How to best connect a tether to your harness?

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Have you ever heard some version of this?

“You should NEVER connect your tether/PAS to your belay loop. Todd Skinner did that, his belay loop broke, and he died. So, you shouldn't do it either.”

or maybe:

“You should ALWAYS run soft goods, like rope and slings, through the tie in points, and clip hard goods, like carabiners, to the belay loop.”

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I’ll start off with my opinion on this, right up front: I think, in most cases, it’s fine to attach a tether to your belay loop. 

There are a lot of people who feel differently, and if you prefer your tie in points for a tether, that’s great.  But know that in most cases, your belay loop is going to work fine as well. There are very few black and white, “Should”, “Always” and “Never”, “Gotta do it this way or else” rules in climbing. This is not one of them.

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Here's what IFMGA guide Dave Searle thinks about it, and I agree!

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When ascending a route, it's usually best practice to use the rope and clove hitch yourself to the anchor. But when it's time to rappel, you're probably going to want a tether. Whether you use a designated tether like a PAS or a Petzl Connect, or make one DIY with a double length sling, or you’re an aid climber and have a pair of daisy chains, you need to choose where to connect it to your harness - belay loop or tie in points?

The truth is . . . it depends! There are some cases when attaching your tether directly to your belay loop is not only acceptable, but the recommended practice. There are some other situations where it's probably not such a great idea.

• What kind of climbing (rappelling, big walls, via ferrata) are you doing?

• What does the manufacturer say?

• What’s your tether made of?

• What kind of knot or hitch connects the tether to your harness?

These are all nuances in technique that need to be considered, rather than a binary “always” or “never.”

Alpinesavvy tries to offer ideas and information, not advice. So, read on and make up your own mind.

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Here are some general guidelines and considerations:

• First, and perhaps most important, check your harness regularly and retire it without hesitation if it shows significant wear for any reason.

• If you do connect a tether to your belay loop, don’t leave it tied there permanently. Doing this can prevent the loop from rotating and may concentrate wear in a single spot. Remove the tether when you're done for the day, or after your rappel.

• If you're girth hitching a designated PAS type tether, the usual manufacturer recommendation is to use both tie in points. (Even then it's a bit of a “soft” recommendation, see below.)

• If you're girth hitching a “DIY” tether with a skinny Dyneema sling, it’s probably best to use both tie in points. (Should you use a use a Dyneema sling as a tether at all? See the “expert photo” section below.)

• If you're girth hitching a tether (or adjustable daisy for aid climbing) with a wider nylon sling, either the tie in points or the belay loop should be fine.

• If you're using a rope style lanyard such as the Petzl Connect Adjust, follow Petzl’s recommendation and girth hitch it to your belay loop.

• If you’re doing via ferrata, the standard practice is to girth hitch the lanyards to your belay loop.

• If you're big wall / aid climbing, the tie in points are usually better, because that gets your waist a bit closer to the gear you're clipped to. Every inch helps!

• And . . . if you're not using a girth hitch and using a double loop bowline tether, it's okay to tie it through your belay loop with any kind of material.

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What are some of the pros and cons of attaching a tether to your belay loop?

Pros:

• Comfort. Having a weighted tether girth hitched through your tie in points can cause your harness to squish together on some, shall we say, sensitive body parts, ouch! This depends a bit on the design of your harness and ahem, personal anatomy, your mileage may vary. This can be especially true for women with wider hips and a higher waist.

• Easier to rig and check. For cold weather climbing with bulky clothing, gloves, etc., it can be easier to properly thread your tether through your belay loop, as well as glance down and be sure it's threaded correctly. (This goes for checking your partner also.) Plus, the comfort factor: with more clothing on, tethering to the belay loop will usually be more comfortable.

• More reach. If you have a shorter tether and you’re a taller climber, having it on your belay loop can give you a few extra inches of reach.

• Less cluster. This probably applies more to big wall climbing, when the front of your harness can get very busy with two daisies, fifi hook(s), rope tie in, etc. Using your belay loop can spread out these connections a bit. Also for big wall climbing, you’re probably sleeping in your harness as well, so a belay loop connection will typically be more comfortable.

Cons:

• Not redundant. You're connected to one point of your harness while you could be connected to two. (This introduces a whole other conversation of all of the other non-redundant components in the climbing system you rely on the time, but let's save that for another discussion.)

• Puts extra wear and tear on your belay loop. (This argument may be countered by pointing out that the wear and tear is not eliminated, but instead transferred to your tie in points.)

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Let's look at some more specific cases of where to attach your tether.

First, let's check out recommendations from Black Diamond. Their website tells you that girth hitching a daisy chain through both tie in points gives you the “green check” of approval. End of discussion, right?

image: https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-bdel/default/dw8f27ba12/instructions/F20/MM5825_C_Daisy-Etrier_IS-WEB.pdf

Well maybe not. Using the bottom tie in point is clearly a no-no, because it might flip you upside down. But the belay loop or the top tie in merits only the orange “caution” notification, not the red skull and crossbones, “Yer Gonna Die”.

image: https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-bdel/default/dw8f27ba12/instructions/F20/MM5825_C_Daisy-Etrier_IS-WEB.pdf

What else gets the Black Diamond orange caution? Getting your tether wet, icy, or dirty! Sheesh, we all know that happens to your gear all the time and it's hardly the end of the world. So, attaching a tether to your belay loop is in the same category of “it's best to avoid doing this a lot, but if you do, it's not going to be catastrophic.”

image: https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-bdel/default/dw8f27ba12/instructions/F20/MM5825_C_Daisy-Etrier_IS-WEB.pdf

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Let’s consider the following . . .

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1 - No warnings from harness manufacturers

The Alpinesavvy web gnomes looked carefully at the technical documentation for harnesses from Black Diamond, Petzl, and Edelrid. None of these manufacturers give a warning against attaching a tether to the belay loop. If doing so is “wrong”, do you think the top harness manufacturers might warn against it in their technical documentation?

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2 - Petzl Connect Adjust, Beal Dynaconnexion, CAMP Swing, and Edelrid Switch: use the belay loop

In 2015 Petzl introduced their “Connect”series of lanyards. These are made from dynamic climbing rope, and have a stitched, fixed loop at one end. It's a pretty sweet piece of gear.

Petzl recommends girth hitching it to your belay loop, as shown in this illustration from their website.

image: petzl.com

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Let's check out another nice diagram from Petzl.

1. Where do I attach my lanyard?

“From a safety and strength perspective, the lanyard can be attached to the belay loop or to the two tie-in points. But as a matter of comfort, it is preferable to attach your lanyard to the belay loop.”

So, sounds like the final recommendation from Petzl is the belay loop.

image: https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Belay-loop-and-tie-in-points--where-do-I-attach-my-lanyard--my-belay-device-and-my-rope-?ActivityName=Multi-pitch-climbing

Beal Dynaconnexion: use the belay loop.

image: https://www.beal-planet.com/en/index.php?controller=attachment&id_attachment=8219

CAMP Swing: use the belay loop.

CAMP swiNG https://www.camp.it/d/us/us/outdoor/product/2166

Edelrid Switch: use the belay loop.

Edelrid Switch - https://avs.edelrid.com/images/attribut/54625_GAL_SWITCH_SPORT_ANSICHT_DINA4_Homepage.pdf

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3 - Via Ferrata: use the belay loop

Standard practice in via ferrata is to girth hitch your tether carabiners to your belay loop. Keep in mind that a via ferrata fall can can generate tremendous force on your anchor system, harness and your body, greater than a factor 2.

Here's a diagram from Edelrid. The text accompanying this diagram reads: “Via Ferrata sets or systems with tie-in loops are fastened to the tie-in ring (belay loop) with a choke hitch (girth hitch).”

image: edelrid.de/en/sports/harnesses.htm

Here’s a similar diagram from Petzl. Clearly, Petzl recommends that via ferrata tethers go onto the belay loop.

imae: https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Harnesses/CORAX - technical notice PDF download

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4 - Many expert climbers prefer attaching a tether to the belay loop . . .

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Top tips: longer phone battery life in the backcountry

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Except for a few hard-core Luddites, most of us carry phones in the backcountry and are glad we have them. Camera, music, podcasts, journal writing, Kindle book reading, compass, maps, GPS navigation and even flashlight . . . You may only use a couple of these, but even so, prolonging your phone battery charge can be very important. It's less important on a day hike then a multi day outing, but even then it's good to develop good practices.

Here are some tips on how to do that, divided into three main sections:

1. Settings

2. Navigation

3. Cold weather

Some of these may be iPhone specific, because that's what I have. (You Android folks hopefully have something similar.)

If you have a short attention span, here's the takeaway: 1) Bring an auxiliary battery and charging cable, and 2) keep your phone in Airplane mode.

On an iPhone, you can set the few helpful controls in your control center to quickly adjust power savings. I think airplane mode and screen brightness are default. You can also add the low power mode.

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Phone settings

• If you use almost all the battery saving settings in the section, the baseline battery use (phone is on and asleep, but not being used) is around 3% per day. If you have your phone in normal city settings, with none of the battery savings methods deployed, baseline use can be up to 30%. Yes, that's a huge difference.

• Start your trip with a fully charged phone and extra battery. Yes, sounds obvious, but it's easy to overlook this, especially on a short drive to the trailhead.

• Bring an auxiliary battery and charging cable(s). There are many options. Go with a name brand battery like Anker. Something around 5,000 mAh (milliamps) can charge your phone at least once. Add a short charging cable and you're looking at around $20 for both. For a longer trip up to a week, consider a 10,000 mAh battery. Charging cables can be delicate and get broken, consider bringing a spare. Get into the habit of bringing these on every trip, even a day hike.

• Turn on Airplane Mode. This is probably the #1 habit to develop at the trailhead, and a good one to remind your team members about. Airplane mode stops your phone from trying to connect to the cell tower network. Especially when you’re out of cell phone coverage, these constant attempts to reconnect can really drain the battery. To check for messages or make a call, turn Airplane mode off for a minute or two if you have coverage, then turn it back on again when you’re done.

• Turn on Low Power Mode. This reduces background activity, like downloads and mail fetching, and sets Auto Lock to 30 seconds. On iPhone: Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode

• Turn down your Screen Brightness. The screen is probably the single biggest battery drain. If you're going to use your phone a lot, consider doing it in the evening when you can use lower brightness setting. If you need to use your phone during the day, try to find some shade. On iPhone: Settings > Display and Brightness > adjust the slider bar.

• Tip for iPhone users: you can set up your control screen to adjust these three settings, see photo at top of the page.

• Important: The GPS chip in your phone does not need cell coverage or Wi-Fi, and works fine in Airplane mode.

• Turn off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirDrop, and Personal Hotspot. On iPhone: Settings. Airplane mode might turn all of these off at once, but they can individually be turned on even if airplane mode is activated. If you want to use Bluetooth to listen to music on speakers/earbuds, or use a SEND (Satellite Emergency Notification Device) remember to turn Bluetooth off when you're done.

• Deactivate Background App Refresh. On iPhone: Settings > General > Background App Refresh. Apps will no longer run in the background.

• Set the Auto-Lock to the minimum. Auto-Lock puts your phone to sleep when you're not using it. Sure it's good habit to press the side button and put it to sleep manually, but if you forget to do this and put it in your pocket, a short screen lock time puts it to sleep quickly. On iPhone: Settings > Display and Brightness > Auto-Lock > set to 30 seconds.

• Close all open apps. While most apps just sit there and don't do anything, some continue to refresh in the background or even use GPS location data (like Google maps) and suck your battery. Shut down everything you don’t need in the backcountry, which should be pretty much everything.

• Set your navigation app to only get your GPS location when you ask for it. Navigation apps need to be on all the time if you’re track recording, but if you only want an occasional position fix, it doesn’t need a constant GPS signal. On iPhone: Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Gaia GPS > Ask Next Time. Now, when you tap the “show current location” icon in your GPS app, you should get a pop-up box requesting access. Tap “Allow Once” to show your location just for one time. Every additional time you open the app you should get this access request.

• Turn off Location Services for your camera. Even if you shut down all unnecessary apps, you're still probably going to take some pictures. If you have Location Services on for your camera, every time you shoot a photo that's going to take a little extra power to “geotag” your photo with latitude longitude coordinates. On iPhone: Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Camera > Never or Ask Next Time.

• Turn off Data Sharing. As a default, Apple collects a LOT of data on how to use your phone! Your phone shares this regularly, and the files can be as large as 10 MB. Sending these data packages can put a hit on your battery. If you're already in airplane mode this should not be an issue, but why not turn it off? And protect a bit of your privacy at the same time? On iPhone: Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements > Toggle everything off. (If you're curious what Apple is seeing on your phone, while you're there tap Analytics Data > then tap any one of the analytics files. It probably won't make any sense to you, but it's an impressive amount of snooping.

• Turn on Auto-Brightness. This automatically adjust the screen brightness according to the light conditions, and can save a bit of battery. On iPhone: Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size turn auto-brightness on.

• Use Dark Mode. A study at Purdue University showed that for higher levels of screen brightness, which you will probably have if you're outside during the day, dark mode can offer a significant improvement in battery life. On iPhone: Settings > Display and Brightness > tap “Dark”. (Or, ask Siri to “turn on / turn off dark mode”.)

• Turn on grayscale mode. On newer phones, showing only grayscale instead of color can increase battery life. This setting is pretty buried. On iPhone: Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size (under the “Vision” header) > Color Filters, toggle Color Filters. (Or, much easier, ask Siri to “turn on / turn off grayscale”.)

