The DMM Pivot - a better belay device?

Plaquette style belay devices allow a leader to belay the second directly off of the anchor, and have the device lock up in the event of a fall. This has become the modern standard belay method, provided your anchor is stout. The Black Diamond ATC Guide and Petzl Reverso are the most popular such devices, but pretty much every major manufacturer has their own flavor.

However, one of the minor headaches of using these devices is that it can be tricky to lower your second, especially if they are free hanging on the rope (admittedly an unlikely situation).

(If they are able to slightly unweight the rope, giving you just a few inches of slack for a second or two, you can easily lower your second using the Load Strand Direct, or ”LSD” method, which we cover in this tip here. This is a crafty rope trick every climber should know.)

But, in some unusual situations, your second might have fallen below an overhang, perhaps be injured, or for whatever reason not be able to give you a little bit of slack. In this situation, most of the standard belay devices lock up completely, and unlocking them and lowering your second in a controlled manner, known in some circles as “defeating the plaquette,” usually requires some clever tricks with a sling, Munter hitch, and some other other shenanigans that if done incorrectly, can cause you to drop your climber. Yes, it has happened.

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To quote Bruce Lee, “The best fight is the one you never have.” Meaning, if you can avoid even trying to defeat the plaquette, with rope shenanigans that might result in a bad outcome, that’s usually the better approach.  

Well, fortunately good design has caught up with belay devices. The DMM Pivot is an innovative device that allows you to easily lower a second, even if the rope is under full load. 

The connection point to the anchor is a U-shaped bit of metal on a sort of hinge. This hinge allows the device to rotate. So, to lower your second, you simply clip a small-nosed carabiner, nut tool or redirected sling to the “ear” of the belay device, give it a tiny bit of upward pull, and easily lower your second in a controlled way. (It's still best practice to have a third hand/autoblock friction knot on the brake strand when you do this.)

This process is significantly trickier with the Petzl Reverso or Black Diamond ATC Guide. 

Given that the DMM Pivot costs about the same and offers better functionality, to me it’s a great choice if you’re looking to upgrade your belay device.

(Some people complain the Pivot heavy, but it’s really not.  A Pivot weighs 72 grams, Petzl Reverso weighs 57 grams. If 12 grams are keeping you from sending your project, you should probably do a little more strength training and not stress out about your belay device weighing you down.)

Here's a longer and more detailed review about the DMM Pivot (written by an AMGA Rock and Alpine Guide)

And like most climbing techniques, it's a better show than to tell. Here's a video that shows how to use the DMM Pivot. Start about 5:30 to see the anchor set up and how the “pivot” release works.

Protect a fixed rope with 1 inch webbing

When you fix a single strand of rope over an edge, be it for big walls, ropes courses, caving, rescue, etc. it's often a good idea to pad the edge so tension on the rope does not damage the rope sheath.

There are lots of ways to do this. Some are some fairly DIY / spontaneous with gear you already have, such as shoving a backpack under the rope, or tying a Klemheist knot with some webbing and putting that on the loaded edge.

Another DIY rope protector that works well uses a bit of car heater hose or retired garden hose, described in this post.

You can also go with a premade product designed for this, such as the Petzl Protec (below) or something similar. This works well, and if you find yourself regularly fixing ropes, investing in specialized gear like this (about $23) is probably a good idea.

image: https://www.petzl.com/US/EN/Professional/Ropes/PROTEC

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Here's another method that’s inexpensive and quick to deploy.

You probably have a section of forlorn 1 inch webbing floating around the bottom of a gearbox; now’s the time to break that out. Cut about a 2 foot section.

Slide the end of your rope inside the webbing, adjust the webbing so the middle of it is more or less over the loaded edge, and add a little athletic tape to hold it in place. That's it. (The one slight downside to this method is that you need to run the rope through the webbing before you tie any knots in the rope, so it does require a little foresight.)

Rope end is fixed around the tree with a “tensionless anchor”, and then run over the edge. A couple of feet of green 1 inch webbing protects the rope. Webbing is taped in place.

Run out of runners? Use your gear

Getting low on runners on a long trad or big wall pitch? Might be time to get resourceful with your remaining gear. Stoppers/nuts, hexes and tricams can all be used as “runners” if needed.

Hitching a sling direct to a stopper wire - acceptable?

