There was an explosion of bolting in the 90’s with little to no regulation as to what type of materials or hardware used. So as you can imagine we have all types of anchors and bolts. Most of the bolts are in good shape but you’ll find a few here and there that need replacing. Also some developers mixed the metals which can accelerate corrosion under certain conditions.
Potrero Chico is always in need of volunteers. If you want to help with replacing bolts, cleaning up or trail maintenance get in touch with us. I’m sure we can find something for you to do.
We’ve been given a batch of ASCA bolts so we thought we would make a list of the bolts and anchors we replaced with them. Without their support this wouldn’t happen. Before you throw money to the local coffee can bolt fund you may want to consider donating it to ASCA
BadBolts.com is a good place to report bad bolts or you can email me directly at rudy@potrerochico.com
Mini Super Wall Potrero Chico
We splashed the Mini Super Wall with ASCA bolts. Too many to name so I thought I would just put it here as the wall. We didn’t do complete routes as much as we just replaced several anchors and rusty looking lead bolts. We still need to hit the bottom section of the wall but we’ve put in enough to warrant an announcement.
All Fun And Games & Juggalo
We got a report that a bolt had broken. This being huge news we went out there the next morning to find out that it was just a loose nut and the hangar had come off.
Since we were already there with the hardware we opted to go ahead and replace the anchors anyway. The route shares the same anchor as Juggalo and is located at the Upper Mota Wall.
The FA belongs to Dane Bass & Jim Taylor.
Las Chimuelas Potrero Chico
We put new anchors and chains on all 3 pitches of Las Chimuelas. The old hardware that we replaced was coldshuts.
It’s located on the far left side of The Jungle Wall in Potrero Chico.
The FA belongs to Ed and Tami Wright with Ismael Garza.
Mr. Patacca Potrero Chico
Potrero Chico Climbing Guides replaced the first 3 bolts on Mr. Patacca. The picture above is the 2nd bolt. The rest of them showed no signs of rust or wear and tear so we opted to leave them.
The bolts we used were 1/2 inch 5 piece SS bolts. They were provided by ASCA. This would be very difficult without their support.
The route is located at the Upper Virgin Wall and is a 5.9+. The first ascent belongs to The Italian Climbing Team.
Milk Cow Blues Potrero Chico
Potrero Chico Climbing Guides with the help of ASCA, Mark Grundon , Chuy Gill Martinez, Jeremy Lubkin and Yannick Gingras replaced the belay anchors and first 2 bolts on Milk Cow Blues.
The route starts at the top of Vandals Ledge which requires some scrambling to get to. The start has anchors for the belayer. The first anchor bolt we removed ended up looking pretty good but the second bolt broke fairly easy while trying to remove it (it was time).
The FA belongs to Rodney Blakemore, he put up the route in 1997. It’s a very popular route. So we thought it should be at the top of the the list for getting some new hardware.
Quickdraw McGraw Potrero Chico
Karla Moya and I added new anchors to the 1st pitch of QuickDraw McGraw Central Scrutinizer Wall, Potrero Chico México.
It’s a popular route for beginners. We use it a lot in our climbing classes.
The old anchors were cold shuts. Both anchors were very worn from toprope/lowering over time and one was loose.
FA:Team Hilti 2 pitch route 1st pitch is 5.10a (more like a 9) and the second is 5.11a.