The world is going to hell in a handcart and Iam going climbing. Mind you I always go climbing. When the Banker who advised Bush admits that the Iraq war was about oil, nobody gets upset. When a horrific killing in Paris takes place everybody takes notice.
The UIAA report on bolts and suggested materials for bolts is very clear on which material you should use. What is it going to take for people to wake up? Bolts unless they are made of the right material are ticking time bombs.
When I took the decision to use solely Titanium I was a bit scared that I was going too far, but yesterday I did a little check on a few bolts. Some expansion placed less than 2 years ago are extremely suspect. They were in a very worrying state-they are in one of the most exposed places, they get sun, chemicals, high humidity. I have left them, I am sure they will just disappear soon! I did an analysis of two, and they would in my opinion have taken falls. But not for long.
In the same place as the Bad expansion bolts, are several Stainless 316 which vary from perfect, to 10 % showing "tea staining" these are perfectly ok for their job. They should be good for certainly a few years, but they need monitoring.
Climbing is a great sport, there were a dozen climbers from abroad climbing yesterday, having fun and contributing to the local economy. But who will maintain the bolts, who will supply the high grade expensive material, and who will do the work. Because I want to go climbing!