• GaiaGPS settings - GaiaGPS is a popular backcountry GPS phone app. If you tap through to Settings > Power Saving, there are a few adjustments there that can help preserve battery. 1. Keep screen on - toggle off for maximum battery life. 2. Disable altitude lookup - toggle on for maximum battery life.
  3. Sync photos on cellular - toggle off for maximum battery life. 4. Better location accuracy when plugged in - toggle off maximum battery life. Note: #2 and #3 are irrelevant if the phone is in airplane mode, since the app won't be able to do those functions without a data connection. #4 will only use more power when plugged in, as the setting says. But possibly someone could have their phone plugged in to a portable charger, so better to leave it off.

• Power down your phone, if you're really sure you don't need it. If you're confident in the route, have a paper map and decent map reading skills, and don't plan on taking photos with your phone, consider powering it down completely. Note: powering your phone completely off and then on again more than once or twice every 10 hours or so actually uses more battery than keeping the phone on all the time and waking it up from sleep mode. So, for most people, it's probably better practice to keep your phone on and sleep.

• Consider powering down your phone at night. Test this at home to see if it makes a difference, see previous Tip. With some phones it does, others not so much. If it's cold, cuddle your phone in your sleeping bag.

• Power down your phone, but have your partner(s) keep theirs on. No reason why both phones need to be on if they're not getting much use.

• Turn Battery Percentage on. On an iPhone, you can show the percent battery you have left rather than just an icon. Knowing this number is helpful. On an iPhone: Settings > Battery > Toggle Battery Percentage on.

• When charging your battery, only charge it when it's below 10% and try to avoid charging it past 70%. It takes more energy to push a battery past 70%, so stopping there helps preserve your auxiliary battery. 

• Check your battery health. On an iPhone: Settings > Battery > Battery Health. This compares as a percentage your battery with a new one. A lower percentage means a full charge doesn’t last as long. If capacity is less than 80%, consider replacing your battery; Apple consider this “worn”.

• Text when you can. Voice calls need a strong signal, and use a lot of battery. A text message can often transmit on a very poor signal, and uses minimal battery.

• Test your overall battery use on a long day hike, before relying on it for a long trip.

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Navigation and cold weather tips . . .

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30+ tips for more efficient aid climbing

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Nearing the top of Moonlight buttress in a day, Zion National Park, Utah. Photo by me

“Speed climbing” on a big wall route gets a lot of press. But in reality, most of us plodders would do better to focus not on speed, but rather efficiency. Efficiency can mean not running out of water when your three day climb turns into four, avoiding strangling your partner (or vice versa), not taking 30+ minutes for a belay changeover, not climbing by headlamp when you could be kicking back in your portaledge . . . you get the idea.

Below is a somewhat random assortment of climbing tips to help you climb with greater efficiency, and thus speed. Why do I mention these particular tips? Because I ignored pretty much every single one of them on my first couple of walls and sometimes went pretty darn slow as a result. Sure wish I knew all these beforehand!

If you’ve been at the big wall game for a while, you probably know most of these already. If you're fairly new to aid climbing, these tips may be more helpful. These are merely my opinion/experience, and are by no means a complete list. In no order of importance, here we go.

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Don’t rush

Speed does not mean fast. Speed means smooth, controlled, well-planned, and properly executed. The Navy SEALS have a saying: ”Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.” Do the task you have in front of you at a proper pace, and do it right the first time. “Smooth” comes from practice and having your systems dialed before you get up on a real climb.

What you're really striving for is efficiency, not speed. If you achieve efficiency, you can actually slow down in your movements, be more relaxed, and enjoy your experience more. Another way to think about it: you increase your speed by minimizing the downtime when no one is making upward progress.

Wall ace Mark Hudon: “Most wall climbers today would gain far, far more time by simply understanding and doing the basic big wall tasks faster.” So, what are the basic tasks? Leading, cleaning, hauling, anchor building, belay changeovers, rope / belay management, staying fed/watered and comfy during the day.

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Think of everything physical as a “movement sandwich” (rest, move, rest)

Unlike most other aspects of rock climbing, you can rest pretty much whenever you want to on a big wall. Use this to your advantage. From big wall expert Andy Kirkpatrick’s excellent aid climbing book, “Higher Education”:

“You should never find aid climbing hard. If you do, it means you're doing it wrong. If your arms are tired when leading, you're not resting on your fifi hook. If you get pumped ascending a rope, that means your lanyards are not set right or you’re standing in the wrong step of your aider. The same goes for hauling, if you're busting a gut then switch it up to a 2:1 or maybe space hauling. Almost everything physical should be a ‘movement sandwich’, movement placed between two slices of rest. Rest-move-rest. Rest-move-rest.”

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Time yourself when practicing

Yes, we’re talking stopwatch. During your training, time yourself and your partner doing different tasks. How long did it take you to do EACH of these tasks - Lead the pitch, build the anchor, fix the rope, set up the haul, do the haul, clean the pitch, re-rack the gear, and have your partner start leading the next pitch? Repeat all these on the same training route different times maybe over different days, and notice your times hopefully start to dramatically improve.  Have fun, and make training a little competitive. Time each segment, loser buys beverages.

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Don’t “learn” to aid on a real route

People stuck behind you who have the skills to climb it for real will NOT be happy. EVERYTHING you do on a wall should be practiced BEFORE you get to the actual climb. To put it another way, on your actual route, you should never be trying something for the first time.

• Do repeat laps on obscure 5.11 cracks until you get your movement and systems dialed. Time yourself.

• Haul a 100 pound bag 1:1.

• Haul a 200 pound load 2:1.

• Experience “riding the pig” by rappelling with your fully loaded haul bag. ( Tip - don’t hang it from your belay loop!)

• Practice transitioning from aid climbing to free climbing

• Set up your ledge on a real cliff and spend a night in it, not just in a backyard tree.

• Poop in a bag, on your ledge

• Do “aid bouldering” close to the ground, placing all manner of tiny stoppers, marginal hooks and micro cams until you really know how far you can push them before failure.

• Practice passing a knot, both going up with ascenders and going down (rappelling).

Put in your training. Practice the core skills. You, your partner, and everyone behind you on the route will have a much better time. (People who go try Monkey Face at Smith Rock Oregon who have never aid climbed before and take 2 hours to lead and clean a short bolt ladder, I’m looking at YOU!)

Places to aid practice in Yosemite

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You can practice just about every big wall skill on a short route

When practicing, make the best use of what you have. This could be a route in a cooperative climbing gym, or a one pitch obscure crack at your local crag. Don't start the pitch standing on the ground. Climb up just a few meters, make a hanging belay, and start from there. Make a few moves, build another belay, haul and bring your partner up and repeat. This gives you extra practice at anchor building, hauling, and transitions, which can be a giant time suck for beginners.

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Have all the skills needed for your route

Study the topo, photos and trip reports. Is there a pendulum and a lower out? How far is it? Do you need to hook? Is there a burly off width? Do you know how to clean a traverse? What’s the hardest mandatory free climbing, and can I/we do it?

Do you know how to lead AND clean a roof? The classic “Kor Roof” pitch on the South Face of Washington Column in Yosemite has shut down many an ambitious first time big wall team. Roof climbing is admittedly hard to practice, but read the topo and do your best to train before you go. Try the underside of an outdoor staircase, playground swing set, rope between 2 trees, or roof route in a helpful climbing gym. If you’re in Yosemite, be sure to put in a practice lap or two on the LeConte Boulder.

There’s a bounty of route beta for just about every beginner route you would ever want to try. Study up, know what skills you need to have, and master them before you go. 

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Talk over each pitch before the climb

Before you leave the ground, go over every pitch in detail with your partner. Talk over who’s going to do what, when will it happen, and how you’re going to handle any anticipated difficulties. Do we have all the gear needed for the route? What’s the farthest we need to lower out the bags, and do we need a separate lower out line? Does a pitch go around a corner so we maybe can’t hear or see each other? (Better have a clear communication plan.) Are we leading in blocks or swapping leads? Who gets what pitches? What’s our anticipated timeline, and what do we do if we’re faster or slower than we planned?

Having an action plan means you don’t need to create one on the fly and make important decisions when you’re tired and stressed. Sure, you can change your plan, but it’s a starting blueprint that guides your actions, instead of pretty much winging it on every pitch.

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Route topos

Make several copies of the route topo. One for each person on the team and one extra. I like to laminate mine at the office store, and put in a grommet, and then tie some cord through the grommet as a clip in point.

Save a photo or PDF of the topo (and other relevant beta, like the descent route) onto your phone, which is free and weighs 0.0 grams. This goes for your partner as well.

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Always ask yourself when you have downtime: “What could I be doing right now to make this climb faster or safer?”

Especially for beginners, there’s almost always something. Be on a constant lookout for small potential problems, and deal with them before they become larger real problems. “Hmm, looks like that haul rope is hung up on something. I better deal with that right now before the leader starts to pull it up . . . ” 

Andy Kirkpatrick: Remember the number one sentence that needs to be avoided on a wall: “Hang on a minute!”

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Strive for well-organized anchors

This is probably the single biggest time suck and cluster-generator for newer climbers. Something as simple as which side of the anchor to dock the haul bag can create either an effortless release or an incredible tangle. Decide where the bag is going to go, use rope bags, have multiple full strength clipping points, keep the lead rope and haul rope separated and tangle free and you'll be well on your way.

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Maintaining the psyche 

Big wall expert Mark Hudon has some self-talk he uses when things get spicy: “I may be scared, but I’m at LEAST as good as the WORST climber who has ever done this route! If they got past this point, dammit, so can I!” Remind yourself of this, and maybe even laugh a little when you’re faced with a tough spot.

Be patient with your partner and do not “blame”, no matter whose fault something might be. Mistakes will happen. Work together to overcome the problem.

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Use a day bag

Don’t be diving into the haul bags at each belay to get snacks, water, sunscreen, windbreaker, etc. It's big time suck, waste of energy, and greatly increases the chance of dropping something. In the morning, put all the stuff you need for the day in a smaller “day bag” (aka “piglet”) or wall bucket, tied outside your haul bag (probably on a gear tether) for easy access. (Remind your partner to get their day gear all ready at the morning bivy.) Check out the “RTFN bag” and Wall Bucket at Skot’s Wall Gear.

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Second leaves the belay fast

Try to minimize time when both climbers are at a belay and not moving. Especially, strive for fast belay changeovers. Slow belay changeovers can be a huge time suck for beginners.

The leader should call down when they are getting close to the anchor (the 25 foot rule) so the second can start tidying things up. One good thing for the belayer to do at this point is to be sure the haul bags are properly packed away, unencumbered, the haul rope is running freely, and the bags and rope are ready for lift off, because the very first task for the leader is to pull the bags a little bit off of the anchor, so the second can clean everything.

The leader should never be “ready to haul” and have to then wait for the second to sort things out!fdecide

When the leader calls “rope is fixed” the second can clip their ascenders to the lead rope and fully weight it. This frees up most of the anchor, the second can get to work breaking it down, and get ready to release the bags. 

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Use a docking cord

Releasing the bags should be pretty much effortless if you use a docking cord, which is a tether that’s releasable under load. Forget the old school method of using a daisy chain or some other static sling to connect your bags to the anchor; this can often require brute force to get your bags moving, especially if the pitch above traverses.

If the next pitch traverses to one side (say the right), you probably want the bags docked on the right side of the anchor, so they don't swing across you and smack you when you release them.

There's really no need to haul the bags up snug with the anchor on every pitch, unless you’re spending the night there. Hanging the bags a bit below the anchor can make your belay less clustered.

Generally, the bags should never be undocked by the second until they have fully lifted off from the anchor, and the second can check that nothing is hung up, carabiner is being weighted correctly, etc.

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Clean the gear in semi-tidiness

You don’t need to be super type A and organize every piece of gear immaculately when cleaning, but you also don’t want to clip it any which way.

A cleaning system that works well: have two single length / 60 cm runners, one over each shoulder. Use wider nylon slings rather then skinny Dyneema - wider is more comfortable under a load of gear.

Clip free carabiners and slings onto one runner, and gear onto the other. Generally order the gear by size, but don’t be too fussy about it at the expense of upward progress. Avoid racking gear on your waist loops, unless you like the feeling of 30+ pounds of hardware causing your harness to slowly creep down towards your ankles.

When the cleaner gets to the top anchor, these two gear slings get clipped somewhere safe, and quickly added back onto the lead rack by whoever is leading the next pitch.

Doing this allows you to quickly hand off the gear at the next belay, rather than unclipping things one by one from your gear loops. This is much faster, and there’s less chance to drop things.

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Belaying the leader with a “fixed point” belay

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Alpinesavvy thanks Angelique Brown for translating the French technical documents mentioned in this article, Richard Goldstone for editorial comments, ACMG Alpine Guide Sean Isaac for some FAQ details, and IFMGA Certified Guide Patrick Ormond for a few extra fixed point belay tips.

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Note: All climbing techniques, especially one as important as belaying a leader, are best learned under the guidance of a qualified instructor, ideally a credentialed mountain guide. Please seek out proper instruction if you want to learn this technique. This article is for informational purposes only and does not replace in-person instruction and practice.

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image: climbgermany.com / Georg Sojer

If you've been climbing for awhile, you might remember around 2001 when the Petzl Reverso belay device was introduced. For most climbers, it’s most innovative, and to some controversial feature, was the ability to belay your second directly off the anchor and have the device autolock.

Now, the autolock feature was great, but belay your second off of the anchor?! Why would I do that? That's what the belay loop on my harness is for! Those crazy Euros, always inventing stuff we don't need . . .