Let's make one thing clear right up front. Doing this is definitely not standard practice, it's best to use a carabiner between the sling and the stopper wire. However, there are a few unusual situations when it might be good to have some other option, such as:

• You’re leading a trad climb. You place a stopper, clip a sling to it . . . and notice that the carabiner that’s clipped to the stopper is going to be dangerously loaded over an edge if you fall onto it. No bueno.

• You’re on a long lead, you’ve run out of spare carabiners, and you only have stoppers and a few runners to protect the next few moves.

• You need to make some retreat anchors for many rappels, and don't want to leave any carabiners behind on the stoppers you’re placing for anchors.

Can you hitch a runner directly to a stopper, rappel or even take a whipper onto it, and live to tell the tale? Let’s find out!

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Two ways to attach a sling directly to a stopper wire: (top) girth hitch (aka lark’s foot); (bottom) basket hitch.

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Traditional conservative climbing pedagogy would probably say:

“Yer Gonna Die! (YGD)”

But is it really that bad? Climbers have been wondering about this for a long time, and the clever engineers at DMM in Wales actually did some pull tests on this. Any video that breaks both gear AND dogma is one I’m definitely interested in! As the clickbait web ads say, the results might surprise you.

from the DMM website and video:

“To answer this question we took a Wallnut 1 and 11 and tested them with a sling attached using a lark's foot and a basket hitch in combination with 8 mm Dyneema (Dynatec), 11 mm Dyneema and 16 mm Nylon slings. We also tested lark's footing a Wallnut 1 together with another Walnut 1.

The results (see table below) were conclusive in showing that basket hitching is the best way of extending a wire over an edge to protect your carabiner.

Using a basket hitch with the Wallnut 11 always failed above the nut's minimum strength rating of 12 kN. The same was true using a basket hitch with a Wallnut 1 having a minimum strength rating of 7 kN.”

Results from DMM pull testing

image: https://dmmclimbing.com/Knowledge/December-2011/Improvisation-Lark-s-Foot-or-Basket-Hitch

Short answer, yes, very acceptable!  =^)

Does the sling break? Yes. But, with a basket hitch, it breaks ABOVE the rating for the stopper it's attached to!

To summarize:

• 8mm Dyneema sling > girth hitch > tiny #1 stopper > breaks around 7 kN

• 8mm Dyneema sling > girth hitch > medium to large stopper = breaks around 8 kN

• 8mm Dyneema sling > basket hitch > medium to large stopper = breaks around 12 kN

Being that 9 kN is about the largest force you're ever going to have an a climbing fall even with the crazy factor 2 fall directly on the anchor, those results are highly encouraging, at least in my mind.

(See this link for a chart on climbing gear strength ratings)

So, the short answer is, no problem, you can hitch a sling straight through the wire of a stopper. Doing this with a basket hitch is clearly stronger, but you can even use a girth hitch and still probably get away with it.

Note 1: I don't know this for sure, but I’m guessing that DMM tested this with a slow pull to breakage, and not hitting it with a sudden force in a drop tower. I would be quite curious to see a comparison between the slow pull and a dynamic fall.

Note 2: If you’re near the end of a long pitch running out of carabiners, it might be best to do this technique when building your anchor, not placing gear on lead. This is because the force the anchor could take when belaying your second is probably less than what you could potentially put on it from a lead fall. (Of course, when the second arrives at your belay with all of the cleaned gear, you can add proper slings onto those stoppers.)

Should this be your go-to technique to clip a stopper? No, probably not. But, when you run out of carabiners or have something loaded over the edge, know that you can do this (fairly) safely. Plus, get ready to see an incredulous look on your second’s face when they arrive at the anchor and say, “DAMN, what’s up with that stopper and sling!?”

“Sawanobori” - Climbing UP waterfalls in Japan

So, this is not exactly a climbing tip per se, more a notice of a beautiful, slightly scary, and possibly inspiring video.

The Japanese climbing genre of “Sawanobori” (sawa = stream; nobori = climb) is sort of the opposite of canyoneering. The idea is to ASCEND a stream in a canyon until you reach the source.

Personally, I think this looks like a pretty loco and dangerous thing to do, but you do have to admire the vision and courage of the people who try it. (Disclaimer, AlpineSavvy does not recommend that you go out and try this anytime soon, unless you have professional North Face climbers as your rope gun.)

