RRC Archives

Yesterday someone reported to me a concern about the anchor at the top of the first pitch of Bedtime for Bonzo. They said that someone had replaced the old anchor with a setup they thought was potentially dangerous. From what they described to me it sounded like the new anchor was a Fixe Traditional anchor setup that was installed with the rap ring bolt as the top anchor instead of as the bottom bolt. Has anyone else observed this or have any additonal info?

I just climbed Bonzo a week and a half ago and the anchor was the same as I remember it being last February when I climbed it last. Not sure if it is the setup you described or not though.

have not been on the route in a litte while, have no good input on the new anchor. the old one needed replaced for years. anything as long as the operator didnt mess the job up would be better than it was.

what hits me is the word jingus. it sounds cool and i have used it a couple times myself. its just one of those words i cant decide if i dig or not......

I haven't been on it to see, but the correct placement is with the ring at the bottom. If it is upside down, weighting the ring up top would essentially mean that you are rappelling off of the top bolt only and if it failed there would be extension and the bottom bolt would be shock loaded.

goodguy wrote:I haven't been on it to see, but the correct placement is with the ring at the bottom. If it is upside down, weighting the ring up top would essentially mean that you are rappelling off of the top bolt only and if it failed there would be extension and the bottom bolt would be shock loaded.

Actually, now that goodguy describes it more clearly, I am pretty sure that the current setup is incorrect (i.e. rap ring on the top bolt).

goodguy wrote:I haven't been on it to see, but the correct placement is with the ring at the bottom. If it is upside down, weighting the ring up top would essentially mean that you are rappelling off of the top bolt only and if it failed there would be extension and the bottom bolt would be shock loaded.

That is what the person who reported this to me thought.

I've always wondered why there was an anchor at the top of the first pitch anyway...after the first 10 feet of the first pitch it's practically 4th class.

The anchor is a Fixe traditional- I think part of the confusion is that it's placed in a nearly horizontal roof, with the hanger connected to the rap ring in the back (away from the cliff edge) position. If this bolt were to fail, the ring would swing down and out onto the second bolt as it re-aligned itself with the load direction, but it doesn't look like it would shockload it.

People still use gear and anchors to climb that route?

Jay wrote:The anchor is a Fixe traditional- I think part of the confusion is that it's placed in a nearly horizontal roof, with the hanger connected to the rap ring in the back (away from the cliff edge) position. If this bolt were to fail, the ring would swing down and out onto the second bolt as it re-aligned itself with the load direction, but it doesn't look like it would shockload it.

According to the Fixe website the anchor is designed for vertical placement such that both bolt placements are simultaneously loaded: http://www.fixeusa.com/traditional_anchors.htm