SAS Statement of Position Regarding Non-standard Fixed Protection

Within the past year, some recent route developments in the Smoke Bluffs park and other climbing areas surrounding Squamish have not adhered to any known bolting standard including  (but not limited to) glue-in galvanized steel u-bolts, modified (shortened) glue-in Fixe bolts installed with non-compatible glue , and non-redundant fixed anchors. In several cases, testing on some of these “bolts” has resulted in their extraction from the rock with a single pull of a simple crowbar.Despite the absence of legislated parameters or standards regarding fixed protection products used for rock climbing, the SAS believes that an area best practice has established itself over the years and urges community new-routers to inform themselves of these practices and adhere to them.  In our estimation this is all the more important for not only safety considerations, but also in light of the municipal and provincial status of most of our rock climbing resources.  Squamish climbers enjoy a large degree of freedom and self- policing is an important contributor to that freedom. As such, SAS fully supports the remediation of any bolts that do not adhere to these local, well-accepted best practices.In the bigger picture, through work by the Squamish Climbers (of Rock) Advisory Group/Squamish CRAG (a collaboration involving SAS, BC Parks, local climbers and local guides), a best practices document is being written which will include guidelines for installation of fixed protection by standard and widely accepted methods.