digress completely but this topic begs the question - how do you know any bolts are safe? Whenever you clip a bolt you are assuming it was properly placed by someone know knew what they were doing. One skill of sport climbers should be the ability to evaluate the safety of a bolt through observation, especially at places like the quarry where lots of the hardware is cold. Might be worth doing some reading, as you'll often never learn who placed what, and when.
Right, so the general idea of the post was that I don't know much about bolting and since the quarries isn't exactly a highlight climbing area like Rumney or the Gunks I think it's safe to say the community of Quincy regulars is relatively small in comparison. I know you don't ever know if a bolt is "safe" but maybe since like I said the community is smaller maybe someone would know who did bolt it. I basically wanted to throw it out there to see instead of top roping it and doing a bounce test on each bolt.
Brian · · North Kingstown, RI · Joined Sep 2001 · Points: 804

As someone mentioned a spinning hanger has nothing to do with the safety of the bolt. If you want "some sport climbs close to home." Find someone that knows what they are doing to bolt it. Quincy Quarries is a ghetto crag and bolting it certainly isn't any worse than the 25 coats of spray paint on the rock already. This is hardly some pristine trad crag.

Alan Rubin · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2015 · Points: 10

I'm far from an expert on bolting, but it is my understanding that a 'spinner' is an strong indication that a bolt is not well-placed or that the nut holding the hanger is loose which could lead to hanger failure. Sure not all spinners = immediate bolt failure but they are a sign of potential problems and should be treated with a 'buyer beware' approach.

Ken Noyce · · Layton, UT · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 2,648
Alan Rubin wrote:I'm far from an expert on bolting, but it is my understanding that a 'spinner' is an strong indication that a bolt is not well-placed or that the nut holding the hanger is loose which could lead to hanger failure. Sure not all spinners = immediate bolt failure but they are a sign of potential problems and should be treated with a 'buyer beware' approach.
This is a very common myth, but in most cases a spinner doesn't mean anything. On sleeve bolts such as the power bolt or the fixe triplex having a spinning hanger is absolutely not an indication that the bolt is not well-placed and they can be 100% full strength even on a spinner. As far as wedge bolts, yes a spinner means that the nut needs to be tightened, but once again it is no indication that the bolt wasn't properly placed initially (they naturally loosen over time), and once again even on a spinner the bolt can achieve 100% of it's rated strength (as long as the nut isn't so loose that it will pop off during a fall).
drewdogg2112 · · halifax, MA · Joined Aug 2015 · Points: 20

Ok well I'll have to have a go at it next time I'm in there. If I deck I'm sure I'll die if not from the fall then by being impaled by 10,000 pieces of broken glass. Maybe I'll throw a crash pad down to cover it.

will ar · · Vermont · Joined Jan 2010 · Points: 290
drewdogg2112 wrote: Right, so the general idea of the post was that I don't know much about bolting and since the quarries isn't exactly a highlight climbing area like Rumney or the Gunks I think it's safe to say the community of Quincy regulars is relatively small in comparison. I know you don't ever know if a bolt is "safe" but maybe since like I said the community is smaller maybe someone would know who did bolt it. I basically wanted to throw it out there to see instead of top roping it and doing a bounce test on each bolt.
It's been many years since I climbed there, but I never got the impression that there was much of a community at Quincy. The effort required to put all the equipment together and actually go out and bolt (or replace bolts) generally deters people who know nothing about bolting and I'm usually pretty comfortable clipping modern bolts even though I have no idea who placed them.

Since you said "re-bolted" instead of retrobolted I'm assuming we're talking about the route to the right of pins that was sporting old 1/4" buttonheads for as long as I was climbing at quincy quarries. Those bolts aren't considered adequate by modern standards and outside of a few limited applications climbers stopped placing them decades ago.
john strand · · southern colo · Joined May 2008 · Points: 1,640

Well, I do consider myself something of a bolting expert,,the original bolts in question were 5/16' rawl for a route we called The Stud...they were well placed and in good shape (1988)

A 5/16 bolt was way stronger than any 1/4" at the time and they held up well. Any replacement or "retro" job should be in the same holes as original.

drewdogg2112 · · halifax, MA · Joined Aug 2015 · Points: 20

Never heard of a route called "the stud" but yes it is to the right of pins and looks to have replaced the old bolts and I didn't see any holes so the must have somehow got the old bolts out and replaced in the same holes. I'll take a close look next weekend prob.

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

First noted in my Quarries guide "Blasted Rock" 1987

Brian · · North Kingstown, RI · Joined Sep 2001 · Points: 804
john strand wrote:First noted in my Quarries guide "Blasted Rock" 1987
John, I have a copy of your "Blasted Rock Two." I don't know the last time you have been to the Quarries but you would be sad to see it. There is more paint showing than rock.

Quincy Graffiti

Quincy Graffiti2
john strand · · southern colo · Joined May 2008 · Points: 1,640

Yeah, it's nasty. All the exposed rock from the dig left lots of graffiti room.

Alan Rubin · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2015 · Points: 10

Wow, someone else with a copy of either of the "Blasted Rock" books--rare items, those are. There has always been graffiti at the Quarries but nothing like it is now, and efforts to erase it just create more space for new 'artists'.

Emmett Lyman · · Stoneham, MA (Boston burbs) · Joined Feb 2011 · Points: 480

Yikes - I haven't been to QQ in ~5 years, but it was never that bad before. Guess I'll continue to keep my distance.

Nick Grant · · Tamworth, NH · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 424

An original "First Folio" of the works of William Shakespeare . . . the Gutenberg Bible . . . the Magna Carta . . . and . . . "Blasted Rock" (editions I and II).

All classics.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Northeastern States
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