Alpine Tips
DIY - A Better Way to carry your cleaning tool
Your nut cleaning tool Is a crucial bit of climbing gear that you never want to drop. Here is a little DIY project that will ensure it always stays attached to you.
Your nut cleaning tool is a vital bit of gear, and you don’t ever want to drop it. Most climbers typically tie a few feet of string/cord to their cleaning tool, allowing one end of the cord to be always clipped to their harness. The main problem with this method is that the extra cord constantly tangles with all the other goodies on your harness gear loops.
Note - it’s a fine idea is everyone on the team has a cleaning tool, leader included.
I tried a modification of this, with the short loop of bungee cord. That was working pretty well until I was cleaning a stopper at eye level, let go of my cleaning tool, and almost lost my eye as the little bastard shot past my head from the rebound of the elastic. Bad idea!
Here's a hybrid system, that keeps the tool always attached to you, has a little stretch bungee type system to let you extend and retract the tool, but not enough stretch to take out an eye.
With about $3 worth of hardware and 10 minutes, you can craft a Better Way. This system lets you fully extend the nut tool to clean a placement, yet stays neatly out of the way when not in use. It’s a good rainy day project. (You can likely figure it out from the photo alone, but here’s some directions anyway.)
What you need:
A single mini “keychain” carabiner, ideally one rated to carry a decent load. Kong makes what they call an "Mini D accessory carabiner", rated to I think 600 kg.
About one foot (unstretched) telephone cord - remember those? I got mine at Goodwill for $0.50, or get it new online
Two aluminum double sleeve swages from the bulk rope/wire section of a decent hardware store. Bring the phone cord to be sure you get the right size swage
Wire cutters and sturdy pliers, Vise Grips, or bench vise
To make it:
With wire cutters, snip off the phone jacks from the ends of the phone cord.
Pass about 2 inches of the cord through one sleeve of the swage.
Run one end of the phone cord through the nut tool. (Do not pass the cord through the butt end of the nut tool, as the cord will get mangled when you have to smack the tool with a rock or hammer to remove a really stubborn placement.) Note the Black Diamond nut tool in the photo, which has a very handy bottle opener on the butt end.
Run the free end of the cord back through the second sleeve on the swage.
Clamp hard on the swage with your vise, pliers or vise grips, mashing the swage together around the phone cord.
Repeat on the other end of the phone cord with the carabiner. I wrapped some athletic tape around the phone cord/carabiner connection, to be sure the loop never can come off the carabiner.
When on your harness, the butt end of the tool is clipped to the carabiner, keeping it well out of the way.
That’s it, and happy cleaning! That next welded tri cam you find will be your wall booty.
"Lost in the Gorge" - a cautionary tale
This account of a lost person (shared with her permission) is instructive at many levels. As you read it, make some mental notes about her good decisions and perhaps not so good decisions. Could this happen to just about anyone? Answer, yes.
This story is an account of a lost person in the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon. It was originally printed in the November 2014 Mazamas bulletin.
It’s shared here with the permission of the author, who wants as many people as possible to learn from her experience and hopefully avoid a similar one.
Pam did many things right, and a few things not-so-right. As you read this, make a short list of what you think these things might be.
Probably the single most important thing she did right was to be able to determine her latitude longitude coordinates from her phone, and transmit that information to 911. This is a vital skill for any backcountry traveler, yet many people who carry a smartphone with complete GPS capabilities don't know how to do this. We cover various techniques in this tip here.
Lost in the Gorge
by Pam Monheimer
I admit it; I was the woman lost in the Columbia River Gorge on January 29, 2014. I had been trained in mountaineering, avalanche basics, CPR and Mountaineering First Aid (MFA). At first I was embarrassed and horrified that my friends and my Mazama acquaintances would learn of my debacle.
When I was finally located, rescued, been transported out and, at 11 pm, arrived at the Sheriff’s van to be debriefed, I was sick to see that the Angel’s Rest parking lot was packed to capacity with rescue teams, ambulances, police cars, and, of course, the four news channel crews. I caused a lot of people a lot of trouble and worry. I am sorry. I am grateful to those who helped rescue me, and to the Mazamas for providing me the mountaineering training that kept me alive. I want to tell my story as I think I can help fellow hikers and perhaps save a life, especially with colder, wetter weather and shorter days upon us. As I’ve been told more than once, “nobody plans on getting lost.” Not even on a short hike.
In the past 18 months I have hiked over 2800 miles, climbed atop and skied numerous mountain peaks in the Cascades and Olympics. I have hiked and climbed the entire Haute Route in France and Switzerland. Getting lost for me in the Gorge is like getting lost in my own backyard. I know it like the back of my hand. When I drive Highways 84 and 35, I can name all the mountains, hills, waterfalls and trails to myself. The Columbia River Gorge is in my DNA.
I frequently hike with friends and, as we travel at different paces, it is not unusual for us to split up with plans to meet at a designated place and time. I was hiking with my friend, William, a world-class runner and climber with whom I often hike both the Gorge and Mt Hood. It was 34 degrees with a light rain falling. We had a few hours to spend hiking in the Gorge. We started out together in the late morning in a remote area a few miles behind Angel’s Rest. We were in a place I’ve hiked a more than a dozen times before. William and my vizsla puppy, Tüz, went running ahead, and we planned to meet back at my car at 2:30 p.m. I was listening to a book on my iPhone and was so engrossed I didn’t realize how much time had passed. When I noted the time, I realized I needed to quickly head back. I cut through the woods, off trail with my compass in hand to get back to the main trail that would take me back to my car.
After 20 minutes I still hadn’t found any trail. I thought I was in a totally unfamiliar area, didn’t recognize any surroundings and was among fallen trees, deep brush, and on a very steep slope. The light rain had turned heavier and it was becoming quite breezy. I was worried, I knew I couldn’t be very far from a trail, but I was scared enough with the changing conditions that I called 911 then quickly lost the connection, as cell service was iffy at best in the area. I called twice more and finally made contact with the Multnomah County Sheriff, as my call had been answered by Clackamas County Emergency. I explained that I was in Multnomah County.
After describing my location, I emailed and texted my exact coordinates from my GPS at 2:39 p.m. The sheriff assured me help was nearby telling me, “they had found my car, William, and Tüz, and that the whole world was coming to help find me.”
The most important thing I did after that emergency call was to stay put, a very important Mazama lesson. Search and Rescue had my exact location. I paced and did jumping jacks to stay warm. In another text the sheriff asked me how much battery time was left on my phone now; 25 percent, yikes, it was over 50 percent just a few minutes earlier. Once my situation hit the news, friends and family called, texted and sent Facebook messages. By 3:15 p.m. my phone was dead.
The breeze had blown into the famous Gorge gusts. Luckily, I was wearing the correct clothing and boots for the day. I had a waterproof jacket, pants and Gore-Tex lined hiking boots. I was also wearing a down sweater underneath. All that was fine for the first few hours, but now it was 4:30 p.m. and I was soaked, shivering and darkness was settling in. How long could my rescue take? Rescue had had my coordinates for over two hours.
I went into survival mode. I dug a hole for shelter next to a large downed tree with my gloved hands, filling it with leaves, small branches, pine needles and anything else my filthy, frozen hands could carry. I then attempted to build a cover made from larger branches to try to shield myself from the rain and wind until rescue arrived. For a few desperate brief moments I considered making a run for the trail in the remaining daylight. Had I done so, I fear there might have been a less fortunate ending to my adventure. It was odd to be alone in the ebony forest with only the sound of the wind and rain. I had no fear of being alone, I had passed survival training.
As I lay in my dugout in the pitch black, no moon powerful enough to shine through the awful inky, rainy, gloom, I realized I did not have my “10 Essentials” that should be taken on every hike. BCEP and the Mazamas had drilled into my head over the past year that those essentials should always be in my pack. Just a week earlier I was sitting on the summit of Mount St Helens with my larger backpack filled with these 10 Essentials. I didn’t think that it was necessary to repack my smaller pack for a few short hours of hiking, but then again, I hadn’t planned on getting lost either. Thus I had no headlamp, no extra clothing or waterproof matches, or any other useful tool that might help me remain safer and warmer until help arrived. All I had was my small daypack with a slowly decreasing amount of water and a lone protein bar.
Eventually I had to stop the jumping jacks and pacing, which had kept my muscles moving. The darkness and uneven terrain could prove treacherous. I lay down in fetal position in my wet, muddy hole to try and stay warm. I hugged the earth for warmth. My teeth were chattering so hard I had to put a cloth between my teeth and by now I also had a raging headache. After a while I realized I couldn’t move my curled legs or arms, they were both totally cramped. My mind was playing games, I didn’t know if I was awake or asleep. So this was hypothermia, I thought.
It had been five hours since I realized I had become lost and placed my 911 calls. Where was the cavalry? I thought something had gone wrong, perhaps the GPS coordinates had been incorrect, there had been a landslide, or worse a change in plan with daytime rescue. I needed to stay alive until morning so I could get myself out in the daylight. Then I had the realization that I might not make it. I was too cold to cry. I thought about my family and my friends. All the small stuff I wasted time and worry on. All the things I never did or said. I truly thought this would be where I died. By 7:40 p.m. I was so darn miserable but something inside me refused to give up. It took all my strength, balance and my huge pain threshold to stand up, as I knew I had to move if I were to stay alive. I jumped in place and screamed “I am not going to die here!”
In the distance I saw faint light. I remembered my GPS watch had a backlight. I flashed it as I jumped. I was screaming help and hello to no avail, as the storm was too loud, and flashing my light. A few minutes later the faint light came closer. I waved my light frantically and the rescuers waved theirs back. It took over 30 minutes for the five-man search and rescue team to reach me. I learned there were four teams that had started out at different points looking for me as well as a sheriff’s “quick response team” comprised of two runners who were out looking for me. It was the quick response team that found William and Tüz. They ran nearly 15 miles looking for me and as I later learned, they came within 1.5 city blocks of where I was calling for help.
My rescuers went into action, following the same protocols I had learned in Mountaineering First Aid. I was so relieved and grateful to this group who saved me. They carried the largest packs I’d ever seen. They offered me blankets, dry clothes, water, food, etc. I was too cold and shivering so hard I couldn’t fathom changing clothes; they persisted and then wrapped me in the blankets. They then had to study maps to figure the safest way out. We went through thick brush, fallen trees and down a steep slope and we still had to walk a few miles to one of the two vans that had made it to the fallen tree a mile from the start of the trail. One of the vans then got stuck in the mud, which added more than an additional hour to my evening.
I used the time to get to know this quality group of volunteers who had braved the elements to find me. Some were still in high school. I learned that they had to pay for their own gear and have made it a personal goal to support Portland Mountain Rescue with an annual donation.
William and I went back a few days later with the sun shining, a layer of fresh snow dusting the trail, and a GPS unit with my coordinates plugged in to see where I had gone wrong and “get back up on that horse right away.” I was fearful of going off trail again and didn’t want one scary incident to ruin my love of exploring.
It was bizarre to see the shelter I had built myself, and understand that I had done the right thing by staying put, as the terrain was steep with lots of fallen trees. I’ve learned to carry orange trail tape for when I want to explore new areas and mark turns, and I always bring my 10 Essentials. I have a set of those important, potentially life-saving items in every backpack I own. I never leave home without them.
How to make a backcountry 911 call
When reporting a wilderness emergency to 911, take a few minutes and gather some critical information before you make the call.
This tip was written with expert advice from Steve Rollins, a long time member of Portland Mountain Rescue
Write down key information BEFORE you make the call.
State your location first.
If your battery is low and/or you have a poor cell signal, texting key info to your trusted contacts might be better.
You, someone in your group, or someone you come across, has a serious injury in the backcountry.
You're fortunate enough to have cell phone service, or possibly can text with a satellite communication (satcom) device such as a Zoleo or Garmin InReach. (In this example we’re talking about using a phone primarily, but the pretty much same advice applies to using a satcom device. This article is also geared toward the United States; different countries of course have different emergency response systems.)
Note: Calling 911 is usually the first choice. If you’re using a satellite communication device that can only text, be aware that many 911 call centers, as of this writing in 2018, CANNOT receive text messages. If you have a satcom device that can only text, it's better to text your in-town emergency contact person, and have them forward the information to 911. But using a phone to directly call 911, if possible, is always the first choice.
However… if you have a weak battery and weak to minimal cell signal, sending a text to a trusted contact or 911 might be a better choice than a voice call. You might get lucky and 911 gets your text, but more likely your contact people will get it and transmit the information.
