2018 Round Up

The Peak Bolt Fund has been hard at work in 2018 raising funds, buying gear and doing the dirty work of re-equipping sport climbs around The Peak.

Donations have continued to be good this year. My hope is that climbers see new bolts replacing old on Peak routes and through our publicity (Facebook, blog, this article, UKC article, word of mouth, etc.) realise that this is the work of the PBF and are moved to donate. Donations exceeded £1000 this year. The bulk of donations come through Paypal. However, this year we placed new collection buckets in climbing walls around The Peak that brought in a significant amount of money over the summer. In the spirit of competition here are the scores… Works: £9.38, Foundry: £39.36, Redpoint Birmingham: £65.32, Awesome Walls Sheffield: £170.39! Take what you will from these figures. Cash as also been handed over directly to Seb Grieve who has a skill for emptying climbers, traditionally deep, pockets.

Collection buckets

Donations over the last two years have just about covered our costs. Last year we purchased close to £1000 worth of bolts most of which have been placed. A similar sized order is planned for next year. Glue, drill-bits and replacing worn out tools also contribute towards our costs. We plan to purchase a second drill for next year which should address logistical problems with sharing one drill between a group of keen bolters.

Climbers should see a yearly donation to the fund as a positive way to give back to the community and ensure we all have well bolted routes to climb. If you climb on Peak sport then you will certainly have benefited from the activities of the PBF.

Old bolts removed from Water-Cum-Jolly

If we can continue the current level of donations then we can continue to sustain the current level of rebolting.

A big thanks to anyone who has donated in 2018.

The Fund is always looking for new volunteers, we support volunteers as best we can but ultimately we're a small volunteer group and this is a fairly thankless task that you'll be doing on your own! A good example from this year; Vince Smedley contracted the PBF about some corroded single-bolt lower-offs in Intake Quarry. The PBF provided Vince with the kit he needed, Dan Middleton of the BMC provided some training and Vince was able to sort out four routes on the Take Away Wall area. Contact us via email or Facebook if you'd like to get involved.

Another way to help out is to report bolts that might need replacing, best done via email or Facebook, with as much detail, ideally a photo, as possible. We picked up on a UKC logbook comment about cracked rock around a bolt on the route Rubicon. The suspect bolt was chopped and has been replaced with two new bolts above and below the location of the old bolt.

Chopping old bolts at Rubicon

An article about bolting in The Peak wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Gary Gibson. As ever Gary makes the PBF work pale into insignificance. You can find out about about his extensive bolting and crag cleaning at his website www.sportsclimbs.co.uk where you can also donate to his fund.

Now onto the routes that have received the PBF treatment in 2018. An extra dry summer has meant the cleaning, rebolting and climbing of some of the usually wet routes on the far left on the Chee Dale Cornice. These include; Masculine Power Trip, Malcolm X, Last Eggs, Monday Club, Wright On, Trampled Underfoot. Work on The Embankment continues with a few more routes are sporting PBF bolts now. Done this year Stone The Loach, Secret Gudgeon Society, Arachonothera and Prawnography. The Nook has been popular again due to the dry weather, if you like short routes why not check out the rebolted Life in the Old Log Yet.

Reports of cracked rock around the top bolt on Rubicon led to two new bolts replacing that one. The neighbouring route Totally Awesome sports new bolts and The Sissy has a new lower-off. Meanwhile further down Water-cum-Jolly Coming Up For Air at Moat buttress has new bolts. Two routes at the Water-cum-Jolly Cornice have been rebolted The Disillusioned Glue Machine and Goldcrest.

And going slightly further afield the popular routes of The Big Take Out, Blue Moon Night, Chop Suicide, Les Chinoise on Take Out Wall at Intake Quarry all have double bolt lower-offs now.

If you'd like to donate to the Peak Bolt Fund you can do so here via PayPal.

2017 Round-up

The Peak Bolt Fund has seen a good year in terms of bolting and fundraising. We’ve had some new faces join the old guard and all are doing their best to get out there and update some of the lower quality bolts around The Peak. This means that many popular routes now have new bolts and improved lower-offs, often sporting maillon-ring combinations to reduce wear on the bolts. A number of neglected routes have also been brought back to life with new bolts and a good clean.

This work is important as there’s a real mixed bag of bolts in The Peak. Many are made with substandard materials which have rusted over the years. Homemade bolts have also been used in the past. Lots are as old as the routes they protect:

Some old metalwork extracted over the years by Kristian Clemlow. Steve the pro's Homemade hanger and chunky Rawl bolt from SHIBB at the Tor. Cadburys Flake from Dreadnought - Cornice. Mammut hanger from Hubble. Camp rings often found on Andy Pollitt routes. Aid thing high on Mecca and a Troll Lego. Photo: Kristian Clemlow

The Peak Bolt Fund exists to re-bolt existing routes. We do not retro-bolt trad routes or fund the bolting of new routes. However we do have a stock of bolts that can be purchased at cost for anyone wanting to bolt a new route. We use single piece 8mm stainless steel bolts glued-in with epoxy resin. Placed well and used properly these bolts should last for a long time.

