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16-Aug-2010 10:53:47 PM
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So I checked out Lindfield Rocks the other day, great little spot for bouldering and good for introducing people to the rock on topropes. I don't say great, because a lot of the spots that do have anchors at the top have only one bolt! I'm sure there is a reason behind that...
But what really stumped me (and gave me the giggles) was this particular anchor!!!
So are we bolting 20cm climbs now? Safety first, I guess!
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16-Aug-2010 11:11:17 PM
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That would have been put there to help lightweights belay heavy climbers.
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16-Aug-2010 11:18:32 PM
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On 16/08/2010 devlin66 wrote:
>That would have been put there to help lightweights belay heavy climbers.
Couldn't just sling the damn thing?
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16-Aug-2010 11:31:26 PM
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On 16/08/2010 devlin66 wrote:
>That would have been put there to help lightweights belay heavy climbers.
Aaaaand mystery solved, thanks Devlin.
Pity about the single bolts on top of the routes, though. Still, it's better that they are there than not!
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17-Aug-2010 3:54:59 AM
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Isn't it because a fall at that height isn't considered to be 'bad enough' to warrant more than one?
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17-Aug-2010 8:08:05 AM
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On 16/08/2010 Pok wrote:
>So I checked out Lindfield Rocks the other day,
Last Sunday by any chance ? I was with the crowd with 2 ankle biters ... until it rained.
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17-Aug-2010 8:08:11 AM
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Yeah, that's what I figured. And yes, the climbs are easy, so there is less likelihood of a fall, but there is also a much higher likelihood of newbies getting on it. And if I'm showing first timers I'd like to show them proper redundancy practice!
I'm not ragging on whoever put the bolts there, it's awesome that people are bolting easy stuff, I'm just going to have to find a climb with a backup anchor.
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17-Aug-2010 8:11:42 AM
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There are a lot of poor/weird bolts there, on top of Three Cracks Wall nearby is a Petzl long life that doens't look good, but will be hard to remove neatly. Atop the overhang boulder is a very average looking 1/4" bolt that can't be long for this world.
Time for a rebolt? Most of the effort would go into neat removal of the older shockers.
I think that a smaller number of bolts further back from the cliff edge would service more climbs.
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17-Aug-2010 8:25:38 AM
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I'm happy to contribute some time + money to that if anyone with experience is keen to do it.
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17-Aug-2010 8:46:01 AM
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On 16/08/2010 devlin66 wrote:
>That would have been put there to help lightweights belay heavy climbers.
I'm pretty certain that would be the bolt placed many years ago that held a hand-made metal sign advertising stuff for sale. It was rather offensive (visually) and didn't last long but the bolt remained.
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17-Aug-2010 9:19:17 AM
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On 17/08/2010 kuu wrote:
>On 16/08/2010 devlin66 wrote:
>>That would have been put there to help lightweights belay heavy climbers.
>
>I'm pretty certain that would be the bolt placed many years ago that held
>a hand-made metal sign advertising stuff for sale. It was rather offensive
>(visually) and didn't last long but the bolt remained.
Holy beer cans and broken bottles, climbers are a filthy bunch.
<soapbox>
It is bad enough at Burnley where I cannot solely blame climbers, but I am disheartened about the amount of trash I pack out from crags. The base of Bard or the base of Heretic it does not matter, I find plastic bottles, cigarette butts, piles of shit and enough little bits of wrapper to confetti Bourke Street. Granted I have not been puttering around Victoria for long. Maybe some of you more experienced Victorian climbers, who can still remember that far back, can tell me that it is getting better. That people are becoming more aware. That it was worse in the bad old days. Maybe not. With increased usage the crags will only get filthier. You only have to look at some of the large U.S. parks to see which direction it leads.
Pick up your shit, assholes.
