Rockfax, Access and Bolting

At Rockfax we recognise that climbers have an impact on the environment that they visit. This can be in the shape of erosion to paths and at the crags, or by causing conflict with other land users. As part of the industry around climbing we acknowledge our responsibility in promoting climbing as an activity and we are keen to do whatever we can to help ease conflicts and work towards a sustainable climbing environment.

One of the main ways we can do this is by correctly recording crag access requirements and crag approach details in our guidebooks. We also endevour to work with local access workers to make sure that information is accurate and up-to-date. Any new developments are flagged up on the Rockfax web site and will be included in any future editions of the guides.

Access Funds

Rockfax also make a yearly contribution to the Access and Conservation Trust (ACT) which is run by the BMC. The ACT aims to promote sustainable access to cliffs, mountains and open countryside by facilitating education and conservation projects that safeguard the access needs of climbers, hill-walkers and mountaineers. Rockfax have been donating to the ACT since 2001.

The list of main contributors to the ACT is quite short and the level of contributions to the ACT is an issue that probably needs addressing by both the outdoor industry and the ACT itself (although we do recognise that there are other ways of donating to help access).

Bolt Funds

In addition to supporting access to crags, we also recognise the need to support the maintenance of fixed gear in crags used predominantly for sport climbing - many of which are covered by Rockfax guidebooks.

Rockfax have donated to various bolting initiatives; we are one of the largest single contributors to bolting in Dorset; we have supported Gary Gibson's bolting on Peak Limestone; we have donated to the Peak Bolt Fund and we have contributed to a few other smaller scale bolting initiatives by purchasing resin for several individual climbers.

Bolt maintenance is another area where we feel the UK outdoor industry has sat back and neglected its responsibility. In the absence of any national bolting schemes most bolting in Britain is carried out by individuals at their own expense. There are a few bolt funds but these are mostly sustained by donations and little money comes from the outdoor trade.

It is often suggested that guidebooks should make a signifcant contribution to bolting since the link is obvious, and this is the practice on some crags in Europe. In actual fact guidebooks funding bolting is a bad method of generating funds and is frequently used as an excuse for producing poor guidebooks. Often it is just the case of the book being written by the local climbers who then use their commission from the publication to bolt new routes and occasionally re-bolt old routes, or more often just see it as reward for the efforts that they have already put in. In other cases it is just plainly not true despite it being a popular myth. In all cases there isn't really enough money in guidebooks to generate both large funds for bolting and sustainable high quality guidebooks.

Spanish Bolt Funds

In view of the fact that Rockfax have several books that cover areas in Spain, we are often asked if we donate any funds to bolting in Spain.

The short answer is 'no'.

We did once donate to the climbers in El Chorro but never really got any idea about whether or not that money actually went towards any bolts or just into some guy's pocket.

Climbing in Spain is that it isn't organised to any great degree and where you would actually donate is unclear. A book like the Costa Blanca would probably mean making donations to around 15 separate groups of climbers since there is no central fund. Once that donation had been made there would be no guarantee that it would be used for re-equipping instead of developing some secret crag with new routes, or even just disappear. It wouldn't be right of us to build something like that into the price since we couldn't make any guarantees about it.

In Spain and other non-UK areas we hope that the general contribution we make to the local economy is significant enough. Certainly in areas like the Costa Daurada, where a lot of the local refuges and camp sites are run by climbers, the only complaints we get are that the areas have become too popular. In the Blanca it is difficult to assess since there are so many different groups but we have tried to promote the areas and the local guides in the latest book and there is no doubt that the area benefits tremendously from the business that the Rockfax and Craggs' guides have generated over the years.