VVV - Viral Vixen Video

Yes, it's been super quiet here at the Upskill blog. I actually never posted in 2014. Is that bad?

On a positive note, I have been doing heaps of climbing. The 2013 and 2014 seasons are some of the most fun climbing I've had in the SE Queensland region, ever. You know I love new routing. For those two years, all my energy outside work was funneled into developing three major new cliffs in the Urbenville region of northern NSW: Vesuvius, Spot X and Crossroads. 

Between the three crags, we established 71 routes. 20+ of these were over 40m in length. It was epic.

All this action is a mere two hour drive from Brisbane. I put lots of k's on the car. But so, so worth it. All info for all three crags is now available on theCrag.com, and the season is just starting. If you live in Brisbane, 2015 could be your Urbenville year. It's the Catalunya of Queensland.

I capped off both prolific seasons with a hard first ascent. The second of these was Vixen 32. I was really pleased to vision, and then eventually climb this extremely overhanging, blank looking wall. The movement on it is super good - one of the most fun routes I've done. Erik filmed on it using his ingenious RopeClimber camera, and EpicTV ended up picking up the video. 200,000+ views later, and lots of people have now seen Spot X, even if they'll never climb there. Watch the vid.

Climbing Anchors - The ideal sport route lower-off?

Looking for the ideal sport route lower-off configuration is like a quest for the holy grail. There are so many different setups and configurations, and generally, they all generally have some advantages and disadvantages.

Let's look at a few different configurations for pro's and con's.

A custom chain setup.

Visual impact: Bad. This is a pretty visually obtrusive anchor.
Expense: Bad. High cost due to number of components.  
Rope-twist factor: Good. Low.  
Lifespan: Good. Where the rope touches are rings which spin, spreading the wear.  
Replace-ability: Good. Mallions attach the chains.  
Convenience: Bad (no clip and lower).  
Single clip safety: Bad. Ideally you want to clip to the anchor and be immediately attached to two bolts.

Horizontal Fixe rings - quite common setup.

Visual impact: Good. No chain involved, so pretty low impact.  
Expense: Not bad.  
Rope-twist factor: Not great. Even if this was threaded correctly (not like the photo) this configuration does twist the rope.  
Lifespan: Good. Where the rope touches are rings which spin, spreading the wear.  
Replace-ability: Good. Tru-bolts have been used (the only time I recommend their use!) to enable the anchors to be removed and replaced.  
Convenience: Bad (no clip and lower).  
Single clip safety: Bad. Ideally you want to clip to the anchor and be immediately attached to two bolts.

Commercial Fixe anchor set. Very common.

Visual impact: Moderate.
Expense: Moderately expensive.
Rope-twist factor: Good. Single ring sits perpendicular to the wall. No rope twist.

Lifespan: Good. The rope wears the ring, which can spin and spread the wear.  
Replace-ability: Not great, as you have to replace the entire anchor, or chop the ring and install an alternative.
Convenience: Bad (no clip and lower).  
Single clip safety: Good - you're always on two bolts. This makes for a good multipitch anchor, and quite a good sport route lower-off, if somewhat inconvenient.

Commercial unit from 'Raumer'

Visual impact: Not great. It's a pretty big beast. The double-chain version of this is even more obtrusive.  
Expense: Reasonably expensive as this is a commercial product.  
Rope-twist factor: Good. Lowering off a single point minimises rope twist.

Wear!

Lifespan: Bad. In high-traffic areas, this thick stainless carabiner will be worn through in a year or two (see right).  
Replace-ability: Bad. When the carabiner is worn out, it's quite a job to chop it off with a grinder. This leaves a spinning ring which you can lower off, or put another captive steel carabiner with a mallion. The other option is to replace the entire unit with an identical unit.
Convenience: Good. Clip and lower, baby!
Single clip safety: Good. You can clip anything and you're attached to two bolts.

Two naked glue-in rings.

Wear on ugly U-bolt. Bad!

Visual impact: Good. About as low-impact as you can get.
Expense: Good. Pretty cheap.
Rope-twist factor: Not great. This configuration does twist the rope.
Lifespan: Bad. Rope-wear will wear these bolts out (see right). This anchor can be good for very low traffic routes, but as soon as wear is noticed, install some mallions and chain.
Replace-ability: Bad. Once these wear out you have to heat them with a blowtorch to melt the glue and then extract. It's pretty full-on! Lazy people would chop them but this is messy at best.
Convenience: Bad (no clip and lower).
Single clip safety: Bad. Ideally you want to clip to the anchor and be immediately attached to two bolts.

Fixe ring and chain combo.

