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.)
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.
There’s a lot going on with Dale’s anchor. Let’s dive in.
image: Dale Remsberg, https://www.instagram.com/p/B1ll_DZDtEi/
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/
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/
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/
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/
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.
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/
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.
