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Carrot failure @ Muline 17-Nov-2013 At 6:53:35 PM Dave J

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On 17/11/2013 nmonteith wrote:
>That's the thing Damo. Lots of people, including me, have questioned Malcolm
>about his rusty or bash-in bolts but the answer is always - they are fine.
>I've offered to replace them. No - they are fine. Go and check out Inkido
>Roof at Lower Taipan. According to Malcolm those black-with-rust expansions
>upside down in a roof with the ground just below are fine and don't need
>replacing. I've waited for well over a decade for some action but nothing
>happens. I would be certain if I had asked to replace the bolts on After
>Midnight two weeks ago he would have told me they are fine and don't touch
>them.

What did Malcolm actually have say about the Muline Carrot incident? Still fine? Operator error? I don't want to launch into a Malcolm bash here but he has placed the only bolt that I have been able to remove by flicking it with my little finger. Still makes my sphincter pucker up just thinking about it.

I guess there's 2 factors here in his hesitance.
1.Not wanting to see a mess made of his routes. I think the Contra Arms Pump rebolt debacle was a PR blunder by Nathan at a point where Malcolm was almost ready to see other people rebolt his routes (are the old bolts still in there next to the new ones or have they been cleaned up).
2.Giving permission to rebolt would be kind of acknowledging not having done a perfect job the first time round. Not something he's naturally very good at. Maybe question needs to be phrased in such a way so as not to be seen as a direct attack on his manhood.

Point one I totally understand, point 2, not so much. Peoples egos shouldn't dictate the future of those routes. How has Claw got to a point where he's comfortable in his own skin after having placed some shocking poor bolts over the years (the only other bolt Ive removed on lead with my bare fingers was one of his). Are there counseling sessions you can go to for this?

Whatever happens those bolts on Taipan it needs to not be a mess. What eventually replaces the old bolts should go in the old hole and whatever it is should be something that can ultimately be easily be removed and replaced without any more holes needing to be drilled. I'm less bothered about the absolute safety of the route than I am about the gradually deterioration of the rock through repeated rebolting. Ive always like expansion bolts over rings for that reason (interesting to hear about your Anaconda experience though).