The general acceptance of climbing “best practices” does evolve, but it tends to do so rather slowly. In the progression of belay technique, we've gone from hip and body belays, to doing everything off of the harness, to the now generally accepted procedure of belaying the second directly from the anchor. What might be next?

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Belaying the LEADER directly from the anchor is known as a “fixed point” belay.

The primary reasons to use this:

1. Prevent the belayer from being violently yanked into the air, slammed against the rock, and potentially being injured or even losing control of the belay

2. Reduces the force on lead protection due to rope slippage

3. Allows a greater chance of actually holding a factor 2 fall.

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The German Alpine Club (Deutscher Alpenverein, or DAV) is one of the leading proponents of this technique. Here's what they have to say about it. (pdf article link) (Bold text mine)

“Consequently, you ought to be familiar with the anchor belay method which is the basic method for multi-pitch routes. Generally speaking, the body belay method (from the belay loop) is an option in particular on pitches fully equipped with bolts and with smaller distances between the bolts. The anchor belay method, however, is the more recommendable belay method in routes with a more alpine character, i.e. with only few or questionable intermediate fixing points, traverses, confusing route courses or the possibility of far, uncontrolled falls.“

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It's also recommended by the French National Mountain Guide School (École Nationale de Ski et d'Alpinisme, or ENSA). Here are their conclusions: (The quotations are from this video, see it below.)

3:20 “If you’re tied into an anchor, the (belay) method which generates the lowest forces on the runner holding the fall is when the belay system is placed directly on the anchor. This is also the safer and more comfortable method for the belayer.”

5:27 - “When the belayer does not have the option of belaying dynamically on a large ledge, we recommend you build an anchor with a fixed central point and belay directly on this central point.”

image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqZQnCGl24A

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There are some compelling reasons and specific situations when might want to use this. There are also some specific requirements of anchor building to do this most effectively, that may well run counter to what you think you know about anchor construction.

It's not the purpose of this article to tell you everything about this technique, nor to suggest you should start using it tomorrow. It's more to provide information and resources so you can consider if and when you may want to implement this in your own climbing.

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The following points are from the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) video, linked to at the bottom of this article. Consider a fixed point belay when there is/are:

• Two very solid anchor components that can take a hard upward pull, usually 2 bolts or ice screws. (A fixed point belay can be done on a trad gear anchor, but you need a solid upward directional piece. It’s a good idea to initially learn this technique on bolts, then try it with a trad anchor.)

• The anchor master point is waist to head height, chest high is ideal. This makes for easier rope feeding. If the anchor is much higher or lower (like on a slab), it can be difficult to feed rope properly.

• Large weight difference between climbers (heavier leader and a lighter belayer).

• Higher potential for a leader fall.

• Potential for a higher impact/high fall factor.

• Potential for a long leader fall, such as slab routes or alpine ice routes.

• Possible issues in giving a reliable belay, such as an inexperienced belayer, icy ropes, a poor stance, or a belay under a roof of other feature where the belay might get yanked into, or maybe a traversing pitch, where the belayer might be pulled sideways.

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What are some of the key features of a fixed point belay?

1. In the event of a fall, force is transferred directly to the anchor, rather than to the belayer's body.

2. When building the anchor, you don't try to “equalize” forces the two bolts or screws. That's right, no equalization.

3. The belayer often belays the leader with a Munter hitch, because it has some slippage and thus lowers forces on the leader. (The Munter belay doesn't really mean the rope slips through your hand.  The brake hand is pulled towards the knot, and the increased friction as the rope runs through the knot absorbs some of the energy from the fall.) It's also possible to belay with a belay plate, provided you redirect the brake strand until solid gear is placed by the leader.

4. Because of more rope possibly slipping through your belay device or Munter hitch, wearing gloves is highly recommended.

5. The belay carabiner should be attached to the anchor in such a way that there will be minimal upward travel in case of a leader fall. A rule of thumb for this: try to limit upward movement to about 20 cm / 6 inches or less. This means keeping your anchor material fairly tight and the hole you clip to fairly small, examples of that below.

6. It can be easier to feed rope if the belayer is hanging below the master carabiner, rather than off to the side.

7. Bolts oriented vertically usually work best, like the vertical Fixe chain and ring anchor shown below, or the diagram at the very top of the page. This style of vertical anchor hardware is optimized for belaying the leader directly from the bottom ring. However, it's also easy to rig a fixed point belay horizontally, see example below.

8. Note: the belayer has the option of beginning the pitch using a Munter hitch, and then after the climber is further up, has more rope out and a few good pieces in, can transition to a more traditional belay from their harness. This isn’t an “all or nothing” system. You can use a “hybrid” of two different belay methods on the same pitch. To do this, have a look at the pitch. If you think your leader can get in some solid placements about 5 meters away from your anchor, pull up about 7 meters of rope, and add your belay device. Belay directly from the anchor with a munter hitch until they clip a couple of pieces, then have them get into a rest stance for a moment while you transition to a harness belay. (This is one you definitely want to practice in a controlled environment.)

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What are some downsides of a fixed point belay?

1. Can be more difficult to feed out rope quickly

2. Increases the force of the fall on the leader

3. Generally, this system should NOT be used when: single pitch climbing with the belayer on the ground, if the belayer needs to be positioned away from the anchor, If the anchor point is low down or on a slab or otherwise in an awkward position, or when there's no option to create an anchor that can take an upward pull.

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Fixe chain and ring anchor; a perfect set up for a fixed point belay.

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A few common questions, comments and grumbles. . .

Does a fixed point belay increase the force on the top piece of gear? It depends on the particulars of the belay (Munter hitch or ATC, firm grab or let a bit of rope slip out), but generally the answer seems to be “no” to “a little bit.” As mentioned above, tests by the French National Guide School state that the direct belay generated the lowest forces on the top piece of gear. Tests by the DAV (German Alpine Club) show that forces on the top piece of gear are essentially the same as when belaying the leader off your harness. Part of the reason for this is that the belayer’s weight is taken out of the equation, so there is less of a pulley effect on the top piece of gear.

From Mountainproject: “Practical tests by the German DAV, the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and the Italian CAI showed that belaying from the body without the possibility of actively moving into the direction of the falling leader (aka dynamic belay) results in similarly high forces (ca. 5,7 kN) on the last bolt/nut/cam, as belaying from the anchor directly (ca. 5,8 kN).”

“Does a fixed point belay increase the force on the belay anchor?” No. Testing (See the French Mountain Guide School video link below at 2:14) shows the forces on the anchor are actually reduced. From the translated ENSA article, link below: “Paradoxically, the force is generated on the anchor is more significant when the belay is on the harness. The belayer, pulled by the faller, takes on speed, and therefore kinetic energy. Once the belayer can no longer move, the anchor experiences two stopping forces, the faller and the belayer.”

“Isn't it better to clip the anchor is the first piece, to redirect the rope and prevent a factor 2 fall?” Short answer is no. In the worst case of a factor 2, it's better for the force to be held by the completely equalized anchor then the two times multiplication of force that happens with a clipped redirect due to the pulley effect.

“Does a fixed point belay increase force on the falling climber?” Yes. The force on the falling climber is no longer partially being absorbed by the belayer being pulled upward, so more of it goes to the leader.

“Does this create dangerous three-way loading on the carabiner?” No. Even when catching a hard lead fall, the forces in the system are nowhere close to what is required to break a carabiner (which is around 17 kN if it's loaded equally in three directions.) Here's a more detailed article about off-axis carabiner loading.

“Can I use a tube belay device or a Grigri instead of a Munter hitch?” You can use a tube device, but you need to take the extra step of redirecting the brake strand before the leader clips the first piece of gear, which is one more thing to remember and might make it initially a little harder to feed rope. After the leader gets some solid gear in, you can remove the redirect piece and probably have a smooth easy belay. A Grigri is not recommended, because it allows less rope slippage, which can increase the force on the lead climber and the top piece of protection.

“I'm concerned that belaying with a Munter hitch will twist the rope.” Belaying a leader with a Munter generally does not twist the rope, because there’s not a continuous load, such as when rappelling. If belaying with a Munter hitch, using an auto-locking carabiner can minimize any chance of the rope messing with the carabiner gate.

“When I'm bringing up my second, can I do it from the fixed point, or do I have to completely re-rig the anchor?” Yes, you can bring them up off of the fixed point. No need to change anything on the anchor.

“I like to give a ‘soft catch’ dynamic belay so it's less force on the gear and on my partner. This technique doesn’t let me do this.” A well-timed jump for a “soft catch” is great if you're standing on the ground or a big ledge, but it doesn't work at a tiny ledge or hanging belay station. (Plus, the French tests indicate that letting a bit of rope slip through your belay more effective in lowering forces then using a more dynamic style belay.)

What?! Those bolts aren't equalized! That's not a real anchor! That’s right. You're not trying to distribute the force evenly like in a more traditional anchor. All of the load is on one anchor, and the other is there for redundancy/backup. This technique is only to be used when the gear placements are unquestionably strong. This usually means two bolts or two bomber ice screws. Keep in mind, the maximum upward force tested in a lead fall is about 4 kN. Also, the munter hitch will begin to slip at around 2-3 kN, further reducing the peak force.

“Can I do a fixed point belay with a gear anchor?” You can, but there needs to be an upward pull component of the anchor. (This is for sure a more advanced technique, definitely practice it with a qualified instructor, and we're not going to cover this belay style from gear anchors in this article.)

“How do I use double ropes?“ You need to use a tube style belay device, not a Munter hitch. If you do this, the brake strand must be redirected until the leader clips at least two fully reliable protection points, a.k.a. bolts.

“What's up with that double loop bowline on a bight? Isn’t a bowline an unstable knot? Is that redundant with just the one strand around the knot? What if you ring load it, is that a problem?“ The double loop bowline on a bight has been extensively tested by Canadian and European mountaineering associations, who had determined it’s fine for this application. Test result: 20 kN, #SuperGoodEnough!

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So, what if you don’t have a nifty Fixe vertical anchor rig like the above photo, but a standard American style two bolt horizontal anchor? No worries - here’s one of several ways to do it. This can be tied with cord or webbing, here were using a sewn sling. (Note, this is pretty much the same system shown in the drawing at the very top of the page, just turned horizontally.)

You need:

1. one sewn double length / 120 cm runner, nylon preferred (also works with a cord loop)

2. one regular carabiner

3. two locking carabiners, with1 of them a pear shaped , HMS belay carabiner, if belaying from a Munter hitch. Canadian Guide Sean Isaac likes the Edelrid HMS Strike Triple FG carabiner, which is a triple action, captive eye carabiner that makes for a more secure belay.

First, prepare your anchor sling. You could tie this with a simple overhand loop. But a bowline on a bight (aka double loop bowline) is better, because the two loops are stronger and its easier to untie if you want to. Now, most folks have never tied a double loop bowline, let alone in webbing. It can be a little tricky to tie correctly. If you tie it wrong, you may get a slipknot. If you tie it correctly, you should have two small loops a couple of inches in diameter.  So, take your time and do it right.

Once you're tie it, you probably don't have to untie it for a while. (If you happen to catch some big whippers on it, probably best to untie it and retie the loops in a different spot.)

Tip: Put the sewn bar tacks on the far other end away from where you tie the bowline on a bight.

I know of two ways to tie a double loop bowline. The diagram below is probably the simplest. The video shows another method.

image: Georg Sojer, https://www.outdoor-magazin.com/klettern/basiskurs-alpines-klettern/

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Vertical anchors 101

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This article was written with editing assistance from Silas Rossi, IFMGA Certified Guide. Connect with Silas at Alpine Logic.

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Vertically oriented chain anchors tend to be more common in Europe and Canada than in many parts of the United States, but they are catching on. While they can be rigged for one pitch top rope climbs, they really shine on multi pitch routes, where the rappel (descent) is the same as the ascent.

The photo above shows a “all in one” vertical chain anchor made by the Spanish company Fixe. Note that the hangers, chain and ring are all welded together. While these are popular, they have the small drawbacks of a fixed length of chain, and no way to replace individual components.

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An alternative is to build your own vertical chain anchor, using quick links to connect components. Doing this allows adjustment of the chain length to better fit any rock bulges or pockets, and allows easy replacement of individual parts as needed. If you do this, try to use CE climbing rated quick links, that test to about 40 kN, not hardware store links with a questionable lineage and no CE rating. Secure the links with Loctite and pliers. Here's an example of a vertical chain anchor made from separate components.

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Fixe recently updated this anchor. There’s now a ring at the top bolt hanger, instead of the welded chain link. See photo below. The example shown in the rest of the photos on this page is the older model.

image: fixehardware.com/index.php/fixe-plx-duplex-ss-1-2-traditional-anchor.html

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Where to clip?

It's best practice to avoid clipping the horizontal hanger on the bottom. Most of the time this will be OK. But in some cases with certain styles of carabiner, they can get twisted and torqued in some strange ways. I've never heard of one breaking, but it's usually better to clip the ring or the top vertical hanger.

(There is a long-standing climbing myth that Fi\xe actually recommends doing this. However I’ve looked through their technical documentation and can't find any recommendation, so I think this is not true.)

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What are the advantages of a vertical chain anchor?

• Simplifies clipping to an anchor that’s redundant and very strong. This is especially helpful when rappelling; clip your tether to any component of the anchor and you’re attached to two bolts instead of one.

• Efficient use of materials. It can be less expensive (compared to two hangers, four quicklinks and two chains) and the route setter does not have to deal with cutting chain links or carrying unneeded heavy hardware to the crag and up the route.

