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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Nov 28, 2006 - 08:11pm PT
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Well, this isn't a bolt, but it was fixed protection. A piton, fixed in a route called Banana Peel, on the Apron at Squamish. A pleasant varied moderate route. The pin was there, at what is perhaps the crux move (5.8) in 1973 when I first did the route. I removed it in 2000, when working on a nearby variation. Uncovering a good nut placement, though there was one nearby that most used for backup anyway.
Squamish is undoubtedly a rainy place, and near the ocean. I estimate that about 40% of the area of the piton, and perhaps 30% of its mass, had eroded. It didn't take much effort to remove, but I was probably the first person in many years to be in the area with a hammer.
Note perforations!
It was a 5/8" Chouinard angle, what used to be called a stubby. The SMC version was plated, and so more resistant.
(Sorry, the photos are a bit fuzzy - still getting used to a new camera.)
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Nov 28, 2006 - 08:20pm PT
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The second row of hangers in Healyje's photo are the old Gerry hangers.
We called 'em "flip tops".
I always wondered what they were thinking when they made hangers into little "pry bars".
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Scoopy
Big Wall climber
Both feet on the ground
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Nov 29, 2006 - 01:35am PT
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I know it's all for the better, but I must admit, I'm do miss seeing those spinners. It only adds to the excitement.
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Strider
Trad climber
one of god's mountain temples....
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Nov 29, 2006 - 03:43am PT
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Sometimes carbide can be too hard, eh?
The carbide tip in this drill shattered and the drill bit was rendered usless. Or maybe not. The funny thing is, there were 2 or 3 bolts drilled before either me or my partner can remember looking at the bit. Who knows when it broke.
Th downside on this one was that I noticed the bit minutes before my partner called for the bolt kit on lead. He ended up changing the bit on lead because I was too slow to think to make him wait for the bolt kit while I changed the bit, I just sent the damn thing up. Funny thing was, he changed that drill bit in almost 15 seconds flat while on lead! It was like watching a marine put his rifle back together blindfolded.
-n
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jack herer
climber
veneta, or
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Nov 29, 2006 - 03:49am PT
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i think the chisel tip bits drill faster than the pointed carbid bits. but i could be stoned.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 29, 2006 - 10:51am PT
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carbide is brittle, Eric introduced me to the bits with the caution to "tap not wack"...
I did the same thing putting a new bolt in for the Chockstone Chimney rappel anchor, lost the tip without knowing about it... it was way dark by the time I had that hole drilled deep enough for the bolt. I put the kit away and it was only later the next day when I was cleaning stuff up at home that I realized that the tip had departed the bit.
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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Nov 29, 2006 - 11:32am PT
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I'm an idiot. Brian, thanks for the corrections on the names for the Titan rebolting picture; the picture at the base of the Titan should say Chris McNamara, Mike White and John Evans. I wrote the names on the edge of the slide but the ink smudged.
Duane Raleigh helped too, the day before, but did not get into the picture. I did little but come along for the ride.
Ben Bransby and Pete Robins freed the Finger of Fate a year or so later. I know they much appreciated the rebolting.
Thanks guys!
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Nov 29, 2006 - 02:53pm PT
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Here's a setup ready to go for you born again tradsters who want to get full value out of your first ascents. Needless to say, rubber grips and the like take some of the adventure out of the route. These are left over from a route in Darrington years ago, with BVB in the lead drilling with that holder and a 12oz ball peen hammer with some cord wrapped around the handle. It sounded like, "tap, tap, tap, tap, F*#K" as he'd miss the holder and hit his hand.
Having seen the error of my ways, and developed my sense of mortality to a greater degree, I've been perhaps overcompensating a bit by placing these babies. In sandstone mind you, so it's not that overkill, but the bolts are roughly the size of the old drill holder.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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The old, squared off aluminum angle hangers like the "one stamped Y C " described above always struck me as dangerous and poorly designed. The sharp corner always seemed like an invitation to a puncture wound that could easily have been eased or otherwise filed off. "Just lazy," I thought when I ran into them and shook my head.
High on the West Face of Sentinel I traversed out a ledge and encountered one of these aluminum sharpies. I clipped into it and began to survey the moves nearby. A corner system died out not far above and the area was water polished, smooth and far from easy.
After working out the moves at 5.10a or so, I was left wondering how the pioneers had managed it. The next time that Sentinel The West Face was shown over at the Lodge, I got my answer. Over to the very same bolt climbed a young and dapper Yvon Chouinard. After he carefully considered the moves, Y C reached high and clipped in with one carabiner. After pulling the slack out of the system, he then grasped both strands of the rope just below the biner and gracefully hoisted himself up until a high kick landed his klettershoe firmly onto the point of contention.