New bolts Photo: Kristian Clemlow

To give an idea of the cost of re-bolting a route it is roughly £3 for a bolt, £4 for a belay bolt and £15 for a tube of glue which easily adds up to over £50 even for a short Peak route. Added to this is the hundreds of pounds worth of kit - drill, drill bits, glue-gun, brushes, angle-grinder, batteries, etc, etc - that needs purchasing, maintaining and replacing over time.

The Bolt Fund has taken a more active approach to fundraising this year. Spearheaded by Seb Grieve cajoling people at the crag and some active posting on our facebook page we’ve managed to raise over £1000. We’ve used this money to purchase £900 of new bolts, glue, a replacement battery for the angle-grinder and various bits that broke over the year (mainly drill bits). Without the money donated this year the fund would really be struggling, so thanks to everyone who has donated; you know who you are. We still need more donations to continue the re-bolting so please help if you can - Google The Peak Bolt Fund or empty your pockets next time you see Seb at the crag.

Moving on to some of the work that’s been done... 

Down Chee Dale some of the more popular routes at the Cornice have been re-equipped; 42, Love Amongst the Butterflies (done by the original bolter, Seb Grieve, who reportedly had to ab in as a high river made the normal approaches impossible for all but ducks!), Beelzebub, Armistice Day (where the awkward bolts have been repositioned) and Egyptian Bizarre, which has been brought out of retirement and has already become a neo-classic. 

If the queues at the Cornice are getting you down, why not head round the corner to Rhubarb Buttress which plays host to a trio of refreshed routes; Turbo Charged Monster Mouse, The Fat Ginger Cat and - the standout classic - Day of the Long Knives. A real #hiddengem!

Matt Ferrier on the glorious headwall of Day of the Long Knives Photo: Mark Rankine

Up river at Embankment, Beef it, Breamtime and Fishing without a License have new bolts and Beef It even has a new finish - Superbeef 7b+ (Jamie Edwards 2017). At the Nook there are new bolts on A Bit of Nookie and The Storm.

Crossing over the river and going further upstream one old and one new route; A Man Called Horse 7b+ and My Lovely Horse 7c (Mark Rankine 2017) at Moving Buttress have also received the treatment.

Jamie Edwards climbing Turbo Charged Monster Mouse Photo: Mark Rankine

Down Water-cum-Jolly, Moat Buttress continues to develop into a very good crag with an impressive list of routes being overhauled this year; Nude Moatorcycle Girl, Out of the Shadows, Drawbridge down, Over the Moorhens, Two Sheep to Leicester, Agent Provocateur and Lady of the Lake. The latter was originally bolted after the lake drained when the dam burst back in 1988. It now starts above the water and, for those without access to a rubber dingy, the start can be reached by a line of aid bolts. The aid line has been freed by Chris Plant creating a route at 7a+ called Watery Bint or Watery Tart depending on how accurate you want your Monty Python references to be.

On Central Buttress Belladona has been re-bolted, seems to have lost a hold, and now climbs at around 7b+.

Finally, Little Plum at Stoney - once the hardest route in The Peak - has new bolts and lower-offs.

The BMC has also done a great job crowdfunding and organising rebolting at Horseshoe Quarry. This was a task too daunting for anyone at the PBF and would have taken us years to complete, during which time the rest of The Peak would have been neglected.

Re-bolting routes is a tiring and thankless task, so I’d like to take this opportunity to say a BIG thanks for all the bolting done by the volunteers this year. In addition, I want to thank Dan Middleton for support from the BMC and for running bolting workshops. 

For more information, email thepeakboltfund@gmail.com, find us on facebook.

Peak Bolt Fund 2016 Round Up

The Peak Bolt Fund has been re-energized this year, with some keen new people getting involved with the help of a couple of BMC bolting workshops. We’ve got another one planned for March next year – message Dan Middleton if interested in attending.

Evidence of early metal working in the Peak District

At Stoney, the first half of Little Plum has been rebolted with glue-ins. The popular Tin Of at Raven Tor has 3 new glue-in bolts and a new, higher lower off. All my Pegs in One Basket, Tideswell Dale has been fully bolted with glue-ins. Rupert Davies quickly made a re-ascent of it and commented "painful finger jamming" no doubt they'll being queuing for this next summer. To the left of All my Pegs is a new route called Pretty Peggy-o which is also 8a.

Over at Rubicon, Jezebel, White Bait and Miller’s Tail have had discrete new lower offs added. Too Old to be Bold and Tribes have been fully rebolted. At Lammergeyer many new bolts have appeared those funded by the PBF include, Final Destination and the LH start, The Fall, and Vindicator. Further down the river Ape Index has had the PBF treatment and is sporting shinny new bolts. That’s something to crow about.