</soapbox>
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17-Aug-2010 9:42:08 AM
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On 17/08/2010 davidn wrote:
>Speaking of rebolt, and slightly off-topic - is there a reason the safer
>cliffs part of the site is protected from general access, given bolting
>discussions are often held in the general forum?
Two reasons. The first is that many bolting discussions relate to areas where bolting is technically illegal (ie most national parks) so its best to keep it out of sight of the authorities.The 2nd reason is that everyone who has access to the bolting forums has been checked off as a real person - not a troll. So discussions are civil and personal, rather than random. If you want access just email me.
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17-Aug-2010 10:45:43 AM
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On 17/08/2010 nmonteith wrote:
>Two reasons. The first is that many bolting discussions relate to areas
>where bolting is technically illegal (ie most national parks) so its best
>to keep it out of sight of the authorities.The 2nd reason is that everyone
>who has access to the bolting forums has been checked off as a real person
>- not a troll. So discussions are civil and personal, rather than random.
>If you want access just email me.
Just following up on the previous question... Could you make it so everyone (with an account) can read the posts, but only those you have approved can make and reply to posts?
That way it stops the casual observer (e.g. the bolting police...) from looking, allows users to read some of the threads (some with titles that sounds like warnings about certain areas) and prevents trolls from actually making a post (at least in that section).
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17-Aug-2010 11:08:00 AM
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or just ask for access and you get it.
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17-Aug-2010 11:15:09 AM
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On 17/08/2010 et wrote:
>Just following up on the previous question... Could you make it so everyone
>(with an account) can read the posts,
No, because then any old Mr Ranger can just make an account and read all the posts!
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17-Aug-2010 11:23:29 AM
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>>I'm happy to contribute some time + money to that if anyone with experience is keen to do it.
I'll second that. I'm keen to get a couple of my 12 year old's friends into climbing, so making rigging top ropes easier at Lindfield would be great for me. However, I have no experience with bolting, but could provide tools, $$ and labour and I live close by. I'm also a regular at Coventry Fastners in Artarmon, which I assume would have the right bolts and glue.
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17-Aug-2010 1:09:37 PM
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Yep, me too. Happy to contribute time and labour under the direction of someone who knows what they're doing.
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17-Aug-2010 7:26:06 PM
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Would love to contribute tools and labour if any rebolting goes ahead.
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18-Aug-2010 5:22:05 PM
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I engaged in a similar project at Kangaroo Point in Brisbane. If legend is true, the original bollard locations were marked out by members of the Brisbane Rockclimbing Club in chalk and the contractors who were installing them progressively went along and installed them. Apparently it then rained, meaning in some places the chalk washed away and nothing was installed. Additionally, whilst well meaning, its pretty clear that the climbers at the time simply put a bollard to service the existing routes (or possibly just a selection thereof) meaning that later routes were dificult or impossible to set a top-rope on.
The first thing I think you guys volunteering to help should do is to map out some plans. Don't get too drawn into simply adding a second bolt in whatever location the first bolt was placed, but rather take a more holistic approach and think about what anchor array will best serve the area for the next 25-50 years.
Sketch yourself some maps, draw on where the climbs are, then get out and walk it and see how an anchor set-up will work on each of the climbs.
With regard to hardware choice, being inner-city you've got to assume you're going to get a pretty mixed bag of users, so you want something which is highly resistant to vandalism and to 'improper' use. I'd be looking at glue-in rings or U-bolts in 12mm stock using epoxy (powers fast pro, ramset 801/reo502, etc).
Oh and perhaps one of you locals could add google map coordinates for the lindfield areas on the climb.org.au route database http://climb.org.au/index.php?page_id=10&action=crag&crag_id=306
-Adam
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19-Aug-2010 12:55:45 PM
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Thanks for that advice Adam. It looks like someone has added the google map location on the ACA site.
Do you consider carrots to be relatively vandal proof? That's what is there ATM. I'm assuming that they are easier to install than rings ie just buy some SS bolts from the local bolt shop.
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