11/05/06

Bolting Controversy...

A furore about the safety of bolts in Dorset has recently broken out across the Internet on the UKCLIMBING forum Rocktalk (See here>>). An initial enquiry ( See here>>)about the origin and the apparent ‘flexibility’ of the new bolts at Hedbury Quarry led to a response from the first ascentionist, Jim Titt, that not only defended the design of bolt applied at Hedbury(the “Buhler” system), but went on to question the safety of bolts of the ‘U-staple’ design.
‘Staple’ bolts represent the vast majority of all bolt protection in place in Dorset, and as such, a concern about their safety should be taken seriously. However, subsequent postings on the forum cast doubt on the conclusions that Jim Titt drew from studies of bolt failures and test results elsewhere.
At the moment there is no system of assessing the integrity of in-situ bolt protection ('staples', 'through-bolts' or indeed 'Buhler bolts') on our crags, and until that situation changes, claims made about the safety (or otherwise) of bolt protection are unfounded and unproven. What can be said is that the suggestion that all staples are ‘unsafe’ is not borne out by experience; hundreds of these bolts are fallen on every week, with a total of…zero failures.

Remember that climbing is a potentially dangerous activity(which to most climbers lends it it's inherent attraction), and the judgement of potential risk is up to the individual climber: as with all fixed protection, if you judge that the consequences of a bolt failure are too serious, then do not attempt the climb!