Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Chris McNamara
SuperTopo staff member
|
|
|
Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 7, 2011 - 03:17pm PT
|
Hi Forum, Here is an update on some of what the American Safe Climbing Assn was up to in 2011 from Director Greg Barnes. Please consider the ASCA for you end of year donation by clicking here. Also, please follow us on facebook
 C
ASCA replacement in the US
ASCA-supported volunteers replaced hundreds of bolts all around the US in 2011, including several hundred bolts replaced by elbow-wrecking hand drilling in granite! From Red Rocks to Yosemite to Rifle to Smith Rocks to dozens of other crags, and from the major areas of the West to various smaller crags in the Carolinas, Alaska, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, and of course California and Colorado. All of this is only possible through incredible volunteer efforts to install top quality stainless steel bolts funded entirely by climber donations!
Huge Fundraiser by Planet Granite
The ASCA fundraiser at Planet Granite was a huge success! Headline speaker Alex Honnold helped bring in about 300 people. We far exceeded our goal of $20,000... We raised $30395.85!! This was largely due to the very generous match by Planet Granite Gives Back of $10,000: for every member, $1 is donated per month to climbing, community and the environment.
ASCA goes international
The incredible failure rate of bolts in southern Thailand has been a widely recognized problem for the past decade - every type of stainless steel bolt corrodes and breaks rapidly. In past years the ASCA has assisted with ordering titanium bolts, but this year the ASCA directly supported substantial replacement in southern Thailand. In 2011 nearly 400 bolts were replaced with titanium glue-ins with ASCA support! While outside of the US, a substantial number of Americans climb in southern Thailand, most of the routes were established by Americans, and the area needs help from climbers all around the world in order to prevent catastrophic bolt failures.
ASCA-supported replacement in 2011
370+ in Thailand
300+ in Yosemite Valley
150+ in Red Rocks
100+ in Grand Junction area (Unaweep, Escalante, CO Nat'l Mon.)
80+ in Rifle
50+ in Tuolumne
50+ in Bishop area (Pine Creek, Alabama Hills anchors)
50+ in Needles & southern Sierra
45 in South Carolina (Table Rock State Park)
40+ in South Platte
40+ in Joshua Tree
20 in North Carolina (Rumbling Bald, Whitesides)
Additional areas include the Flatirons, Smith Rock, Shelf Road, Mt. Erie, Owens River Gorge, Menagerie Wilderness, Southern Yosemite, Seward Highway, Hartman Rocks, Tongue River Canyon, Parker Bluff, and others.
|
|
Joe
Social climber
Santa Cruz
|
|
that's some nice looking pro!
for sale?
|
|
Sam Lightner, Jr
Social climber
WY
|
|
One spot has been forgotten.... we have replaced over 200 bolts (and anchors) in the greater Moab area. Thats from Indian Creek to Arches, Canyonlands, Castle Valley and the Fishers. It was done courtesy the ASCA. Thanks guys.
|
|
Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
|
|
Don't be so modest, Sam...
Thank YOU!
|
|
mctwisted
Social climber
paradise
|
|
thanks greg! and to all those guys fixing (good job), wow thats alot of anchors fixed!
|
|
Alexey
Trad climber
San Jose, CA
|
|
I can proudly spray that the left bolt on MeatGrinder [above foto] was my first one drilled in granite , done under close supervision of mctwisted.
|
|
nature
climber
Aridzona for now Denver.... here I come...
|
|
so Alexey.... what your saying.... is if we clip that left bolt...
We're gonna die?
nice work....
|
|
Jerry Dodrill
climber
Sebastopol, CA
|
|
I heard ASCA replaced the old bolts on Double Cross this year as well. Thanks guys!
|
|
MedDeviceEngineer
Trad climber
Ca
|
|
Nice Job Chris
That's some ugly looking bolts that got pulled. Good job to all involved.
|
|
nature
climber
Aridzona for now Denver.... here I come...
|
|
What's up with Thailand?
you mean besides the fact that it really is a "you're going to die" situation?
nothing really.... what's a few extra rust streaks that use to be bolts?
Jerry, there's only one old bolt on Double Cross. The rest are retro.... so they replaced the one right before you top out?
|
|
A5scott
Trad climber
Chicago
|
|
Donated $25... not much but it will help... won't be my last donation that's for sure.
thanks ASCA for taking the initiative...
scott
|
|
Greg Barnes
climber
|
|
What's up with Thailand? Chloride Stress Corrosion Cracking - namely the bolts, even marine-grade stainless, fracture along stress lines in the metal (such as the bends in glue-in bolts) in a very short time (only a couple years at the worst). It took everyone by surprise when it was first noticed in the late '90s.
Here is an article on it from a few years back by John Byrnes, Skip Harper and Mike Shelton:
http://www.safeclimbing.org/education/deepbluesea.htm
Also Angele Sjong published a paper in 2008 on her investigation of the actual mechanism of the corrosion (which scientists would not have thought possible at tropical temperatures), based on a marine-grade stainless steel Petzl hanger that I broke with my fingers (just clipped it and twisted the biner - looked sketchy so I had placed a nut in a slot first!). It is a copyrighted article by the scientific journal so I can't repost it, but for those who are interested it is in the Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention:
J. Fail. Anal. And Preven. (2008) 8:410-418.
|
|
Greg Barnes
climber
|
|
One spot has been forgotten.... we have replaced over 200 bolts (and anchors) in the greater Moab area. Thats from Indian Creek to Arches, Canyonlands, Castle Valley and the Fishers. It was done courtesy the ASCA. Thanks guys. Duh! Woops! I'm sure that's not the only spot I forgot (or where we haven't heard back on details).
Thanks Sam and partners! Sam & Liz replaced a bunch of those Thailand bolts too!
|
|
bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
|
|
My fault for not reporting our work to Greg, but Clint and I did some bolt replacement at the Pinnacles National Monument this year. Always fun to be on a project with Clint!
|
|
Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
|
|
Yes, as was memorably said in a movie about a high school, if you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter.
|
|
cavemonkey
Ice climber
ak
|
|
please dont send prezwoods any more bolts
he's using them to retrobolt climbs he gets scared on
|
|
Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
|
|
|
Dec 19, 2011 - 01:09pm PT
|
Safe bolt bump....
|
|
curt wohlgemuth
Social climber
Bay Area, California
|
|
|
Dec 20, 2011 - 12:58pm PT
|
A gentle reminder to folks: If your company does any sort of matching for charitable contributions, ASCA is a valid non-profit. I've been effectively doubling my yearly donation for bolt replacement by my company match.
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!