Don’t Blindly Trust Bolts and Fixed Anchors. Do This Instead.

Most people’s climbing evolution stories are unique. My own approach unfolded somewhat backward: I bypassed the climbing gym and sport climbing to jump straight onto trad routes. No surprise, I was slow to progress in grades. I eventually embraced the gym and bolted routes as experiences that foster progress and cultivate a social atmosphere.

After learning to place my own pro, I felt eager to trust the integrity of bolted routes more than the protection I was placing myself on trad climbs. It wasn’t until I survived a massive, 20-plus foot whip on a piton on a bolted sandstone tower that I realized the danger of blind faith in climbing hardware. Somehow, I emerged unscathed. But the experience sparked my interest in fixed anchor awareness.

Recently, I decided to seek out a sharper understanding of what defines a fixed anchor and the best practices for trusting bolts. After speaking with four anchor maintenance professionals, I learned that, ultimately, every climber is responsible for educating themselves and deciding what they’re comfortable with.

As Daniel Dunn, Access Fund’s Eastern regional director and policy analyst, puts it: “Pay attention to what you’re clipping and what you’re climbing on. It’s the foundation of safe climbing.”

Organizations like Access Fund and the American Safe Climbing Association (ASCA) are committed to improving safety and understanding when it comes to fixed hardware. Both provide resources, like videos and reading materials—like this article detailing common fixed anchors—for recreational climbers. Since much of the work to replace unsafe gear must be done locally, Access Fund and ASCA also offer grants to help local climbing organizations (LCOs) replace fixed hardware.

Fixed anchors: Do your research before you climb

When it comes to assessing anchors, the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance (SLCA) Executive Director, Julia Geisler, offers sage advice: “Assume nothing’s safe.” She also recommends researching an area before climbing there.

My husband, Chris Brown, has worked on the SLCA’s professional anchor maintenance crew since 2022. “Look at the route in a guidebook,” Chris suggests. “Look at the first ascensionist and the time period. Use online resources like Mountain Project for additional information, including how often it’s climbed, if it’s been rebolted, who rebolted it, when, and with what hardware. Also, read the comments with dates.”

Approaching a climbing area with some background information is a good start. The next step is learning how to identify safe vs. unsafe bolts and fixed anchors once you’re there.

How to know whether you can trust a fixed anchor or bolt

First, let’s talk about what’s considered a fixed anchor to begin with. Drew Brodhead, the SLCA anchor maintenance and advocacy coordinator, offers up some guidance therein. “When we talk about fixed anchors, it’s not only a bolt in the wall. It can be a piton, webbing around a tree, or nuts/cams left in the rock.”

To maximize your safety, you should always assess a fixed anchor before trusting it with your life. Here are a few types of non-bolted fixed anchors to be aware of, and how to assess them:

• Webbing: A cord or webbing tied around a monolith (e.g. a large tree trunk), a large rock, or bolts. The material can easily be sunbleached and therefore compromised.
  • What to do? Look at the webbing’s knot to identify the original color—if the material is faded, don’t trust it. Install new webbing and remove the old material.
• Pitons: Are not meant to be long-lasting pieces of fixed gear.
  • What to do? Add additional pieces to create a SERENE (Solid, Equalized, Redundant, Efficient, and No Extension) anchor. Test before clipping and trust with caution.
• Fixed nuts and cams are trad gear, often left behind unintentionally because they couldn’t be removed.
  • What to do? Add additional pieces to create a SERENE (Solid, Equalized, Redundant, Efficient, and No Extension) anchor. Test before clipping and trust with caution.

Since the most common fixed anchors consist of bolts, I asked Brodhead for his advice on tell-tale signs of suspect hardware.

He offered these clues that bolts might be suspect:

• If the hanger is loose and spinning, it needs maintenance or replacement.
• If the bolt is loose and wiggling in the hole or looks like it’s coming out, something is definitely wrong—don’t trust it.
• If the top fixed anchors, which can be chains, quick links, or clip-in lower-offs (commonly called mussy hooks), are heavily grooved, it’s a sign of high traffic.

These red flags apply to both bolted fixed anchors and the bolts you clip when leading a sport route. If you encounter a suspicious bolt or a bolt you don’t trust at all, consider how far you have to the next bolt—or whether you can place a piece of trad gear instead.