Visual impact: Moderate. Chain always stands out, but at least this is only one length.  
Expense: Moderate. There are a few components here. Cheaper than most commercial setups though.
Rope-twist factor: Good. Placed in this configuration, the thread point acts as one. Minimal twist.
Lifespan: Good. The ring will spin. The chain is easily replaced.
Replace-ability: Good. All wearable components are easily replaced.  
Convenience: Not great (no clip and lower) but at least you have plenty of clip points.
Single clip safety: Bad. Ideally you want to clip to the anchor and be immediately attached to two bolts.

Glue-in rings with twist-shackles for "replace-ability"

For a while, climbers started to use twist shackles because they would not twist the rope and you could replace the components that wear. Seems like an ideal solution, right?  
Why this is not good: The shackles can flip around so the rope is running over the pin of the shackle. This can undo the shackle (!!). People have tried to overcome this by "mousing" the shackles in position using wire or cable ties, but ultimately, this turns into a mess. Avoid twist shackles.

"Mussy hook" lower-off. Gaining popularity in America.
This setup ticks a lot of boxes but has some drawbacks.

Visual impact: Moderate. They're very beefy, no doubt.
Expense: Good. These mussy hooks are supposed to be quite inexpensive (available in large hardware stores like Home Depot). Beware however cast versions of these - probably from China, and strength unknown.
Rope-twist factor: Could be a big problem unless they can sit off the rock. Mike Law says "I lowered off a lot of Muzzy hooks in Owens River Gorge and they destroyed ropes by twisting, I think the fat ones have a thick spine and sit so far off the wall that rope tension pulls them over at about 45 degrees, towards each other."
Lifespan: Good. The mussy hooks have a huge rope-bearing surface and are very thick so they'll take a long time to wear to about halfway where they can be replaced.
Replace-ability: Good. The hooks are easily replaceable via the mallions.
Convenience: Great! Clip and lower!
Single clip safety: Bad. Ideally you want to clip to the anchor and be immediately attached to two bolts. 

Rotating rings, replaceable!

Visual impact: Moderate. They're very beefy, no doubt.
Expense: Moderately expensive. But everything here will last for a very long time, and will be easy to replace.
Rope-twist factor: Not as good as a single point, but not bad.
Lifespan: Superb. For starters, everything is 316 stainless, and the glue is Hilti RE-500, the best there is. The rings freely rotate, and when and if they need replacing, this is easily achieved via the mallions.
Replace-ability: Super.
Convenience: Average.
Single clip safety: Ordinarily I would rate this "bad" but in this case, I give it a "good" based on the fact it's a stainless glue-in with the world's best glue, in granite. You're good. 

CONCLUSION
As you can see there is no "right answer" when it comes to sport-route anchors, but there are materials and techniques that are nearly always more appropriate than others. Route developers should always be thinking "When this anchor is worn, how easy is it to replace?"

Further reading:
To learn even more about bolting, read my 2013 updated article "How to bolt rock climbs, and how not to"

An analysis of climbing on the island of Kalymnos with respect to new routes, the safety of fixed hardware, and route maintenance now and in the future

Preface:
I love Kalymnos, and I care about the future of climbing on the island. I wrote this paper in 2010 and submitted it for consideration by some of the key climbers and rebolters on Kalymnos, and I was keen for the Municipality to see it also. With news of the upcoming "bolting festival" in October-November 2013, I now publish the paper as an "open letter" to any and all interested parties.

An analysis of climbing on the island of Kalymnos with respect to new routes, the safety of fixed hardware, and route maintenance now and in the future.

Lee Cujes, 2 June 2010


"Since then, approximately 100 routes were maintained every 1-2 years (replacing corroded bolts and lower-offs). This is certainly not as frequent as we would like, and the number of routes being maintained each time is very limited compared to the grand total of routes on Kalymnos"  
-- Aris Theodoropolous, Guidebook author and Kalymnos route developer

Issue: Route volume and quality

The number of new routes being established per year on Kalymnos is not decreasing. We have ~2300+ routes on Kalymnos already, with more every year. As more of the available rock is developed, we would expect to see (and encourage) fewer routes being established each year. It is important to encourage quality rather than quantity, as poor quality routes decrease the overall quality of Kalymnos climbing. Furthermore, doubling the number of routes on the island will not double the number of climbers, nor will it double revenue for the island. Nor will it even spread the impact of climbing – 90% of climbers into the future will continue to climb at only the major existing sectors, as it is these sectors which offer the highest quality climbing.