• Gives the route setter more flexibility in where the anchor goes, especially important in rock with pockets, protrusions, erosion, etc. Choosing to use a vertical anchor can depend on the rock structure and geology.

• Zero twisting of the rope when lowering or rappelling, because it’s only going through one bit of anchor hardware. Plus, because the ring always hangs perpendicular to the rock, you're probably going to have an easier rope pull with less friction.

• Lower visual impact. This is a concern in some areas.

However, using these anchors can be a bit of a head-scratcher for climbers who are used to a pair of horizontal matched bolts and chains. What should I use as a master point? Can I REALLY trust that ring? The doozy for many people, is it really redundant and/or equalized?! And sheesh, can I ignore all of this confusing hardware and just clip a quad or cordelette to the bolts?

Let's address some common concerns about vertical chain anchors.

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“It's not redundant.”

Yes, you’re fully relying on the single ring at the bottom. But it's made of 10 mm welded stainless steel rod. Hownot2.com tested two of these rings. One broke at 90 kN and the other broke at 47 kN. You can see the ring results here in their YouTube video. (Steel ring testing starts at 6:00.)

You can hang (4? 5?) Toyotas from it, and it’s WAY stronger than all of the things you normally rely on that are single point and not redundant, such as your belay loop, your rope, your harness, all of your carabiners, probably the bolt that you just took several huge falls on . . .

Plus, both the ring is right there in the open and easy to inspect, as opposed to a bolt in the rock.

“The load isn’t equalized.”

Correct, it's not. When using the ring, all the load is pretty much on the bottom bolt, with the top bolt backing it up. A modern, properly placed  ⅜” (10mm) bolt, or better yet ½” (12mm) bolts should hold more than 25 kN. There's really no need to try to equalize the load between bolts this strong.

“Clipping to the ring clogs it up, so another team can't use it to rappel.”

This often can be true in a more traditional anchor that might have a small chain link or quick link at the bottom. However, with this anchor, and the giant ring, it's not a concern. Even if you're clipped to the ring, there's plenty of room to thread the rappel over the top of your carabiner. Plus, there's a simple technique for a “down” team to pass an “up” team - the up team adds their locking carabiner to their anchor, and the down team clips their rope to it for a rappel. See a full article on that here.

“You’re clipping metal to metal. Clipping a carabiner to a rappel ring can damage it.”

Clipping a couple of locking carabiners to each other and an anchor when you're standing right there to monitor them is totally fine. Plus, your soft aluminum carabiner is never going to put any nicks or scratches on the much harder steel ring. (It's like using a plastic ice scraper on a car windshield; the soft plastic is never going to hurt the much harder glass.)

“What's up with that funky horizontal hanger on the bottom?”

The horizontal hanger allows the welded steel ring to sit perpendicular to the rock, which usually gives an easier rope pull after you rappel. If you had a normal vertical hanger at the bottom, the ring would lie flat against the rock which increases friction, not good.

“This causes tri-axial (3 direction) loading on the carabiner, that’s bad.”

Yes, technically the master point carabiner (see below) is being potentially loaded in three different directions. But, under realistic recreational climbing scenarios, any potential load is going to be very small, like 2-3 kN, and well within the capabilities of the carabiner.

I have a whole article on the issue of tri-axial loading, and Black Diamond did some testing on it. You can learn more here.

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There are three basic uses for a vertical chain anchor: 1) rappel, 2) top rope, and 3) multi pitch. Let's look at a few possible rigging examples for each of these.

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1 - Rappel

There are several ways to rig this. A convenient one is to clip a master point carabiner into the ring, and then have you and your partner clip to the master carabiner. This moves both tethers below the ring, which can make threading the rope through a bit easier.

That's a big benefit to vertical chain anchors. You don't have to build your own anchor with slings or a quad, or have any concern with clipping two tethers to two different non-redundant bolts.

Because of the single ring, you get zero twisting when you pull your rope. =^)

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2 - Toprope

While vertical anchors are perhaps better suited for multi pitch and rappelling, you can of course use them for toproping. (While it's usually fine to lower the last person through the ring, typical climbing etiquette is that you don’t set up a top rope that directly weights the ring. Hopefully you know this already.)

Is someone rappelling the route while you're toproping? Consider this solution: be polite, take a break, and let them rappel on your rope. Generally, it's good practice to yield to the team that is coming down.

Top rope method #1: Clip two opposite and opposed carabiners onto the ring, clip the rope to the carabiners, and lower off. (If you're concerned about the whole load on the single ring, you could leave a quick draw on the next lower bolt, and run the rope through that as a backup.) But remember, that ring is rated at 50 kN.

Top rope method #2 (easy-to-clean): Clip the carabiner on the chain above the ring. Rig the rope through the ring and through the carabiner, and lower off. Here's a link to the procedure and videos on how to do this correctly.

All of the load goes to your carabiner, not the fixed hardware. The last person climbing the route cleans the carabiner and lowers off through the ring. This can be a good approach if the last person climbing doesn’t have the required experience to safely re-thread the rope through the ring and lower off. If you're doing this a lot, a steel carabiner can minimize the wear on your gear. Because the rope is already through the ring, the carabiner does not have to be locking.

Yes, the last person is being lowered through the fixed ring. This is generally considered the best practice, at least in most climbing areas in North America. But hey, if you prefer to rappel, you're welcome to do that instead. 

Depending on anchor configuration, this could potentially twist your rope when you lower your partner. In the photo below, notice the carabiner is clipped to a chain link that lies flat against the rock. Doing this orients the carabiner 90°, so it's facing out, same as the ring. This minimizes twists when lowering.

With the whole anchor pretty much in a straight vertical line, you're unlikely to get much twisting no matter how you rig this. If the bolts were more offset, like around 45° angle, then twisting may be more likely to happen.

If you do have twists in your rope, here’s a great way to get them out.

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3 - Multipitch

Note: In the next three photos, the extra rope between the leader tie in and the belay device is omitted for clarity.

One approach, maybe the simplest: clove hitch the leader to the ring and belay the second off the ring. No slings, no cordelette, no quad required.

“But wait”, I can hear some of you saying, “doesn't this obstruct the ring for anyone else who wants to rappel past you?” Not really. There's still room to thread the rope, and besides, the rappelling team doesn’t have to actually thread the ring. Learn more at this article.

The leader can also connect to one of the chain links.

Another option: clip a master point carabiner into the ring, and then add two additional locking carabiners to that for the leader’s connection and the belay.

If you have a spare HMS carabiner, this is a good way to go. It has a couple of benefits: 1) slightly less cluster and a bit more room to move around at the anchor; and 2) the ring is a bit more accessible for any other parties rappelling who may need to access it.

Finally, if you want to use the fixed point lead belay, this anchor is perfect for that. Here's one way to rig it.

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And, after all that, if you’re happier with a quad . . . you can do that too!

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“Drop end 3:1” for crevasse rescue

This article was reviewed by IFMGA Certified Guide Rob Coppolillo, co-author of “The Mountain Guide Manual” and author of “The Ski Guide Manual”. Connect with Rob: @vettamtnguides and his website.

Credit to AMGA Certified Rock Guide Ryan Tilley, who made a video about this method. Kevin Govan @govanathon and Pierre_Gtr @biderchurch also mentioned it to me.

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There are two primary systems commonly used for crevasse rescue; the “drop loop C”, and the “Z drag.” While they each have their pros and cons, the drop loop C has become the modern standard. Here's a longer article with pro tips on the drop loop C.

“Drop loop C” - 2:1 mechanical advantage

• Pro: Brake knots in the rope don’t interfere with your hauling system.

• Pro: You can prepare the crevasse lip to more easily pull out your unfortunate partner. 

• Pro: Puts the lowest load onto the anchor; (approx 1x your pulling force.)

• Con: You usually need to carry at least twice the length of rope that’s between team members to be able to drop a loop. This usually means a two person team needs at least a 60 meter rope.

• Con: if the middle person falls in on a 3 person team, this might be a problem, because the end person may not have enough rescue rope to reach them.

“Z drag” - 3:1 mechanical advantage

• Pros: You can set up the haul system with a small amount of extra rope. This can allow teams to travel on a shorter rope.

• Cons: Pretty much the mirror image of the 2:1 system: Brake knots can cause problems, and the rope often cuts into the lip of the crevasse.

• Cons: Puts a larger load on to the anchor, (approx 2x your pulling force.)

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However, these aren’t your only options. What if you could combine these systems to get most of the benefits and few of the downsides?

That's what you get with a “drop end 3:1”.

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Benefits of the drop end 3:1:

• Lets you prepare the lip so the rescue line doesn’t cut into the snow. 

• Brake knots are not an issue, ignore them. 

• Gives you more pulling power than a 2:1. (Both systems are easy to convert to a 6:1 if you need too.)

• Easily reversible to a lower if needed.

• Requires a LOT less rope! No need to have twice the amount of rope between partners, like with a drop loop.

• Can be easier to rescue the middle person (that dirty little secret of crevasse rescue that often is not discussed when using a drop loop C.)

• Allows a team to use a shorter rope. For a two person team using the drop C method, to maintain adequate spacing, maybe tie 3 or 4 brake knots (which take about 1 meter of rope each) AND for each partner to carry at least twice the length of rope as rescue coils, you pretty much need a 60 meter rope at a minimum. (This is counterintuitive for most people; a two person team needs a 60 meter rope, while a three person team can use a 50 meter rope!)

• This also lets a three person team use a shorter rope. For example, you could have a three person team on a 40 meter rope: (11-9-middle-9-11) 9 meters between each climber, and each end person carrying 11 meters of rope.

• Allows a greater spacing between climbers with the same length of rope. For example, in an area with large crevasses, a three person team might choose to use a 60 meter rope, and have 14 meters between climbers (16-14-middle-14-16) with this system. With a drop loop C system, you'd need to do at least 20-10-middle-10-20, with 10 meters between each climber, in case of a middle climber fall.

• You learn ONE primary system that works in just about every scenario, instead of learning two different systems that may not work in every case and can be confusing to learn and remember, years later, in the heat of battle.

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Drop end 3:1 crevasse rescue sequence (team of three):

1. Unfortunate Climber 1 falls in a crevasse. (The climbers on top remember that Climber 1 has the car keys, so they decide to pull ‘em out.)

2. Climber 2 (middle) and Climber 3 (end) on top arrest the fall.

3. Climber 2 builds an anchor and transfers the load by clipping their clip in bight knot to the anchor. Climber 1 is now secure on the anchor.

4. Climber 3 puts a friction hitch onto the rope to secure themselves, unclips from their clip in knot, and unties their clip in knot.

5. Climber 3, sliding their friction hitch along the rope to secure themselves, approaches the edge of the crevasse to check on climber 1. 

6. Climber 1 calls up that they want/need to be hauled out.

7. Climber 3 ties a bight knot in the END of the rope, clips a locking carabiner to it, lowers the carabiner down to climber 1, and tells them to clip the carabiner to their belay loop.

8. Meanwhile, Climber 2 builds a 3:1 Z drag anywhere that’s convenient, such as on the backside of the bight knot that's clipped to the anchor. 

9. Climber 3 prepares the lip of the crevasse a bit off to one side by carefully knocking off loose snow, and puts their ice axe onto the edge of the crevasse so the rescue rope won’t dig in.

10. Climber 2 and Climber 3 start hauling, climber 1 gets pulled up.

11.  If this 3:1 for some reason doesn’t give enough pulling power, it's easy to convert it to a (theoretical) 6:1.

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Assuming a 3 person team with a 50 meter rope, here’s the process in photos.

The rigging in these photos is compressed into a small area for the demo. In reality this is stretched out over much more rope.

The team is rigged and ready for glacier travel:

• The middle person is clipped to the middle of the rope. (Side note: a good rope for glacier travel is a dry treated half rope. One good option is the Sterling Duetto 8.4 mm, which comes in convenient lengths like 30, 40, and 50 meters.)

• The lead and end climbers, also clipped to the rope, are about 11 meters away (about 7 full arm spans, for me) either direction from the middle person.

• The end climbers carry the extra rope (about 14 meters each) as rescue coils. This gives a rope spacing of 14-11-middle-11-14.

• The team has brake knots between each climber to hopefully limit the fall distance. (This is optional for a three person team, but can be a good idea in some situations.)

Whoops, the lead climber (Klimber Kettlebell), falls into a crevasse!

The partners on top arrest the fall. The middle climber builds an anchor and transfers the load by clipping their clip in bight knot to the anchor. The end climber on top secures themselves to the rope with a friction hitch, unties their clip-in knot, and unties any remaining brake knots. This frees up all of the remaining rope (25 meters) to use for a rescue.

On the back side of the connection to the anchor, tie a butterfly knot as a secondary anchor point. This is optional, but has some benefits: it makes an easy-to-clip, uncluttered anchor point, can help keep rope strands from pinching/twisting/crossing, and makes it easy to build a 6:1 mechanical advantage system if you need it later.

Approach the lip of the crevasse carefully, you don't want to knock down a bunch of snow onto your partner. They’re already having a bad day, don't make it worse. Be sure you’re secured to the rope with a friction hitch.

Ask your partner what they need. In this case, let's assume they yell, “Pull me up!”

In the END of the rescue rope, tie a bight knot and clip a locking carabiner to it. Do not lock it.

Lower this locker to your unfortunate partner.

“Drop end”, get it?

Unfortunate partner clips locker to their belay loop and locks it. They are now secure on the “dropped” strand and are ready to be hauled out on this strand.

Prepare the lip of the crevasse.

• If you can do this off to the side a bit from your unfortunate partner, that's a good thing.

