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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Jun 15, 2012 - 09:50pm PT
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It's true - if it was a route that normally is climbed to the top and descended separately, and takes clean gear, usually no need for a fixed anchor. Example: Nutcracker.
So I got some more details.
In this case, it's a rappel anchor for a 5.10 route freed in the 60s.
An extension to the rim has since been done with 3 5.11 pitches, but the 5.10 route still gets done by itself.
We ran across a few fixed pin anchors on the Apron in years past, often marked as xx on the topo.... Hard to maintain, so those went to stainless bolts.
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Ihateplastic
Trad climber
It ain't El Cap, Oregon
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Jun 15, 2012 - 10:45pm PT
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Many years ago I lost a young friend to an untested fixed pin rap. I would have ZERO issues with replacing a death trap with solid bolts.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
the crowd MUST BE MOCKED...Mocked I tell you.
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Jun 16, 2012 - 02:11am PT
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pinbolts!
expando rap anchor = death trap, good call to rings and bolts.
thx!
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pyro
Big Wall climber
Calabasas
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Jun 16, 2012 - 12:07pm PT
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Roger lots of ole timers tell me that pitons/pitoncraft is a lost art so bolt it.
nice thread.
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Jun 16, 2012 - 02:37pm PT
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I doubt that most climbers know how to check pins for soundness and may only hope that someone has checked on a prior ascent in the same year. I vote with you, not only for their safety, but for your peace of mind.
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Don Paul
Big Wall climber
Colombia, South America
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Jun 16, 2012 - 06:30pm PT
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The only way I would know would be to hit it sideways with a hammer. If it comes out it's not a fixed pin. If you're free climbing with no hamer, I guess you could put a sling on it and bounce test it.
Can't say I ever did any of this, though, in my early days of climbing at the Gunks. Every route has a couple of ancient pins on it. There are thousands of them, but you won't find a single stainless steel bolt. This is a major part of the character and history of the place.
At the gunks these old pins are generally pretty solid, but don't look that way to a beginning climber. I can still remember, arriving on Friday night after a week of work in Boston, usually arrive just at dusk and the cliffs were unbelievably frightening to me. I wouldn't want to spoil this for anyone else - I obviously overcame it and then later in my climbing career, there were scores of routes 5.5 and below I could solo, that I already knew.
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James
climber
My twin brother's laundry room
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Jun 16, 2012 - 07:17pm PT
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If you're going to leave something in the rock, make it permanent and long lasting.
Clipping fixed pins sucks. Clipping fixed heads on free routes is lane. The corner pitch off sous le toit has a bunch of half broken pounded in nuts because someone was to ethical to bolt it but not ethical enough to clean their garbage fixed gear.
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