Gunks Anchor Fund

We need your support!

gofundme.com/gunksanchors

The Gunks Climbers' Coalition is working with the Mohonk Preserve to upgrade all of the 1999-2001 bolted rappel stations with all stainless hardware. We have received generous support from Mohonk Preserve, Petzl, and the American Safe Climbing Association, but we need community support to purchase stainless chain. Although all of the original bolts are full stainless the quicklinks and chain are not, and this has started some galvanic corrosion. We will be upgrading the bolted stations to be 100% stainless grade 316 from bolts to the rings. We are continuing to cut the slings on tree anchors and provide new bolted anchors to minimize impact. Additionally, we have replaced almost every single protection bolt in the Trapps with full stainless. The gofundme is primarily for chain and also to purchase a new drill (we have been using my personal drill for years now) and an industry pull tester.

I can attest to the amount of work, time, personal expense etc... that has been done so far by the volunteers. It's not light work and to do it right it's not cheap! Please help out if you can.

Thanks!
Christian Fracchia

Post Script: I realize there are people who are going to complain that the preserve charges exorbitant entrance fees and should be funding all of this work. Please don't clutter this post with that argument. Climbing on Mohonk Preserve lands is a privilege and when we work as a community we build strong relationships which helps preserve access. So if you're that person, start a new thread please.

Commando Rave. The GCC removed the slings on the tree above and installed the bolted anchor below.

Jackie p1 Gunks. The GCC swapped out the old links and replaced with full stainless.

Question on the Jackie anchor - you said "The GCC swapped out the old links and replaced with full stainless." Does that mean the hanger and or bolt too? I wasn't clear from your message if it is just quick link and chain replacement, or if the bolts and hangers are being replaced too. Maybe that is not even a concern for the stainless portion or whether the corrosion was only a problem for the non-stainless portion?

so what exactly does the $18 dollars (x +/- 1,500 people on a a nice weekend) go towards?

i'm not trying to start something, but transparency into the budget would be appreciated.

matt snyder wrote:so what exactly does the $18 dollars (x +/- 1,500 people on a a nice weekend) go towards? i'm not trying to start something, but transparency into the budget would be appreciated.

http://www.mohonkpreserve.org/sites/default/files/images/MP%20Financial%20Statements%202014.pdf

Thanks for all the hard work guys.

MojoMonkey wrote:Question on the Jackie anchor - you said "The GCC swapped out the old links and replaced with full stainless." Does that mean the hanger and or bolt too? I wasn't clear from your message if it is just quick link and chain replacement, or if the bolts and hangers are being replaced too. Maybe that is not even a concern for the stainless portion or whether the corrosion was only a problem for the non-stainless portion?

No, the bolt and hanger were already stainless. The problem was that a stainless hanger had a non-stainless quicklink. It's a problem for both the hanger and link. We learned in the Petzl course about the mixed metals acting as a cathode and anode so you essentially produce a battery. Our short term goal is to get all of the pieces in the system the same grade of stainless. The long term goal is to eventually pull the old bolts and replace them as well.

matt snyder wrote:so what exactly does the $18 dollars (x +/- 1,500 people on a a nice weekend) go towards? i'm not trying to start something, but transparency into the budget would be appreciated.

Post Script: I realize there are people who are going to complain that the preserve charges exorbitant entrance fees and should be funding all of this work. Please don't clutter this post with that argument. Climbing on Mohonk Preserve lands is a privilege and when we work as a community we build strong relationships which helps preserve access. So if you're that person, start a new thread please.

Is it really galvanic corrosion when non stainless steel is hanging off stainless bolts and hangers in this case, or just simple rusting? Stainless or titanium is obviously ideal, but personally I generally have not bothered with stainless too much for the quicklinks as long as they are 1/2", figuring with that much mass and that they are easily replaceable, a little surface rust is not a problem (also not as shiny). I personally would rather be rapping off slightly rusted 1/2 inch non stainless quicklinks than dinky stainless ones. I obviously use SS for the bolt, hangers and rings.