• Knock down loose snow that’s under the rescue strand, and put an ice axe or something similar under the rope so it doesn't cut into the snow. Onto the original strand your partner fell on, secure your axe so it doesn't fall in and get lost. (Securing the axe is not shown in the photo).

• Pro tip: if you think you need to rappel into the hole to render assistance, it's easy to add your rappel device with an extension below your friction hitch, which greatly simplifies getting back out of the hole in guide mode. Here's a detailed article on that technique.

Build a 3:1 Z drag haul system with the rescue rope. Use the butterfly knot you tied as the anchor point. You need a progress capture in the system; here I'm using a Petzl Micro Traxion.

Pro tip: dig out a little hole with your hands under the Traxion pulley. This prevents snow/ice from jamming into the toothed cam. =^)

In this example, we assume that the two partners doing the rescue have a Traxion and a pulley to use. Using both of these, you get a calculated mechanical advantage of 2.7 to 1. Not quite a 3:1, but about as good as it gets. Quite a bit better than the calculated mechanical advantage of a drop loop C, which is 1.9 to 1.

Note that in the real world, the friction over the lip of the crevasse will further reduce the actual efficiency any hauling system.

Nice! You’re ready to haul.

• Push the “tractor” friction hitch as far as you can toward the edge of the crevasse.

• Start pulling on your 3:1. With a 3:1 system, the load on the anchor is two times the force of your pulling. So, keep that pulling force slow and steady by trying to walk slowly and continuously backward, rather than doing a “1,2,3 HEAVE,” type of pull, which can put a higher peak load on the anchor.

• As your victim gets close, be sure to check on them often to be sure they don't get pulled up into the crevasse lip.

• keep a good eye on them.

• Reset the system as needed.

Here's a close-up of the 3:1 Z drag.

If you need more pulling power, it's easy to convert this into a 6:1 system.

There are various ways to do this, here's one that's pretty simple. Add a clove hitch, prusik loop or rope grab onto the pull strand, and clip the backside of the rope coming off of your secondary anchor to this.

You have now have a 2:1 on top of the 3:1, giving you a 6:1 theoretical mechanical advantage. To move the load 1 meter, you need to pull 6 meters of rope through the system.

This puts a load on the anchor of approximately five times the amount of pulling force you’re applying. If you're gonna use a 6:1, be sure your anchor system is as solid as you can make it. If you started with a single buried deadman anchor, you might want to add another one and try to equalize the two pieces.

The calculated mechanical advantage of this is around 4.7 to 1. If you had one additional pulley, you could put it on the purple carabiner, and increase your mechanical advantage to around 5.1 to 1. Friction at every change of direction reduces your efficiency. The more pulleys you can use, the better your efficiency.

Tip to increase pulling efficiency: if you have one pulley, it's best to put it closest to the strand that is getting the initial pulling force. In this case, I moved the pulley from the initial 3:1 friction hitch onto this new rope grab.

Here's a close-up of the 6:1 mechanical advantage rigging, called a “C on a Z”.

We built a 2:1 on top of the 3:1. This is called a compound pulley system. You multiply the two forces together to get a 6:1.

Here, I pretended I was a bit short on gear, so I used a clove hitch on the pull strand. Yes, resetting that means untying and retying, which is a hassle. Any sort of rope grab (prusik, Tibloc, Traxion) works better, but hey, be resourceful and use what you have.

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So, that's a look at the drop end 3:1 for crevasse rescue.

It's fast to set up, it's one simple system that you can use in just about any scenario, it requires minimal gear, and you can easily increase it to a 6 to 1 if you need the turbo pull.

Is this “better’ than the drop C? Could the drop end 3:1 become the new standard practice?

Now I get it, there are many different approaches to crevasse rescue and I have no illusions that this is suddenly going to become to go to method. People are very attached to what they’ve learned. But methods evolve, better systems are invented, and it's good to keep an open mind about something that just might work better than the way you're doing it.

Give them both a try and see which one works for you.

Stick clip a preplaced quickdraw with the double loop slipknot

Do you need to clip a “project” quick draw that’s already on a bolt?

Provided you have a stick or something similar that can reach the bolt, and you know how to tie this crafty double slipknot, it’s easy. 

1. From your tie in, pull at least enough rope to get from you to the first bolt. 

2. Tie a double loop slipknot. (Yes, this is probably a new knot, but you’ll probably learn it after a couple of tries; watch the video below)

3. Put one of the two loops into a stick, trekking pole, or something similar, and tighten that loop down.

4. Push the stick up, and carefully slide the other open loop around the bottom carabiner of your quick draw. 

5. Pull on the strand of rope going to the loop around the quick draw.

6. That slipknot will close and snap into the carabiner. Schweeeet, you’re clipped! Magic!

7. Pull down on the stick, and pull on the other strand of rope. 

8. This should release the other half of the slipknot. If you did it right, voilà your rope is now in the draw with no knots in the rope. 

9. Get a well-earned high five from your partner for knowing this crafty rope trick. 😀

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It’s a better show than a tell, watch the video below. 

A closer look at the “American Death Triangle”

This article has contributions from Over the Edge Rescue, IFMGA Certified Guide Karsten Delap, and HowNot2.com

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Short version: the American Death Triangle (ADT) is not a preferred method for rigging anchors, but it's not as bad as you might think. With anchor angles typical in climbing (under 90 degrees), the ADT puts about 100% of the load onto each anchor point; the exact amount depends on the angle. The main problem with it is zero redundancy; if the sling fails, so do you. If you have to use one in the wild, provided the sling is in good shape, you're probably going to be fine.

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American Death Triangle: top rope setup

American Death Triangle: rappel setup

The so-called “American Death Triangle” (“ADT”) in the early days of climbing, was a fairly common way to build anchors. It uses a minimum amount of webbing, and offers good equalization. At first glance it appears to be serviceable, even if it ignored a few basic rules of physics. Plus, you have to admit it's a catchy name!

However, for a long time it’s been roundly slammed in just about every climbing book ever written. “Don’t use it! Load multiplication! It creates dangerous forces on the anchors!” is usually about the extent of it.

Overall, that’s good advice. There are almost always better options for rigging that are redundant and put lower force on the anchor points.

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But, you might wonder, how bad is it, really?

Before word got out that they weren't so great, ADTs were used for probably tens of thousands of anchors over decades. Did you ever hear of one failing? Are “catastrophic” forces really being created? If someday you have to use one in the wild, is it a YGD (Yer Gonna Die) scenario? What about other related configurations, like rappelling off of side-by-side rings, or lowering off of an adjacent route, or slinging a big boulder, that are sort of the same thing?

While the ADT may not be as bad as you might think, there are some reasonable concerns (listed in rough order of importance)

• It’s not redundant. In the photos above, any failure of the sling/cord means the whole anchor fails. That's the primary problem!

• It can put a inward / sideways pull on your gear, which could be an issue. For example, a piton in a horizontal crack could be plenty strong enough for a downward pull, but maybe not for an inward pull. More on that below.

• It can increase the load onto the anchor points. The amount of this increase is related to the angle at the bottom of the triangle. It's rarely more than 1X the actual load onto each anchor point. More on that below. If the anchors are reasonably solid, this is probably not a concern.

• You're only using the strength of a single strand of the material, instead of doubling it up, which increases the strength.

• If one anchor point failed, it's likely you’re going to have some extension onto the the remaining piece, no bueno.

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Since load multiplication is the main concern most people have, let's look at that first. (We’ll keep the physics and math as simple as possible, I promise!)

Pretty much every “Climbing Anchors 101” class has a diagram something like the one below. The smaller the angle between the two legs, the better the load sharing on the anchor points. As you get close to 180°, like on a slackline or Tyrolean traverse, the load multiplication gets ridiculous. This is for sure a good principle to keep in mind for standard anchor building.

Do you remember a vector force diagram like this from your anchor class? I suspect that this is at the root of the idea that the ADT causes high forces: “Horizontal rope in anchor ALWAYS equals super duper load multiplication.”

However, this does NOT apply to the ADT, where are the load direction is completely different from the diagram below.

image: https://www.ropebook.com/information/vector-forces/

Let's check the numbers

Here’s a nice chart from “Rock Climbing: The AMGA Single Pitch Manual” by Bob Gaines and Jason Martin. This is the only book I’ve seen with actual data on the ADT.

The second column, “V rigging”, refers to a standard way of clipping a sling to each anchor, making two arms, and then tying it off with a bight knot.

source: “Rock Climbing: The AMGA Single Pitch Manual” by Bob Gaines and Jason Martin

Turns out, with a 100 lb load and a small bottom angle of approximately 30°, there’s only 82 pounds of force being put on each leg of an ADT anchor. That’s a bit more than the 52 pounds or so on each leg with standard “V rigging”, but nothing close to catastrophic.

Even at a 90° angle, about as large as you would normally want to go, the ADT only puts 130 pounds on each anchor. Again, not close to catastrophic. (If your anchor placements can't hold 130 pounds, you've got some much bigger problems!)

So check that out, load multiplication is not really a problem!

For you engineers and more visual folks who want to see the math behind this and some nice diagrams, check out this webpage from our New Zealand friends at Over the Edge Rescue.

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Rappelling on adjacent rings?

I've heard this question a few times: What about rappelling on adjacent rings? Does that create any sort of a dangerous death triangle? Short answer is no. The angle created by your rappel device in the photo is quite small, 30° or less. This creates a load on each anchor point that's just a bit more than your body weight. The bolts can easily handle that, plus they can take a load in any direction, so no worries. (Check out the HowNot2com video link at the bottom, at around 12 minutes, to see some testing on this.)

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Stone hitch?

Here’s a similar situation. There’s a Stone hitch tied below the anchor, which isolates each strand of rope, typically so you can rappel on a single strand.

Does this create a dangerous ADT on the anchors? Yes it's an ADT, but with those bolts it’s certainly not dangerous. For rappelling, where the load is never going to be more than 1-2 kN, load multiplication is of no concern.

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Lowering from an adjacent route?

Scenario: Say you have two different bolt anchors that are the same height at the top of the climb. If you climb the left route, clip 1 anchor, traverse to the right, clip the other anchor, and then lower off without pulling your rope through the first anchor, are you making any sort of dangerous ADT?

Answer: no. A clever engineer friend of mine calculated that the force on each anchor is just a little over the climber’s body weight. (To be more specific, the right anchor takes about 1.25x the climber’s weight, and the left anchor takes about 0.9x the climber’s weight.) So the takeaway: no problem!

If you do this, be aware that you’ll need more rope to safely lower your partner to the ground, so be SURE your rope is long enough!

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What are the real world forces?

In the “rappel setup” photo near the top of the page, the joining knot is on the legs of the triangle between the load and the anchor. What if we put the knot on the base of the triangle instead, horizontally between the anchor points? Would the knot see increased forces, or decreased forces?

In the photo below, we have an approximate equilateral triangle, with 60° in each leg, and the joining knot, a Flemish bend, between the two anchor points. Say we have a load of 100 kg hanging off of the rappel ring. Will the knot see less than, equal to, or greater than 100 kg? Take a guess!

Answer: quite a bit less. That's because the friction on each of the anchor points absorb some of the load. The actual amount depends on the slickeriness of the material you're using, and what it's actually running through at the anchor, but the takeaway is that the base of a triangle sees the lowest amount of force. Is that surprising? It was to me!

(Note on the photo below: yes I know you could put your rope directly through the rappel rings and ignore the entire ADT rigging, but I needed to set up like this to get a equilateral triangle with the length of cord I had . . . =^)

The theoretical force on each bolt would be the same as the load, or 100 pounds. But because the cord is running through the rappel rings, this friction actually reduces the force going to the hangers, which is a good thing. With a 60° equilateral triangle, about 80% of the load goes to the bolt, and about 36% is seen by the knot (a Flemish bend, in case you’re wondering).

Below is a screen grab from our friends at HowNot2.com who tested pretty much the same set up.

With a load of 2.4 kN at the master point:

• the base of the triangle between the anchor points saw a load of 0.9 kN, about 36% of the load.

• each bolt saw a load of 1.96 kN, about 80% of the load.

(There's a link to the whole video at the bottom of the page.)

image: HowNot2.com, screeng rab from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sQNpjnJe40

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Changing the direction of force

Here's a diagram that shows a bit how that works. (Original diagram credit: Over the Edge Rescue).

In the diagram, we have an ADT with angles of 60° on each side, an equilateral triangle. “A” are the two anchor points, and “L is the load.

Check out the blue arrows pointing inward from the anchors. This is known as the “resultant”, and it's the change in direction of force caused by the ADT. This means that instead of having the force going down the legs of the anchor directly to the load, it's instead directed inward, halfway between the base of the triangle and the two legs.

In this example, if we have a load of 100 kg at the bottom, 0.6 of that load (red circles, 60 kg) goes to each leg of the anchor. This results in a theoretical force of 100 kg on each of the two anchor points, pulling in the direction of the blue arrows. (As we saw above, in the real world because of friction, this force on the two anchor points would be reduced, but for here let's use the theoretical model.)

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Here's an example of how this “resultant” force might cause a problem: two pitons in a horizontal crack. Either of these would probably be good for a more downward pull, which we would have with a “V rigged” anchor.

However, the ADT puts a larger INWARD force on the pitons, which could cause them to fail. This is another problem with the ADT, loading gear in a direction you may not have anticipated.

(image credit: Karsten Delap

image credit: karsten delap, from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW15yKu1ATM

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More resources . . .

Sheesh, the ADT even has its own Wikipedia page!

Our New Zealand friends at Over The Edge Rescue have an article that will appeal to the engineers.

