Inrock climbing, abolt is a permanent anchor fixed into a hole drilled in the rock as a form ofclimbing protection. Most bolts are either self-anchoringexpansion bolts or fixed in place with liquidresin.Climbing routes that are bolted are known assport climbs, and those that do not use (or allow) bolts, are known astraditional climbs.
While bolts are commonplace in rock and gym climbing there is no universal vocabulary to describe them. Generally, abolt hanger (or a fixed hanger) is a combination of a fixed bolt and a specialized stainless steel hanger designed to accept acarabiner, whereas in certain regions abolt runner (or a carrot) describes a hangerless bolt (where the climber must provide their own hanger bracket such as arivet hanger). Aclimbing rope is then clipped into the carabiner. Generallyquickdraws orslings are employed between bolt hangers and the rope to reduce drag when ascending,belaying andrappelling.
Variations of climbing bolts include:
Rock climbingroutes that have been bolted for climbing protection — but not as a source of aid to help progression — are calledsport climbs. Where a route has bolts to aid progression (i.e. a climber can pull on the bolt), it is called anaid climb. Incompetition lead climbing, all of the routes are bolted.
Bolts degrade over time — particularly in coastal areas from salt, but also fromstress corrosion cracking — and eventually, all sport climbs need to be re-fitted after a number of years.[2][3] The highest qualitytitanium bolts are too expensive to use regularly, and the next highest qualitystainless steel bolts have an expected lifespan of circa 20—25 years (the cheaper plated stainless steel bolts have a shorter span); and in 2015, theAmerican Alpine Club established an "anchor replacement fund" to help replace the bolts on America's estimated 60,000 sport climbing routes.[4]
