Bad Bolts at The Puoux

By Mike Schneiter

This spring, I’ve been replacing bad or suspect anchors and bolts at our beloved little roadside crag, the Puoux with hardware donated by Climbing Magazine’s Anchor Replacement Initiative. In the process, I’ve discovered a number of rather scary bolts, a couple of which prompted me to think, “man, I’m glad I didn’t whip on that thing.” Tonight took the cake though.

Roadside Attraction is a short, mediocre line that checks in at around 5.10a. Its claim to fame is that it’s arguably the most popular climb in western Colorado. Throughout the year it sees a steady flow of traffic, particularly because it’s easy to hike around to the top and set up a toprope. I’ve climbed it countless times, often combining it with the second pitch for a long warmup.

I’ve never been too fond of the bolting on the climb and others have shared their feelings with me as I’ve worked at replacing bolts this spring. Many of us have wondered about the third bolt, placed in a suspect block. Tonight, while rappelling the route after updating the second pitch anchor I decided to tap around with my hammer and see if any of the route’s bolts were in hollow rock. My senses have been alerted after finding a couple of key crux bolts on Two Tone in frighteningly hollow rock that was peeling off with moderate tugs six inches away. Additionally, a few years ago a large flake with a bolt in the middle of it fell off the Left Indominate and rumors flew that someone had whipped on the bolt, causing its displacement.

Upon closer inspection the 3rd bolt did indeed have cracks all around the bolted hold/block. I gave it a couple of taps to listen for a hollow ring and it gave that eerie hollow sound that a route developer despises. I tapped it a couple more times and thought that I could detect some movement in the hold. Giving it a couple harder swings, although not violent, I could see the cracks around the hold widen and I knew it was going to come off easily. With about six more swings the hold came off with the bolt in it. I left a note on the first bolt warning future ascents and brought my artifact home to rest on my shelf

Now, the question is, “do we rebolt the rest of the climb while we’re at it?”

Here’s my argument, which is by no means settled.

1. Obviously the third bolt needs to be replaced.
2. We don’t know who the first ascentionist is so we can’t ask for permission.
3. There is groundfall potential when clipping the second bolt and particularly when pulling up rope.
4. The second bolt is in rock that sounds good now but there is hollow rock on two sides of it within 6 inches and it appears to be part of a larger flake feature that may work loose with time and freeze/thaw. How long, I don’t know but it seems like a possibility. Currently, the second bolt protects the crux.
5. I propose that the first bolt be moved up slightly, 4 to 6 inches. The second bolt should be lowered, about 10 inches into a solid plaque of rock. The third bolt should be relocated 12 to 18 inches to the left of its original placement in a solid plague of rock that could be clipped before committing to the crux, thereby offering better protection for the leader. The fourth bolt is probably fine but we could replace it while we’re at it and move it 4 to 6 inches lower where it will be easier to clip and better protect the upper moves.

Please share your thoughts. I have no intention of doing this alone and would love as much community input as possible, even if it is a chunk of roadside choss. I would like to rebolt this before the weekend and plan to go out on Thursday night (8-8:30), after my own climbing session, to do the work along with some beers, pizza, and friends. Feel free to join us and contribute to the decision making process.

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