  Privacy
| Legal |
Table of Contents Back | Next | Home | Cover Page |
 Technology & Development Center |
Fixed Anchors in the Wilderness
Recreational rock climbing, ranging from traditional mountaineering to sport climbing, is increasing on national forests. Recreational rock climbing has occurred on national forests for many years, inside and outside of designated wilderness. Rock climbers routinely use fixed anchors to assist them in their climb and to help them navigate dangerous terrain safely. The safest, most common reliable fixed anchor is an expansion bolt, a small steel bolt placed in a hole that has been drilled into the rock (figure 1). Frequently, a "hanger" is attached to an expansion bolt to accommodate a carabiner or sling (figure 2).
Figure 1—An expansion bolt is placed
in a drilled hole into the rock.
Figure 2—An expansion bolt is used
with a nut to attach a hanger.
Sport climbing evolved through technological advances in climbing equipment. This type of climbing is usually done on a single pitch, or face, and often relies on bolts. Sport climbing differs from traditional rock climbing where more strategic, and sometimes horizontal, movement is favored over a quick vertical climb and descent. Bolted routes increase the margin of safety for climbers.
Traditional rock climbing uses removable protection such as nuts, stoppers, or cam devices, placed into a crack of the rock formation (figure 3). Traditional rock-climbing protection devices require sound judgment for placements. These protection devices are rated for strength in pounds or metric units of force called kilonewtons. A kilonewton rating measures the amount of force that would break a piece of equipment during a fall. Even traditional climbing requires bolts to be placed at the top of a vertical crag for rappelling if there is no other way of descending.
Figure 3—Removable protection includes cam devices and nuts.
 |
E-mail: