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My book, "Bolting in the Red" is available in preliminary draft form for downloading (pdf format) from the web. I received a lot of requests for it after the Bolting Clinic a couple weeks ago; so, I decided to make the latest draft available as a download.

Please understand that this is an ongoing project. The booklet has grown into a 32-page illustrated book and continues to grow. A fifteen-page section on destructive testing is not included at this time, due to its incomplete nature.

Also, please understand that this book is produced and offered to the climbing community at no charge of any kind. It is not copyrighted, and as such you are welcome to freely reprint any or all of the content. I ask that you do not alter the content and distribute the result under my name.

As always, your comments and suggestions are appreciated.

Download from: http://www.muirvalley.com/pdf-bb1.html

Rick Weber

Thanks, Rick!

very generous as always rick, thanks am looking forward to reading it.

Looks good rick!

But i didnt see any info on the *new* cable anchors (which i dont really like!) Areyou opposed to them?, or did you just forget? Whatever the case looks good.

Gaar, why don't you like cable anchors?

Gaar wrote:Looks good rick!

But i didnt see any info on the *new* cable anchors (which i dont really like!) Areyou opposed to them?, or did you just forget? Whatever the case looks good.

The cable anchors are still under development. The ones that are already up in Muir are in the same ballpark strength as chains, quicklinks, rings etc. So, your safety concerns should be the same for both cable and more traditional anchor hardware.

Cables on bolted hangers have a few advantages and disadvantages over more widely used hardware. The jury is still out. The big potential problem with cable anchors is that they must be properly constructed with certified swaging tools and sizing gages to check the swages. We'll post some more info on these after further testing.

Rick

The problem im having with them is that the ones i have seen up only have ONE rap ring connecting them at the lowering point, which does two things; one it puts more strain on the rope by creasing it over such a small edge; two it is basicly lowering from one peice of pro! I was cleaing Air Ride the other day and was thinking that i only had one point of contact when taking the hellasish swings, generating who knows how much force onto one point!

Another thing is i have replaced many anchors with new chains, rings, etc. but i would not have the slightest idea on how *renew* these anchors once they become worn, or even when to tell they need to be replaced.

Food for thought!

I think the one rap ring is more then enough for lowering. You aren't putting very much force on it, even with big swings. You place the rope in a tight bend like that quite a bit any way during normal climbing. Replacement could be an issue though. I know I would much rather clean after leading on this kind of setup, rather then the two rap rings that are 6-10 inches apart.

Rick, you don't need to offer the book totally without copyrights. I am not a lawyer (unlike some people lurking around here ), but I am somewhat familiar with the Creative Commons license. Take a look at:

www.creativecommons.org

The best summary I've heard is that if Public Domain is "no rights reserved" and Copyright is "all rights reserved" then Creative Commons licensing is "some rights reserved". Typically people use Creative Commons licensing to allow for non-commercial distribution of a work, or to allow others to build on your work, usually in non-commercial contexts.

I for one tend to agree with gaar on the lowering from one point thing. Granted that one point will probably do the trick, i was taught that 2 points of contact is a good rule for climbing. Two points of contact for your harness, going in direct to clean, and yes even lowering. Any one point of contact should be fine, but there is always a chance (even if slim) that part of the system may fail, in which case i would prefer a backup.

Just an opinion from a n00b so don't take what I say too seriously.

Kyle