I almost laughed out loud at the craftiness of it all and how perceptions change. Designing a bolt hanger to be stood on just never occured to me.
I witnessed another novel use of bolts themselves on the NW Face of Half Dome. A party of Euros were facing the crux aid pitch just above Thankgod Ledge. After a short inspection of the seam at hand, the leader glanced upwards at the short ladder of ratty original Star Drive nail bolts. In a move that would make a rancher proud, he then gathered up a long loop of the thin trail rope and cowboyed it upwards until it snagged on one of the projecting nails. After a test pull, he gingerly Batmaned on up right past the aid crux until he could clip the lowest bolt and proceed. The tactic would never have occurred to me. Craftiness won the day again!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Anders, you seaside folks at Squamish must have many rusty anchor stories. While climbing the Grand Wall, I always look out to the right at the old aid lines knowing that all the bolts are probably no good anymore.
From L to R starting at the top: a) 3/8" strap hanger from Leaning Tower, b) Longware hanger (made briefly by Dick Long) probably installed by Royal on the second ascent solo when he replaced many of the original 3/16" bolts, c) original Nose two-hole hanger designed by Bill "Dolt" Feurer. I am currently trying to produce a stainless steel replica of this futuristic design for potential fixed anchor work on the Nose, d) Rawl drilled holder in its natural state, jammed and mushroomed e) REI Gerry aluminum poptop hanger, f) a highly prized Dolt keyhole hanger, g) original SMC chromoly hanger, h) Leeper chromoly hanger.
All of the chromoly hangers suffered from stress fracturing problems until replaced by stainless steel. The pressure applied while driving and setting the bolts greatly weakened the hangers and made them more susceptible to cracking. I once took a 50' fall onto a bolt (that I almost didn't place) when a relatively new Leeper hanger at the belay failed under body weight. I always pay attention before sitting back on belay stations after that little brush with death.
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noshoesnoshirt
climber
hither and yon
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Old new bolt. 3/8" Rawl 5 piece mild carbon recovered after ~10 years in southern sandstone.
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jack herer
climber
veneta, or
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more old school funk
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Jim Leininger
Trad climber
tucson, az
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There are a lot of those old hand-made hangers at the Pinnacles NM. On the west side there is a 5.6 called Twinkle Toes Traverse that has a garage door opener handle bolted to the rock as pro, always gets quite a look from climbers new to the route....
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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One minor point - the aluminum "pop top" hanger in Steve's collection
is definitely not made by REI or "Jerry" (probably he meant "Gerry"). I believe it was made by CMI. But my recollection could be wrong. These were in common use in the 60s.
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bwancy1
Trad climber
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There are a lot of those old hand-made hangers at the Pinnacles NM. On the west side there is a 5.6 called Twinkle Toes Traverse that has a garage door opener handle bolted to the rock as pro, always gets quite a look from climbers new to the route....
The garage door handle has been "retrobolted" by adding a new bolt and hanger to the door handle. New bolts affixing the handle were called for, but the addition of the hanger sortof takes the historical novelty away. Its about 5.2 right there.
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Hangerlessbolt
Trad climber
Portland, OR
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Seeing what we refer to as "relics" today makes me wonder how the equipment that we use currently is going to be viewed in the next 30 years.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Clint, I never have seen a stamp on the poptops or ever bought them back in the day. I only recall that REI and Gerry supposedly sold the things and that they were suspect.
That garage door handle anchor is classic! Anybody have any pictures of the hardware store two hole hooks that used to be in place at Suicide Rock stations? They were set up so that you could do a full ropelength rappel and then skillfully flip the top end loop off of the hooks to send it to the ground. Superfly!!!
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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I think those aluminum "pop top" hangers werer French. Maybe caving hangers. From the 60's?
I have a bunch from an old bolt kit. Seen them around a bit, usually on routes established in the late 60's.
Wasn't there a picture of them in one of Ghastly Rubberfats "On Snow and Rock" or "On Ice and Snow and Rock" books?
Ones I've seen pulled looked kinda ok, but one had the back end (underneath side) corroded out pretty severely. Button head rawl 1/4" bolt looked in much better shape.
-Brian in SLC
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Alan Doak
climber
boulder, co
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Here's one of my favorites from Pale Fire on Moses in Canyonlands, Utah.
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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This is from Dolomite Tower. Classic!
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