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Carrot bolts with knotted sling? Please help 3-Jan-2012 At 7:47:29 PM Cockatoo

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Today I went climbing with two partners in mount piddington, blue mountains. I am a beginner, have climbed only for 4 months, the other two are more experienced: the leader has been climbing for 2 years and the other one for 3 or more.

The leader picked up a pretty high wall-like route (no cracks or any type of possible trad gear placement) which only had carrot bolts which looked old and some of them rusty. HE claimed that the route looked challenging and fun.

I own a copy of the blue mountains climbing guide where it is very clearly said that for these carrot bolts one must use proper gear: bolt plates. This was also the advice that I received at the local climbing stores in blackheath and katoomba.

The leader had no bolt plates for this route and when I asked how he intended to do it he said he'd use slings knotted around the carrot bolts.... I told him that that did not sound safe at all, but he angrily insisted that he had done something similar elsewhere and that i only thought his idea was bad because being a noob i do not know anything.. He asked me to belay him and I said that I did not feel comfortable with his plan, would not belay him and would prefer him to discuss his plans with the third person, who is experienced-- she was in another wall 100 meters away still packing her gear. I went to her, asked her to come to the route and talk to the leader. She agreed to belay him, so up goes the leader with his plan of tying the slings around the carrot bolts on a route that he does not, nor does he know the grade for.. Turns out that with difficulty he managed to get to the crux where he almost fell. It was very tense, the belayer agreed with this too.

I was freaking out at the perceived lack of consideration of basic safety measures on their part, and when the leader came down a very heated discussion ensued and I decided that these people are being too careless and not following what seems to be common safety measures for the type of climbing and that I would not climb with them anymore in this trip leave the party

Do you think that the idea of using the slings on the carrot bolts was ok or was it as I perceived it, completely stupid?

Was I right in not agreeing to belay the leader? Should the other person have tried to stop the leader?

Thanks