Recommendations:

1. Withdraw Municipality funding for new routes [edit: it is my understanding that this has happened some years ago, however corporate sponsorship of foreign route developers continues]. This was useful in the birth phase of Kalymnos climbing as it encouraged rapid development, but we are beyond this phase now. 
2. Channel funds from all existing bolt funds that may exist on the island (example - Glaros) into rebolting, rather than new routing (ensuring climbers who donate know what they are donating for). As elsewhere in the world, motivated new routers will fund their own routes. We should see the number of new routes decrease to a more sensible level, and the quality of routes maintaining a high standard.

Hardware Issue #1: Corrosion of hardware on fixed routes

Bolts are not permanent. Especially on limestone and near the sea, we see significant corrosion within just a couple of years. This is also true in areas where the water transfer through the rock is high (i.e. anywhere with tufas e.g. Grande Grotta, Ghost Kitchen etc.) It is vital that routes are inspected and rebolted as required.

Figure 1: Unsafe, corroded anchor at Ghost Kitchen

Figure 2: Corrosion can also occur because of two 
dissimilar metals as shown here on a relatively
new route on the Vathy road sector

Figure 3: Climbers are too afraid to trust this
corroded anchor on Ghost Kitchen. They tie their
own slings and carabiner as backup

Hardware Issue #2: Wear of hardware on fixed routes

1. Anchors in certain areas receive a lot of wear (the rope wears and cuts into the metal) and need to be replaced regularly, in some cases every year. There has recently been some analysis from Black Diamond showing how worn carabiners can cut rope.
2. Bolts that are repeatedly fallen on can loosen in the hole and deform, especially in softer or more 'active' limestone. This can lead to failure of the bolt.

Figure 4: Dangerously worn lower-off anchor.

Hardware Issue #3: Bolt choice

The trubolt is the most typical bolt used on most Kalymnos routes. However, it is not the best choice.

Figure 4: Trubolt

Pros

1. Easy and quick to place
2. Can be used immediately (important for equipping steep routes)

 Cons

1. Cannot be extracted from the hole to allow for clean replacement. Must be cut off using a cordless grinder and then beaten back into hole and the hole patched with epoxy and camouflaged.
2. Because the thread sits exposed from the nut, it can foul the carabiner leading to dangerous orientation of the carabiner. There are cases where this has led to a carabiner snapping.
3. Sideways forces on the hanger cause the nut to loosen. If the nut loosens completely, the hanger falls off and the climber has no protection. This happened to me recently during a fall. I was very lucky to escape injury. Many routes are missing hangers due to this issue.

Recommendations:

Figure 5: Titanium glue-in bolt.
The best long-term solution. 
To purchase these, visit:
http://www.titanclimbing.com

1. Corrosion
Option 1 (mandatory): Continual assessment and rebolting with high grade (316) stainless steel as required. "316 L" is the low carbon version of 316 stainless steel and has been found to have even better corrosion resistance. Hardware is available in 316 L.

Option 2 (possible): Thailand climbing areas have moved to titanium glue-in bolts and Hilti RE-500 epoxy glue for maximum corrosion resistance and longevity. It is suggested Kalymnos also obtain these (more expensive) bolts for use on the most corrosive sectors.

2. Wear

Figure 6: An anchor is replaced,
leaving bolt remains and
ugly scars on the rock.
This is unnecessary, yet
this kind of damage is
widespread.

There are several options for anchors which are replaceable without having to install a completely new anchor in a new position (this is a horrible worst case scenario, yet is the most common form here currently on Kalymnos). Glue-in threaded rod allows the same bolts to be re-used. Quickclips attached with mallions allow for the wearing component only to be replaced. The more the type of anchor set on the island is standardised, the easier ongoing replacement will become.

3. Bolt choice
For new routes, discontinue using trubolts. Instead, use 12mm x 75mm flush-head dynabolts of the following configuration:

Figure 7: 12mm Flush-head dynabolt - a better choice than trubolts.

Flush-heads offer all the advantages of the trubolt, and eliminate many of the disadvantages. They are replaceable, they have a low profile and do not snag carabiners as readily, and they do not loosen as easily as trubolts.

Issue: Maintenance and rebolting

Kalymnos has a reputation as a haven of ‘safe bolting’. This is important to many climbers who come here and is a reputation worth protecting.

Rebolting is happening on the island, however the following issues have been identified:

1. The poor quality of some of the rebolting work
2. The fact that trubolts are being replaced with more trubolts, instead of taking the opportunity to upgrade to the best, highest-longevity solution (glue-in ringbolts)
3. The fact that there is not enough rebolting occurring to keep up with the wear and corrosion on the ever-increasing number of routes on the island. The generally thankless task of rebolting is left to just a few motivated individuals.

Figure 8: Seven holes drilled and not patched.
Poets sector.