Before you grab your phone and dial 911 in a panic (or text your at-home emergency contact person), take a few deep breaths, get a pencil and paper, and write down some important information that Search and Rescue (SAR) will probably need. Note that 911 will probably not ask you for all of this information; you’ll need to volunteer some of it.
Keep a pencil stub and a few small sheets of tyvek paper, free from a cut up repurposed Priority Mail envelope, in your first aid kit for this very purpose.
If you have a few different people on your team, do a phone inventory before you make the call. See who has the strongest cell signal and battery level. Different cell phone carriers can have different signal strength in the mountains. You don’t have to use your own phone if a better battery and a stronger signal comes from someone else.
Be patient. The 911 operator is used to dealing with urban emergencies and may not initially understand that you are calling from the backcountry. They also are probably not familiar with things like UTM coordinates nor things like “I’m at the Hogsback on Mt Hood.” Be patient. Don’t get frustrated. They want to help you. Explain your situation, have them repeat back everything, and tell them to transmit the information to county SAR; more on that below.
One more tip - If you call 911, you are most likely going to initiate a rescue. Do not call 911 for a “We’re okay, but running late” type of call. That is a non-emergency, and should go to your contact person in town, not 911.
If your phone is cold or you have a weak signal, try to transmit the most critical information first. That's going to be 1) your location and a 2) description of the accident. If your phone cuts out in the middle of the call, hopefully you had time to share the important stuff first.
A boiled down way to think of it is this: Transmit the “where, who, what” information, ideally in that order. Where, general location, route, exact GPS coordinates if you have them. Who, your name and call back number. What, describe the accident, number of patients, and overall seriousness.
Tell the 911 operator, “I am calling from a wilderness location and I do NOT have a street address.” (This hopefully gives them a heads-up that this isn’t a standard urban 911 call.)
Tell the 911 operator, “I’m going to give you some information that you normally do not need or ask for. I want you to relay ALL of it to county Search and Rescue.” (911 call centers have a protocol for urban emergencies that they usually follow, and this gives them notification that they need to record more than usual.)
Exact location of the accident. If you're at a well-known spot like a trail head, campground, or climbing route, start with that. If not, provide GPS coordinates. Try to use latitude longitude decimal degree format. Example: 45.1234, -122.1234. Providing coordinates in another format, such as latitude longitude degrees, minutes, seconds or UTM, is acceptable, but many 911 call centers may not be familiar with this format, so use decimal degree format if possible to reduce the chance of error. (It’s easiest to transmit decimal degree coordinates by voice, because they don’t have tricky extra things like zones, eastings, northings, single quotes, double quotes, and degree symbols.) It's best to start off with your location. If your phone battery dies or drops cell coverage during the call, at least 911 knows where you are.
Side note: You should always know how to get your coordinates from your phone, here's a tip how to do this. Having a phone app designed to do this is a fine idea, like my favorite “My GPS Coordinates” for the iPhone.
If you’re giving UTM coordinates, tell the operator, “I'm going to give you coordinates of our current position. You may not be familiar with them, but write them down exactly as I say, repeat them back to me when I'm done, and pass them onto SAR.” Once SAR gets the coordinates, they will know what to do with them, no matter what format they are in. But if you have a choice, decimal degree format is better.
A verbal description of terrain, map location, or climbing route. “We are at the base of the Hogsback on Mt. Hood”. The 911 operator will probably not know what this means, but SAR will. Give this in addition to your GPS coordinates. If the coordinates get messed up somehow, the verbal description is a backup.
The caller’s name and phone number, and your call back number, or perhaps two. If it’s not your phone, write these number(s) down before you call.
List of injuries, most serious first.
Patient name, age and gender.
The time of the accident.
The local weather conditions.
Number of people in your group.
Your plan for treatment. Stay put and wait for help, or maybe start moving to a specific location. Generally, once SAR knows where you are, even if you’re mobile, they want you to stay put.
A request for what form of help you think you need, such as litter, sled or helicopter. Note that the decision for this is not yours to make, it's up to the SAR team. If you have a very serious injury and think you need a helicopter, you can make this known, but it's no guarantee you're going to get one.
What county you’re in, if known. SAR is typically coordinated by the county sheriff. If you make a 911 call from a wilderness location, depending on the cell towers you reach, the 911 call might go to a county that’s not the one you’re in. The operator may transfer you to the correct county, let them make this decision.
Patient’s emergency contact person and phone number.
Ask the 911 operator to REPEAT this information back to you.
More info . . .
Here's what will probably happen after you make the 911 call. The 911 call center will forward your information to the county sheriff search and rescue (SAR) coordinator. If you’re in a mountain environment, that SAR coordinator will probably contact the local mountain rescue team; hopefully there’s one in your area.
Either the SAR coordinator and/or the mountain rescue team may call or text you directly for additional information. After your initial 911 call, keep your phone warm in an inside pocket, available and charged. Don’t tie up your phone or use battery by texting or calling anyone else right after you make the initial call. SAR may want to know patient vital signs, weather conditions, altitude, wind direction and speed, and approximate snow conditions. This can dictate what equipment they need to bring and how to reach you most effectively. This may sound obvious, but if you get a call from a number you don't recognize, answer it! It may be SAR calling you.
Regarding battery life, a detailed text message uses a small amount of data compared to a voice message, and can transmit using a much weaker signal. If you have a weak cell signal, a text might make it out when a voice call will not. Compose a text to some trusted contacts. Don't use images or attachments. When you’ve composed your text, turn off airplane mode, hit send, and hope that your message gets out. Check after about five minutes to see if your text went out. If you didn't, moving to a higher location with less tree cover might help you get a better signal. Remember to turn airplane mode back on after you send it to save battery.
Consider monitoring your phone on the hour for 10 minutes to save phone battery; eg 11:00 to 11:10. (Hopefully you brought an auxiliary phone battery and a charging cable, the 11th essential.)
Avoid non-crucial texting and stay off social media. Sometimes easier said than done. There's been cases of someone trying to carefully conserve their phone battery, but turned their phone on and discovered loads of text messages and social media messages from concerned friends, which killed their battery. If you do get a pile of texts, try to not respond to them and save your battery for communication with rescue teams.
Giving your correct coordinates is extremely important. Write them down. Take time to get it right. Newer smartphones can access a greater number of satellites, such as the European Union and Russian satellite constellations, in addition to the United States satellites. This generally can give you a faster lock and more accurate position. This can become more important if you are in a deeper canyon or under heavy tree cover. So, if someone in your group has a newer phone, you might want to use theirs. Good news for climbers, being high up on the side of a mountain is going to give you about the best possible satellite reception. Again, try to give coordinates in latitude longitude, decimal degree format.
