<div><strong>Help fund independent testing of failed climbing hardware</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>When climbing bolts fail, the community needs more than rumours, photos, and speculation.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We need proper testing.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>That means metallurgy, corrosion analysis, rock chemistry, expert interpretation, and public reporting — the kind of work that can explain not just what failed, but why it failed, and what other climbing areas can learn from it.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This fund exists to support independent testing of failed climbing bolts, anchors, and surrounding rock environments, with the results published for the benefit of climbers, route equippers, rebolting groups, land managers, and climbing communities worldwide.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Why this matters</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Fixed anchors are the foundation of modern sport climbing. In many areas, bolts have now been in the rock for decades. Some were installed with incomplete records. Some were exposed to marine environments, sulfate-rich rock, microbial activity, poor drainage, high humidity, incompatible metals, or unknown installation practices.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>When a bolt or anchor fails, the climbing community often gets only fragments of the story:
</div>
<ul>
<li>a photo of the failed bolt
</li>
<li>a social media thread
</li>
<li>a few informed guesses
</li>
<li>maybe a warning about one route or one crag
</li>
</ul>
<div><strong>That is not enough.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>A failed bolt is also evidence. If it is properly preserved, tested, interpreted, and reported, it can help answer questions that matter globally:
</div>
<ul>
<li>Was the failure caused by stress corrosion cracking, sulphide stress cracking, mechanical overload, installation damage, manufacturing defect, corrosion fatigue, or another mechanism?
</li>
<li>Was the alloy what it was believed to be?
</li>
<li>Were environmental factors present in the surrounding rock?
</li>
<li>Are similar bolts, routes, time periods, or crag environments worth inspecting?
</li>
<li>What lessons should route equippers, rebolting groups and manufacturers take from the failure?
</li>
</ul>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This work is technical, time-consuming, and expensive. It should not depend on one or two individuals personally absorbing the cost every time a serious failure needs to be investigated.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>What this fund will pay for</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Funds raised will be used for independent testing and publication work, including:
</div>
<ul>
<li>✅ metallurgical testing of failed climbing bolts and anchors
</li>
<li>✅ alloy identification
</li>
<li>✅ fracture analysis
</li>
<li>✅ corrosion analysis
</li>
<li>✅ sulfate, sulphide, chloride, and other rock-chemistry testing
</li>
<li>✅ laboratory fees
</li>
<li>✅ sample shipping and handling
</li>
</ul>
<div>The fund is intended for testing and knowledge-sharing, not general route maintenance.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This fund is not intended to pay for:
</div>
<ul>
<li>❌ labour
</li>
<li>❌ rebolting
</li>
<li>❌ travel
</li>
<li>❌ route development
</li>
<li>❌ general overheads unrelated to testing and reporting
</li>
</ul>
<div>What CragChemistry.com will still provide for free:
</div>
<ul>
<li>✅ our time and scientific expertise
</li>
<li>✅ expert interpretation
</li>
<li>✅ technical reporting
</li>
<li>✅ publication of findings through <a href="https://cragchemistry.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CragChemistry.com</a>
</li>
</ul>
<div>The purpose is narrow: independent testing, interpretation, and publication of findings.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>The first case</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The first disclosed cost is AUD $770 for independent metallurgical testing of failed bolts from St Savvas, Kalymnos, where the simultaneous failure of anchor bolts caused a fatal accident in March 2026 (<a href="https://cragchemistry.com/2026/06/08/kalymnos-catastrophic-anchor-failure" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">see preliminary post here</a>).
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>That work is part of a broader investigation into a serious fixed-anchor failure and will help inform the climbing community about the likely failure mechanism, the materials involved, and what other areas may need to consider when inspecting ageing fixed hardware.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Further testing is also expected.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This campaign is not just about one incident. St Savvas is the first case, but the purpose of the fund is wider: to create a standing pool of support for future failed-bolt and rock-environment testing where the results can be shared publicly.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Why Crag Chemistry?</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><a href="https://cragchemistry.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CragChemistry.com</a> exists to investigate the interaction between climbing hardware, rock environments, corrosion mechanisms, and real-world fixed-anchor failures.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The goal is to turn failures into useful knowledge.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Results funded by this campaign will be published so that other climbing areas can learn from them. That includes technical summaries, test results, photographs, interpretation, and practical implications for climbers and route maintainers.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Transparency</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We have <a href="https://cragchemistry.com/donate-to-crag-chemistry/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> a simple public record of:
</div>
<ul>
<li>funds received
</li>
<li>tests funded
</li>
<li>expenses paid
</li>
<li>reports produced
</li>
<li>future testing priorities
</li>
</ul>
<div>The aim is to make it clear where donor money goes and what knowledge it helps produce.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Why donate?</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Because proper testing benefits the whole climbing community.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Every serious bolt failure is an opportunity to learn. But without funding, many failures are never properly analysed. Hardware may be thrown away, assumptions harden into folklore, and other climbing areas lose the chance to identify similar risks.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Your donation helps turn isolated failures into public knowledge - on the record.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>It helps fund the testing needed to answer difficult questions properly.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>It helps route equippers, rebolting groups, and climbing communities make better decisions about how to make areas safer and prevent tragic accidents.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Ultimately, it helps make fixed-anchor climbing safer.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Suggested donation guide</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Any amount helps.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Lab fees are very expensive.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>As an example, the third party laboratory fees we recently paid to obtain an accurate chemical analysis for testing two bolts was $770 AUD ($540 USD / 470 EUR).
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Unfortunately we cannot continue to self-fund this important work. We need your help.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Donations will help build a working fund so that urgent testing can begin quickly when future failures occur.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Campaign target</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This is not an all-or-nothing target. It is an initial working balance for ongoing testing. Funds will be used as they become available for current and future testing, analysis, reporting, and publication.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Core message</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Failed climbing bolts should not disappear into rumour, photos, or private conversations.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>When fixed hardware fails, the climbing community needs proper testing, expert interpretation, and public reporting.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>That costs money.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The knowledge benefits our whole community.
</div>

Tilo Moser

Diane Westaway

Aimee Beardsmore

Zac Schofield

Dan Kozianski

Katrin Travouillon

Joel Ovington

Cherie Noon

Leia Clark

Rodrigo Carlson

Jonathan Bentley

Anonymous

Juan Corzo Jr

Thierry Legrain

Angele Sjong

Paweł K

Jon Boronat

Harald Swen

Crag Chemistry Independent Bolt Failure Testing Fund

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

be_supporter_comments_enabled_supported_funds

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Just $672$ to go! Make an impact.

Crag Chemistry Independent Bolt Failure Testing Fund

Just $672 to go!
Make an impact.