Access Fund’s work with local climbing organizations (LCOs) across the country gives us a front-row seat to new ideas, methods, and standards as they take root in the different corners of our climbing advocacy community. As a national organization, Access Fund is uniquely positioned to identify those ideas and bring the community together to turn them into larger conversations. One topic that’s been on the minds of many leaders in the community recently? Aging bolts, and the techniques and tools used to replace them.

© Caleb Timmerman

“Bolt replacement isn’t just important, it’s downright critical to the future of our sport,” says Mike Morin, Access Fund northeast regional director. “Fixed gear is susceptible to wear and tear, and a lot of the bolts placed in the ’80s and early 90’s are becoming significantly corroded or experiencing wear and tear from general use. The community must have knowledgeable people who can manage and replace those bolts before they become so rusted that they can’t be removed and the holes reused, or they fail.” This October, Petzl, Access Fund, and the Southeastern Climbers Coalition teamed up on a rebolting event designed to bring that knowledge to the local climbing community in Chattanooga, Tennessee and the surrounding region.

“Bolt replacement isn’t just important, it’s downright critical to the future of our sport.”

REBOLT TRIP was designed to embed experts in rope access and bolt replacement in the local community to train new rebolters and bolster the knowledge base of experienced rebolters. Before anyone even picked up a drill, Petzl led the charge on raising funds for SCC and the event itself. Following a months-long fundraiser in partnership with local retailers, Petzl threw a carnival that transformed Chattanooga’s downtown High Point Climbing & Fitness gym into a midway of climbing-themed carnival games.

Carnival-goers try their hand at the rodeo clip challenge, hangboard cornhole, and piton ring toss. © Honey McNaughton.

The next day, experts from Petzl and Access Fund led hands-on learning sessions for volunteers. Access Fund’s Mike Morin and Daniel Dunn led a training on how to use specially designed tools to remove and replace bolts one-for-one without having to drill new holes in the rock.

Volunteers learn how to use bolt-removal tools, practicing on the ground in real rock. © Caleb Timmerman.

Experts from Petzl, including Keith Luscinski, Petzl Technical Institute Manager, led additional sessions on a two-rope safety system similar to what rope access professionals use, adapted for rebolting work. “Most climbers don’t get into rebolting until they’ve been climbing for a while, and the systems that they’ve learned over the years come from a recreational skillset,” Dunn says. “The professional systems that come from the rope access world are a huge improvement in comfort, efficiency, and, most importantly, safety.”

Volunteers learn how to use a two-rope system to add redundancy while working at height. © Caleb Timmerman.

During field work over the course of the next week, novice rebolters paired up with more experienced ones. “We had volunteers from all over the region, with both seasoned and novice rebolters,” says Morin. “It was the perfect mix for us to pair mentors up with mentees, seasoned volunteers with newer, less-experienced volunteers, so they learn on the wall with someone who had some experience already.”

Foster Falls, Tennessee. Ancestral lands of ᏣᎳᎫᏪᏘᏱ Tsalaguwetiyi, S’atsoyaha, and Shawandasse Tula. © Caleb Timmerman.

All in all, volunteers replaced 106 bolts on 31 routes at the mega-popular Foster Falls climbing area, including classics at White Wall and Jimmywood, two of Foster Falls’ most popular areas. "The week was a huge success, in terms of safety and training,” says Luscinski. Over the course of six days, we worked with 25 volunteers to get them on rope, replacing bolts. Throughout the week, there wasn't a single injury, and everyone walked away with safer and more efficient techniques for anchor replacement work."

The first-ever Petzl REBOLT TRIP was successful in raising funds for climbing advocacy in the Southeast and left the advocates in the region better equipped to protect southern climbing. "The SCC community gained valuable training for our volunteers to learn safer and more efficient practices for replacing aged hardware,” says Kate Hanes, SCC stewardship director. “The impact of this event is much larger than one week, it expands our capacity for years to come."

In addition to imparting knowledge and enhancing critical bolt replacement skills, Petzl and Access Fund also donated six rebolting tool kits and six rope access kits that SCC can deploy to support volunteers across their tri-state region.

“The impact of this event is much larger than one week, it expands our capacity for years to come.”

Access Fund is excited to work with Petzl to invest in local climbing communities. “Access Fund is grateful for Petzl’s partnership and dedication to industry best practices,” says Briana Mazzolini-Blanchard, Access Fund strategic partnerships manager. “Their support over the years has helped Access Fund teach hundreds of climbers about fixed hardware best practices and who have replaced thousands of aging bolts.”

© Caleb Timmerman

So where does the REBOLT TRIP go from here? “We’re going to take the lessons learned from this first event and apply them to future REBOLT TRIP events,” says Morin. “This is an incredible opportunity for us to work with LCOs and step into a critical mentorship gap, equipping people with the knowledge they can take back to their local community and share it with others.”

Where should the Petzl REBOLT TRIP head to next? Follow us on social and let us know in the comments.