Also, another comment. There are a few scenes in here of the climbers tossing off chunks of moss. Generally, in the canyoneering world, this is not considered good form, and “Leave No Trace” ethics are extremely important when traveling in narrow, environmentally sensitive canyon areas. )(Yes, I get it that the climber was doing this on a “route” that will probably never be repeated by anybody, but still, it's worth mentioning.)

Here is an excellent 12 minute video showing some world-class climbers attempting this on a beautiful waterfall in Japan. Produced by the North Face, it has great filming, camera angles, and is well worth your time to check out.

Monkey Face - base jump and king swing videos

Okay, so this is not really rock climbing, but it's pretty darn fun to watch some alternative ways to enjoy the famous Monkey Face at Smith rock Oregon.

The videos here for entertainment purposes only, and Alpine Savvy does NOT recommend that anyone try these Monkey Face shenanigans.

and the King Swing. Action starts at 1:00. Note - there was a serious accident in 2011 related to doing this swing. Please don't be involved in the next one. I don't recommend that anyone try this. But if you do, be sure and wear brown pants =^).

Video - Metolius cam vs 1 ton boulder

So, this might be an old one for some of you, but I just found this video and think it's pretty awesome. (It’s only 1:36, so yes you have time to watch it.)

I love the thought process behind this video.

• “Hmm, here we are on the farm . .

• I have this old cam . . .

• Here's this giant rock . . .

• I've got this angle grinder I can use to cut a groove in the rock . . .

• and look, here's a tractor!”

One more reason why I love Metolius Gear - Made in Bend, Oregon, USA!

Clip like size cams together

While many people find that clipping each piece of protection to their gear loops works fine, there may be some cases when you need to make a little more room. Such as:

• Long pitch where you’re bringing a lot of gear

• Big wall climbing, where are your harness / gear sling is always overstuffed

• Alpine climbing, where you might be using single gear loops on the waist belt of a backpack, or a shaved down alpine harness that only has two loops

• Multi pitch routes, where the back of your harness might have a few extras like windbreaker, water bottle, shoes for the hike off, etc.

If you have two cams of the same size, simply clip the racking carabiner from one cam to another. This clears up space on your gear loops. It can take a bit of practice to get used to racking this way. Give it a try and see if you like it.

This also works with quickdraws, assuming they aren’t too long.

(Hopefully this is painfully obvious, but you place the lower hanging cam first, and not the one on your gear loop, to minimize the chance of dropping both of them.)

If you’re fairly short, and/or your cam slings are a bit long, remember the climbing rule of thumb of avoid having anything hanging below your knees. Don't want to trip on your gear when you do that high step . . .

Which way should you face carabiners on quickdraws?

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Sport climbers generally agree on a few quickdraw “best practices”:

• You always use the same carabiner for the bolt hanger. Reason: Any metal nicks or burrs from the steel bolt hangers never touch the rope.

• If you have a bent gate carabiner, it goes on the bottom. Reason: Faster to clip.

• The spine of the bottom carabiner should face in the direction you’re climbing.  Meaning, if the route heads to the right, the gate on the bottom carabiner should face to the left. Reason: if you fall, the force goes against the strongest part of the carabiner; the spine, not the gate.

• Quickdraw slings (aka “dogbones”) almost always have one sewn loop that’s narrow and snug, and one loop that’s larger (or with Petzl draws, a little rubber thingie called the “String”, see image at the top of this page.) The narrow snug loop or rubber String/thingie always goes on the bottom carabiner. Reason: If it were on the top, the carabiner could rotate and be loaded in a weak position. See image below.

image: petzl.com

But, what about this: which way the BOTTOM gate should face?

Should it be the OPPOSITE direction as the top carabiner, or the SAME direction?

Some famous climbers say “opposite” (without really being able to articulate why). Alex Honnold says, “I don't really care”. Adam Ondra says “same direction”.

But consider: every major gear manufacturer (that I've ever seen) has the carabiners facing the SAME way.

Why is this?The clever climbing gnomes at Black Diamond have some answers. They offer two reasons for facing your draws the same way.

1. There's a chance that the top carabiner could be rotated into a position where it is not properly loaded along the spine, and potentially even unclip; this is like the Petzl warning diagram above.

