History

German climber Nicholas Mailander and Elizabeth visited Pune for Yoga studies.

During his stay, an attempt to climb the Dukes Nose lead to the observation that the bolts were not proper and made from material available at that time. They had significantly low strength and short life with no guarantee of perfect placement.

The bolts were prone to accident and could give in at any time.

To find appropriate bolts, Nicholas carried a rock structure sample to Germany and tested for its characteristics.

As a result, he suggested a new bolt named ‘Mahatma Gandhi Bolt’(MGB)

Nicholas visited India again and conducted sessions on bolt placements and safety techniques for climbing with the introduction of new MGB bolts.

We received a bolt bending tool and drill machine from Nicholas with all information mentioned for bolt preparation and placement.

It was the most important year in the history of SCI where Nicholas, Liz and their two friends came to India with a determination to make the route they tried to climb before safe.

Upper 300ft of Dukes Nose was rebolted with combined efforts from Nicholas and us. It was a test of perseverance and team work which we passed.

With the completion of project, an idea of climbing safety transformed into an organization for rebolting of climbing routes.