Figure 9: Too often this is the case (we see this
at every sector). Because trubolts cannot be
extracted, they are left to rust. This is unsightly
and simply lazy.

Recommendations: 


1. Quality:
For Kalymnos to retain its reputation and natural beauty, it is inappropriate to allow sub-standard rebolting. Trubolts must be cut, recessed and patched. Old anchors need to be removed in full. Any scars on the rock must be camoflauged. We must strive for all routes to be as perfect as they can be.

2. Phasing out trubolts:
We must rebolt with superior hardware. Therefore we must move to glue-in bolts. These are preferred by all climbers because they are stronger, safer, do not notch climbers’ carabiners, and allow for rope to be directly threaded to allow for retreat from any point on the route if required. They do require more skill to place, but most importantly, they will last much longer in this environment than any form of expansion bolt. In this seaside environment, a minimum specification of 316 or 316 L stainless steel should be mandated, with titanium preferred as the best possible option (see: Thailand titanium rebolting article).

Figure 10: 316 stainless glue-in ringbolt, correctly recessed.

3. Establishment of a centralised hub for bolting/rebolting

1. Online and offline method for climbers to report “bad bolts/routes” for inspection.
2. Online “to-do” list with routes and sectors scheduled for rebolting/maintenance.
3. Online and offline methods for visiting climbers to donate money to the rebolting initiative. If even a small fraction of the money entering the Kalymnian economy by climbers went towards rebolting, this would ensure the initiative could be appropriately funded.
4. Online database of rebolted routes to show how the money is being spent, exactly what hardware is used etc. (Example of such a database)

4. Dedicated focus on ongoing maintenance and rebolting
One or more rebolting specialists must be engaged by the Municipality (or corporate sponsors) to conduct the required work every year, on an ongoing basis. The Municipality has spent a great deal of money establishing Kalymnos as one of the world’s premier climbing destinations (by investing in new routes), however we must continue to maintain and protect that investment in the long term. This requires an ongoing financial commitment.

Conclusion

I would like to offer thanks and gratitude to those climbers such as Aris Theodoropolous and Simon Montmory who have contributed serious time and effort to rebolting on Kalymnos. This article is not a criticism, rather a call to action.

I believe a combination of both local commitment (Municipality), corporate commitment (sponsored initiatives) and commitment from climbers themselves (via donations) will provide the assistance necessary to fund the recommendations in this article.

As the world's premier sport climbing destination, Kalymnos deserves ongoing care and ongoing investment.

Other resources:

• Safer Cliffs bolt guide
• UKC Article - Bad Bolts on Kalymnos - 2011
• UKC Article - INTERVIEW: Kalymnos Bolt Fund exceeds €10,000 - 2010 
• Climb Kalymnos - New Route Guidelines for Kalymnos
• Climb Kalymnos - Anchor Replacement - facts and figures

Thailand Thaitanium Project - 2012 Rebolting Report by Josh Lyons

This article is a follow-up report to the big and popular article from March 2011 called Titanium bolts: The answer for Thailand climbing? That article described the actions of the Thaitanium Project, a small crew of volunteers who are working their arses off rebolting the cliffs of Railay/Tonsai with titanium bolts, because this is one of the rare places in the world which causes stress corrosion cracking in stainless steel, leading to bolt failure.

Josh at Eagle Wall.

I got in touch with Josh Lyons in Tonsai, the man with the whip behind the Thaitanium Project to see how the 2012 rebolting push was progressing...

Lee: "Hey Josh. I see you're back in Thailand once again for the Thaitanium Project rebolting initiative. How many years have you guys been going back with the main focus of rebolting?"

Josh: "This is the second official year of the Thaitanium Project. Although they have been re-bolting with Titanium bolts for over 10 years now, we just never gave it a name. Back then I guess we still thought of Titanium bolts as just another experiment. After about five years in the rock the bolts still look like the day we put them in and that gave us a lot more confidence to continue to put in Titanium. It wasn't until the bolt price went through the roof that we started the project."

Lee: "My article from 2011 explained why we need titanium bolts in southern Thailand. Have you been told any scary stories from the past season?"

Stress corrosion cracking on a Fixe ringbolt.

Josh: "Unfortunately yes! We had a team of climbers on the big multipitch climbs on the Sleeping Indian Wall and broke bolts at a couple of the anchors. So back in the day, one of the methods of re-bolting with Titanium [bolts] when they were not readily available was to sometimes only put Titanium bolts at the crux of the pitch and one at the anchor. Of course with the idea that they would be re-bolted in the future. Unfortunately we have not gotten to them as of yet but they are high on the list for next year."

