If you’re into sport climbing, you probably don’t think twice about clipping bolts, happily moving past them with mental ease. If you’re a trad climber, a climbing bolt may offer peace of mind for a safe rappel — or it could be a relic of questionable safety.
Editor’s note: This article is not intended to be used to determine the safety of bolts, but rather for educational purposes and background information only!
So, how do you know what to look for and judge what is safe? Or better yet, how do climbing bolts even work in the first place?
Climbing Bolts: How Do They Work?
Types of Bolts
Climbing bolts come in a few forms, with the most common being a simple mechanical expansion bolt. Mechanical expansion bolts can be either a “wedge bolt” or a five-piece “sleeve bolt.” We will dig into the differences shortly.
Other commonly accepted bolts found on climbing routes, especially in softer stone or corrosive environments, are glue-in bolts.
On very old routes without updated modern hardware, a number of styles of unsafe bolts may be found. However, we will focus only on modern bolts in this article.
In addition to the bolt that actually anchors into the rock, a hanger is placed, which is the hardware the quickdraw engages. Hangers mostly look the same, but again, there are some very old models of hangers that are questionable.
In its simplest form, mechanical bolts all work the same. a hole is drilled in the rock with a hammer drill and masonry bit, and the hole is cleaned with a brush and blowing tool. Then the bolt is hammered into the hole with the hanger attached, and the bolt is tightened to secure it into the rock.
Wedge Bolts
Sleeve Bolt
Glue-In Bolts
Materials