IFMGA Certified Guide Karsten Delap has a nice article on his website, along with the video below.

HowNot2.com has a detailed video on the ADT.

Retreat anchors - alpine climbing

This article was written with assistance from Max Lurie, an AMGA Certified Rock and Alpine Guide. Connect with Max at his website and Instagram.

Note - This post discusses techniques and methods used in vertical rope work. If you do them wrong, you could die. Always practice vertical rope techniques under the supervision of a qualified instructor, and ideally in a progression: from flat ground, to staircase, to vertical close to the ground before you ever try them in a real climbing situation.

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Be it challenging weather, poor route conditions, route finding errors, or just general loss of mojo, there can be lots of valid reasons to turn around on an alpine route. It may not be something you actively planned for, but it needs to be handled with the same level of focus and detail as any other part of your climb.

When you retreat / bail (and yes, it’s “when, and not “if”), be it a one pitch sport climb or a major alpine adventure, the objectives should be similar: get to the ground in one piece, with each anchor point simple to build and strong enough to rappel on, and leave a minimum of gear behind.

Let's be clear on one thing: this is no time to be a cheapskate. Yes, we hate to leave gear behind, but if you HAVE to leave your beloved #3 Camalot for a rappel anchor, then do it without hesitation. The simple question is, what's your life worth? At the same time, you don't want to over build your anchors, and leave behind gear that you might need lower down if multiple rappels are required.

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Alpinist Steve House has a terrific video on “Failing Well”. “Success on a climb is going up, making good decisions, and coming back. That's the outcome we should be attached to. To me, that’s what ‘fail well’ means.”

Six minute YouTube video, highly recommended. Takeaways:

• Strategic retreat is an inherent part of alpine climbing. It’s a skill that improves with practice.

• Having solid retreat technique can give you the confidence to try harder routes, knowing that you can retreat from just about anywhere.

• Maintain awareness when ascending. The way up might also be the (unplanned) way down. Remember potential anchor points, problem areas and the right way to go.

• Retreat is often done under stress, tiredness, darkness, bad weather, etc. All the more reason to turn up your focus and awareness to counter these compounding factors.

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Some general guidelines for retreat anchors . . .

Use two equalized pieces whenever possible. Sure, the classic climbing books are full of epic stories of rapping off of a single stopper or piton. One that’s perfectly placed should be sufficiently strong, but that shouldn’t be your first choice unless things are really desperate.

This anchor is only for rappelling, so the “rules” change a bit. The belay anchor general principle of striving for “three good pieces“ doesn’t necessarily apply to a rappel anchor. If you rappel smoothly on a dynamic rope, the anchor will only see about 1-2 kN, and the direction of force will always be down. So good news, your anchor doesn’t need to be multi-directional or tremendously strong. However, we're still aiming for some other core anchor principles of strong (enough), redundant, load distribution, and no extension.

The examples below don’t use carabiners on the gear. You’d never make a proper belay anchor like this as regular practice, but it's acceptable for an emergency rappel anchor. It's fine to run cord or webbing through stopper wires for a rappel anchor; it holds 8+ kN. (See previous point, the rules change a bit.)

To minimize forces on your anchor, rappel smoothly and don't jump / bounce around.

Keep your rigging simple. You should really only need one or two variations on the basic theme, so no need to get overly fancy. You're probably going to be doing this under a bit of stress, and bailing on marginal anchors is not something most people practice very often. Keeping your rigging clean and simple makes it easier to check and to remember.

You're going to need a fair amount cordage (and maybe a few slings) so plan ahead. 5 mm cord (rated to about 5.5 kN) is light and easy to carry, so consider that if you anticipate making a lot of anchors. Tying those pesky knots always seems to take up more cord than you think! Plan on about 2 meters of cord per anchor. You can get away with a bit less if the gear placements are right next to each other, or if you use some clever knots like maybe a fisherman’s.

What about webbing? Tubular webbing can work as a retreat anchor, but it has a few downsides compared to cord. 1) Webbing strength drops off quickly if it gets damaged, unlike cord that has more of a protective sheath. 2) Webbing is more easily degraded by ultraviolet light. 3) Webbing usually requires tying a water knot, which can be a little finicky and a hassle to tie if you have gloves and/or cold fingers. For these reasons, cord is usually a better choice. (See an example below of how to use a sewn sling.)

Use your cordelette. Six meters or so of cord (7mm is the standard) makes a cordelette for the way up; you can think of that is equal to about three potential anchors if you need them for the way down. If you and your partner each carry a cordelette, together that should be good for about 5-6 anchors.

Carry a knife, so you can cut up your cordage (or maybe even an end off your climbing rope) to make an anchor. Also, a knife is useful for cleaning up any rat nest of old sun-crusted cord and webbing you often find at alpine anchors. Good rule of thumb, if you add cord to improve an existing anchor, remove the oldest piece(s) and take it with you.

Don't have a knife? It’s remarkably easy to cut through rope or webbing with a small length of 2 or 3 mm cord. Tie a bight knot in each end, clip the loops to a pair of carabiners for handles, and then rapidly saw back-and-forth through the material that's under some tension. You’ll cut it through in a few seconds.

Look first for a tree or rock horn. Give it a good kick first to assess its strength. You can drape a sling or tied loop around this and use it for a rappel, with no gear left behind. Note: use caution with putting the rope directly around/over a tree or rock horn; the friction could make pulling the rope difficult or impossible.

Stoppers and maybe a knife blade piton or two are good choices for retreat anchors. Stoppers are inexpensive, strong, easy to check if you have a good placement (well, the bigger ones, anyway) , easy to bounce test, and can be set in rock that’s dry, wet, icy, or muddy. If you happen to have a hammer, such as on an ice tool, feel free to use it to smack on the piton as well as the stopper. To weld in a stopper placement, you can beat on it Neanderthal-style with a fist size rock (and maybe your nut tool). But a hammer is always going to be better. No one's going to be cleaning it, so don't be shy. If you find a fixed piton, see if there’s a nearby stopper placement you can use to equalize the two pieces.

Time for a Tricam? Tricams sometimes don't get a lot of love, but they can be pretty sweet for retreat anchors. They can fit in parallel cracks, you can use them as a stopper, and they are inexpensive.

If you anticipate doing many rappels, you may want to take a few older carabiners with about 3 inches / 5 cm of athletic tape already wrapped onto the spine. This lets you make a “cheapskate locker”, which adds extra security to your rappel with zero extra cost. You can use the carabiners when climbing, and also have them as a convenient and secure anchor point when rappelling. Always good to get double duty out of your gear. (Thanks to IFMGA Guide Jeff Ward for this crafty “pre-wrap tape on a carabiner” tip.)

It's good practice to backup the rappel anchor with another solid piece or two when possible. Then, bounce test the anchor, and send the heaviest person down with the biggest pack first. If primary anchor holds fine for them, it should also hold for the lighter person going down second. The second cleans the backup gear and descends on the primary anchor. (This climbing axiom seems to have been made by large, heavy people . . . =^)

Add a metal connection to the master point, or not? If you carry quicklinks (5mm is a good size for a bail anchor) or rappel rings, this is a fine time to use them. Quicklinks have the advantage of having a very small opening, so it's impossible for a knot to pass through, which makes setting up a double rope rappel a bit easier. This is also a good time to donate your least favorite carabiner.

It's also okay to run the rope directly through the cord. Just know you're going to have some extra friction (and potentially damage the anchor cord) when you pull your rope. Normally you wouldn’t do this because it's best practice to leave the cord in good condition for someone else, but if you’re retreating, hopefully no one else is going to be using that anchor for a long time, if ever.

Be wary of the “bail trail”. Don't be tempted to depart from your route to go towards a retreat anchor that someone else has left. If your route description says “belay from the ledge”, and you see some sketchy looking stoppers equalized with a shoelace on terrain that looks clearly off route, that probably means it's a bail anchor and not a belay anchor intended for ascending.

Leave a cam if you have to. Yes, your life is worth it. If you have a perfect placement for a larger cam, versus fiddling around trying to equalize several different stoppers, go for the one cam and get the hell down, especially if you have multiple pitches to go and it's starting to rain, getting dark, etc.

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There are some approaches to building retreat anchors that can be definitely strong enough for rappelling, yet require a minimum amount of gear - and maybe no carabiners at all.

Let's look at a few.

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1. Place two good stoppers. Thread some cord through both of them, and tie a flat overhand bend to make a loop.

2. Pull down the cord, making a “U” shape.

3. Girth hitch a carabiner (here another cheapskate locker) or a quick link.

This approach is fast, requires minimal fiddling with knots, and uses a small amount of cord.

Potential downside, you need to leave behind some hardware to make the girth hitch. (If you had another foot or so of cord, you could tie an overhand on a bight here rather than the girth hitch.)

If you're new to the girth hitch master point, yes, it's legit and yes, it’s redundant. Read a more on the girth hitch anchor here.

A note on stopper placement: In these examples, the gear is placed close to the outside of the crack, because that's where they fit. But feel free to bury them deeper if you think it gives you a stronger or more secure placement. No one is probably ever going to clean these, so don't let that be a concern.

Below left: girth hitch around a “cheapskate locker”; below right: around a quick link. (If you had another foot or two of cord, you could tie an overhand on a bight instead.)

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Next: instead of a girth hitch we have an overhand knot tied in both strands. This takes up another foot or so cord than the girth hitch, but gives a redundant two strand loop at the master point.

Want the ultra-minimalist approach? Run the rope directly through the cord. Yep, an anchor with zero carabiners! =^) The rope pull may be slightly more difficult because of the extra friction, but it should pull just fine.

Note, don’t make a regular habit had a building rappel anchors like this, especially if they're going to be used by anybody else, because pulling the rope will likely damage the anchor cord. But here it's an emergency retreat anchor, so it's acceptable.

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How about a sewn sling? Yes, you can girth hitch a Dyneema sling directly to a stopper wire like in the top placement. Believe it or not, that’s been tested to about 8 kN! (Again, don't get into the habit of making regular anchors like this, always use a carabiner if you have one. Remember, this is for a rappel anchor.) The connection point once again is a cheapskate locker with a girth hitch.

Here's another way to use a sewn sling. Girth hitch each strand through your gear, tie an overhand knot to roughly equalize the load (aka SWAMP anchor), and add a cheapskate locker.

(Extra credit if you use fun skull & crossbones hockey tape like this. =^)

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I think you get the idea. To summarize:

• Distribute the load to two good placements whenever possible.

• The anchor only needs to hold 2-3 kN maximum; strength is not the top priority.

• Choose a rigging method that allows for “no extension” if one piece fails.

• You’ll need about 2 meters of cord for each anchor. Bring extra cord if you anticipate multiple rappels.

• Keep rigging consistent and simple.

• Back up the anchor when possible for the first person down.

• Bring a knife.

• Pre-tape a few cheapskate lockers to leave behind.

• PRACTICE on the ground before you have to do it for real!

Anchor overview - a German perspective

image credit: Georg Sojer / Chris Semmel / VDBS

The German Mountain and Ski Guides Association (“Verband Deutscher Berg und Skiführer” or “VDBS”) has a well deserved reputation for professionalism and technical expertise.

German Mountain Guide / Bergfuhrer Chris Semmel published an interesting PDF file that summarizes some modern, “VSBS approved” approaches to anchor building. Many of them are quite different than what's used in the United States, so let's have a look!

Suggestion: When we encounter a technique that’s different from the one we currently use, it’s good to keep an open mind. There are few absolutes in climbing, “gotta do it this way or else”. Most everything else is somewhat subjective. Always practice new methods on the ground first, ideally with a qualified instructor.

A few notes, before we start:

• All images on this page are credited to Georg Sojer, Chris Semmel and the VDBS.

• Side note: Georg is a superb and funny cartoonist! Follow him on on the Insta: @sojercartoon

• Many of these anchors originated in the “South Tirol”, (Dolomites) which is in northern Italy and not Germany, but credit still goes to Chris and the VDBS. Let's not get hung up on country of origin here, okay?

• Graphics with the “VDBS “ logo are the recommended practice. Graphics without the logo are “alternative” methods.

• The images are screen grabs from a zoomed in PDF file, so sorry if the quality is not so great.

• I'm sure there are some native German speakers reading this who might take issue with some of my translation. I had help from a friend who is self-professed 90% fluent, so any mistakes I blame on him. =^) Let's stay focused on the image content and not get bogged down in tiny translation errors, okay?

• AlpineSavvy tries not to offer advice, only ideas and information. I’m absolutely not saying that you should go out and start using these techniques tomorrow, especially without knowing the context and having appropriate instruction. I say again, having appropriate instruction. (Doing this may require a trip to Europe, lucky you.)

• I'm not posting every graphic in the entire document, rather the ones I found personally interesting. I encourage you to check out the whole PDF file yourself; click the button below.

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The title of the PDF: ”Standplatzlogik VDBS 2019 - Ausbildungsstandard VDBS & Alternativen”

This translates as “Belay stance logic - VDBS training standards and alternatives.” This title alone caught my attention. It's “Professional German Guide Training Standards”, not, “random stuff I saw on the Internet that might work for anchor building.” =^)

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Let’s get to it!

Anchor 1 - Let's start off with something not very familiar to Americans, a single bolt. Yes, that's right, one bolt, no redundancy, that's all you got, better get comfortable with it. It's probably a glue in, it's probably about 20+ cm long, and you can probably hang a bulldozer off of it, but it's still one bolt.

