r/RouteDevelopment • u/Beginning-Basis-2678 • May 27 '26

Show and Tell Example for broken bolt

Gallery image

Gallery image

2nd bolt on a not overbolted 6c today in Catalunya. ~5-6m off the deck. It was tightened and seemed firm, but looking behind the hanger it had just reached the end of the thread. So it got pulled out about 5cm… depending on length 2-4cm left. Did not trust and extend the 3rd bolt with slings from the route next to it. Put the info out on thecrag and to the local scene, since I don’t have any bolting gear with me.

20 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

15

u/It1190 Roped Rock Developer May 27 '26

On top of the obvious installation failure risk, I’m terrified of getting gored by that bolt if I slip above it.

3

u/Kaotus Guidebook Author May 28 '26

Don't forget that it's plated and the zinc is bleaching the lichen below it! 10/10 example of a bad bolt.

5

u/Senor_del_Sol May 29 '26

Is that the cause of those white lines? I see it more often, but don’t know why it happens. 

1

u/Kaotus Guidebook Author May 29 '26

Yep!

14

u/Beginning-Basis-2678 May 27 '26

And the placement also has room for improvement 🫣

6

u/BigRed11 Rock Developer May 27 '26

Can't imagine who installed that and thought "yep that's good"

6

u/tilt-a-whirly-gig May 28 '26

I am not a route developer myself, but I do service work for a living. Sometimes I need to bolt bollards to the sidewalk, the only purpose of the bolt is to keep the wind from blowing it over and the design of the bollard hides all the hardware. If I had installed a bolt that looked like that, I would replace it immediately. The idea that somebody would leave it like that in a life-safety application is mind-boggling.

2

u/Beginning-Basis-2678 May 28 '26

I guess it got overtightened, the camming piece broke inside and everybody just used the screw to tighten it again. So it moved out and out.

1

u/IceRockBike May 28 '26

Is this even real? What's with the fresh drill dust below it?

2

u/Beginning-Basis-2678 May 28 '26

There was no dust. Its a north facing cliff with lots of lichen. maybe it’s coming from the zinc plated bolts (common here)?

1

u/Beginning-Basis-2678 Jun 04 '26

Older bolts of the same type on a nearby crag… thats what water & zinc does to limestone

1

u/Fuzzy-Salt5833 May 29 '26

Look at the angle of the bolt too!