Re: Glue-In Bolts

[mike a]

hey all, matt schutz has been posting he going to use glue in u shape bolts on his new routes, he has showed a couple examples they look super bomber but one thing that comes to mind is it you need to replace them and pull them out it's not going to be easy and it may look a little ugly i know the specs on glue in's are super stronger then a regular bolt, it just seems way more work then a standard 3/8'x3' bolt and if you have to do maintenance in it, it's going to be tuff, would you guy's who hand drill all your bolt placements, would you ever use u shape bolt glue in's?, me i would not too much work and have too drill 2 holes for one bolt placements, and if you are doing a ground up route it would make it tuff waiting for the glue to dry, so i guess one would not use glue in's for a ground up route, what do you guy's think of u shape glue in's, happy climbing mike a.

[mungeclimber]

mike, interesting you mention this. I just had a conversation with Greg Barnes a week or so ago about the Climb Tech wave bolts. That's one way to do a glue in a roof without the bolt falling out. Also in normal slab or vertical terrain you can damn near fall on them before the glue sets (not recommended). But yeah, two bolts, by hand, for one piece of pro? No chance.

I'll stick with my moto. 


Side note - the trick with using u-shaped at anchors is that at noob/grom areas, until the groms know better, they will TR thru the u shaped bolts and wear it out prematurely, and like you said, replacement would be a bear.

[John]

Pros: They are really bomber and nice if you want to bail without leaving gear in the middle of a pitch. This unfortunately tends to happen at a crux and they can get worn through with repeated wear. Easy on your biners with the rounded edges.

Cons: Impossible to replace, requires two holes and they are visually an eyesore. If they do get loose in their holes (eye-type, no way the "U" shaped ones could get loose), they are really scary.

Note: I split this thread off of the "Hand Drills" thread.

[YETI]

They are harder to chop.

[susan]

Anyone know of any chopping in these parts?

[NateD]

For one instance: Albert on Looking Glass, Wamello:

http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/866362/Who-bolting-Looking-Glass-on-Fresno-Dome

No more pics of before and after in the thread, unfortunately.

[John]

Man, forgot about that thread. If Albert was that passionate about not bolting gear-protectable features in Soyo, he would be really bummed out about the current state of the area.

[NateD]

Can't speak for Albert, of course, but I imagine most folks have varying degrees of passion about not bolting gear-protectable features on long established climbs vs. not bolting gear-protectable features on new climbs.

[John]

New routes that are gear-protectable yet are still bolted are what fuel the interest in people retro bolting established routes. Or that kind of new route at least sets a bad example that people imitate.

Too many people believe in their mind that they have the right to climb every route with the same consistent degree of safety and are willing to take it upon themselves to make it so. Sad.

For the record, I am not talking about the exceptions like questionable gear placements, bad rock, etc. which are the most cited reasons for bolting that I run across which is rarely the case.

[mungeclimber]

jeebus did this hijacked thread, get hijacked again or what? LOL   

New routes that are gear-protectable yet are still bolted are what fuel the interest in people retro bolting established routes. Or that kind of new route at least sets a bad example that people imitate.

The inference from the former, I don't think is sustainable. The later is correct. Precedent is the question.

[John]

jeebus did this hijacked thread, get hijacked again or what? LOL   

Anyone seen any good movies lately?

[mike a]

yes i was not so psyched on that old thread, i feel like i got slammed about my books of shuteye/fresno dome, which i have not made any money from i just wanted to share the info i had on the areas and i had nothing to do with looking glass getting bolted :-(, and since not only was albert my boss but a great friend, i think i can speak for him, i think he would be super psyched on all the new routes in the southern yosemite area, so whats all this have to do the glue in's???

[DaveyTree]

Never did any U bolts but I know Matt has been doing tests, research and design for over a year before he thought the Us were ready to be placed on a route.

[NateD]

So is he manufacturing his own U bolts, Davey? Curious.

I've only seen 'em along the coast, and personally I don't think they are any more of an eyesore than standard bolts/hangers.

[NateD]

yes i was not so psyched on that old thread, i feel like i got slammed about my books of shuteye/fresno dome, which i have not made any money from i just wanted to share the info i had on the areas and i had nothing to do with looking glass getting bolted :-(,

Well hopefully it's water under the bridge now, mike. From what I understand, everyone who puts a guide out there in the world for anywhere gets criticized by somebody eventually. Climbers are a pretty critical bunch, and if anyone has doubts about that, all they have to do is spend 10 minutes on the Taco, right?

Although there are certainly no rules dictated by anyone, I think most folks have the expectation that a guidebook will include fairly comprehensive information. Especially these days with guides including more detail than ever before, (for better or for worse). That said, authors can spend hundreds, if not thousands of hours doing research, inquiries, and documentation and still not find out about every unknown. I imagine it's a mostly thankless endeavor.

As always, I really applaud your desire to share these special places and your constant enthusiasm, mike. And sorry to pollute the thread with yet another post that is not about glue-ins, or even movies for that matter.