South Central Alaska Climbing

Recently a enormous effort to replace existing hardware has been undertaken by primarily Chris Williams and Kelsey Gray. Done mostly without funding from outside sources, most of the popular routes are now equipped with stainless bolts, and in many cases glue-in bolts. A huge shout-out to all the folks who have replaced one anchor or bolt or many. Also, a big shout-out to those who have donated to the rebolting effort! If you are concerned about a particular bolt or anchor and don't have the resources please reach out an admin and they will either replace the bolt or reach out to another developer to assess and replace if needed. 

Many of the climbs done in Alaska are poorly, if at all, documented. If you are interested in development figure out who the local developers are and try and get in with them, and don't just go bolting willy-nilly, remember bolts are forever and even when you remove them they leave a scar. And please, don't bolt beside gear placements in Hatcher, or really anywhere. 

It must be mentioned that adding bolts to existing climbs is generally considered poor ethics, and mostly will not be tolerated by the community. Additionally, moving bolts for a reason other than safety concerns like poor rock quality, or the rope or draw running over a sharp edge is probably not a great idea.

The climbing areas in Alaska are a shared resource and while there are differing opinions actions of others can have negative ripples.