If you have just completed a new climb anywhere in Malta & Gozo, let us know about it to ensure that it appear in the next climbing guide.

To register your climbing route within this database, please send your entries to info@maltaclimbingguide.com. Please ensure that every entry contains the following information:

• Route Name
• Grade of difficulty (UK grades for traditional climbs, French grading for bolted climbs)
• Any in-situ protection - slings, pitons or bolts
• Location and access information - how to get to the foot of your climb
• Route description - describe the rock features to follow to get up the climb
• Height in metres
• Date of first ascent
• Name of first ascentionist
• Style of first ascent (on-sight, abseil inspection, hang-dogging, top-rope practicing before the send, etc.)
• Quality of the rock (loose flakes, powdery rock, etc.)
• Best way to descend back to the foot of the climb
• Whether sun is on the route in the morning or afternoon
• Any other significant information

 

Bolting a New Climbing Route

If you have found a new line and believe it will be a better climb if it is bolted, then it is important to follow certain guidelines to ensure that the route when completed is of a high quality, safe for other leaders to climb and will remain safe for long years after your initial ascent.

A Corrosive Environment

Being a very small island, most Maltese climbs are so close to the sea that they receive a lot of saline wash or highly salty winds during the winter months. This is especially so on the sea cliffs but it is not restricted to cliffs that fall straight into the sea. For this reason it was decided that the bolts used on such exposed crags should all be A-316 steel. This is marine grade steel and specifically made to withstand the accelerated corrosion caused by saline environments. All bolts placed in exposed areas should be of this quality.

Some A-304 stainless steel bolts (most common stainless steel used by reputable suppliers such as Petzl, Singing Rock and Fixe) are OK for use in inland valleys such as Wied Babu, Wied Qirda and the Victoria Lines.

The Malta Rock Climbing Club has a limited supply of bolts and bolting equipment specially purchased to suit the Maltese climbing environment. If you have extensive experience in placing bolts and would like to make use of this material to equip a new line, call us up. As long as your proposed climb falls within the bolting ethic of the particular location of this climb, we would be happy to provide the bolts and bolting equipment.

Call Andrew Warrington on 00356 9947 0377 for more details.

 

Placing Bolts on a New Route

Bolt placement is a skill that is learned through carefully following the manufacturer's guidelines for proper insertion, learning to read the rock where the bolt is to be placed, being mindful of the fall potential between one bolt and another, careful planning of the location of each bolt through trying the climb on a top-rope and ensuring that the clip is manageable to a climber competent at the grade of the climb.

Here are some important parameters to follow:

 

• The first bolt should be about 2.5-3m above the ground.
• The next bolt should be not more than 1.2m above the first. Any less could result in a ground fall should the leader fall.
• Subsequent bolts should be between 2-3m apart.
• Each bolt should be placed at a point in the climb where the leader can achieve reasonable stability to let go with one hand and make the clip.
• The bolts should be in the line of the climb and placements should avoid zig-zagging that will cause rope drag.
• Rock must be of good quality. A placement must be at least 15cm away from cracks or hollows in the rock because these may weaken the rock or be subject to accelerated erosion, weakening the placement.
• Resin bolts cannot be used if the bolt is to be facing downwards. The bolt should always be inserted at 90⁰ to the rock face.
• Resin bolts are the safer alternative to expansion bolts. Research and testing has proven that these bolts have a better longevity in use and are less likely to fail under strain.
• Resin bolts should never be inserted in wet weather. The rock must be bone dry to allow the resin to set correctly.
• Expansion bolts can be used in overhanging rock faces. The bolt must seat itself snugly in the rock and there should be zero movement once the nut has been tightened.
• Expansion bolt hangers must sit flat against the rock so the rock face they rest against must be completely flat.
• A bolt placement should never result in the quick-draw carabiner being subjected to a side-impact against a point in the event of a fall.
• Bolt placements should not be sunk into recesses where it will be hard to clip or the rope will be abraded against the rock in a fall.
• Lower off points and belay points should allow free travel of the rope, avoiding that the rope should run over abrasive edges.

 

The above list is not exhaustive, many other precautions need to be applied, as well as plenty of common sense.

IF IN DOUBT ALWAYS ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION, BETTER NOT TO PLACE A BOLT THAN TO PLACE ONE WHICH HAS A CHANCE OF FAILING. REMEMBER, THE SAFETY OF CLIMBERS IS AT STAKE AND THE RISKS OF SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH ARE HIGH.