Completion of SAS Phase 2 Re-bolting Initiative

[The_SAS_David_Jones]

Hi everyone,

SAS is happy to announce we have completed phase 2 of our re-bolting initiative. Details can be found here:

http://squamishaccess.ca/?p=718

and here:

http://squamishaccess.ca/?p=699

and include climbs in Chek, Murrin (such as The Shaman), North Wall and Grand Wall (including Cruel Shoes). We would like to gratefully acknowledge the efforts of Squamish Rock Guides and Westcoast Mountain Guides for their contribution to this work.

David J. Jones
Co-Director of SAS

[squamish climber]

By my count, over 41 routes/pitches were rebolted/refurbished this winter due to a Squamish Access Society initiative and carried out by Squamish Rock Guides and Westcoast Mountain Guides.

Highlights include a complete refurbishment/bolt replacement of Cruel Shoes/ Grand Wall - the marquee climb on the Chief and placement of perma draws on Circus Wall at the Chek and Forgotten Wall.

Here is the report by Squamish Rock Guides and Westcoast Mountain Guides on the work they completed. Includes a list of the bolts/stations replaced for Cruel Shoes and the Grand.

Thanks SAS, Squamish Rock Guides and Westcoast Mountain Guides. Awesome work.

[paulc]

Awesome is right.

This is really nice stewardship of our resources, I like the keeping of the same style when rebolting, but obviously this needs to happen. When the bolts went in years ago, the intent wasn't to put junk in that would fail when you fell on it (in this case due to aging and presumably other factors like location, water seepage and on and ). Years pass and the situation with the degree of protection of some of these bolts is not near what the first acsentionist experienced, bringing the route back into line with the protection afforded the FAist only makes sense.

The previous statements really only apply to hardware failure risk rather than all the other risk and complicating factors that make FAing so much different than doing a repeat (assuming GU style or even TD).

While we can't rely on bolts not to fail, it is in all our interests to have a maintenance program for these critical in-situ elements of our safety system. Leaving junk up is just taking more risks than need to be taken.

Keep it up.

P