UKC

Walked in there in the rain yesterday (first time visitors) and we were surprised to see 20 or 30 different types of bolts placed close to each other in the floor of the quarry. We presumed it has been a place to practice bolts placement, but I've always understood bolts were rather expensive, so this seemed odd for there to be that many there. Anyone know the history of how they all ended up there?

In reply to TobyA:

It's a combination of a test bed and practice spot for those new to bolting. You can see some which have been distorted by pull testing.

In reply to Adam Long:

Thanks Adam, we guessed that must have been the reason although we did wonder if placing them at 90 degrees difference in angle to how a climber normally would, might not actually be the best way to practice? In Finland, if I remember right, it was done on the cliff with the both the trainee and the instructor on a ropes - but I suspect that was as much that batteries ran down and bits were blunted so quickly in the local granite, that you needed to get on with the task at hand, so it was more on the job training!

In reply to TobyA:

The floor is more of a test bed, there's a big block at the back of the quarry that is used to practice placing in a vertical surface.

In reply to TobyA:

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/anchor-testing-area-established-at-horseshoe-quarr...

there is even a map of where they all are on the last page of this document: https://www.thebmc.co.uk/Download.aspx?id=804

In reply to sbattams:

Cheers! Very interesting - it'll be interesting to see the long term results.