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Sicily anchor failure (Read 2526 times)

Schnell

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Sicily anchor failure
December 18, 2014, 05:45:29 pm
Not sure if this has been mentioned anywhere on UKB already: http://www.rockandice.com/lates-news/tnb-the-risk-of-climbing.

I was in San Vito in September and felt quite concerned about some of the anchors, enough that I wouldn't send my girlfriend up after me on more than a few occasions. The impression I got from the guide was that there's a very limited number of people bolting in those parts, so difficult to stop things getting too personal.

There's also a letter by Michel Piola on facebook on bolting in San Vito about bolts breaking because some corrosion prone steel (in French so I didn't get the technical bits). Though obviously material wasn't the issue in the R&1 case.

danm

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#1 Re: Sicily anchor failure
December 18, 2014, 06:22:20 pm
Link doesn't work, but found it. Man, that's savage. It's not a given that the bolter was at fault - limestone is constantly decaying and what was sound may have deteriorated. This has happened at UPT for example, where sound belays have had to be relocated over time as the rock has weathered nearby.

Practically, it's a tricky one - apart from looking for obvious cracks and loose blocks, how far do you go when you check before committing to a lower off? It's not like you're going to take a hammer with you to do a boom test.

joel182

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