Be aware that a rescue can take a L O N G time. (At least that’s what it seems like when you’re waiting for one.) This is not the French Alps, when the Chamonix rescue helicopter can be on the scene in 20 minutes. There may be many people and resources that need to be mobilized. Sit tight and get comfortable, you're probably going to be there for a long time. So that means after you've stabilized your patient, you need to focus on making them and everyone else as warm and comfortable as possible. This may mean putting insulating pads, sleeping bags and warm clothing underneath the injured person, putting other clothing along their sides, and possibly wrapping them up mummy style in a tent or tarp, if you have one.
Faster rappelling with a group - fix each strand
Rappelling with a group , especially with newer climbers, can take a L O N G time. Here’s a Crafty Rope Trick (CRT) to cut that time almost in half.
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.
Sometimes, a well moving climbing team can come to a screeching halt when making a rappel (or a few of them.) The logistics of setting up and completing a rap seems to gobble up the clock like no other part of climbing, especially if you have a group of newer climbers. Add to this approaching darkness or a building storm, and reasons to rap quickly can become even more pressing.
The next time you’re stuck in a crowd at a rap station, try this trick:
Feed the rope through the rap anchor as for a normal rap.
If the anchor has a single master point, clip a locking carabiner to the masterpoint. If the anchor is twin chains, clip a locking carabiner to each bolt hanger.
Tie a butterfly knot in each strand. Clip the butterfly loops to the carabiner(s).
You now have two fixed single lines, allowing one climber to rappel while another is rigging their rope. (I call this being in the "on deck circle" like in baseball.) The second person should be ready to rappel the moment the climber ahead of them is on the ground or at the next anchor.
This can really speed up your downward progress, because there's no downtime waiting for anyone to rig. Someone should be moving down the rope at all times.
The last climber unties the butterfly loops (which are used because they are fairly easy to untie even after being loaded), cleans the carabiner(s), and raps normally.
Note: Be sure that all climbers are comfortable rapping on a single strand of rope. If the rap rope is free hanging, and/or the rope is skinny or wet, climbers may descend faster than they are used to. If this happens, climbers can use various techniques for adding friction to a rappel - read about a few methods at this tip.
There are lots of different ways you can fix two strands of the rope. Here are two more.
The methods shown above are visually easy to check, and use knots and anchor components that are clear and obvious.
However, there are certainly a few other options.
You could tie a double strand bight knot, which effectively blocks both strands of the rope as well. Here's a double strand butterfly. (A figure 8 or an overhand would also work, but they are a bit harder to untie after being loaded.)
Another option is the Stone hitch. This is commonly used in canyoneering, not so much in climbing, but it is a rather simple and elegant way to isolate two strands of rope. Here's an entire article on this knot. Definitely practice this with a qualified instructor before you use it for real!
Another way to expedite a rappel - the “pre-rig” with an extension
Another approach to expediting a group rappel is to have everyone use an extended rappel, and do what's called a “pre-rig”. This means that everyone in your group has their rappel device on a shoulder length runner, and they are all attached to the rope at one time. By extending the rappel, the climbers waiting at the top will not be yanked around when the rope is under tension.
Doing this expedites the rappel, because the moment the first person gets to the ground or the next anchor and creates a little slack in the rope, the next person can immediately head down. This is the same idea as the fixed single strands Illustrated above, but allows each person to rap on double strands of rope, which gives a little more friction and is probably more comfortable for beginners. Having a pre-rig speeds up the entire process, because once again there should be someone moving down the rope pretty much constantly.
The number of people in your party, and the size of the ledge around the rappel anchor will dictate the method you use. Lots of people, and maybe a small stance? Use The “fix separate strands” method mentioned at the top. Small team, and perhaps a larger ledge around the anchor? Then use the pre-rig method described here.
Using an existing rope to set up a top rope
Use this rock gym employee trick to set up your next outdoor top rope, as long as someone else is climbing there already.
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.
Use a tagline
Your big wall lead rack is pretty darn heavy, and it's going to be stupidly heavy if you take every single thing you need on a long, hard pitch. Instead, just take a light tagline, and pull up gear as you need it.
Imagine you're leading a long pitch on a big wall. The anchors are in sight, phew, you’re almost done, and suddenly . . . the Bad Climbing Fairy suddenly clips a 20 pound / 10 kg weight onto your harness! Would you want to climb with an unnecessary 20 pounds on you? Well, that's going to be the approximate weight of your haul rope plus everything you need at the upper anchor hanging on you near the end of a pitch. Leading a long aid pitch is strenuous! Don’t make it even harder by carrying more than you need.
This is even more important if you are doing some free climbing.
Rarely do you need to start a pitch carrying a load like this! Send out that heavy gear up on the tagline later as you need it.
There’s a fair bit of gear that the leader will need when they arrive at the next anchor. This typically includes:
An anchor kit (at a minimum 4-5 locking carabiners, possibly a mini quad or PAS to make an equalized hauling anchor)
The hauling kit, either a 1:1 or 2:1, typically a locking carabiner, progress capturing pulley, and an ascender, for a bare-bones 1:1
The haul rope, which if it’s a 10 mm 70 meter long static rope will weigh around 5 kg / 10+ lbs (about 70 grams per meter)
Maybe a rope bag to put the haul rope in
Maybe a windbreaker, water, and snacks
Instead of schlepping all this gear on the back of your harness, instead climb the pitch trailing just a lightweight tagline. This is typically 60 m of 5 or 6 mm cord. At the lower anchor, this can feed out of a small designated stuff sack. When the leader gets to the next anchor, they pull up the tag line, which is attached to a small bag with all the needed hauling gear inside.
Note: the team needs to be extra careful with this tag line, otherwise it's going to be an unmanageable mess. It’s best to put it in its own designated rope bag.
High Mountain Gear and Gear Perspective both make excellent small rope bags that are perfect for your haul line.
The leader can carry a second small rope bag to store the tag line as thay reel it in.
The belayer must be sure this “tag gear bag” is ready to get hauled, unobstructed, and has everything inside it that the leader needs.
The medium Fish Beef Bag is a good choice to hold all the tag gear.
http://www.fishproducts.com/pics/beefbags.jpeg
The tag line can also be used to haul up any gear as needed when leading the pitch, such as that number 4 Camalot you might need up high.