Let’s say you find these red flags in a bolted anchor. If possible, build your own anchor instead. If not, consider rappelling vs. being lowered to minimize the wear on the anchor. Don’t set up a toprope anchor for anyone else. In both cases, you can report the anchor to the ASCA or an LCO (more on that below).

Glue-in bolts: Yes, you can usually trust them

So what about glue-in bolts? Can you trust them?Recently, some controversy emerged regarding whether glue-in bolts can be trusted. One case in point? During an interview with an ASCA staff member on an episode of The Runout podcast, hosts Chris Kalous and Andrew Bisharat sparked questions over this type of hardware.

But the concerns lie with the technique in installing glue-ins—not with glue-ins themselves. In fact, stainless steel glue-in bolts are currently recognized as the highest quality standard in the industry for most rock types. That might vary a bit based on rock type and climate. For example, titanium glue-ins perform better in coastal climates with humidity and saltwater.

Assessing whether a glue-in is properly installed can be tricky. That’s why pre-climb research into who established the route is key. Were the glue-in bolts placed by an LCO or trusted routesetter? Or someone you’ve never heard of? If you don’t know who placed the glue-in bolts, don’t blindly trust that the glue-in installer used the best technique. Visually inspect the bolt and test the glue. If it’s hard and doesn’t wiggle, it’s likely cured and ready to climb.

Glue-ins may be best in class, but many routes still have hanger and bolt-style fixed anchors. When climbing on these types of bolts, look for hardware that is flush with the wall, doesn’t move, and shows no visible rust.

Ultimately, every climber is responsible for gathering information and making real-time decisions. Chris explains, “There’s personal responsibility involved in educating yourself and deciding whether you’re going to do the climb that is based on a lot of factors—consequences and likelihood of falling, where you’re most likely to fall, spacing of bolts, types of bolts, and the consequences of a failure. All these things go into a huge decision-making matrix.”

What to do if you encounter sketchy bolts or anchors

Of course, safely climbing and descending a route—and all the exhilaration that comes with the vertical world—is the ultimate goal. However, if a climber encounters questionable hardware, it’s important to be prepared.

It’s helpful to carry backup trad gear, cord, and carabiners—and know how to use them. Whether recreational climbers should carry a wrench to tighten bolts is a debated topic, since over-tightening can decrease the integrity of the hardware.

Climbing ethics encourage sharing information about suspect hardware. You can report dubious hardware to both the ASCA and on BadBolts.com. Commenting about bad bolts or fixed gear on Mountain Project is a good idea, too.

Since anchor maintenance is usually a community effort, climbers should also report the issue to the area’s LCO (Access Fund website offers a comprehensive list of these groups).

“A lot of LCOs have some type of anchor replacement program that’s part of their stewardship efforts,” Brodhead explains. “It’s essentially a vertical trail that needs maintenance.” That’s why a trained, professional anchor maintenance crew (like the one employed by the SLCA) represents the highest standard of operation for LCOs nationwide.

“To give SLCA credit—because credit is due—they are at the cutting edge of anchor replacement,” Daniel Dunn of Access Fund explains. Worker safety is the cornerstone of the SLCA anchor maintenance program. With the help of a grant from Access Fund in 2020, the SLCA developed the nation’s first “Anchor Replacement Handbook,” “Fall Protection Handbook,” and “Best Practices: New Routing and Anchor Maintenance” manuals. “We’ve created those standards and shared them across the country,” SLCA Director Julia Geiser states.

LCOs, from large-scale operations like the SLCA to grassroots initiatives, share a common goal: to serve as climbing stewards and ensure the safety of the anchor maintenance crew, both volunteers and paid staff. Access Fund and the ASCA support LCOs in their rebolting efforts through anchor maintenance grants. These funds come with good strings attached—specific required hardware standards.

Access Fund also hosts the Annual Advocacy Conference and the Future of Fixed Anchors Conference. “We teach them not only how to do the work, but how to go back and establish a standard to teach their fellow climbers and their LCO community about,” Dunn explains.

Some climbers might not want to get involved with the fixed gear they use. But ultimately, we all have a responsibility to stay involved—if not for our own safety, then for someone else’s.

Geiser urges climbers to take the next step in route stewardship by supporting local LCOs with donations or their time. “Anchor maintenance isn’t free,” she says. “It costs more to maintain a route than to put one up. It is an investment in the future of outdoor climbing as well as your personal safety.”

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