Yosemite bolt replacement and Death Block removal

Often, perhaps too often, we climb a route without thinking about all the hard work which preceded us: finding the line, cleaning it and, if it's a sport climb, placing the bolts, either by hand or with a drill. As is well known, things don't end here, bolts are obviously not eternal and they need constant monitoring and maintenance - as Rolando Larcher and Maurizio Oviglia did recently on the famous Hotel Supramonte - and with this in mind we're sharing two extremely interesting videos by Cheyne Lempe to recall attention to this issue so as to never take things for granted, above all when our own safety is at stake.

The first video shows American Safe Climbing Association volunteer Roger Brown replacing old bolts in the valley, and seeing the ease with which one of "the foremost experts" removes the bolt is astounding. Brown then place a new bolt by hand, in respect of the valley climbing ethics which prohibits the use of drills. If the first video is astounding, so too is the second one: the removal of a massive boulder situated on El Capitan's Monster Offwidth pitch, the so-called Death Block which was otherwise "an accident waiting to happen."

Bolt Replacement


Death Block