If the leader needs gear sent up and they are more than 30 meters up and have a 60 meter tag line, their partner can use the haul rope to extend the tag line, and then can retrieve the tagline back down.
Note: It is super important that the leader not drop the tagline! At the upper anchor, good practice is to pull up some slack, tie it off somewhere safe, and only then unclip the locking carabiner connecting it to your harness, which is probably on the back of your harness and easy to fumble.
Using a tagline can dramatically lower the weight you’re carrying as a leader and free up some precious room on your harness. The one small downside is that it takes slightly more time to set up your “real” hauling system, but the effort you save is usually worth the extra time.
Keep in mind you don't need a fancy Dyneema core expensive tagline such as the Petzl PURline.
This 65 m, 6 mm static cord from Black Diamond would be a good choice.
The "bunny ears" cordelette
Move over, old school cordelette-tied-in-one-huge-loop. Carrying a cordelette that’s “open”, or untied, can be more versatile. If you tie a small loop in each end, also known as “bunny ears”, you can reach placements that are farther apart, carry a shorter amount of cord, and rig an alpine block and tackle.
A standard cordelette is about 6 meters of 7mm cord, tied into one giant loop typically with a more or less permanent double fisherman's knot.
There are other ways to rig it. One is the bunny ears cordelette.
You may not want to carry this with the loops permanently tied, because after a while they're probably going to stay that way. Instead, you can carry it in an “open” configuration, meaning not tied at all. If you're in a situation where the bunny ears could be useful, take a second or two and tie them.
Take the same 6 meters of cord, but rather than tying it in a loop, instead tie a small loop in each end (figure 8 on a bight or overhand; figure 8 is easier to untie). By small, we’re talking an inch or so in diameter, as you only need to clip a carabiner with it. Be sure and dress the knot well and leave a good long tail of 3-4 inches.
So, what's so cool about the bunny ears system? Mostly, it's more versatile.
You can wrap the entire cord around a giant tree or boulder, or thread one end under and around a big boulder or chockstone. (It's best practice to not use a single strand of cord around a rock; better to double it up.)
No annoying knot getting in the way.
You can use it to make an “alpine block and tackle”, as shown in this Tip.
You can use it to connect three pieces of gear that are really far apart, by a clipping one “ear” to each of the outside pieces.
Because the “ears” give you a greater reach, you can use a cord length that’s a few feet shorter. This results in a lighter and less bulky piece of kit to carry with you. (But, first try it with the full 6 meters, and then cut it down later if you think you need to.)
How strong is it?
From my strength ratings page, we see that 7 mm cord is rated about 13 kN, while 6 mm cord is rated to only about 7.5 kN.
Using the rule of thumb that a knot decreases the strength of the cord by about 50%, that tells us the arms of a 7 mm bunny ears should be about 7KN, which should be fine.
For a long time, I thought that doing this with 6 mm standard cord would be a bad idea, because a single strand with a knot with only be rated around 4 kN.
However, I tested this with my buddy Ryan Jenks from howNOT.com, and guess what? 6 mm cord set up just like below broke around 15 kN! For me, that is #SuperGoodEnough. Here's a link to the video if you want to see the testing.
If you used some stronger cord with a Dyneema or Kevlar core like Sterling VT-X (15 kN), or Sterling Powercord (19 kN), then your bunny ears cordelette would be even stronger.
Below, the “bunny ears are used to clip three pieces of gear that are quite far apart. (And yes, anchor critics, the angle between the left and center strand is a little wider than is ideal . . .)
(and yes, there’s no “shelf” if you rig it this way, but the shelf is an optional part of an anchor. Want to tie in to the master point yourself and belay your second from the master point? No problem, shelf not needed.)
You can use it to connect three pieces of gear that are fairly close together, by clipping both ears to one piece. This gives you about the same “size” you’d have if you tied it in the traditional “one huge loop” style.
And, with some clever rigging, you can even connect two bolts that are side-by-side at chest level in a standard sport anchor configuration. In this case, the two ears are clipped to the left bolt, and the remaining strand is passed through the carabiner on the right bolt, doubling the cord and halving the distance.
This makes a tidy, compact anchor with two adjacent bolts. even with a huge long cordelette.
You know that Murphy's Law of using a cordelette, that the dang double fisherman’s knot always ends up right where you’re trying to tie the master point? That little hassle is gone with this system. (And yeah, I know you can mitigate that by clove hitching the knot next to your highest gear placement.)
On longer alpine climbs, bringing a cordelette gives you a ready-made source of material for rappel anchors. With the bunny ears rig, the small loop knots are usually fairly easy to untie, giving you more rap anchor material. When you tie a cordelette in a permanent fisherman’s knot, that sucker is going to get welded shut after a few climbs, and is just about impossible to untie unless you use needle nose pliers.
So . . . it works for anchors spread far, medium and close together, and easier to untie to cut up for rap anchors. What's not to like?
PS - Don't take my word for it, it's on the Petzl website.
image: https://www.petzl.com/CA/en/Sport/Installing-an-equalized-belay-station
Emergency fire starter - bicycle inner tube
This emergency firestarter is free, very lightweight, completely waterproof, and gives you a nice steady burn for at least five minutes. Oh, and be sure to stay upwind.
A bicycle inner tube cut about 1 inch wide works great for a firestarter. It’s free, can’t soak up water, weighs nothing, packs well, and burns great for a few minutes, enough to catch damp tinder.
Only problem is that it stinks, so stay upwind. Yes, it’s toxic and nasty, but it’s for emergency purposes only, not as a regular go-to fire starter. Punctured tubes are free for the asking at any bike shop.
Wrap two “rubberbands” around a lighter so you always have your flame source and firestarter together.
Wheel style lighters don’t work when wet. One solution: Cut a small bit of plastic bag, put it over the business end of the lighter, and then secure it in place with one of your rubber bands.
If you're looking for a great fire starter for everyday use, you can read about one here.
A better, and silent, way to signal “off rappel”
Here’s a silent and effective way to tell your partner you’re off rappel.
Rather than yelling up “off rappel”, which may or may not be heard if it’s a windy day or you’re out of sight, try this instead:
when the rappeler is safe on the ground or at the next anchor and off rappel, she grabs a strand of the rope with each hand, and pulls the strands back and forth in large arm motions, several times.
This does two things.
It silently signals the remaining climbers that they can begin their rap set up.