Done! Thanks Christian and company for all your hard work!

Christian Fracchia wrote: No, the bolt and hanger were already stainless.

I understood that part, but was unclear whether the corrosion will have already compromised the hanger to any appreciable degree, or whether replacing the link/chain and preventing continued corrosion was sufficient, particularly if someone is already going out to replace hardware and a hanger replacement is not much additional work.

Disclaimer: My only bolting experience is from these sorts of threads :)

Thanks for all the hard work! And keep up those Gunks conservation videos! I've been forwarding those to all my gym climbing friends.

M Sprague wrote:Is it really galvanic corrosion when non stainless steel is hanging off stainless bolts and hangers in this case, or just simple rusting? Stainless or titanium is obviously ideal, but personally I generally have not bothered with stainless too much for the quicklinks as long as they are 1/2", figuring with that much mass and that they are easily replaceable, a little surface rust is not a problem (also not as shiny). I personally would rather be rapping off slightly rusted 1/2 inch non stainless quicklinks than dinky stainless ones. I obviously use SS for the bolt, hangers and rings.

There appeared to be pitting which suggests galvanic corrosion, but it is obscured by rust as well. The other problem with non-stainless is the rust is streaking the wall with ugly brown stains. The Preserve is on board with going with industry best practices arrived at after 8 participants partook in the Petzl course. We are also on board with the idea of moving towards more long-term standardized sustainable anchors.

We are not using anything dinky. The stainless quick links and rings are 10mm (slightly larger than 3/8")and the stainless chain is 3/8". The anchors will be identical size-wise with what's out there now it will just be all stainless.

The new anchor set-ups are beefy.

MojoMonkey wrote: I understood that part, but was unclear whether the corrosion will have already compromised the hanger to any appreciable degree, or whether replacing the link/chain and preventing continued corrosion was sufficient, particularly if someone is already going out to replace hardware and a hanger replacement is not much additional work. Disclaimer: My only bolting experience is from these sorts of threads :)

From visual inspection the corrosion is minimal so it doesn't appear to have compromised the hanger appreciably. Now with stainless on stainless the corrosion will at least be halted. We are currently too low on hardware to replace the entire set-ups at this time. Hopefully this gofundme will get us the funds we need to get back out there and re-do the entire rig.

Bob Johnson wrote:Thanks for all the hard work! And keep up those Gunks conservation videos! I've been forwarding those to all my gym climbing friends.

Thanks Bob! That's our target audience!

Would you consider using the pigtails that have been going up at other crags recently? I think they're a nice improvement and they offer easy replacement if they get worn out. I have a picture up on this blogpost here:

nyskiblog.com/mont-rigaud-r…

ml242 wrote:Would you consider using the pigtails that have been going up at other crags recently? I think they're a nice improvement and they offer easy replacement if they get worn out. I have a picture up on this blogpost here: nyskiblog.com/mont-rigaud-r…

It was my understanding (correct me if i'm wrong) that pigtails were primarily used in areas where lowering-off was standard or at least acceptable practice. My experience in the gunks for the last five years has been that lowering-off of fixed gear shouldn't happen and I would think that pigtails would be confusing for that reason.

Thanks, guys, for the effort, the knowledge and careful planning going into all this work.

Thank you to everyone who quickly rushed in to support our campaign! Lots of familiar names and many kind comments! Our goal was met in 1.5 days with 141 contributions! We have suspended donations and I have turned the account over to GCC Treasurer Dustin Portzline. You will be able to track the progress of the Gunks anchor overhaul on the GCC's FB page or their website. See you out on there! Sincerely, Christian Fracchia

There are lots of anchors up there that just need the last link on the chain removed with some bolt cutters because they are very worn MF is a good example the last links are very worn but the rest of the anchor is in good shape.