PSA: ANCHOR FAILURE Stairway To Heaven, Provo UT

This is to inform Climbers in the Provo Canyon area of an anchor failure. The bolt was on the far right side of the first tier on Stairway to Heaven. The anchor was on the ledge above a 20 foot long shallow dihedral of ice.

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This area is a popular area for top roping and groups. There are many bolt anchors along this ledge, which may also be suspect. This ledge forms a large shelf of ice each season which are easily protectable with ice screws. This anchor was not being used by anyone on this day, so there was no accident or injury. This anchor failed under a slight pull by hand.

In light of this new incident, I would like to encourage climbers to evaluate the integrity of the anchors they use in this area.

I would like to get climbers opinions about having bolt anchors for top roping in this kind of area/ situation. Are they really needed or SAFE?

That's not an anchor failure, it's a worn bolt that you removed...it happens all the time.

Craig Martin wrote:Bolts are not really needed in that area. Setting ice screws and rigging anchors should be part of the top rope experience for beginners.

+1

I was climbing there a few days before Thanksgiving. The ice was very thin (before the big freeze)and we were mixed climbing, carefully hooking and what not in order to not damage the young ice. The top rope anchors on the ledge were very useful to us that morning, there weren't other options for anchors at the time. That was one of the funnest days of climbing I've had this year, high stepping and mantling on my tools. The movements were very fun, very satisfying. I did notice that bolt there and avoided it. It was very loose and the block it was in wasn't very inspiring either. I doubt there are many people out there, climbers or otherwise, that would have wanted to clip those chains. That same morning we cut some of the ice off the other anchors and reoriented them so that the chains would be outside of the ice as it formed up. Hopefully it starts getting a little colder this week so that the ice can continue to grow. Has anyone been to the Apron today or know if it will be in tomorrow?

Clay Borne wrote:This anchor failed under a slight pull by hand. In light of this new incident, I would like to encourage climbers to evaluate the integrity of the anchors they use in this area. I would like to get climbers opinions about having bolt anchors for top roping in this kind of area/ situation. Are they really needed or SAFE?

Wow, nice closeup. Looks like the placement was sealed with something? Doesn't surprise me that the bolt rusted so badly, especially if the hole was sealed. No way for the water to get out, so, probably just percolated and rotted away.

Glue in stainless would be a fine option there. Or, any stainless bolt, for that matter. Folks that bolt a bunch near that area ought to take a good look at what that looks like. If you're not using stainless...well, there ya go.

As far as anchors in that area? I dunno. That apron is pretty convenient for TRin' especially in the early season. If there's good rock for an anchor, why not? Folks have blown their footing and fallen on the ice there a number of times. Guess they could still going to a bolted anchor, or, placing their own anchors in the ice.

One thing I wonder about is how that side of the ice is exposed to falling ice/rock/people from above. Kinda right under the upper pitches. Kind of a scary spot. Seems safer way to the left?

Pretty good resource for folks. I guess I'm not opposed to fixed anchors there. Helps keep the traffic in a specific area, and, leaves the other areas available to folks that set up their own anchors off ice screws. Good to have a mix of options, methinks.

Looks like the rock around the bolt was impacted and pulverized in some way. Also it appears that the hole was oriented vertically, never a good idea because of drainage issues like Brian said. Limestone is old mud and shoulb be treated with suspision ecspecially when saturated and impacted with falling ice. Cheers for pulling the anchor out so no one uses it.

Craig Martin wrote:Bolts are not really needed in that area. Setting ice screws and rigging anchors should be part of the top rope experience for beginners.

+2

Mike Anderson wrote:That's not an anchor failure, it's a worn bolt that you removed...it happens all the time.

Well, it's not anchor success.

Craig Martin wrote:Bolts are not really needed in that area. Setting ice screws and rigging anchors should be part of the top rope experience for beginners.

it is pretty close to Provo, more bolt anchors the better. j/k

Seriously guys? TRing off of screws? Espcially screws placed by newbies? Are you perhaps trying to keep the crowds down at the ice climbs in UT? ;^)

IMHO, ice screws aren't ideal for the cyclic loading and infrequent inspection that TR usually entails. Ice is plastic remember. I've seen my share of near-misses that have involved ice screw TR anchors. YMMV

Its close to a population center and folks will TR. I couldn't care either way if there are bolts since no one is up there except to ice climb and they get covered over in by ice quickly. As one person noted, beginners and ice screws.....hmmmmm.

To Brian's point. Stainless.... Those anchors get covered by ice with the chains sticking out. No way to check them except a good aid test (again, beginners and all trusting people for that matter). Even then, the ice may hide the weakness of a rusted bolt until POP!

Be careful. Don't trust bolts blindly. Place quality gear.

PT

Poorly placed bolt + freeze/thaw + rotten rock + icefall zone + overuse + age = The anchor in your picture.

+1 for a nice stainless steel bolt

Rob

See -- This is what happens when you use that bolt gun from the movies!

Damn you Ranger Walker...Damn You!!

On second look at the rock these bolts were in why not just throw some webbing around it back it up with a screw and TR away

Yeah, I don't think the pictured bolts get much (any) use anyway. They would be used to TR a 25ish ft section of the lowest-angle ice on the Apron. Pretty much anyplace else on the Apron has longer, better ice. They're obviously useless for rap anchors as you can walk off just to the right.

I would consider all the TR anchors up there suspect, though, for the reasons previously mentioned. Back them up with V threads or screws.