It ensures that the ropes can pull freely. If the ropes are crossed, or hung up or in someway making the rope pull difficult, this can hopefully be remedied by the next climber down.
This tip is originally from Topher Donahue via Climbing magazine
What are the most useful Gaia GPS map layers?
Gaia GPS has an astounding number of map layers for you to choose from. Here's a short list of my personal favorites.
Gaia GPS, one of the best available smart phone apps for wilderness navigation, has an amazing bounty of map layers. It's easy to get a little overwhelmed and wonder which ones might be best for a particular activity.
If you're fairly new to Gaia, you may want to check out layers listed below. No doubt you’ll come up with your own favorites over time, but these will be a great start.
(Note, some of these might be only available with a Premium subscription.)
Driving urban areas and paved roads: MapBox Streets HD
Major roads are clearly delineated, easy to read at a glance while you’re driving, pretty good points of interest. Nice road network, but no elevations. Minor roads can be a little hard to see.
Bike riding, some trail hiking, and driving obscure backroads: Open Cycle
Small roads have the same line weight as bigger ones, so it’s easy to see when you’re at a tiny junction. Open source maps means map features are likely going to be more accurate than other sources. Note the bicycle path in the valley floor in blue, but also all of the hiking trails are shown, in red dashes. Contours and shaded relief are shown, but no elevations. (The resolution of my screen grab below for some reason looks a little fuzzy, it’s quite a bit better in real life.)
Satellite view: Satellite with labels
Gaia GPS has several different satellite layers, and “Satellite with label” is my favorite. It seems to have the clearest imagery, especially when you zoom way in, and having roads labeled is a big help. (They recently have added a hydrology layer, which shows every little tiny stream at a certain zoom level, which is kind of distracting.)
Backcountry hiking and climbing: Outdoors and Open Topo
The rather boringly titled “Outdoors” layer is a worldwide topo map based on Open Street Map, that has labeled hiking trails, ski runs, and mountain peaks, as well as shaded relief and easy to read contour lines. (You can see the same layer in Caltopo where it’s called “TF Outdoors”.)
Note the easy to see and well labeled hiking trails, even when you're zoomed pretty far out.
The Open Topo layer has great shaded relief, shows some general terrain such as forest, rock, and snow, has lots of streams and drainages (sometimes too many, IMHO), contours and elevation (in meters). It does have trails, but they are a little harder to see and use need to be zoomed in pretty close.
Open Topo is no longer part of Gaia GPS, so you need to add it as a custom layer (which, like most things in life, is easy once you know how.) Learn to add Open Topo as a custom Gaia map layer here.
Carry a first aid book on your phone
Sure, you've probably taken a first aid class at some point. But if you're lucky, you've never had to use it. Why not back up your hands on training by having a complete first aid book on your phone?
Your climbing partner just took a fall on lead when they were crack climbing, and managed to dislocate their shoulder. You're a two-day hike in, and if you can get that shoulder back into place, things are going to get better in a hurry. But dang, that first aid class you took a few years ago has faded to a distant memory, and you can't even remember if they covered shoulder reduction in the first place!
Yikes, what do you do?
One smart way to augment your hands-on first aid training is to have a wilderness first aid ebook on your phone. As a "virtual book" it weighs nothing, last forever, and could literally be a lifesaver someday in the backcountry.
Of course, having access to a first aid book in no way replaces taking a proper class, but this can be a good backup to refresh your knowledge.
Here's a great option, the Wilderness Medicine Handbook Digital Edition. It’s from the excellent website wildmedcenter.com. This company also has a great online store, where you can purchase small quantity and high-quality supplies for your backcountry first aid kit which are often quite hard to find.
image: https://www.wildmedcenter.com/digital-wilderness-medicine-handbook-v60.html
Here are a two more options. Click each image for a link to Amazon. (These are NOT affiliate marketing links and I make no money if you click through, I’m simply providing them as a convenience.)
The Kiwi coil – shorten the rope on varied terrain
When your rope team is transitioning between glacier travel, pitched climbing and easy terrain, you probably don’t want the rope at full length, especially for the easy parts. Solution: the Kiwi coil.
Taking in coils of rope to shorten the distance between you and others on your rope team, (aka the Kiwi Coil, apparently named after the New Zealand guides who invented it) is a very useful but often misunderstood and underutilized technique. Often, quickly shortening your rope, tying it off, and then walking just a few feet away from others on your rope team is faster, safer, and a more efficient way to move in alpine terrain than keeping your rope team stretched out.
Consider this scenario: You and your two pals are on the Disappointment Cleaver route on Mt. Rainier. From your high camp at camp Muir, you first cross a glacier for about 15 minutes, then go up a rock/scree spur for about 20 minutes, then another 30 minute glacier crossing, then get on the rock/scree of the Cleaver for an hour or so, then back again on to glacial ice, . . . you get the picture. Of course, you need to be roped up with proper distance between partners on the glacier. But when you get to the rock section and don’t need a rope for safety, what you do? You have three choices: 1) completely untie and store the rope, 2) continue walking with 40 or so feet of rope between you, and 3) shorten the rope and tie it off.
Plans one and two both have drawbacks. Completely untying, coiling and storing the rope can take a lot of time, if you need to do it repeatedly on a longer route. Continuing to walk on easy terrain with 40 feet of rope stretched between you is a Big Hassle, as the rope will constantly get caught on small outcrops of rock or snow, and possibly cause rockfall on you or others.
A better technique is to take in coils of rope until you are just a few meters away from your partner, then securely tying the rope off. After a bit of practice, you’ll be able to do it in about one minute without even stopping. When you again find yourself on terrain where you need a full rope length between you, dropping the coils and stretching out the rope takes just a few seconds.
Note: Tying off coils of rope like this may not be the best choice for glacier travel. It can work, but with a few extra steps, such as tying an extra overhand loop between you and your partner, so you can clip the rope to an anchor and let out the slack rope without strangling yourself. Also, a kiwi coil can raise your connection point closer to your chest, which might make it more difficult to arrest a fall because your center of gravity is higher. For glacier travel, a more common method is for the end climbers typically will take in about 30 feet / 10 meters of rope, clip into a fig 8 or butterfly loop, and then simply stash the extra rope in or on their packs.
While the technique is simple, it is rather hard to describe in words. (But we’ll try:)
1) take in coils around your neck, 2) take a bight of rope about 3 feet long, 3) pass the bight through your tie in loop and the coiled rope loops, 4) tie off the bight with an overhand knot on the load strand of the rope, and 5) cinch the knot tight against the coils.