Down by the Millersdale viaduct Mark Rankine rejuvenated an old crag with two new routes Under The Bridge 7a, Trollhammaren 7b and rebolted Paul Mitchell's route Mister Blister; originally E6 6c on pegs now 7c+ on PBF glue-ins. More information here [Millersdale Viaduct Crag][7a-7c+]

Mark on Mister Blister 7C+

 
Now for the queen of crags, the Cheedale Cornice. Nemesis has a new bolt and a bolt added to the lower off. Roof Warrior has new third bolt and a new lower off. Cry of Despair has been rebolted with glue-ins, which is good as it sees a lot of air-time. Bored of the Lies/Big Zipper have a new bolt on the top bulge. No reason to be Too Pumpy for Grumpy as it has been rebolted. The popular warm-up Further Adventures In Greendale has a new bolt at the top.

You won’t get Stung at Nettle Buttress because the bolts have been replaced. Orange Sunshine and Why Me at Two Tier have new glue-ins. A Man Called Horse, Moving Buttress has been rebolted with glue-ins. Someone should let Si Wilson know.

The corroded bolts from Stung on Nettle buttress. Looks like a late finish there lads, well done!

Fishing Without A License (who would do such a thing?) at Embankment is now rebolted with glue-ins. Finally, with possibly the best route name in the Peak, Let’s Get Fossilized at Beginners Wall has also been rebolted. Sloe Gin on plum buttress is also sporting some new bolts.

Check out the peckers holding in the lower-off on Why Me/Orange Sunshine...[gulp]

There is plenty more that needs doing, so if you’d like to contribute financially please donate here: http://thepeakboltfund.blogspot.co.uk
 
We can’t finish without mentioning the heroic and slightly scary amount of work that has been done over the last decade or so by Kristian Clemmow. If you’re a climber on peak limestone you’ll have undoubtedly benefited from his rebolting work, so if you see him at the crag next year, offer to buy him a pint at the Red Lion afterwards, he deserves it.

Summer 2010

Cheedale Cornice was fully dry for a large portion of the Summer (a rarity as only the central sections have dried out in previous years). Thus it received a great deal of attention from locals and visitors alike:

The following routes (not all located at the Cornice) were re-equipped by Jon Clark amongst others:

• Taylor Made
• Monumental Armblaster
• That Was the River
• Old Man River
• Who’s line is it Anyway
• Four Door
• Powerplant
• Devonshire Arms
• Cordless/Cosmopolitan
• The Ogre
• De Vine (and another route at Rhubarb Buttress)
• Lockless Monster
• A Bigger Splash (the route)
• Mecca Extension
• Jehovah Kill

...and enjoyed by many.

In addition, the people involved in this work also spent a great deal of time and effort cleaning up a host of other routes which, though in no state to climb, didn’t need re-bolting.

Many thanks for their efforts and for all of the donations that made this work possible.

Rubicon

Dangerous Brother's:
Re-equipped with 12mm stainless glue-ins. A new lower off was also added instead of the old twin pegs. The old bolts (allen key) still need removing.

Hot fun Closing:
Wire replaced with a 12mm glue in, as was the peg (bolt placed above the break). The first bolt was removed and the hole filled. Currently it has not been replaced as it appeared to be superfluous.

Current Condition of Fixed Gear

Kristian Clemmow has produced the following lists:

Cheedale Cornice
WCJ Cornice
Rubicon

which indicate which bolts require re-bolting/cleaning etc.

Please DO NOT rely on the condition listed being accurate, observation was made entirely from the ground.

The BMC Participation Statement say that:
The BMC recognises that climbing and mountaineering are activities with a danger of personal injury or death. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions.

Rubicon: Bolt observations

	NB = needs new bolts SB = some bolts need replacing or lower offs improving. * = Routes that are mostly wet or unpopular and may not be worth rebolting.
	Route	Bolt condition	Grade
1	Alimoany	?	7b
2	Honeymoon Blues	T	E5 6b
3	Salar Maybe an extra lower off bolt	ok	8a+
15	Caviar	ok	8a+
16	Eugenics (OPEN PROJECT)	x	?
17	Let the Tribe Increase	NB	7c+
18	The Dangerous Brothers	NB	8a
19	Too Old to be Bold Galvanised hangers on stainless bolts. Needs Replacing.	NB	7c
26	Hot Fun Closing	NB	8a
37	The Sissy	New resin bolts 2008	8a
38	Zeke the Freak	New resin bolts 2008	8b
39	The Bastard	NB	8c
40	Truely Awesome	?	7a+
41	Rubicon	OK	7a+
42	Zeitgeist	?	7b
43	No Jug, No Thug		E5 6b
44	The Bomb is Coming	?	7a