Adventure, climbing excellence and the practice of ‘bolting’

Here, though, we limit our discussion somewhat. We begin by explaining what bolting involves and then introduce some of the general issues it raises by considering as a concrete example disagreements about the acceptability of bolting in what has until recently remained a bastion of the bolt-free ethos – Scottish winter climbing. Second, we examine the roles of excellence and adventure in arguments for and against bolting respectively, concluding that defensible cases can be made on both sides of the debate. Third, we present a new argument for a presumption towards traditional climbing in the Scottish mountains, by implication arguing that the use of bolts should be restricted.