Lee: "So last year you guys had a focus of rebolting the entire sector of The Keep and you achieved that, and more. What is the goal for this year, and how is progress?"

Several generations of hardware on Greed 8c.
Newly placed Ti bolt on right. All other bolts
were later removed.

Josh: "Right, the idea last year was to experiment with doing both a kind of piecemeal method of only doing a few popular climbs at a bunch of areas and also the siege tactic of picking a crag and re-bolting the whole damn thing. The Keep was a huge success and it seems like folks really like the idea of having the whole area re-bolted so they don't have to think about anything but sending their project. As it turns out the siege method also makes the re-bolting logistically much easier. So this year we wanted to do the siege method on another crag which ended up being Eagle Wall. Luckily this year we raised enough money to buy another hammer drill. This meant that we could be re-bolting at two different locations at the same time. So along with the Eagle Wall we were able to do some piecemeal re-bolting and re-bolted Equatorial on Thaiwand Wall, a few routes on the Tyrolean Wall and Greed, which I believe is the hardest route in Thailand. All in all we placed around 300 bolts again this year."

Lee: "You're great at getting other random climbers involved in the initiative, and it's often under your guidance that people get their first taste of bolting. Passing on those skills must be satisfying? Have you got a good crew this year? What nationalities are represented?"

Will rebolt for beer.

Josh: "I do try to get volunteers but it is really nice to keep the crew small. Most of the folks that want to volunteer are people that have bolting experience or are in the rope access world. The people that approach me that want to get their first taste of bolting need to go through a few days of belaying and groundwork before they get to touch anything like the drill. For the most part once they see the process we go through day to day they start to realize or they remember themselves that it's kinda hard and they are on a holiday and call it good after about a half day. If they stick around for a while and get to actually do something like gluing or drilling they quickly realize that people are going to fall on these bolts and that they can't fuck this up. So the process itself weeds out the riff-raff and I am left with a good crew of folks that not only understand the importance of re-bolting this place but also the importance of doing it right.

Grinder time.

This year we were very lucky in that we had a lot of rope access folks. I can't say enough about how important it was to have these guys on the grinders. Nobody has ever done anything like this before so we have to figure a lot of this out as we go. Cutting the old bolts out is hands down the most dangerous part of the re-bolting process and to have guys that are used to having a two rope system and figuring it out on the fly was priceless!

This year again we had a very multicultural team with folks from Australia, Wales, Sicily, Sweden, England, Russia, Canada, Germany, Taiwan, Switzerland, USA, Cyprus, Norway and France."

Lee: "So how can you afford to do this? How much do the bolts cost, and where is the money coming from?"

Josh: "Well that is a good question. We can afford to do this because we have caring and generous folks out there that want to see Tonsai survive. We raised almost $2,000 last year from the DVD's, T-shirt sales and through donations. We also have teamed up with the American Safe Climbing Association (ASCA) www.safeclimbing.com who has very generously apportioned enough money to buy at least 200 of the bolts we get a year. This has freed up some money to purchase things like a new drill and a couple of angle grinders."

Lee: "How can people donate to the cause?"

Josh: "Folks who would like to donate to the cause can go to www.thaitaniumproject.com and using Paypal, they can donate directly to the project. This spring I will be working to get the film available for download off the same site. So stay tuned!"
Thanks Josh!

I think I speak for nearly all climbers when I say a big thank you to Josh and all the other climbers who have donated their time to help the cause. Rebolting is tiring, largely thankless work and these guys and gals are not being paid to do it. They could be mooching around and having a proper holiday. So give them some props and donate!

BUY TITANIUM BOLTS:

2013 update: If this article has you curious and you want to buy some of these amazing titanium bolts for your own routes and rebolting efforts, the guy to speak with is Martin Roberts who has now been producing and supplying the Thaitanium Project for the last few years. He now has a website where you can purchase his titanium bolts: http://www.titanclimbing.com/.

Kalymnos 2011 - Trip Report 10 (Kalydna, Iannis & Spartacus)

Day seven of climbing. Perhaps the highlight day so far? I don't know, you be the judge. 

We started with a group vote on where we wanted to go for the final four climbing days of the trip. Plans were made, guidebooks were consulted, and dates were made with dogs that had been left behind at various cliffs to date.

KALYDNA

If you were playing along at home you know we went to Kalydna on day two. You'll also know that Owen, Andy and Susy found a friend for life in the 30m Nickel which is a 7a+ pitch which builds and builds to a stunning climax right before the anchors. It was billed as the main event for today. Well, long story short, Owen did it as his warm up (yeah, he does that). Andy, straight up. Susy? Second shot. Thank you very much, let's retire to the gelateria for tasty treats and frappes. No? Okay, more climbing.

