Best practices for hardware and placement.

BEST PRACTICES for using BOLTS and ANCHORS

Use bolts with appropriate corrosion resistance for the environment, almost always stainless steel (but titanium in seaside environments).
Use bolts of at least 3/8” x 2 1/4” length in the best rock, with increasing size and length as rock quality decreases and anticipated climber use increases.
Use the correct size drill bit for the bolt. Note that this is not as obvious as it sounds for certain adhesive anchors, since the required hole size is larger than the bolt diameter (e.g. 12mm hole for 10mm bolt).
Carefully follow all manufacturer guidelines on placement, including hole cleaning, spacing, bolt torque, and all adhesive guidelines.
Place the bolts in solid rock, away from edges, fractures, and voids.
Place the bolts anticipating the probable rope path and climber use.
Welded ring anchor hangers, screw-links, rings, chains, and steel anchor hooks are used to create a functional anchor appropriate for the anticipated use. Links are closed with a wrench.
Anchors should be camouflaged with paint prior to placement to reduce visual impact. Paint should not be used when contrary to manufacturer’s instructions for installation.

BEST PRACTICES specific to BOLT REPLACEMENT

In general, bolts should be replaced by reusing & expanding the original hole whenever possible.

Bolts are not added, except in unusual circumstances, such as the land manager requesting a bolted anchor to reduce wear on cliff-top trees. If bolts are added in these unusual circumstances, the general agreement of the local climbing community is essential.

In certain circumstances, where the original bolt location is poor due to a variety of factors (such as rockfall, broken holds, etc), the bolt location may be moved. In these circumstances, again the local climbing community should agree, and the bolt should be moved a minimum distance that is appropriate.
If an original hole is not re-used, patch and camouflage the original hole as best possible.
Patch and camouflage any extraneous old bolt holes.

The ASCA is a not-for-profit organization that provides new anchors to replace deteriorating fixed hardware used for rock climbing fall protection. The following are our best practices when using bolts and anchors for rock climbing.

Climbing is hazardous. The use of any fixed anchors or equipment to protect climbers has inherent risks that are assumed entirely by the user.