Bolting and Rock Breaking

Whenever possible I strongly recommend that you use removable bolts so that they can easily be replaced once the bolt needs to be retired, click here for a good resource for purchasing these removable bolts.

Consider this performance test: after 30,000 cycles using a load of 2kN – which corresponds to a typical climb on ascenders, a 10mm stainless steel bolt and hanger will break, simply from fatigue. Its theoretical strength is however, ten times higher. 30,000 test cycles corresponds to only 200 climbs on a 100m rope. Reference: Alpine Cave Techniques, page 90.


Rigging Glue In Bolts


Removing Wedge Style Bolts


Making a Bolt Puller


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