Andy starting up Nickel 7a+

Nickel don't know it yet, but Nickel goin' down.

Bo managed to cleanly toprope the tufa blob route of Kaly-Nikhla 6b on day two and was bang up for leading it, which she did, seemingly with no hassles. 

Bo dispatching Kaly-Nikhla 6b

Susy on Kaly-Nikhla 6b

Susy on Kaly-Nikhla 6b

Demanding something harder to play on, Owen and Andy led the technical wall route of Ixion 7a and Bo jumped on on lead! It was awesome, fully bouldering out the reachy cruxes, running out, taking whippers. On her second burn she went all the way to the anchors and had done all the moves. Very cool to see, and amazing for someone who was nervous on grade 5s only a week ago.

Bo loving life on Ixion 7a

Scoping out something else to do, I suggested Owen jump on the mega-pitch Aurora 45m 7b. It is monstrously long and starts out easy up a slab and gradually builds in steepness until it tips into overhung country at about the halfway point, and then you have about 20m of overhanging tufas to negotiate to get to the anchors, way up on a huge concave face. The crux is at the top when you're shagged. 

"How many draws?"
"Oh I dunno, take 25."

Owen high on Aurora 7b. Telephoto lens, yo.

Owen went great on his first shot, placing lots of extended trad draws and using Susy's 8.9mm rope ("Jezebel The Ranga Rope...a slim sultry redhead that handles well") to cut down on rope drag and weight. He was climbing super well, but missed a key foothold and blitzed off with his elbows above his ears about five metres from the anchors. 

He's off! You can see the anchors up there. Bloody close!

It can be a bit soul destroying falling off so high on such a mega onsight attempt. "It's such a big investment going again on a pitch like that!" he said. We were unsure what he'd do, but sure enough he lowered off and left the gear in as we clapped in approval down below. Lowering from the anchors on a 70m rope left him hanging, stranded about 20m off the ground, and this necessitated some handy slab climbing from Susy to get them both to an intermediate station conveniently placed about 10m off the deck, presumably for this very purpose.

The second shot on the monster, I am sad to report ended in a fall from the same place, just shy of the anchors. Oh well, can't win them all. It's the effort that counts, and that was a biiiiig effort. Project for next time OG?

The team was mostly cooked by this stage except for Susy who was keen to head around to Iannis for more...more...MORE!

There are two climbers in this picture.

IANNIS

Iannis is a small sector with about 10 worthy pitches. The one that grabbed Susy's attention was one of the vertical wall routes on the right side of the cave, the near 40m Sens Unique 7a. A technical and absorbing challenge. At one point on the vertical wall, I looked up to see both her feet slip off the holds at the same time. For some reason she didn't fall, reasserted, and kept climbing. She was completely in the zone! Soon came the seemingly inevitable clip of the anchors as the sun hit the wall, and Susy's best ever onsight, a 40m 7a/23/5.11d.

Upon lowering down I went over for obligatory USA-style congratulatory fist bump and got the low down. Out of her chalkbag came her "cliff notes" which were reminders of things to concentrate on which we had unearthed during one of our video analysis sessions (if you haven't watched a vid of yourself climb, do it!). They included a handful of points like...

• Visually assess the hold options first - don't feel each one
• Make a choice and go - don't hesitate!
• Move dynamically and with confidence

Susy said this made a huge difference. Not only did it front-load her brain with the right kind of thoughts, having something technical to focus on actually removed some of the pressure over the possible outcome of the ascent. Hence, a more relaxed, yet focused climbing approach. And a personal best onsight!

We weren't the only ones buzzing.
What? Too much?

SPARTACUS

The ever popular Spartacus hosted our eighth day of climbing.

Andy, Susy and Owen got psyched on the bouldery, pocketed, short wall of Alexis Zorba which was always 7b and has been downgraded in the current guide, like most of the popular routes on the island it seems.

Susy on Alexis Zorba 7a+

Owen came away with the tick (nice!), Susy was too afraid that a fall at one point would end with her fingers remaining forever in a curious finger-locking pocket, and after working out all the moves, Andy ended up lying on a rock with stomach cramps. Bummer!

Gutache.

Susy had her eye on one of the crag classics Kerveros 7a since the first trip. It's a long, tufary (it's a word), pumpy beast which demands respect. She promptly tied on and went straight up the thing! She's on fire.

I racked up for a quick attempt on the short, pockety Magnetus 7c and then noticed that one fixed hanger on the route was no longer a fixed hanger and was now a missing hanger. So just a stud remained. Nuts coming loose and falling off is a problem with the tru-bolt style of bolts used on Kalymnos. It's rare to encounter a route which doesn't have at least one loose nut and hanger and climbers often have to do the nuts up with their fingers as they climb past.

