Improv aid climbing - the one ladder method
Credit for this general method goes to big wall ace Andy Kirkpatrick. It's outlined in his book “Higher Education” and also in a blog article, “Gorilla Aid”. Credit for the improv aid ladder goes to Fabio Elli, from the Alpine Aid chapter of his book, “Hooking Up”.
While the classic two ladder, two tether set up is going to be more efficient for multiple aid pitches, sometimes you may need to improvise with minimal gear. Here’s one way to do it, and it can be surprisingly fast once you get the movement dialed in. (Not to mention, this is gear you already have and it’s less expensive than buying a pair of ladders and adjustable tethers.) You can make the tether and ladder in a couple of minutes.
If you have an actual aid ladder (like my favorites from Aideer) and an adjustable tether, this same process still works.
Gear you need:
Two 120 cm slings
One 60 cm sling
Three carabiners
One quickdraw
From this gear, you make:
A tether, made from a 120 cm sling and a carabiner
A ladder, made from a 120 cm sling, a 60 cm sling and a carabiner
A “fifi”, made from a quickdraw
1 - Make a tether (aka daisy)
The purpose of the tether is to 1) test placements if needed, and 2) hold your weight when you move the ladder to a higher gear placement.
Take a 120 cm sling. Put the sewn bar tacks in about the middle. Tie two overhand knots in the sling, each one about 10 inches / 25 cm away from the ends.
Girth hitch this sling to your belay loop. (Yes, belay loop is fine, but use your tie in points if you prefer.)
Clip a carabiner to the end of the tether.
The length of this tether is pretty important. You want the tether at least as long as your arm at full extension; if you place gear at maximum reach, you need to be able to clip it with your tether. For me, about 5’10” / 170 cm, a 120 cm sling on the belay loop is about right. If you’re taller, basket hitch another 60 cm sling to it, or add a quickdraw.
If you happen to have an adjustable tether that’s long enough, this is a great time to use it. (My Petzl Connect Adjust is too short, my DIY adjustable tether made with some 8.5 mm rope and a Kong Slyde is perfect.)
2 - Make a ladder (See article here)
Take a 120 cm sling. Nylon is nicer to your feet if you have it. Move the stitching to the bottom.
Tie an overhand knot in about the middle.
Pull down some sling material to make an offset step, and tie a second overhand knot at the top end, making a very small loop.
Girth hitch a single length 60 cm runner into the top of the double runner. Try to keep the bar tacks on the bottom as shown. Tie another overhand knot as before, pulling extra slingage on one one side to make an offset step. Clip a carabiner to the top. Schweeeet, you have a 3 step aid ladder. Give yourself a hi-five.
3 - Fifi quickdraw / carabiner
Aid climbers usually have a designated fifi hook, which lets you clip to pretty much anything and hang on it for an instant rest. You’re improvising, so you probably don’t. Simply clip a quickdraw to your belay loop or top tie in point.
Schweeeet, you’re set up and ready to climb.
The sequence below may sound a bit involved written out, but once you do it a few times you'll get it dialed.
Step by step:
Reach up high and place gear. If it’s a stopper, add a quick draw. If it’s a cam, keep the racking carabiner on the cam. (For this example, let’s assume it’s a stopper with a quick draw.)
Clip your tether to the bottom carabiner on the quick draw.
Shift your weight to the tether. If the gear is questionable, you can give it a little bounce test with the tether. If it’s a solid placement, don’t bother.
Clip your ladder to the top carabiner on the quick draw.
Time to climb the ladder. Tips: Remember you just bounce tested the piece you’re hanging on, right? So trust it and don’t dink around second-guessing your placement. It may be tempting to take one or two steps up and then fifi into your tether. Try to avoid this. After you get your foot in the bottom rung, try to rock your foot underneath your butt and stand up. This is not an exercise in one arm pull-ups, use your legs as much as you can. Feel free to grab your tether, or the quick draw, to help with your balance. That’s not cheating, it’s aid climbing.
Climb the ladder until you can clip your fifi into the stopper wire (probably your second ladder step.) Lean back and weight your fifi.
Clip your lead rope to the bottom of the quickdraw.
Look up, make another gear placement as high as you can, and clip a quickdraw to this higher placement.
Unclip the tether and clip this into the bottom carabiner on the new quickdraw. Give it a little bounce test it’s it’s questionable.
Climb the ladder below until you can’t go any higher.
Unclip your fifi from the lower placement and clip to the upper quickdraw (or tether if needed). Rest on your tether.
Remove ladder from bottom quickdraw and clip it to to the top carabiner of the upper quickdraw.
Climb the ladder until you can clip your fifi to the stopper wire on the top piece.
Repeat!
Notes . . .
The three components of your system, tether, ladder, and fifi, are (ideally) clipped to three different components of the gear: tether to the bottom of the quickdraw, ladder to the top of the quickdraw, and fifi to the stopper cable. Keeping at least the tether and the ladder clipped to two different points means that everything is (in theory) not weighted/pinched by anything else and easy to remove. It may not always work out this way, but it's something to try for.
With most cams, you also have three places to clip: the racking carabiner, the sling, and the thumb loop. If it’s a bolt, clip a draw to it as the first move.
Think of most things you do in aid climbing as a “movement sandwich.“ That’s a movement or exertion, in between two periods of rest. Rest > move > rest. Resting: at most any point, you can sit back on either your tether, or clip your fifi carabiner into something and sit back on that. If you find yourself getting tired or your arms getting pumped, you’re probably doing something wrong.
So, next time you're on a trad climb and realize you're in a bit over your head, pull this out of your bag of tricks.