Bolts for Bangalore was two-month project in India to train local climbers how to replace unsafe anchors on existing routes and establish some safe new sport climbs. Together we put up 50 remarkable new pitches in the areas of Badami and Ramanagaram. The new lines define a new standard of climbing in India since most of the old routes have been bolted inadequately. 800 bolts were brought to India, a new hammer drill and all necessary additional bolting equipment. The project was funded by donations from my slideshows and from Austrialpin, Fischer, Bosch and Schenker. 

“I wanted to give back something to people who are not as lucky as  I am”, says Gerhard Schaar, a 33-year-old climber and globe trotter from Austria. He spent two months rock climbing in India in 2005, where he realized the climbing potential but many of the routes were badly bolted and dangerous. 

The necessary hardware being unattainable for locals and simply out of reach financially, Gerhard started the “Bolts for Bangalore”. During slide shows in Austria he collected donations, and he also invested “countless hours” to convince potential sponsors. Finally Austrian alpine hardware specialist Austrialpin, German based anchoring technology giant Fischer and the drilling machine producer Bosch were on board. When the shipping company Schenker agreed in sending the 120 kg package via aircargo to India — the stage was set.