Bolt type: Tru-bolt.
Problem: the nuts come loose over time and the hangers fall off.

Bolt type: 12mm Flushhead Dynabolt.
Why good? No problem with nuts loosening, and easier to replace. 

Anyway, because we're Australian, a removable bolt bracket is never far away and thanks to Bo we had a hanger we could use, and she even managed to find the nut on the ground beneath the route. So I managed to hang off a two finger pocket and do the re-assembly.

French crusher of the future Sasha resists my attempts for an autograph.

Bo managed a run up the 35m Le 13eme travail d' Hercules 6b+ before calling it quits and retiring back down the hill with Gutache Andy, so this gave me some time for an attempt on the epic Spartacus Maximus which takes the 25m 7b+ crag namesake Spartacus and stacks on a 20m extension to make a huge 45m pitch at the grade of ... still 7b+? Hmm! It was great having the draws on the whole way and I fought my way through for the redpoint/onsight/flash/whatever-you-want-to-call-it (I'd previously flashed Spartacus years ago but it was my first go on the extension). So I was mighty happy with that. Love the long pitches!

Spartacus 7b+, rockin the new b+n shirt.

Well that's about it for now. Two more climbing days, one final trip report coming your way. Soon my pretties, soon!

Sam and Owen chat on the way down to the gelateria :)

Titanium bolts: The answer for Thailand climbing?

Introduction: The Norwegians

Let me relate a story real quick. A new multipitch route on Fire Wall (Tonsai, Phranang Peninsula) goes up with stainless expansion bolts. The very same bolts that are used throughout all of Europe and the States. One year later a team of two Norwegians go to repeat the route. The leader climbs the first 6b pitch without falling and establishes the belay at two bolts. Before bringing up his seconder, he clips the rope into the first bolt of the 7c pitch above. When the seconder reaches the belay, both climbers lean back to survey the pitch above and BOTH BELAY BOLTS SNAP.

Yes.

They are left hanging by the single bolt on the next pitch. That could have been two deaths right there, and it was really just luck more than anything else that saved them. I mean, who would think that an entire belay which is basically brand new would self destruct under bodyweight?

Well this is what happens to stainless steel bolts in a few select places in the world, and southern Thailand is one of these places.

Forget what you think you know about bolting. It does not apply here.

Why do perfectly good stainless steel bolts snap in Thailand?

Thanks to our good friend Science we now know the answer definitively. In brief, the high amount of rainfall combined with the high amount of vegetation atop the cliffs sets up for very acidic water within the rock itself. This produces high concentrations of magnesium on the bolts, which allows for a higher than otherwise possible concentration of chloride ions. This is then a hyper-corrosive environment for bolts and can sometimes cause 'Stress Corrosion Cracking' (SCC). Think of SCC as a little rust gremlin which has a sixth sense for finding any weakness in the metal and then driving a wedge through it until it snaps.

Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in a Fixe 304 stainless steel ringbolt
on Massage The Rock 6a+, Muai Thai sector.

So how do you know which bolt is good and which is bad?

You don't. There is no way to tell from visual inspection alone. What's more, sometimes rusty looking piece of crap bolts are super strong and hard to remove, and perfectly shiny bolts fail with one hit of a hammer (I had this happen multiple times).

SCC simply eats the stainless

 Who maintains the routes in Thailand?

People seem to think "There's heaps of climbers here and I haven't walked over any bodies so someone must be maintaining and rebolting routes." Let's be clear. There is no "Federation of Climbing" in Thailand. There is no local organisation whatsoever. There is not even a coalition of guiding schools on Railay (there's currently about 14 climbing schools, all in competition). Every local Thai person using the cliffs commercially is there to make money. There are a couple of exceptions (hi Toto!), but generally, the locals do not rebolt or maintain the routes. This is left up to foreigners. But who carries a drill, glue, and titanium on their holiday? Well, I'll tell you...

I'll let you decide if this is good or bad.

The "Thaitanium Project"

Titanium does not rust. Therefore it is the perfect material to make bolts from for use in Thailand. It's tried and tested. The problem is it is expensive. With glue, a single titanium bolt costs around US $15. Rebolting an average pitch can easily cost $200. This is about quadruple the price of stainless steel bolts.