2. It helps you clip faster and more efficiently when you're pumped, scared on lead, and your reptile brain has taken over. With gates facing the same direction, you can grab the draw and place it faster with a glance at the top gate, ensuring the bottom gate is facing the correct direction.

3. Bonus reason: Adam Ondra always rigs his quickdraws with gates facing the same way. That should tell you everything you need to know.

This content and general tip idea first came from the Black Diamond website. You can read the whole article here.

Sewn daisy chain as a gear sling

Leash, lanyard, tether, daisy . . . Lots of different names for pretty much the same thing, a short sewn bit of webbing that connects you to the anchor, especially handy when you’re rappelling. (When you are going UP a route, it's generally best practice to use the rope you’re tied in with to directly connect to the anchor, not a leash.)

And no, I have absolutely no idea why this is called a daisy chain . . .

Modern “personal leashes”, such as the Metolius Personal Anchor System (PAS), are made of connected full strength loops. Use them for just about any kind of connection to the anchor, clip two adjacent loops, make a rappel extension, whatever, it's going to be bomber no matter where you clip it.

Metolius PAS. Each sewn loop is full strength (22 Kn)

image: metoliusclimbing.com/pas_personal_anchor_system.html

But, before the PAS came along, many climbers used a sewn pocket daisy chain as a personal leash. Even though this is designed for aid climbing and bodyweight only, the convenient pockets were too tempting to pass up. And hey, the sling as a whole is rated to 20+ Kn, right? 

Sewn pocket daisy chain

Well, these pockets disguised a potentially lethal problem. Each pocket is sewn with bar tacking that's only rated to about 2 Kn (about 440 lbs.) Clipping one pocket is okay. But clip two pockets and put any sort of a serious load on it, you could potentially break the sewn bar tacks and be completely off your anchor! Large problem!

Clip ONE loop on a sewn pocket daisy? No worries.

Clip TWO adjacent loops on a sewn pocket daisy? Break those bar tacks and you’re gone, YIKES!

Fortunately, most modern climbers are aware of this potential problem with pocket daisy chains, so many folks have a semi-retired pocketed daisy that’s now collecting dust in the bottom of the gear bin. Well, here's a possible use for that.

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The sewn pocket daisy makes a pretty sweet gear sling!

Hook it around your shoulder, and adjust it by clipping a carabiner or a quick link in the loop that fits your body. 

Now, you have a bunch of sewn loops available, which keep all of your gear from bunching together, the main problem of the traditional single gear sling.

One more tip, for big wallers: A sewn pocket daisy like this is great for securing gear (rock pro, shoes, water bottles, stuff sacks) at your bivy/portaledge.

Spot, don’t belay, before the first clip

An all too common scenario at beginner climbing areas is a new belayer attentively clutching the rope with both hands, while their partner is sketching upwards toward the first bolt or gear placement. 

Until the leader clips the first bolt or gear, your job as belayer to spot them like they’re bouldering. Both your hands should be up, thumbs tucked into your palm, and your main task is to keep their head from hitting the ground should they fall before they clip.

Anticipate how much rope is needed from the ground to the first clip or placement, and feed enough rope through your belay device so the leader is never restrained while moving or clipping.

The moment they clip, you instantly change to belay mode, with your hand on the brake and feeding rope as usual.

Of course, this is a non-issue if you’re using a stick clip when sport climbing to attach the rope to the first bolt.

Here’s (more or less) how to do it. Note the climbing rope in the right hand, ready to return to belay mode right after the leader makes the first clip.

image: from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_F1MfVGOzk

And this video, starting about 1: 32

Keeping a fixed rope away from a sharp edge

This tip and diagrams are from the excellent British book “The Complete Guide to Climbing and Mountaineering” by Pete Hill.  

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A fixed line that takes a load can be tensioned over a sharp rock edge, resulting in possible damage to the rope, or worse.

Here are two possible ways to prevent it.

1) If there’s a gear placement next to the offending rock bulge, some well placed pro may offer a directional that can keep the rope off the rock.  This gear needs to be very solid, as it may take the full load initially rather than the anchor.

2) If there’s no gear placement options, you might try this Crafty Rope Trick:  Using butterfly knots, you can add a sling into the system that can abrade on the rock, possibly sparing your rope.

Finally, if you anticipate the rope being loaded over an edge, you may want to bring a designated rope protector length of hose like this one.