It appears that the leader is cloved hitched directly to the yellow carabiner, and brings up the second with a Munter hitch on the black carabiner.

image credit: Georg Sojer / Chris Semmel / VDBS

image credit: Georg Sojer / Chris Semmel / VDBS

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Anchor 2 - Here's an anchor set up more familiar to the rest of the world, “two solid fixed points”. Do you see a sling, a quad, a cordelette, or any attempt at equalization? Nope! If you want to build an anchor using the rope, this is about as simple as it gets. All the load is obviously on the left bolt, with the right bolt only serving as a backup in the (1 in 100,000?) chance that the left bolt fails.

This reflects a different approach to anchor building in areas that have top-quality twin bolted anchors - there's really no need to try to equalize.

(Note, the rope appears to be tied to the belay loop and not the harness tie in points. I have heard this is done by some European climbers, and it's probably safe enough. But as an American I've personally never seen it, and recommend, as do most harness manufacturers, to use the two tie in points.)

image credit: Georg Sojer / Chris Semmel / VDBS

Here's another approach, in the diagram on the right. Instead of clove hitch, you can make a bight knot and belay from that.

image credit: Georg Sojer / Chris Semmel / VDBS - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rpPxbNOHjCQNFZmnI-qB9iEXun7Q4Qyf/view

Side note: Check out how the rope is tied to the harness in the diagram above: to the belay loop! This is definitely not standard practice in North America, but maybe in Germany?

Have a look at the diagram below, a screen grab from the Edelrid website. It clearly shows that tying to the belay loop is acceptable.

image: https://media.edelrid.de/images/attribut/54507_GAL_Gurte_Sport_ANSICHT.pdf

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Anchor 3 - The fixed point belay. Again, used with two solid bolts, and again, this puts all of the load on the left bolt with the right serving as backup. This time, instead of using the rope and two clove hitches to connect the bolts, you use a double length (120 cm) sling instead. The sling is tied with a double loop bowline on the left, and either a clove hitch with the end clipped, as shown on the left, or a simple overhand knot, as shown on the right.

This technique can be used here as shown, to bring up your partner(s), and it can also be used to belay the leader directly from the anchor. AlpineSavvy has a detailed article on the fixed point belay technique, read it here.

image credit: Georg Sojer / Chris Semmel / VDBS

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In the right side margin is this text. It's highlighted, I'm guessing it's pretty important. =^)

Yellow: “Dyneema at the belay as linear connection sling with double bowline: width starting at 10 mm recommended (careful with older 6 or 8 mm slings) In red: “NO old dyneema slings with knots at the belay”

image credit: Chris Semmel / VDBS

Takeaway: (I would guess that the applies to using Dyneema slings for any kind of anchor, not just a fixed point as shown.)

• Dyneema slings are fine to use when building an anchor.

• It's best practice to use slings that are 10+ mm.

• It's okay to put knots in them, provided the slings are relatively new.

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Anchor 4 - Now, this next one is pretty interesting. Lots of people think that if you build an anchor with the rope, you can’t block lead - you have to swap leads, because there's nowhere for the second to easily secure themselves. Well, the set up below lets you swap leads. It took me a minute or two to digest what was going on, look at the photo below and think it through. Using the quick draw on the top bolt is the key move.

This one is fairly complicated and definitely one to practice on the ground first!

1. Left: The second is belayed up on the light green rope with a munter hitch.

2. Center: The second clove hitches into the upper carabiner on the bottom bolt, removes the bottom carabiner, passes the rope behind the connection to the leader, and then clove hitches to the top carabiner of the quick draw.

3. Right: The leader is put on belay with a munter hitch from the bottom bolt, and clips the quick draw as the first piece for the next pitch.

image credit: Georg Sojer / Chris Semmel / VDBS

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Anchor 5 -Now we're getting into alpine anchors, with “2 fragile fixed points”. (See, your German is getting better already!) “Standard for load distribution.”

Notice, static equalization only. No sliding X, so no chance of suddenly loading the remaining anchor. An overhand knot on the left, and a girth hitch on the right. Yes, a girth hitch, it's fine to use that at the master point. Get used to it, you're about to see a few more. Learn more about the girth hitch master point here.

image credit: Georg Sojer / Chris Semmel / VDBS

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Anchor 6 - This one is pretty clever. Girth hitch on the ring at the top, pass a bight through the piton at the bottom, and then girth hitch the master point carabiner. Many people would assume this anchor would require three carabiners, but in fact you only need one. You can rig this same anchor if you find yourself at a chain anchor and are low on carabiners; learn how from this article.

image credit: Georg Sojer / Chris Semmel / VDBS

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Anchor 7 - Look, another girth hitch at the master point! Also note, this is tied with an open, or untied cordelette. This lets you thread one end through the two pitons and the ring, and then re-tie the cord.

This can be a good method on rock that has a lot of fractures, pockets, or protrusions, because there are fewer carabiners that might be loaded sideways at strange angles.

Historical and geographical note, this style of anchor originated in the Dolomites in northern Italy, where there are lots of fixed pieces of gear in often marginal rock with lots of strange bumps and protrusions. This area is called the “Sud Tirol”, or South Tirol.

Can you see how the cord is tied into a loop? Looks like that's called in German a “paketknoten”, or “parcel knot” which is kind of a 1.5 overhand bend. (Personally I'm fine with a standard flat overhand bend here, although probably with slightly longer tails than what’s shown.)

image credit: Georg Sojer / Chris Semmel / VDBS

Here's a similar version, this time with a caption in English. (For any of you still wondering whether a girth hitch at the master point is a valid technique, hopefully you're convinced by now.) This is from a PDF file called: “Standplatzübersicht VDBS DAV 2020”

image credit: Georg Sojer / Chris Semmel / VDBS

Here’s how to tie the Paketknoten / parcel knot.

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Anchor 8 - Hopefully you never have to make a five piece anchor, but if you do, you might want to remember this technique. The clove hitches require a lot less cord compared to the traditional cordelette, where you’d have to pull down loops between each piece of gear.

(There’s a three-piece variation of this, called the “V clove” anchor, here's an article about it.)

image credit: Georg Sojer / Chris Semmel / VDBS

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That's about all. Hopefully this may have broadened your perspective a bit on acceptable anchor building practices. Again, anchors are often dependent on context and intended use, so it can be a bit tricky to extrapolate from a single diagram what are appropriate real world uses.

Please seek qualified instruction for learning critical skills like this.

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And finally, if you've read this far, everyone has at one point wished for an octopus anchor =^)

image credit: Georg Sojer / Chris Semmel / VDBS - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rpPxbNOHjCQNFZmnI-qB9iEXun7Q4Qyf/view

Debunking anchor/climbing myths, Part 1

The anchor example below is from Dale Remsberg, an IFMGA Certified Guide and Technical Director of the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA). Dale posts a lot of great climbing and anchor photos that make you really think about rigging! Follow Dale on Instagram and Facebook to keep your anchor brain engaged. (Photo used with Dale’s permission.)

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Here's a good rule of thumb when talking about different climbing techniques - Use the words “never” and “always” with restraint.

• If a technique is unfamiliar, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it's incorrect.

• Conversely, a technique you’re familiar with (and may have been using for a long time) isn’t necessarily the only valid approach - and may actually not be the best practice.

Let's have a look at some long-running misunderstandings, myths, and hearsay, mostly related to anchor building. Maybe we can put some of these well meaning but perhaps misinformed ideas to rest.

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There’s a lot going on with Dale’s anchor. Let’s dive in.

image: Dale Remsberg, https://www.instagram.com/p/B1ll_DZDtEi/

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1 - “You should NEVER clip carabiners or other gear into the rings/quicklinks you rappel from. Doing this can cause a nick / burr / damage on the rappel hardware, which could then damage someone’s rope.”

Almost all recreational climbers use aluminum carabiners. Almost all anchor hardware is made of steel. Aluminum is a softer metal than steel, so your aluminum carabiner is never going to cause any damage to steel anchor hardware. It's like cleaning your icy car windshield with a plastic scraper; the plastic will never scratch the glass.

However, the opposite can be true - a sharp edged steel bolt hanger can definitely put some nicks in an aluminum carabiner. That's one of the reasons why sport climbing quickdraws are designed to have one carabiner that always clips in the bolt, and one carabiner to clip the rope. (If you’re taking a lot of falls onto a quick draw, check the top carabiner and retire it if it's getting chewed up.)

Usually, it’s also okay to clip the bolt hangers. But, this can depend on the size and configuration of the hardware. Sometimes, clipping the bolt hanger can result in the carabiner possibly being loaded over an edge of a chain link or other non-optimal manner. If you clip the bottom ring, the carabiner is almost always going to hang free and in the correct orientation.  

Photo: Blue and gold carabiners clipped directly to the rappel rings.

image: Dale Remsberg, https://www.instagram.com/p/B1ll_DZDtEi/

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2 - “You should NEVER clip one carabiner to another.” (aka, metal on metal is bad)

In certain situations, like chaining together several non-locking carabiners, this is correct. However, if they’re locking carabiners, and you’re right there to monitor them so they don't get loaded in a weird way, clipping one carabiner to another is fine. Big wall climbers do this all the time; a large HMS “pearabiner” gets clipped to each belay bolt, and then many subsequent carabiners may get added onto that first one.

Photo: One locking carabiner as the master point, and two more locking carabiners clipped into that.

image: Dale Remsberg, https://www.instagram.com/p/B1ll_DZDtEi/

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3 - “You should ALWAYS use locking carabiners everywhere when building anchors.”

The carabiners clipped to the individual pieces of protection in an anchor do not need to be lockers. It’s nice to have your master point carabiner be a locker, but if you don't have one, two regular carabiners clipped opposite and opposed is okay also.

Key point: use a locking carabiner (or at least two opposite and opposed standard carabiners) at any sort of critical link, if the failure of that link would be YGD (Yer Gonna Die).

If you’re in an instructional setting, and building a top rope anchor that’s going to have multiple climbers, you’re probably not going to be there to regularly inspect it. In this case, many people will choose to use locking carabiners everywhere, and that's fine.

Hey, and even on a multi pitch anchor like this, if it gives you greater peace of mind, and you have gear to do so (5 lockers) it's completely fine if you want to put lockers on every component of the anchor. But also know that it's fine if you want to rig it as shown.

Photo: The blue and gold carabiners clipped into the rappel rings are not locking. This is okay, because it's not a critical link.

image: Dale Remsberg, https://www.instagram.com/p/B1ll_DZDtEi/

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4 - “A statically equalized, cordelette style anchor should ALWAYS have an overhand or figure 8 knot to make the master point.”

This has been the standard approach for a long time. But depending on your circumstances, there might be better options. You can use a clove hitch or a girth hitch at the master point also. Why do this?

• Uses less sling material, so it works when you might only have a single length runner

• Easier to untie after it's been loaded

• Easier to untie if hands are sore and/or cold, or if you’re wearing gloves

• Keeps the master point carabiner properly oriented; it can never spin and become cross loaded

Photo: girth hitch at the master point.

image: Dale Remsberg, https://www.instagram.com/p/B1ll_DZDtEi/

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5 - “There's something wrong with an anchor if it doesn’t have a shelf.”

A shelf on a “cordelette style” anchor is a convenience, not a requirement. Strength of the placements and load distribution can be considered the most important components of an anchor. A shelf is optional. There are lots of acceptable anchors, like this one, that don’t have a shelf.

Photo: A girth hitch or clove hitch at the master point doesn’t provide a ready-made shelf. That’s okay.

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image: Dale Remsberg, https://www.instagram.com/p/B1ll_DZDtEi/

6 - “You should ALWAYS use a tether / leash / PAS / Purcell prusik as your primary attachment to the anchor.”

Well, fortunately this concept is not nearly as widespread as a few years ago, which is a fine thing. Whenever possible, you should use the climbing rope to attach yourself to the anchor. The rope is the strongest and most dynamic / stretchy part of your climbing gear, so use it! Only use a tether / leash / PAS for those times when you can’t use the rope, such as when you’re rappelling, when you’re part of a larger team and using the rope is maybe not practical, or when you're big wall climbing and the rope is otherwise occupied.

Photo: The clove hitch on the bottom right carabiner directly connects the climber to the anchor master point with the rope.

image: Dale Remsberg, https://www.instagram.com/p/B1ll_DZDtEi/

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7 - “All parts of an anchor ALWAYS need to be redundant.”

Redundancy in anchors can be thought of as: if one single component fails, entire anchor does not fail. This is generally a good policy, but it doesn't always apply to every component. In the photo, several parts of the anchor are not redundant - each of the 3 gold locking carabiners, and the rope.

At some point, you need to have some faith in your gear. One locking carabiner in good condition, with the gate securely closed? Like the three lockers in the bottom half of the anchor? Good to go.

A locking carabiner in good condition, made by a reputable manufacturer, tested to the highest requirements, and properly locked and loaded along the spine has never failed in the history of climbing, as far as I've heard. So, it's something you can rely upon as a single non-redundant connection.

Here's a complete article on the issue of redundancy in anchors, if you want to take a deeper dive.

Climbing "shades of grey" - Dealing with conflicting advice

Short version: A vast majority of climbing techniques are not black or white, right or wrong, but exist along a continuum of subjectivity and best practice. If you receive climbing advice that differs from what you already know, ask "Why do you like to do it this way, and what might happen if I do it differently?"

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It’s day one of climbing school. You’re out at the local crag with a handful of instructors and a few other eager students. One instructor, over the course of an hour or so, shows you how to belay and tie a few knots. You take a break, rotate to another instructor, and they then proceed to tell you a different method to belay and a different way to tie the same knots.

Aaaaaarrrgh! Confusion and frustration! Who should you listen to?

Sound familiar?

