Pegs have been a part of climbing in the British Isles for many decades. The development of protection devices such as micro cams and small wires have made many pegs redundant. Still, sometimes the climber must rely on pegs, and nowhere is this fraught with more potential hazard than on sea cliffs.
In a curious twist of fate, the most hostile environment for permanent protection is also the one which often needs it the most. For those sea cliffs where stainless steel bolts are not an option because of the local ethics, sometimes pegs must be relied upon. Can they be trusted and what are the issues around them?
Variable strength
One major difference between pegs and bolts is that a peg even when placed as best as possible may still not be up to the job of holding a fall. The peg has to fit in with whatever the rock has to offer, and sometimes this means a small peg or a weak placement is all that there is. Despite this, many pegs are completely bombproof when new. Even expert climbers find it difficult to judge how good a peg is, especially when climbing on-sight. Take this uncertainty into account - some people will enjoy the added danger and adventure, others will decide to check the pegs first on abseil!
Corrosion
The aggressive corrosive action of the salty, damp air makes any peg protected sea cliff route a potential lottery. It could be fine, but more likely at least some of the pegs will be suspect. Bear in mind that any corrosion tends to be worse inside the rock where you can't see it.
Dealing with it
Now that you know that using sea cliff pegs can be like playing a game of Russian Roulette, what options are there?
Replace the pegs: great in theory, but often the rusty peg breaks leaving a blocked and unusable placement. Possibly worth trying, but only if locally it is agreed to do this - some areas have decided not to replace decayed pegs and have accepted bolder but more certain routes instead.
Back up the pegs: often the pegs can be backed up with enough trad gear to give a good chance of holding a fall. Good gear beta can come in very useful in this case. Scour guidebooks, find ascent details online and check from the ground (or on abseil!)
Test and use them: get good at hanging around whilst terrified checking the quality of pegs, and learn how to tie them off to minimise leverage and thread when you can't clip the eye.
If all that sounds a bit too much, remember it's all part of trad climbing's rich tapestry of tradition.
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