Sport climbing tip - use a quickdraw for a “fifi hook” rest

You’re working a sport route at the upper end of your leading ability. You are practicing dialing all the moves, and don't care how many takes you need from your patient belayer.  Here's a simple tip to give your rope and belayer a break.

Start your climb with a quickdraw clipped to your belay loop.

When you make it to the next bolt where you need a break, clip a draw, clip your lead rope, then clip the belay loop draw into the draw on the bolt.

Clip to whatever carabiner is convenient. Top or bottom, it doesn’t matter.

You can now take a full rest while hanging on your own draw, shaking out your arms, and scoping the next few moves.

This is known in some circles as “clipping in direct.” Other folks call it a “dog draw”, because you’re “hangdogging” the route.

(Bonus Tip - fingers pointed up, not down, is the Better Way to shake out. With your fingers pointed up, gravity helps the blood flow faster away from your pumped out forearms.)

This is essentially using the quickdraw clipped to your belay loop as a fifi hook, a device used by big wall climbers to clip in and hang whenever they need a break.

You of course remain on belay the entire time. But because you never called for a take, your belayer is not holding your weight on the rope, giving them a rest as well. Most important, you’re not losing your hard-won gain up the rock due to the rope stretch. It also gives the rope a chance to relax.

Some people might be concerned that chaining quickdraws together like this might cause some nicks/burrs that might damage the rope. This is theoretically possible, but I've never noticed a problem with it. Your mileage may vary.

When you're ready to climb again, unclip your “fifi” carabiner, let it hang again from your belay loop, work the next few moves until you get to the next bolt, and repeat as necessary.

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Here's the classic big wall fifi hook. (Yeah, I know it needs a release loop in that top hole . . .) If you have one of these, you can certainly use it instead of a quickdraw. Slightly easier to take out.

Using an existing rope to set up a top rope

Here’s a Crafty Rope Trick (CRT) for the local crag - use someone else’s rope to set up your toprope.

Scenario: you’re waiting at the base of a popular route at for the previous party to finish their climb. While you’re keen to try the pitch, it’s rated at the upper end of your comfort level for leading, and you’d really prefer to climb it on top rope.

Here’s how you can use the rope from the previous team to set up your top rope.

Before the previous team has pulled the rope through the anchors, ask them if you can do the following trick.

• Pull out your roll of athletic tape (which should be in every rock climber’s backpack), and tape one end of your rope directly to one end of the other team’s rope that’s running up and then down through the anchor.

• This connects the end of your rope butted up to the other, with no knot that would otherwise get caught in the anchor.

• Tape it generously and tight, with 3-4 inches of tape on either side where the rope ends butt up against each other.

• Now, the previous climbing team can pull their rope through the anchor. If all goes well, it also pulls your rope up, through the anchor, and down to the ground. Remove the tape from the two ropes, and you’re all set up to top rope. Slick!

I first saw this Crafty Rope Trick in a rock gym, when the course setter was replacing a worn out rope. I thought he was going to have to climb the route and thread the new rope through the anchors, but nope, he stayed on the ground the entire time and use the old rope to pull the new one through the chains.  Very crafty!

Etiquette note:  After the first person on your team gets to the top, it’s generally best if they make an anchor with their own gear and rerig the rope to run through it.  This way, you’re not toproping directly through the fixed anchors and thus putting unnecessary wear on this gear. (This practice can change according to the climbing area and the type of hardware in use, so ask the locals if you’re unsure.)

1 - Place the rope ends butted up together. Try to get the rope ends lined exactly, so there's no little bump in the final tape wrap that could get hung up.

2 - Start wrapping athletic tape around the ropes, 3-4 inches from the end.

3 - Keep wrapping, overlapping the tape edges, and giving a few extra wraps where the rope ends meet.

(Yes, I swapped the ropes left/right for this photo, but I bet you can follow along . . .)

4 - Give a few squeezes to the tape when you're done. Leave a cm of tape of so left over and fold it back so you can easily unwrap it. The final length of tape should be about a hand span, or 6 inches.

5 - Done! Now, when you pull one rope, in this case green . . .

 . . .the taped ends should pass through the chains . . .

and all through! Keep pulling green, and then you're ready to toprope on blue.

