UKC

Hi,

As a regular Cheddar climber I often come across holds that look like they are about to come off but which also look like a dob glue would stabilise them.

Better to leave them to their fate or to strengthen them? If so what is the best glue to use?

In reply to Wise:

i call troll

In reply to Wise:

Whats the usual local ethic? On peak lime it be glued on if it was important usually. On grit that happens as well but I think people pretend it doesnt.

Judgement call as to whether to leave them to fate or not ie will the route be poorer for the loss.

Sika or the glue used for bolts is most common though all sorts has been used such as bodyfiller has been used.

For the sake of aesthetics use it as sparingly as possible - you can sprinkle dust on before it sets to help it blend in. There are some awful glue jobs out there.

In reply to Wise:

If this isn't a troll I'd say let nature take it's course. Where would you draw the line between repairing or strengthening a dodgy flake and sticking back something that was already unstable? Next thing we'll be gluing back holds like the finishing jug on Left Wall.

In reply to jim jones:

Its not nature that will be pulling the holds off. If nature "took its course" in Cheddar the whole place would be covered in ivy and the holds caked in dirt. Nature doesn't clean the routes, bolt them and cover them in chalk. Nature doesn't care or even exist except as a human construct.

In reply to shark:

The "nature" in question being climbing by it's very nature. Incidentally Ivy has pulled some big lumps of the wall in my garden!

In reply to Wise:

People generally don't glue stuff unless its absolutely crucial for the existence of the route. Why bother if you can still do the moves without a certain hold? It's a lot of time and expense and most people would rather go climbing.

The most famous glued on hold is probably the one in Tom's Roof at Stoney Middleton. All the problems use this one finger edge in the middle of the horizontal roof. I think it was Tom Proctor who glued back the block that the edge was on more than thirty years ago. The glue used is Araldite and given the fact that some of the problems involve cutting loose with both hands on the finger edge its pretty damn good advert for the efficacy of Araldite.

These days though Araldite is too expensive for gluing bits of rock and most people use cement, typically the same stuff they use to cement in bolts. In France cement by the brand name Sika is commonly used and a verb 'to sika' has evolved to describe such work.

In reply to stp:



I always assumed Araldite was used. You learn something new...

In reply to shark:
"Nature doesn't... exist except as a human construct. "

What do you mean by this Shark?

In reply to stp:

Saka don´t make cement. The usual adhesive for repairing holds is Sakadur 33 which is an epoxy repair mortar but there are other types available, depends on the application format a lot of the time. Anyway 33 is the climbers standard and works well (and it´s grey).