Bolt (climbing)
Encyclopedia
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
, a bolt is a permanent anchor fixed into a hole drilled in the rock as a form of protection. Most bolts are either self-anchoring expansion bolts or fixed in place with liquid resin.
Synthetic resin
Synthetic resins are materials with a property of interest that is similar to natural plant resins: they are viscous liquids that are capable of hardening permanently. Otherwise, chemically they are very different from the various resinous compounds secreted by plants .The synthetics are of several...
While bolts are commonplace in rock and gym climbing there is no universal vocabulary to describe them. Generally, a bolt hanger is a combination of a fixed bolt and a specialized stainless steel hanger designed to accept a carabiner
Carabiner
A carabiner or karabiner is a metal loop with a sprung or screwed gate that is used to quickly and reversibly connect components in safety-critical systems. The word comes from "Karabinerhaken", meaning "hook for a carbine" in German.-Use:...
, whereas in certain regions a bolt runner describes a hangarless bolt (where the climber must provide their own hangar bracket and lock nut).
A climbing rope
Kernmantle rope
Kernmantle rope is rope constructed with its interior core protected with a woven exterior sheath that is designed to optimize strength, durability, and flexibility. The core fibers provide the tensile strength of the rope, while the sheath protects the core from abrasion during use...
is then clipped into the carabiner. Increasingly, quickdraws are employed between bolt hangars and the rope to reduce drag when ascending, belaying, and rappelling.
Bolts are also used both in aid climbing
Aid climbing
Aid climbing is a style of climbing in which standing on or pulling oneself up via devices attached to fixed or placed protection is used to make upward progress....
to actively aid ascent and sport climbing
Sport climbing
Sport climbing is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors fixed to the rock, and possibly bolts, for protection,...
as a backup to catch a fall, where resting on or using one's protection to aid ascent is regarded as poor form.