Need a rope bag? Go to Ikea

If you’re planning on getting in a lot of routes in one day at the crag, using a rope bag is a great idea. There’s no need to continuously coil and uncoil your rope between routes, just flake it into the bag and it’s ready to go, feeding out perfectly and (mostly) kept out of the dust.  

There are a lot of fancy and a bit expensive rope bags ad tarps out there, but the $1, big, blue, sturdy plastic bag from IKEA works great. It’s big enough to easily hold a 70 meter rope, has stout handles, and has a huge wide opening so you can quickly stack your rope.

Bonus: just that touch of dirtbag to give you a few style points.

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A tip on closing the system: for a top rope session, rather than tying a knot in the end of the rope, you could clip it onto a pack or your rope bag. This will pretty much ensure that you will never accidentally pull up the night out of reach when you pull your rope.

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For a big wall rope bag, you need something stronger. Solution: Tape two smaller bags together. I like the ones from Trader Joe's. Put one inside the other, Gorilla tape the handles together to form a single clip in point, and then seal the two top edges together with Gorilla tape.

(This “double bag” trick is from the excellent big wall climbing book, “Hooking Up”, by Pete Zabrok and Fabio Elli, highly recommended for a big wall climbers.)

Ode to a Pink Tricam

Ode to pink tricam poem, a classic and worth remembering!

I don't remember where I first heard this, but it's certainly good enough to share. Personally, I love the little buggers. No climb is complete until you sink the pink!

Ode to a Pink Tricam

Oh Pink's the one I love to place

when I'm alone way up in space

on some exposed and airy face.

They sink where other gear won't go.

When all you've got is manky pro,

This tricam saves your butt from woe.

But it's often hard to get them out;

They make your second moan and shout

And wave his nut tool 'round about

But that's why you're the one on lead

Your problems are a different breed

As long as someone does the deed…


"Oh quit your whimpering," you rumble,

"And get it out or there'll be trouble"

"Get to work now, on the double!"

Although it sometimes takes a while,

They do come out with vim and guile,

(or chiselling and curses vile.)

Pink will do what all the rest.

Won't do when they're put to the test.

Oh pink tricams are just the best!




-- Charles "Pinky" Danforth

Protect your fixed rope with a klemheist

If you need to quickly pad a fixed rope that’s running over a sharp edge, try this trick.

1. Take a 4 foot or longer runner, ideally a less expensive nylon sling rather than a $$$ spectra one.

2. Tie a klemheist knot with as many wraps as you can around the rope.

3. Slide this knot over the point where the rope contacts the edge.

Any abrasion will rub on the cheap runner, hopefully not your rope sheath. If you really want to anchor it in place, tape the klemheist knot to the rope.

If you want to do a more thorough job of protecting your rope, you can use some hose, as discussed at this tip.

Jim Bridwell’s Casual Rating System

Are you confused when you read a guidebook climb description of “5.10c R M8 WI5+ Grade IV?” Yeah, me too.

For a refreshing simplification, have a look at Yosemite pioneer Jim Bridwell’s Casual Rating System, which describes any climb in just four categories.

• NBD = No Big Deal

• NTB = Not Too Bad

• PDH = Pretty Darn Hard

• DFU = Don’t F**k Up

How to clip quick draws 101

Any beginner who wants to learn to lead sport/bolted routes will find this video from Outdoor Research to be a solid starting point. And, even if you've been at the game for a while, you still might learn a trick or two.

• Do you know the difference between a thumb clip and a finger clip?

• What's the right way to hold the rope in your mouth? (Hint, it's not with your teeth!)

• When is it okay to high clip, and when is it not?

A good system for cleaning and racking gear

Rather than clipping gear randomly onto your harness when cleaning, have a dedicated system and stick with it. This one works great.

Before the second leaves the belay, they drape two single runners over their shoulders, one on each side. When they clean, all of the protection (cams, stoppers, etc) gets clipped to one side, say the right, and all the quickdraws, runners and extra carabiners get clipped to the left. Then at the next belay, the second can easily lift these slings off of their head and quickly rerack the gear. 

If they keep this pretty organized when they are cleaning, at the belay all they have to do is grab any remaining gear from the leader, and then the second is ready to head out on the next pitch.

Here’s a short video clip by big wall expert and Supertopo founder Chris McNamara taking about this cleaning technique (starts at 1:25).