What would you do if you came across a bolt like this?
Scotlands sport routes have undergone a rennaisance in past years due to publicity and better guidebook coverage. Many of them, however are in harsh corrosive environments, or just plain old, and are in dire need of re-equipping. Several local activists have been quietly putting in the hours and personal cash to upgrade the fixed gear on these old routes before a nasty accident happens. The photo shows an example of a bolt with differential corrosion at Arisaig - who knows whats left inside the rock? Indeed bolt failures have already occurred at Boltsheaugh in 2013.
The 7a Max fund was set up in 2012 to assist the replacment of deteriorating in-situ gear with long lasting stainless steel products. 10% of the proceeds of our book have gone into the fund, which has already helped re-equip Balgone Heughs and crags on the North West coast.
We are just about to distribute funds for this year, but given the amount of re-equipping activity we have heard of, what we have is going to be a drop in the ocean. The BMC bolt fund does not cover Scotland, making your support all the more important. Therefore we are asking for contributions of any size to to the fund to make our sport climbs better. If you enjoy Scotlands sport climbing, please consider the work that goes into them, and perhaps think of a donation as an investment in your own safety!
Donations can be made via our website using Paypal -
http://www.7amax.co.uk
You can also find application forms there if you feel that the fund would help your own efforts.
Thank you for the support, Seb and Topher.