Just about every climber can think of situations in their climbing education where they received wildly different advice on a particular topic or technique. Your climbing mentor tells you to belay with your palm up, but the "Freedom of the Hills" instruction book suggests belaying palm down. There seems like a dozen different ways to tie a butterfly knot and everyone wants to convince you their way is the best. You get the idea. When you’re learning, it sometimes seems like everything is like this!

(And let's not get started on YouTube, where Reinhold Messner himself could post a climbing instruction video and even then some yahoos would rip his "incorrect technique" apart in the comment section.)

After you have some experience under your belt, you may be better able to interpret conflicting advice like this, but it can be especially confounding for the newer climber.

New folks are doing their best just to get their heads around the foundational skills, while underneath it all, anxiety is amplified because we all know we are doing a sport that can get you killed in an instant if you do something critical the wrong way.

Here are two approaches to hopefully cut through this fog. One is to understand that climbing techniques exist along a sliding scale. Two is to remember a back-and-forth dialogue needs to happen when you hear conflicting advice.

Let’s dive into each of these.

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One: sliding scale

It’s part of human nature to want to put things in a binary box. Is it A or B?  Am I right or wrong? Are you liberal or conservative? Is this restaurant great or terrible? This worldview takes less mental energy than trying to weigh the nuances of real life.

But, we all know that most things in life exist along a continuum, a sliding scale of ambiguity between one extreme or the other. The same is true in climbing.

There are actually very few climbing techniques that we can call black or white, set-in-stone, always-do-it-this-way-or-you’re-gonna-have-serious-consequences. I’m giving this a very subjective number of about 10%.

What are some of those black and white rules? Try to think of a few right now.

• Never glissade with crampons on.

• Never take your brake hand off the rope when you're rappelling or belaying.

• Always check your partner's harness and knot before they start to climb.

• Always double back your harness buckle.

You can probably think of a few more, but there really aren’t a whole lot more than that!

That means the other 90% of climbing techniques exist along a continuum somewhere in the middle. You could divide these into five general categories:

1 - Never do it this way, you're gonna die or get seriously hurt. Example: Glissading with crampons.

2 - Outdated technique that has a few problems, but you’re not gonna die. Example, using 1-inch webbing for everything.

3 - Completely up to you, flip a coin.  Example: using loose chalk or a chalk ball.

4 - Generally preferred modern method, best practice: Example: belaying directly off the anchor in fifth class rock, as opposed to off your belay loop.

5 - Pretty much everyone agrees you should do it this way: Example: Tying knot(s) in the end of your rappel rope so you don’t zing off the ends.

So, this means that the vast majority of climbing techniques are fairly subjective and generally up to your personal preference. Good news, if you do it a different way, you’re probably not going to die! Hopefully this is comforting to the beginning climber who's trying to sort out all this well-intended advice that often comes from different directions.

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So, that tells us that this climbing game is not as black-and-white as some people might lead you to think. What's the next step of sorting through the advice? How to decide what you want to absorb and what you want to discard? 

esteemquotes.com

Bruce, that's terrific advice, but as new climbers, it's hard to decide "what is useful and what is not". How do we do that?

Here's how. Simply ask, “What could happen to me if I do it differently than what you just showed me?”

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Two: Reasons and Consequences

For the giver of advice (instructor): when you offer advice or suggestions, try to follow that up with your rationale(s) for doing so, and the potential consequences of doing it another way.

For the receiver of advice (student): if you hear something that's different from what you already think is correct, try to ask two questions (in a respectful way and ideally at a time that doesn’t interrupt the teaching flow.)

• The first question is: “Why do you like to do it that way?”

• The second question is, “What might happen if I do it another way?”

(Of course, this is much easier to do when you’re face-to-face with someone, as opposed to reading a book, magazine, or web post).

“Why do you like to do it that way?”  If the person offering the advice can immediately answer with a few tangible reasons WHY, then you might well think: “Dang, they know their stuff and have clearly thought this through. It’s different than what I’ve learned, but I’m going to consider this alternative method.”

On the other hand, if your instructor person shrugs their shoulders and says “Well, I dunno, I’ve just always done it like that and I think you should too," then that’s not a very compelling argument for their technique.

“What might happen if I do it another way?”  If the answer is "Ehhh, not much", then no problemo, you can pretty much choose whatever method suits you. But, the answer is "If you do it differently than what I taught you, there's a good chance of serious consequences, which are X, Y and maybe Z,” then that's something you should probably pay attention to.

I think you get the idea. Subjectivity is an essential part of climbing, and it's not nearly as black-and-white as many instructors make it out to be. Do your best to embrace the “shades of grey” and develop your own techniques and style within the sliding scale of accepted methods.

Climbing Gear Strength Ratings

Ever wonder how strong that pro or gear really is?  Here’s a list to get you started, and maybe help you win an argument or two.  I wanted to see a list like this for a long time, and after scouring the web and not finding any, decided to make my own. 

Metric notes:  A kilonewton (kN) is a metric unit of force. 1 kN is equal to about 100 kg / 225 lbs.  Ratings are rounded to the nearest kN.

Sources:  http://www.fishproducts.com, tech pages, “The Mountaineering Handbook”, by Craig Connally, the always awesome Petzl website, various web retailers, checking the gear ratings on some of my own stuff and in the local gear shop.

I made two lists. One is gear ranked in descending order, and the other is gear ranked by category (like seeing small, medium and large stoppers all ranked side by side.)

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Takeaways (for me)

• Even with a severe factor 1 fall, the force on the belayer is only a tiny 2 kN.

• There's a BIG increase in strength from 6mm cord to 7 mm cord. Use 7 mm for cordelettes.

• A tiny wiregate carabiner may be stronger than a honker "belay" style carabiner.

• A well placed bolt is never going to fail you.

• You can almost rappel on your shoelaces; 2 kN is about the most force you can apply to the anchor.

• Climbing ropes are not tested for tensile breaking strength like most other gear. Because they are so stretchy, they absorb a huge amount of force before they have a break. But, if you stretch a rope until it breaks, that will probably happen between 14 and 18 kN. Click each link to see the relevant test results. 14 kN was for an old crusty rope, 18 kN was for a new one. Either one is super good enough.

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Here's a video for our friends at Hownot2.com, breaking an older rope. Start at 9:45.

Know how to find your coordinates from your phone

I'll be blunt and say this up front: I firmly believe that every backcountry traveller who has a smartphone should know how to find their latitude longitude coordinates and be able to transmit them to 911 (or an emergency contact person) if necessary.

If you ski in avalanche terrain, you have an obligation to learn about avalanche avoidance. If you climb on glaciers, you have an obligation to know about crevasse rescue. Same thing with hiking in the woods: knowing how to find your coordinates from your phone should be a basic qualification of being a responsible backcountry traveler.

It's not just for contacting 911. You can use a coordinate sharing app to text or email an emergency contact person at home. Sometimes in the backcountry with limited cell coverage, you might be able to send a text but not have a reliable voice connection. Many 911 call centers cannot receive text messages, so in that case your best option would be to text your situation and coordinates to a friend in town, and have them contact 911.

Also, I've heard from some people, “Why should I bother using an app like this, 911 uses some technical magic to figure out my phone location anyway.” Well, that can often be true if you're in a city, with lots of cell phone towers and perhaps even Wi-Fi. But, out in the woods with maybe one bar of coverage, some of that magic cell tower triangulation is not going to work too well. Also, doing that can require you to keep your phone on for a longer time, which could be an issue if you have a low battery and need to conserve it. Overall, it's better to be proactive and learn to get your coordinates yourself.

(This article is geared toward iPhone users, because that's what I have. You Android folks, I'm sure you can follow along.)

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Note: It’s best to give your coordinates to 911 in latitude longitude, decimal degree format.

Example: 45.1234, -122.1234

This is the more modern, computer-friendly way to specify your latitude and longitude. It's also a lot easier to say over the phone than trying to describe hieroglyphic-like symbols for degree, minutes, and seconds.

If you tell tell your coordinates in another format, such as latitude longitude, degrees, minutes, seconds (example: 45 32’ 13”, -121 56’ 28”) or UTM coordinates (example , 10T 519984 5035478) Search and Rescue (SAR) can figure it out once they get it. However, it’ll be faster and minimize any translation errors by giving your coordinates in decimal degrees, the easiest possible manner. The decimal degree format is also one that every 911 operator should be familiar with, which should further minimize any source of confusion.

Let's cover a few simple ways to find your coordinates on your phone.

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1 - A “show my coordinates” type app (Note, these two are for the iPhone)

One option is to use an app whose main purpose is simply to show your coordinates.

Here’s one I like that’s free and pretty idiotproof - “My GPS Coordinates”. It shows your coordinates in a huge font, and less you text or email those, along with a message.

Tip - You can set the coordinate precision to “low”, or four decimal places, which is your position accurate to about 50 feet. (I feel this makes it easier to transmit your position with enough precision to get you found, but not any extra numbers that could potentially cause confusion or be transcribed incorrectly.)

Here's a screen grab:

Another one I like is called “UTM Position Mailer”. It was free for a long time, now it's $2. It does one thing, and it does it pretty darn well - tells you your exact position in UTM coordinates, latitude longitude decimal degrees, and allows you to send an email or a text with this location information automatically inserted.

If you're calling 911, keep in mind that many 911 operators may not be familiar with UTM coordinates. The better choice is to use latitude longitude decimal degree format, which is universally understood by everybody.

Android folks, try searching in the Google app store for “GPS location”.  There are all kinds of free apps. Here’s a free Android app called “My GPS Location”. Shows your location and lets you email or text it.

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2 - Dedicated GPS app

I’m a big fan of Gaia GPS.  if you have that on your phone and know the basics of how to use it, there’s various ways that you can find your location from the app. Here’s a screen grab with one example.

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3 - The iPhone compass app

A quite serviceable compass is built into the iPhone operating system. What a lot of folks don't know or realize is that on the bottom of the compass screen, it tells you your latitude and longitude coordinates and elevation. (Yes, the format of the coordinates is degrees, minutes, and seconds, rather than the more generally useful decimal degrees, but that's certainly better than nothing.) Dear Apple, if you’re reading this, please change the format of your coordinates. :-)

Note that you have to have Location Services turned on for your compass to have this visible. Tap Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Compass, and “Allow Location Access” while using the app.

If you do a long touch on the coordinates at the bottom of the screen, a little “copy” box should pop up, copying the coordinates to the clipboard. You can then paste these into an email or text.

Example of the iPhone compass screen, with lat long coordinates and elevation.

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4 - Google Maps

It's not very obvious, but if you know where to tap, you can see the coordinates of your location in Google maps. Tap to copy that and paste in a text. Bonus, it's in the preferred decimal degree format. For the iPhone:

1. Open the Google maps app. Tap the “black triangle in a circle” icon to zoom to your location.

2. Long touch on your location. This should open a tab at the bottom of the screen.

3. Scroll up. You should see the latitude longitude coordinates of that position, looking something like this: (45.1234567, -122.1234567).

4. Long touch the coordinates, tap copy and then paste into an email or text.

What's in my pack - alpine climbing by Steve House

Connect with Steve and learn cutting edge alpine training at his website, uphillathlete.com

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Want to know what a world class alpinist takes for an overnight climb? Watch this great YouTube video as Steve House explains his detailed gear choices. You’ll be amazed at all of the gear he manages to fit in a 30 liter pack!

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Some key points:

• Food: pretty much energy bars

• No Camelbacks or water bladders. Steve uses 600 ml soft flask collapsible water bottles. Carry no more than one liter total, because water is heavy. Put the flask in a mitten to insulate it if it's really cold, and try to always start off with hot water. He has a dilute electrolyte mix already in the water

• When you get to your bivy, first thing to eat is some nuts (almonds cashews, raisins). Also, have some sort of recovery drink mix like Roctane. You want carbs, amino acids, and electrolytes in the recovery drink

• Tries to avoid heating too much water, like for soup or tea, because that means you need to bring more fuel

• Dinner: freeze dried food. 1 bag per person, 800 calories. Pour in boiling water, put it inside your jacket to stay warmer

• Breakfast: instant coffee, 10 g protein powder, energy bar. Keep the energy bar in your sleeping bag so it's not frozen in the morning

• Stove MSR Windburner. One small canister can last two people for one day, if you’re careful. Brings an extra foil windscreen for the stove. Generally does not use a hanging stove

• Branched-chain amino acid tablets and electrolyte tablets to eat with dinner, for recovery

• Gloves: up to four pairs of gloves! Take mittens, belay gloves, lightweight action gloves

• Outer shell jacket: Patagonia Houdini if weather is good, Patagonia M10 if it’s going to be colder or windy

• Patagonia hyper puff belay parka

• Navigation: Garmin InReach, Garmin GPS, paper map in plastic bag, altimeter watch

• Sleeping bag: one night trips always bring down bag, more than one night, almost always bring synthetic bag. (Exception, long expedition style climb like Denali when you’ll have the chance to dry out your down bag.)

• Always keep a pair of dry socks stored in the sleeping bag. When you’re ready for bed, take off your damp/wet socks, put them on your chest to dry them, and put on the dry socks to sleep. In the morning, swap them, repeat for many days

• Sleeping bag get stored inside the bivy sack, and not in a compression stuff sack

• Neo air sleeping pad, folded up and put it inside the sleeve inside the pack; this can keep it from getting punctured

• Take a 4‘ x 8‘ very lightweight nylon tarp, to string up over his bivy sack

• Backpack: 30 Liter Patagonia Ascensionist

• Put a trash compactor bag inside your entire backpack, and pack everything inside of that to keep it waterproof