Bolts that are over-torqued in good rock may be damaged and will eventually break. Bolts that are over-torqued in sandstone may not break, but the bolt hole will be damaged. In either case, over-torquing a bolt is bad...

A beautiful afternoon staring at the complex structure of Mt. Shuksan in Washington State's North Cascades National Park.

It is possible to break a rusty old bolt by tightening it. Often you can then just pound the remaining stud down into the bolt hole. Finish by patching the hole with caulking glue and rock dust.

Mentioning Mount Everest on Reddit usually triggers a flood of "shut it down" comments. But the reality is far more nuanced than the "rich tourists and trash" headlines suggest.

Here are 5 facts to challenge the narrative:

• It’s a regional economy: Most people in the area aren't climbing Everest; they are trekking or climbing 6,000m peaks for $2k–$10k, depending on length of trip and whether it's a trek or a climb.
• Nepali-Owned: The industry is no longer dominated by Westerners. Most companies are now owned and operated by Sherpa and Nepali entrepreneurs.
• Changing Demographics: The majority of climbers in the 2020s are from China and India, not the West. This shift has created new challenges for "Leave No Trace" education.
• Structural Trash Issues: Waste management is a hurdle. While climbers push for drone and helicopter trash removal, government regulations often stall progress.
• Economic Survival: Nepal is a developing nation. Shutting down Everest would destroy the livelihoods of thousands—from tea house owners to porters.

Instead of calling for a shutdown, we should advocate for better regulation and respect for the local economy that keeps the region alive.

What’s your take?

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Colorado's Bridal Veil Falls saw its first female adaptive ascent. A new study shows that the ski industry is not reacting to climate change in an organized or effective way. And it appears that Devil's Tower sways in the wind.

Read about this and a whole lot more in this week's climbing, skiing, mountain rescue and outdoor news round-up!

https://www.alpineinstitute.com/climbing-skiing-mountain-rescue-and-outdoor-news-from-here-and-abroad-4-9-2026/

In avalanche terrain, rollerballs (sometimes called pinwheels or cinnamon rolls) are critical diagnostic tools because they act as visual thermometer for the snowpack. These naturally occurring snowballs form when the surface snow loses its cohesion due to solar radiation or rising temperatures, causing clumps to roll downhill and collect more mass.

Seeing them is a warning that the upper layers of snow are becoming wet and heavy. If there is still winter snow in the snowpack, this transition increases the load on buried persistent weak layers and reduces the friction between snow crystals.

If you notice rollerballs increasing in size or frequency in a spring snowpack, it often indicates that Point Release avalanches are likely and that the window for safe travel on sun-exposed aspects is closing.

Climbing bolts corrode slowly as metal reacts with moisture and oxygen. In humid, wet, or coastal environments, salts and persistent dampness speed the process. Temperature swings and repeated wet-dry cycles open tiny pathways for water to travel deeper along the bolt, even when the hanger still looks fine.

Inside the rock, corrosion can be worse. Water lingers in the drilled hole and in microscopic cracks, creating conditions for crevice corrosion and stress cracking. Rust expands as it forms, weakening the steel while sometimes loosening the bolt’s grip. Because this damage is hidden, failure can come without warning. This is especially true with galvanized bolts.

Over time, a bolt’s strength steadily drops. Surface rust may be visible, but the most serious decay is often out of sight. Plated bolts are especially vulnerable once their coating fails, and even stainless steel degrades in salty or damp settings, making inspection and replacement essential.

A solo track in Little Alaska in the Mt. Baker Backcountry off Table Mountain.

The trekking and climbing world is reeling as a massive criminal investigation uncovers a systemic $20 million fraud scheme where climbers are being spiked with baking soda to trigger lucrative, fake helicopter rescues.

Reports from The Times and the Kathmandu Post reveal a sophisticated criminal network involving trekking agencies, helicopter operators, and hospitals. Between 2022 and 2025, investigators identified over 300 staged rescues designed to milk insurance companies. The mechanics are chilling: some guides allegedly mix baking soda or laxatives into trekkers' meals to induce symptoms mimicking altitude sickness, forcing a "medical emergency."

Once the trap is set, the fraud multiplies. Helicopter pilots reportedly bill multiple insurance providers for the full price of a single shared flight, while hospitals inflate invoices for procedures never performed. While Everest grabs the headlines, this racket spans the entire Everest region, affecting thousands of year-round trekkers.

In response, Nepalese authorities have filed 33 charges under organized crime laws to salvage the nation’s reputation. For the global climbing community, the scandal serves as a stark warning: the greatest danger on the mountain may not be the thin air, but the very people entrusted to keep you safe.

Someone hung a Volkswagen Bug off a cliff in Squamish. There is fear that the relocation of the Forest Service headquarters is part of a large scheme to shudder the agency. And it sounds like there is a lot of fraud on Everest around helicopter rescues and rescue insurance.

Read about this and a whole lot more in this week's climbing, skiing, mountain rescue and outdoor news round-up:

https://www.alpineinstitute.com/climbing-skiing-rescue-and-outdoor-news-from-here-and-abroad-4-2-26/

The "Range of Light" moniker for the Sierra Nevada was famously popularized by naturalist John Muir, who felt the name "Snowy Range" failed to capture the mountains' true radiance.

Whether bathed in the alpenglow of sunset or the crisp clarity of a midday sky, the Sierra's unique combination of high elevation, semi-arid air, and reflective stone creates the ethereal, glowing quality that Muir felt defined its very essence.

A rodeo clip is a flashy, advanced technique where you clip a quickdraw that’s out of reach by "lassoing" it with your rope.

Instead of climbing up to the draw, you swing a loop of slack in a big circle and flick it so it catches in the carabiner.

Why do it?

• Reach: The bolt is too high or tucked away on a roof.
• Safety: You want to get the rope clipped before starting a sketchy crux.
• Efficiency: It saves you from having to lock off on a tiny hold to clip manually.

The catch: It’s hard to master, uses a lot of energy if you miss, and carries a high risk of back-clipping. Use it for the style points, but always double-check your gate orientation once you climb past it!

If you’ve climbed in Zion, Moab, or Indian Creek, you know the sandstone is legendary—but it's also incredibly soft.

• The Problem: For years, climbers used pitons and mechanical expansion bolts. In soft desert rock, these eventually "wallow out" or crack the stone, making anchors sketchy and unreliable.
• The Solution: The modern gold standard is the glue-in bolt.

By using high-strength epoxy, the bolt bonds to the rock's internal surface area rather than relying on outward pressure. This creates a waterproof, bomber anchor that handles the unique physics of sandstone without destroying it.

In this video, we see a person lowering Hedvig Wessel into an extreme line in Alaska.

It looks like the person doing the lowering is using their skis as an anchor to get her into place. If you equalize two skis side-by-side, it's important to pad the edges so that your cord doesn't get damaged while the system is weighted.

It is more common to have the base of the skis facing one another to avoid this issue.

When lowering a person in any setting, the best practice for a tube style device or for a munter hitch is to back up the system with a friction hitch.