Clear as mud, right? Fortunately, here’s a great instructional video from the excellent American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA) video series, featuring IFMGA Certified Guide Emilie Drinkwater of Cloudsplitter Mountain Guides.
Test boots for a good fit - gym treadmill
It’s tricky to give boots an adequate test drive before you buy them. You can't take them outside on a muddy hike and then expect to return them if you don't like them. Solution: treadmill at a gym. If they fit, great, keep them. If they don't, they should be in pristine returnable condition.
When you buy a pair of hiking or climbing boots, you want make sure the fit is exactly right. Strolling around on the carpet at the outdoor store is not going to help much.
But, you also can’t go tromping around outside and expect to bring the boots back if they don’t fit.
So . . . you need a way to give them a decent test drive, while keeping them in pristine condition.
A great way to check for a good fit (and break them in a bit if you decide to keep them) is to wear them on a treadmill at a gym. Use the thicker socks you’d normally wear with them, and for about 15 minutes keep the treadmill flat. Then gradually increase the angle of the treadmill, which will quickly tell about the fit in the blister-prone heel! Wearing a pack with 20-30 lbs is a further refinement. Go for at least 30 minutes.
Sure, you’re going to get a few strange looks from other people in the gym, but that’s part of the fun.
If they fit, keep them. If you think you can do better, no worries, take ‘em back.
No gym membership? Most gyms offer a free one day guest pass.
The most common rookie aid cleaning mistake
The most common mistake when cleaning an aid pitch is to jam your top ascender into the carabiner. Here's a rule of thumb to avoid it.
Probably the classic beginner cleaning mistake when using ascenders on a big wall is not pay attention to what’s above you, jam your top ascender up tight against a carabiner or knot . . . and get hopelessly stuck. Your ascender needs to move a tiny bit forward for the cam to disengage, and if you slam it up hard against a carabiner with the rope stretched tight under your body weight, this is not gonna happen. (This becomes even more of a problem if the rope is heading off on a bit of a traverse. I learned this the hard way on my first big wall.)
A good rule of thumb: always stop your ascender about the width of a fist, or say 4 or so inches, away from a carabiner or knot. This will ensure you always have enough room to back it down or remove it.
Here’s the WRONG way. The ascender is jammed up tight against the carabiner, making it near impossible to move it up, down, or remove it from the rope.
(Note - climber, harness, daisy chain etc. not shown for clarity.)
Here’s the CORRECT way. The ascender is stopped about 3-4 inches below the carabiner. This gives you room to move the ascender up, down, or remove it from the rope and reattach it above the carabiner you need to clean, a common cleaning tactic on traverses like this.
Rappelling on ropes of 2 different diameters
Rappelling on ropes with two different diameters can cause the rope ends to be uneven, which could be a problem if you have a full length rappel. Here’s how to fix this.
You’ve finished a long multi pitch climb, using a single 10 mm rope. From the top, you need to make some double rope rappels to get down.
You partner carried a lightweight 8.5mm rope in her pack, and you now need to use it to make your long rappels. (You chose not to climb with double ropes, because the route was pretty much straight up, and you decided with your partner that the extra hassle/cluster factor of double ropes was not worth it.)
Before you head down the lines, you want to be mindful of a few things.
When rappelling on ropes of two different diameters, the skinny rope is going to slip through your belay device a little faster than the fat rope, which means the ends of the rope may not stay together.
This happens because there is more friction on the fat rope side, therefore the fat rope has the potential to move with you a bit more as you are descending.
This leads to the possibility that the end of the skinny rope can lift off of the next anchor point, potentially leaving you with rope ends that are uneven. If you’re doing a full rope length rappel, this could be a problem.
(The degree to which this happens depends on a a few things, such as what kind of rappel device you’re using, or how slippery or grippy the rope sheath actually is.)
There’s a few ways to keep this from happening. One is to always put the knot connecting your two rap ropes on the “skinny rope side” of the anchor. That way, if the thick rope starts to migrate, the knot will hopefully be stopped by the anchor master point, and keep the ends of the rope at the same length.
It helps if the master point of the rap anchor is a quicklink or some other small diameter hole, rather than a carabiner, which might allow the knot to migrate through it, making the rope pull difficult if not impossible.
Here's a little pneumonic to help you remember a way to mitigate this: PS, or "Pull Skinny.”
That means when you're finished with your rappel, you always pull the skinny rope, which is the side with the knot.
CORRECT set up. The knot is on the skinny red rope side of the anchor. If the knot migrates, it'll stop at the chain link. "Pull Skinny", or "PS", means pull the red skinny rope to retrieve it.
(Note that the red rope is a 6mm pull cord, used here to easily see that it's a smaller diameter.)
INCORRECT set up. As the larger diameter blue rope migrates, it'll pull the knot downwards.
Another way to mitigate this is simply clove hitch the thicker rope to the anchor, have the first climber rappel on the single strand of the fat rope, and then have the first rappeller tie off both strands at the lower anchor to ensure both rope ends stay at the lower anchor. See photo below.
Tactics for the 4am pee
Every mountaineer has faced that 4 AM decision: Stay in my bag until my eyeballs get yellow, or leave my warm tent, go outside and take a pee? Fortunately, there’s a middle ground.
Altitude, cold, and maybe Diamox can all cause you to urinate more frequently when in the mountains. Snow camping, at night, and stormy weather are all complicating factors, especially at the same time. Stay in your warm sleeping bag and try to hold it, or step outside into the gale to take a pee? It's a tough question all mountaineers face.
Fortunately, there’s a fairly easy solution.
While it’s mandatory gear for a big expedition, a dedicated pee bottle probably won’t be carried on a shorter trip. Solution: a 1 gallon Ziploc freezer bag.
Lightweight, takes up no room in your pack, and can give you relief when you need it most. Yes, 1 gallon is probably more than you need, but you can share the bag with your tent mate. (Word has it that ladies find a bag easier to use than a pee bottle.) Put the bag in the tent vestibule after use in case the closure is not as strong as you thought.
Bonus - The same 1 gallon Ziploc freezer bags also work great as buried snow anchors for your tent. So, you might as well bring a few!
Related tip: If you’re on a longer expedition and you have a designated pee bottle, it will smell pretty ripe after a few days, especially when you open it in the tent. For a pee jug odor preventor, before you settle in for the night, put 2 iodine tablets (the same as for water purification) into the empty pee jug. The iodine kills the bacteria that cause the odor.