For the last several years a group of Americans including Josh Lyons, Tom Cecil and Sam Lightner Jr. have been travelling to Railay with the sole mission to rebolt the peninsular with safe, titanium bolts. And as I was in Thailand for a couple of months I ran into the guys and got the low down. Between Sam and Tom, you probably account for 50% of the first ascents on the peninsular. They are some of the true pioneers of Thailand climbing. Like me, these guys love new routing. What was amazing to me was that instead of going off and doing the stuff they love (exploring and new routes), they spend their hard earned holiday time back in Thailand working their arses off rebolting.

So they're paid by the local authorities?
No! 
So they get free accommodation right?
No! 
A discount?
Nope! ... Bubkus! 

The locals give these guys nothing whatsoever. I was gobsmacked. There are no perks to doing this, it's just endless hard work with very little in the way of gratitude.

Why do it then? Because it needs to be done or someone will die. That's it.

Well at least one of the bolts on this multipitch anchor is good (!!)

One encouraging point was that a number of climbers who were there on their holiday offered to lend a hand. Most had no previous bolting experience, but both Tom and Josh are excellent teachers. So it was a merry band of climbers doing the work each day. 

It's not just putting in new bolts

After I heard what the guys were doing, I thought "Well, I could be sitting on the beach having another shot at Jai Dum, or could actually be doing something useful". So I ended up spending my final two weeks primarily engaged in the rebolting initiative.

One thing that has tended to happen in Thailand is that as routes get rebolted, the old bolts are not removed. You end up with an ugly mess as the picture below illustrates. Why? Removing the old bolts is often plain hard work. It's much harder than simply drilling a new hole and gluing in a new bolt. But, a mess of bolts at each clipping stance is a huge pet hate of mine.

Three generations of bolts. Expansion bolt on right. Shiny Fixe stainless ring at top,
and dull grey titanium bolt with red glue at bottom. The bottom bolt is the one to clip.

Not only does it make routes look ugly as hell, it's a safety issue. No matter how clearly the guidebook describes to only use bolts with red glue (these are the bombproof titanium bolts glued with the highest quality Hilti RE-500 glue), people still make the somewhat understandable mistake of thinking shiny = good. So you have people climbing routes clipping every shiny ringbolt and skipping the new safe titanium bolts.

Under the supervision of a local Thai guide, a punter clips the stainless bolt
instead of the safe titanium on Shadow Show (5), Muai Thai.

So because I had friends coming over from Australia to climb with us, I had them bring over my cordless 18V Makita grinder. And then the real work begun. I would often go out climbing for the morning and then in the afternoon, I would go and self-belay myself up some route and begin work removing the old bolts and carefully patching the holes. Sometimes I would go out at night using my headlamp. Basically, whenever I thought I might go have a massage or kick back and have a drink out of a coconut, I would go and fix something instead. Within a couple of weeks I had personally removed 99 old stainless bolts (on routes which had already been rebolted with titanium), many of which were cracked through with SCC.  And whenever I wasn't personally using my grinder, it was being used by other people. I reckon the team might have removed 200-300 bolts all up.

What was achieved in the 2011 season

• Complete rebolt of Wild Kingdom Wall
• Complete rebolt of The Nest
• Complete rebolt of The Keep (this is what I was involved in and took over a week for a team of roughly 8 people to do)
• My complete clean-up of Muai Thai and some routes on One Two Three
• Rebolting on Ko Yawaban and other misc projects

Cost: Several thousand dollars.

The Film

The money has to come from somewhere.

To spread awareness of what's going on and to help fund buying the expensive bolts and glue so rebolting can continue, Josh Lyons produced a film on the 'Thaitanium Project'. It's great. They go through the whole thing from start to finish, talk to the metallurgists and scientists who did the testing, and lay out a plan for moving forward, which is basically switching out every stainless bolt with titanium. It's a must see for people that love Thailand climbing.

The sign I would hang up when I was working. We sold a few films for the cause.

Donating to the cause

The guys have a simple website with a donation link. Visit http://thaitaniumproject.com/ and hit the Donate button up the top. This money goes to Josh who puts the money directly into the kitty for the next season. Every single dollar goes towards titanium being put in.

If you are in USA, you can make tax deductible donations to the American Safe Climbing Association (ASCA) and earmark the funds for use on the cliffs of Tonsai/Railay. If you earmark it for Thailand, that's where it goes (it's a rule of the Association).

BUY THE FILM:

http://thaitaniumproject.com/

BUY TITANIUM BOLTS:

2013 update: If this article has you curious and you want to buy some of these amazing titanium bolts for your own routes and rebolting efforts, the guy to speak with is Martin Roberts who has now been producing and supplying the Thaitanium Project for the last few years. He now has a website where you can purchase his titanium bolts: http://www.titanclimbing.com/.

In the press:

• Thanks to ClimbingNarc for profiling this story on his blog.