Condition of bolts on Eagle Dance?

Hey there, heading South in about a month and had heard a rumor that the condition of the bolts on Eagle Dance was not so good. Again, a rumor but can anybody confirm or deny the condition of these this year?

Thanks in advance.

Weston

I was on the route a year ago and the bolts were in decent shape save for the last pitch. The climbing on the last pitch (before it angles down to 3rd class to the summit/descent) is relatively "easy" at the 5.8 grade and the bolts can be backed up by cams at a few spots. I wouldn't trust a fall to those bolts but the rest of the route is fine. Have fun!

Thanks for the info guys. Was planning on rapping the route and avoiding that last pitch anyway.

John, thanks for all of the work you and the ASCA do.

When I was up there maybe two years ago, the last hard pitch (10c holdless corner) had bolts that were loosening up. The first on that pitch, I recall, was the worst, and it was a pretty new 1/2". I've also heard that the bolts on the ladder pitch aren't great, but haven't seen them recently. The true last pitch (5.8ish?) had some old 1/4"ers, but they could be backed up.

Just out of curiosity, are the fat new bolts wedge or sleeve bolts? I'm just curious because when I did the route a few years back, all of the newly replaced bolts were in fine condition. Thus I am wondering whether the bolts are already loose because wedge bolts were used (a poor choice in soft sandstone) or whether the bolts are loose already simply because the sandstone is ultra-soft.
Cheers.

The very last 5.8 pitch was not replaced - there were no fixed anchors and we were rapping the route (2 or 3 days of work, a lot of ropes, old bolts, drills, haulbags, etc).

The bolts are 1/2" 5-piece (Power-Bolts). Mostly power drilled with permit (pre-Wilderness designation) but some hand-drilled (at belays, I wasn't going to lead with a power drill). John is exactly right - they should be glue-ins, but that wasn't something we were prepared for at that point.

The rock is really soft up high on Eagle Wall. On the last pitch of Levitation 29 I hand-drilled a 1/2" x 3" hole on lead in only 5 or 6 minutes! Compare that to 20 minutes to hand drill the same size belay bolt on Ringtail's 3rd pitch anchor (only a few hundred feet lower on the same wall), and it would be 30-40 minutes to hand drill that size bolt on the best rock on the Black Velvet Wall.

In time all those bolts up there will need to be replaced with glue-ins, otherwise they will loosen up as rock digs out from behind the hangers (or from around the bolts themselves if people whip on the bolts). But in the meantime they are far better than the old 1/4" bolts! Two of the bolts on Eagle Dance's crux pitch had already broken, and at least 2 had broken on the crux pitch and pitch past it on Levitation 29.

Thanks for the post Greg. What you describe is more or less what I figured was the situation; that is, the bolts are loose because the rock is so frickin soft (especially that white stuff high on the wall).

Thanks for all your efforts in replacing the hardware. When I climbed Eagle Dance, I literally remember thinking "Thank god for the new bolts in this soft rock....1/4" stuff would be sketch!!" I made a donation to the ASCA as soon as I got home from that trip.

Cheers.

Weston L wrote:Thanks for the info guys. Was planning on rapping the route and avoiding that last pitch anyway. John, thanks for all of the work you and the ASCA do.

It's certainly off topic for this thread but I'd suggest rapping before doing the bolt ladder pitch. I didn't find the bolt ladder pitch or the climbing above to add joy to the experience.

And I'll add my kudos and thanks for the ASCA work on this route and all around RRCNCA. Thanks!