Locking carabiners for sport anchor quickdraws

A standard anchor for many sport climbing areas is for the leader to just clip two standard quick draws to the bolts and lower off. This is certainly safe enough in most situations, and the fact that it is been done literally millions of times without incident should probably tell you that it's an acceptable practice.

Having said that, many people prefer at least one designated “locker draw” as part of the anchor. If you’re in an instructional setting, with many people top roping off the same unattended anchor all day, without a more experienced person going up regularly to check things, locking carabiners can add great peace of mind. Because it's a top rope, you’re not right there next to the anchor to see if any carabiners are getting cross loaded, gates getting unscrewed, or other strangeness that could lead to an anchor being compromised.

(Sidenote: there are lots of other handy uses for having a locker draw, you can learn them here.)

Personally, I have two designated quickdraws just for anchor building. They are the Petzl Express 25 cm long draws, the longest they make, and four locking carabiners. Each pair of carabiners is distinct, so I know which is for the rope and which is for the bolt. The longer 25 cm draw gives a nice narrow angle on the anchor if the bolts happen to be a bit far apart.

This is an easy and inexpensive set up. You probably already have a few extra locking carabiners around, and the long “dogbone” draws are only $5-$6 apiece.

If you’re inclined to be a little more cautious, using lockers on your sport anchors can be a little extra insurance, with low cost and high confidence factor. Look at it this way: Other climbers might call you a little paranoid, but there's really not much downside to doing this. You need four carabiners for the anchor at a minimum, why not make them all lockers? There's a slight increase in cost and weight, but one top roping that should not be much of a concern.

“I don't want to climb with that guy, he's too safety conscious.” That's the kind of criticism many people don't mind hearing. =^)

As we like to say here at Alpinesavvy, it's YOU who’s accountable for your level of comfort and acceptable risk. It doesn't get to be dictated by anyone else, regardless of their experience or credentials.

Two standard quickdraws with non-locking carabiners. Bottom gates opposed and opposed. Nothing wrong with this setup.

Now, we have a locker draw in place of one of the regular quickdraws. Definitely a bit more security here. (The angle of the rope running through the carabiners will going to add a bit of friction, but it's still acceptable.)

Here’s an alternative. Similar setup, this time with 4 lockers. Nice long dogbones, round stock carabiners at the bottom for a smooth rapport, and super secure. Which set up would you prefer to climb on?

“Wrap 3, Pull 2” - about the strongest anchor possible

The "wrap 3, pull 2" has long a preferred anchor method with rescue teams and others who need a super strong anchor, but this Crafty Rope Trick (CRT) can also be useful for recreational climbers.

As it takes a few minutes to tie, it’s not really feasible to use it regularly as part of snow or rock pro.  However, it can be useful when setting up top ropes in an instructional setting, making a rappel anchor, or pulling your car out of a ditch.  All you need is a long (9+ feet) length of webbing.

Note that you cannot make this anchor with a sling that's sewn into a loop. You have to have a single long piece of webbing.

To make this anchor, make three wraps with the webbing around a large solid object. In many cases this will be a tree.  Tie the free ends in a water knot with at least 2 inches of tail on each side of the knot. Now, pull the two strands of the webbing that do not have the knot in them, leaving the actual knot against the tree. The knot, normally the weakest part, is isolated by the friction against the tree and has minimal load on it. Four strands of webbing share the remaining load. This makes it super strong.

Diagram: Freedom of the Hills, 7th edition, The Mountaineers Press

Slinging a boulder for an anchor - two cautions

A common anchor on alpine routes is the simple sling around a boulder or rock spike.  Even though the boulder itself may be super solid, there are some things to watch for when using this method.

1) Check the boulder carefully all the way around for any sharp edges.  A new sling that can hold 20kN can cut very easily under tension combined with the sharp edge of rock or a crystal.

2) A short sling around a large boulder may make a wide angle in the sling that put a larger-than-ideal load on the sling material.  (An angle of 90 degrees or less is the rule of thumb, and 60 degrees or less is ideal). Solution: Use a longer sling to make the anchor angle smaller.  The diagram below shows how a small change in sling angle and greatly increase the forces on your anchor.

The diagram is from the excellent book "The Complete Guide to Climbing and Mountaineering" by Pete Hill.