Scottish Bolting Guidance Review

The Scottish Bolting Guidance Review is being led by the Climbing Advisory Group (CAG), a forum created specifically to work on projects like this one. The group is made up of volunteers from across the Scottish climbing community, and it exists to act as a link between Mountaineering Scotland and the climbers it serves.

Because the group is built from the community and open to anyone who wants to get involved, this review is shaped by climbers themselves, not handed down from above.

How the Scottish Bolting Guidance Review works

The review runs in three stages. At each one, what you tell us shapes what comes next.

Phase 1: Have your say (5 weeks, from October 31st – December 5th 2026)

A short online survey open to everyone who climbs in Scotland, member or not, whatever your style. It asks where you think bolts fit in Scottish climbing, and a few background questions (such as your area, experience and climbing interests) so we can see how views differ across the community.

You can find it in the October 2026 issue of Scottish Mountaineer, on our social channels, and through climbing walls, competitions and affiliated clubs.

What happens next. The Climbing Advisory Group analyses the results and uses them to design Phase 2.

Phase 2: Getting the detail right (about 2 months February – April)

A more detailed survey that goes through the 2013 Statement clause by clause. Anything specific from phase 1 may also be added. For each one, you’ll say how far you agree with it and whether it should stay, be changed or be removed, with space to suggest wording.

Alongside the survey we’ll hold regional in-person meetings and a club representatives’ meeting, so there’s room for local views and proper discussion that a survey can’t capture.

What happens next: The group draws on the survey results and in-person meeting notes to draft the new guidelines. This can take up to 2 months.

Phase 3: Final read-through (2 weeks in June)

The draft guidelines are shared with everyone for one last check. This is a chance to spot errors, unclear wording or unintended effects once the whole document is assembled. It isn’t a new round of consultation.

Process completion

We will aim to have the whole process completed and the new guidance in place by July 2027.

What happens to you answers

All responses are collected anonymously, and we won’t ask for your name or contact details. Once each survey closes, we’ll publish the raw anonymised results on this website so anyone can check the numbers for themselves. Free-text comments may be lightly edited before publication to remove details that could identify you or someone else, such as a name or a specific incident. Please bear that in mind if you’re describing a particular situation.

How your input will be used

The survey tells us what the climbing community thinks. It informs the Climbing Advisory Group’s drafting but doesn’t automatically dictate the outcome, because the group also has to weigh things like access arrangements and Mountaineering Scotland’s responsibilities. If the final guidance departs from what most respondents said on any point, we will publish our reasons so you can see what was decided and why.

This section will hold everything the review produces, updated as each stage completes: the raw survey data and a summary of findings, notes from the regional and club representative meetings, and later the draft wording of the new guidelines. Nothing is here yet, but check back as the review moves forward. Each update will be dated so you can follow progress.

• Survey Results: The Future of Climbing in Scotland: Have Your Say (Coming soon)

Who can take part?

Everyone!
Mountaineering Scotland is carrying out this review of the Scottish bolting guidance – Climbing in Scotland Statement for the Scottish climbing community, so ideally we would love every climber in Scotland to have had their say.

Do I have to be a member?

No, open to members and non-members.
Mountaineering Scotland is carrying out this review of the Scottish bolting guidance – Climbing in Scotland Statement, and we want to hear from everyone who climbs in Scotland, whether or not you’re a member and whatever your style.

Is this about banning bolts?

No. The review isn’t about banning bolts, and it isn’t about approving more of them either. The Scottish bolting guidance – Climbing in Scotland Statement is guidance, not a legal ban, and this review is about checking whether that guidance still reflects what Scotland’s climbing community wants and expects today.

We don’t have an outcome in mind. Depending on what you tell us, the final guidance might be clearer, stricter in some places, more flexible in others, or largely unchanged. What we’re aiming for is guidelines that a broad cross-section of climbers, from trad to sport, can understand and support, so that bolting questions can be handled consistently.

Will my answers be public?

All responses are collected anonymously, and we won’t ask for your name or contact details. Once each survey closes, we’ll publish the raw anonymised results on this website so anyone can check the numbers for themselves. Free-text comments may be lightly edited before publication to remove details that could identify you or someone else, such as a name or a specific incident. Please bear that in mind if you’re describing a particular situation.

What happens if the results contradict the current policy?

That’s a possible outcome, and it’s one of the reasons for doing the review. If the results show that parts of the 2013 Statement no longer reflect what most climbers think, those parts will be looked at again, and the new guidance will reflect what we’ve heard wherever it responsibly can.

What happens after the review?

Once the whole process is complete, the new guidelines will replace the 2013 Scottish bolting guidance – Climbing in Scotland Statement.

We’ll then share them as widely as we can, through the same channels as the survey: Scottish Mountaineer, our social media, climbing walls, clubs and this website. A guideline only works if people know it exists, so getting it in front of everyone who climbs in Scotland is part of the job. We’ll also publish a short summary of what changed and why.

We want this to be the start of keeping the guidance up to date, not a one-off.

If you have any questions or comments regarding the review, we kindly ask that you contact us via . To help us manage feedback effectively, we would appreciate it if all correspondence relating to the survey could be directed to this email address, rather than contacting our office by telephone or through other channels or social media.

We also ask that all feedback is shared in a constructive and respectful manner. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.