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Climbers Rebolt a Chris Sharma 5.14 in Utah

Sam Elias and Timmy Kang team up to upgrade the fixed gear on the steep limestone climb

Sam Elias and Timmy Kang rebolt a Chris Sharma sport climb called The Big Smile 5.14b. The classic route is found in Utah’s Willow Canyon.

“There’s a caretaking that needs to happen now with old routes,” said Elias, who’s an all-round climber with first ascent up to 5.14 and repeats of winter mixed routes up to M12+. In 2022, Kang climbed five of the most wild highballs found in Bishop in one day, read about it here.

While it’s rare for bolts to fail, the Access Fund published an in-depth report on how to spot bad bolts, read it here.

The Big Smile Rebolt

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