Picture being run-out on desperate coastal climbing. When you look down, the only thing between you and a dip in the Pacific is a rusty bolt. Swimming back to the belay after a bolt failure sounds quite grim. Luckily, there are people out there to save you from the drink.
Recently, Jim Thornburg along with Steven Roth and Casey Zak replaced 25 bolts along the Pacific coast climbing areas and at Mount Diablo. They replaced the bolts on the routes with the worst hardware. Thornburg, the author of Bay Area Rock- the definite guide to climbing in the Bay area, has been replacing bolts for twenty years. In 1991, Thornburg replaced most of the bolts at Mickey’s Beach, which is directly on the Pacific Ocean, with custom glue-in U-bolts made by Marc Jensen, a climber and metallurgist. Thornburg did the labor of love with Tom Addison, Scott Frye and Don Welsh.
“I felt like the old bolts were no longer safe. Initially I bought the bolts myself, but it gets expensive quick,” said Thornburg. “Then I reached out to Greg Barnes at the ASCA, and he has been amazingly supportive, keeping me well stocked with bolts and glue.”
More recently, Thornburg, Roth and Zak replaced bolts at Dry Creek. Over the past few years, Thornburg has replaced bolts at Mount Diablo, Mount St. Helena, at Fisk Mill Cove, Cragmont and at Mickey’s Beach. Lead bolts as well as anchors have been replaced at Dry Creek and the other crags.. 
“A few years back a beefy 1/2-inch 316 grade stainless bolt snapped under body weight at Mickey’s,” reported Thornburg, who now only trusts glue-in stainless steel or titanium bolts on the coast. The ocean spray quickly corrodes most bolts. “I put my first routes up about 30 years ago. I chose (what I thought were) the best bolts I could get. Over the years, I’ve had the chance to see how quickly bolts can degrade. I’ve also heard lots of stories over the years of bolts breaking and people getting injured or even killed (this just happened at the Owens River Gorge) Now, when I put a bolt in, I want it to be the safe for as long as possible! On the coast, the salty, moist air does all sorts of (sometimes hard to detect) damage to even high-grade stainless steel.”
A properly placed glue-in will last nearly 50 years. A significant number of bolts have been replaced in the Bay Area. “Mickey’s Beach and Dry Creek are mostly glue-ins. Fisk Mill is partially rebolted with more to come. Mt Diablo is mostly rebolted (with help from Chad Suchowski) with super-long (7.5 inch) glue-ins that are suited for the soft, sandy rock there,” said Thornburg.
For those that know of any bad bolts or want to help out- contact Jim Thornburg- [email protected]
