A few days ago talking with a good friend of mine we kind of realized that nowadays many climbers have a very little knowledge of climbing ethics,
climbing rules, history of climbing, bolting technics or mere financial costs behind the development of
a new climbing area.
Despite what some people might think, equipped climbing
spots are not gifts of an invisible god, and they do not grow up naturally, instead there is a lot of work,
passion, research, and financial efforts
often undertaken individually by a restricted number of independent climbing
developers.
So what kind of financial
efforts am I talking about? The
answer is quite easy to be answered: bolts!
Bolting techniques are in a constant evolution and among the
most common we can identify:
- Expansion bolts, generally in stainless steel
- Glue-in or resin-in bolts, also in stainless steel or other metal compositions
- Titanium bolts, glue-in the very last generation of bolts
Considering the notorious corrosion problem that many marine climbing destinations are currently facing, the UIAA has officially recommended, for such specific destinations, to use only titanium bolts, which on the other hand obviously increases a lot the cost involves.
 |
| Titanium bolt on red resin - the safest solution ever |
Have you ever notices how many bolts are placed in an ordinary sport route?
Have you ever wondered how much a single titanium bolt can
cost?
To give you a dimension, I can tell you that in Thailand one single Titanium bolt would cost around 500THB, therefore if we take a 25m
sport route which on average has 12/14 bolts including the anchor and we
exclude the cost of the glue, the drill, and the man power, bolting a new route is
worth around 7,000 THB !!!
Yes, you have read correctly, one route…7,000 THB!!! No wonder why those bolts sometimes are placed so far from each other...they need to save up money!
In some climbing destinations, in particular in Europe, very often local governments are keen to give financial support because they understand the importance of developing climbing areas in order to attract more tourists and support local economies, however this is not always the case, and surely not the case of Thailand.
As such, bearing in mind this important concept, I would
like to call your attention, to inform you that Phuket Climbing is about to launch a Fundraising Project to support the current development of Chong Plee – Aka Spirit Mountain.
If any of you have recently climbed here, you have surely noticed that there are some work in progress to clean up the area and create new routes, and therefore I believe that this time it is also our duty to give our own contribution.
The main focus of the fundraising will be to support this project, however depending on the amount we will be able to collect, we could eventually sponsor the development of new potential areas.
I really count on your help!
Stay tuned, and spread the world, the event will start very
soon!!!