Th e Bu l l eTin • Fr iday, May 28, 2021 B11
Max Tepfer/Submitted photo
This pile of old bolts and hangers is a typical haul after a day’s work of replacing hardware at Smith Rock
State Park. These bolts are heavy to carry in and out of the climbing areas.
Climbing
Continued from B1
The person who first es-
tablishes the route generally
places the hardware them-
selves.
All hardware deteriorates
after being exposed to ele-
ments such as wind, sand and
water over time. Some envi-
ronments are more harsh on
the metals than others.
The amount of traffic a
specific climb gets can also
determine how quickly hard-
ware degrades. On average,
the hardware should be re-
placed about every 30 years. It
is important for the safety of
all climbers that hardware be
replaced before it ages or cor-
rodes to the point of failure.
Everyone who climbs in
Central Oregon benefits from
the placement of this hard-
ware. However, only a select
few climbers put in the effort
to replace it.
Part of the reason for this
is that it takes specific knowl-
edge and skills to replace
hardware. Not to mention it
takes time and energy. Still,
hardware replacement is a
grassroots effort and done
completely on a volunteer ba-
sis. These people provide a
huge benefit to the climbing
community, but their efforts
often go unnoticed and unap-
preciated.
Max Tepfer, who learned to
climb 20 years ago in Central
Oregon, is one of those vol-
unteers.
He points out that “staying
ahead of hardware replace-
ment is important for safety,
but also allows us to do it in
a more sustainable manner.
If we wait too long, the bolts
corrode to the point that they
can’t be easily removed. When
this happens, the old hole
can’t be reused and we have to
Despite this being hard work and time-consuming, Max
Tepfer says he “enjoys the process of it and it’s very satisfying
to use my free time to better a place that has been a
transformative part of my life. Our climbing areas are where
our community forms and gathers. Climbing bolts and
anchors are at the foundations of those climbing areas.”
drill a new one.”
When considering the hun-
dreds of routes at Smith Rock,
replacing bolts and anchors
can seem like a daunting task.
The climbers that replace
hardware prioritize bolts by
the most urgent need; oth-
erwise, they go by age which
they can tell by the type of
hardware used.
Max adds that climbers
should always be on the look-
out for bolts that need re-
placement. He says, “the most
urgent bolts will wiggle in
their hole despite any effort to
tighten them with a wrench.”
If you’re a climber, you can
report a bad bolt to the High
Desert Climbers Alliance
through their website www.
highdesert.rocks. Click on the
menu link “Report Bad Hard-
ware.”
Despite this being hard
work and time-consuming,
Max says he “enjoys the pro-
cess of it and it’s very satis-
fying to use my free time to
better a place that has been
a transformative part of my
life.”
He adds that it allows him
to help pass the opportuni-
ties climbing has offered him
to the next generation. Max
points out that, “Our climb-
ing areas are where our com-
munity forms and gathers.
Climbing bolts and anchors
are at the foundations of those
climbing areas.”