UKC

So, after having climbed a shed load in the Peak I decided to have a look a little further east and check out the plethora of small rock venues around Leicester/Loughborough area.
There seems to be some very interesting rock types within fairly close proximity of each other and I am determined to get as much of it sent as possible.

I checked out the Leicester climbs online guide, there doesn't seem to be anything new in print. Can anyone shed any light on a future guide for this area?

My other conundrum is based around the use of carrot bolts (bolts without hangers).

If there are any Leicester area climbers who would be willing to share their method of protection with/without the use of these bolts I am hugely interested to know what it is.
I have used stoppers in the past but I aren't convinced they are the way forward, especially on overhanging death walls.

The best answer will receive a picture of a lobster riding a school bus (email copy).
Ta.

In reply to comedy_phil: There was a rumour of a new book...

In reply to comedy_phil:


Stoppers (Wired nuts?) as rivet hangers over the bolt heads or in placed as intended, in cracks?

Are they actually Aussie style 'carrot bolts', taper ground then pounded in machine screws or are they just bare hanger-less studs?

If it's the latter you could buy some hangers and machine nuts although there's probably a good reason the route was stripped. If it's the former you could pick up some suitably sized hangers from and Australian web retailer or 'rivet hangers' from the US.

jk

In reply to jkarran:

in OZ you carry the hangers in yr chalk bag

In reply to comedy_phil:

Which Leicestershire crags are protected with hangerless bolts? Or is that a question independent of the Leicestershire issue?

No book yet but see
http://www.leicestershireclimbs.co.uk/
and the older
http://www.leicesterclimbs.f9.co.uk/index.htm

In reply to comedy_phil:

Whilst searching for an image, I found a picture of a different lobster!
This one is holding hangars

http://routes.sydneyrockies.org.au:8080/confluence/display/thelab/Keyhole+h...

In reply to comedy_phil:

Another connection between Leicester and Australia, other than being populated by inbreds and other weirdos!

Use wires or bespoke hangers.
http://mosesclimbing.com/rivet-hangers/
http://www.fishproducts.com/catalog/hooks.html

Some people DIY by grinding a slot between the bolt and carabiner holes of a standard hanger. Obviously you will die if you do this.

In reply to Blue Straggler: Forest Rock is in the centre of Woodhouse Eaves has some "carrot" bolted routes. It's not grit but it's got some good routes.

Thanks for your comments folks.

I have found a route or two near Woodhouse Eaves that according to the guide has some old carrot bolts. Looks interesting!

Thanks for the links, Dubloons look like a 'safe bet' as I'm not sure that the bolts have a rivet head on which to hang fish heads. Them keyhole hangars look pretty cool too.

If you don't hear about any accidents on the Mountain rescue page then you can assume that these things worked!

Unless someone comes up with a better answer, I'll have to send the picture of a lobster riding a school bus to the chap with the Dubloons advice.

Cheers!

In reply to andrewmorts:

That is a pretty wicked picture of a lobster, although that does push you further down the leaderboard I'm afraid. At least you won't be going home empty handed!

In reply to comedy_phil:

I regret nothing!

In reply to althesin:

Ah I forgot about those as they are way too hard for me anyway

In reply to Andrewmorts:


The article is written by Mike Law aka Claw so the lobster might be a play on that. Anyway carrots are nasty things and i try and avoid them down here.

In reply to comedy_phil:

I don't know Forest Rock at all, but the description of the bolts on the Leicestershire climbs website, together with photo #22 in the Homepage slideshow, very much suggests an actual bolt-head rather than a headless bolt shaft. If this is the case then a keyhole hanger is probably your best bet (as used in said photo), being more secure and generally stronger than a wired nut or wire rivet hanger - especially, as you say, on steep rock. I think that in this instance Doubloons would be a complete waste of time (and money); they're aid-climbing tools designed to facilitate use of barely protruding headless studs/rivets on which pretty well nothing else will stay put. As these studs/rivets would probably be 1/4" or smaller - ie up to about 6.5mm, with modern bolts being generally 10mm or 12mm - I would imagine that they would be way too small as well.

Incidentally, Fish Heads are Fish's copperheads and nothing to do with all this; the picture on his website of a cable loop cinched under a bolt-head is of a rivet hanger.

It might be worth checking the exact size of the bolts before ordering anything made in imperial sizes; I've no idea whether a keyhole hanger designed to fit bolts up to 3/8" - just under 9.5mm - would actually have enough tolerance to fit a 10mm bolt.

In reply to Ian Parsons:
Thanks for the advice there Mr P. Dubloons do look sketchy at best but I hadn't taken into account that they come in different diameters!

I fully intend to go and check the place out before spending any money, although I had one heck of a time finding it (to no avail) in the rain.

Excellent info on the fish things too. They don't look particularly appealing anyways!

The lobster picture (which i'm sure you are waiting for me to mention) is yours!