Below is one good option for expeditions: The Nalgene 48 ounce flexible Cantene.
Bank line - the best cord you've never heard of
Want a strong and lighter weight alternative to paracord for backcountry cordage? Check out bank line.
Bank line is a black nylon cord/twine that is similar to tennis court netting. It’s exceptionally strong, UV resistant, and inexpensive.
It does pretty much everything paracord can do, but in a smaller diameter, so it's a lot lighter and takes up less room.
The name comes from trotline fishing (from the “bank” of a waterway, hence the name) for catfish or similar critters, where you toss out a strong main line baited with multiple hooks, and return hours later to check your line.
Bank line comes in a variety of diameters and strengths. (Paracord is rated to about 550 pounds.)
#36 bank line has a breaking strength of about 320 pounds.
#12 bank line has a breaking strength of around 100 pounds, and is accordingly thinner and even lighter.
Popular in the survivalist / bushcraft world, bank line can be immensely handy around the house, garage, shop, or campsite.
Think lashing most anything, tent or tarp guy lines, clothesline, trellis for the garden, hanging a food bag, primitive shelter construction . . .
On a big wall, everything needs a way to be clipped in. Bank cord is perfect for making small clip in loops for most anything, and is less expensive than the bulk 2 or 3 mm cord normally used.
Bank cord is “tarred”, which is about what it sounds like. The cord has a thin layer of sticky tar-stuff. This helps knots to be more secure It has a mild petroleum-like smell, which goes away shortly after you open the bag.
The stickiness is not annoying at all. It doesn’t come off on your fingers, just has a mild tacky feel to it.
At the Amazon link below, both rolls of cord cost about $9-10. (With the heavier weight number 36, you get about 140 feet, with the lighter weight number 12, you get about 400 feet. )
Cut webbing at a 45 degree angle
Cut your webbing at a 45 degree angle; it’s easier to tie rethreaded knots.
Webbing is typically cut with a 90 degree, “square” cut. But there’s no real reason to do this.
Instead, cut your webbing at a 45° angle. This gives you a bit of a pointy end, making easier to tie any sort of a rewoven knot, like a water knot or a double fisherman’s.
Making this angled cut is a lot easier at a climbing store that has one of those nifty hot knife tools. Just ask them to do it for you, even if they give you a funny look.
If you don't have a climbing store with a hot knife, you can do it at home. Put the webbing on a piece of scrap wood. Get a cheap utility blade (or hold a razor blade in pliers) and heat it up over a gas stove for about 15 seconds. Make your cut. The hot blade should cauterize the wedding just like the climbing store knife.
(Don’t use a good quality knife for this, because you're probably gonna get some melted webbing gunk on it that will be quite hard to remove. Ask me how I know this . . .)
Lacking this, you can always use a good pair of scissors. After you make the cut, burn the ends in a flame of some kind for a few seconds, and then give the ends a quick squeeze with needle nose pliers to press the melted ends together.
Below - 90 degree “normal” cut on left, 45 degree cut on right.
Need a rope bag? Go to Ikea
For tagging a lot of routes in one day at the crag, rope bags and tarps are great to keep your rope tangle free and clean. Your Swedish big box store has probably the cheapest piece of climbing gear you're ever going to buy.
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.
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.
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.)
Try a static rope for glacier travel
Are you climbing on a moderate glacier, such as a standard route on many Pacific NW volcanoes, without any actual lead climbing? Consider a static rope.
Are you climbing a low to moderately angled glacier? You need a rope for crevasse rescue only, but not for catching any real leader falls, and you don’t want to carry any more weight or length than you have to.
Consider a static rope. If your only purpose of the rope is for crevasse rescue, then you don’t need the dynamic qualities of a typical lead climbing rope. In fact, the extra stretch in a dynamic rope (especially the skinny ones) will result in a longer fall and will add unwanted stretch to any raising system you may need to build. Conversely, the static rope can give a harder yank on the people up top if the rope management is a little sloppy, with extra slack, so keep that in mind.
These ropes can be up to 40% lighter than a similar length of 8 mm dynamic half rope, typically used in glacier travel by many climbers. (Approx 25 grams per meter compared to about 40 grams per meter.)
Of course, you need to take some measures to add extra friction when rappelling, such as using a device designed for skinny ropes such as the ATC Alpine Guide, adding two carabiners to your belay loop, or maybe even putting both strands of the rappel rope through the SAME hole in your rappel device. As always, practice with these in a controlled environment before you have to do it for real on the mountain.
Several companies offer dry treated, small diameter, ultralight static ropes specifically designed for crevasse rescue.
The Petzl RAD system, an complete kit designed specifically for crevasse rescue, uses very low stretch 6mm static rope. (“RAD” stands for “Rescue And Descent”, for you acronym people.)
The Petzl RADline can be purchased separate from the above mentioned system. I have a long article about this rope, read it here.
Mammut makes a 6mm dry treated Glacier Cord, also a static rope designed for crevasse rescue. This rope has a middle mark and comes with a nice storage bag, which can be used for a clean toss when you need to rappel.
These ropes (usually) play nicely with tiny ascenders and progress capturing pulleys, such as the Petzl Tibloc, Petzl Micro Traxion and the Edelrid Spoc, tools which can simplify the crevasse rescue process.
These specialized ropes typically have a Dyneema core, giving them minimal stretch, light weight, and nice strength, typically about 14 kN. Another benefit is that they absorbs basically zero water, making them lightweight when dragging through snow.
Be careful with your friction knots. You may need use triple wrap prusiks made from skinny 5 mm cord to be sure your friction knots hold on the narrow diameter line.
Read some great gear reviews for these ropes, and a lot more gear, at Black Sheep Adventure Sports.
Here's a quote on this topic from “The Mountain Guide Manual” by Marc Chauvin and Rob Coppolillo (pg 243):
“Because of all the dynamic aspects to a crevasse fall - climbers sliding on the snow surface and the rope and bending over and cutting into the lip - it is becoming acceptable to use static rope.
In fact, Petzl has conducted tests that suggested the spring/rebound nature of a dynamic rope actually makes it more difficult to stop a fall.” If you want to get into the test results, here’s a link to the Petzel website which discusses them.
Here’s a bit of Youtube chat about the topic with another pro guide:
This tip is mentioned "The Mountain Guide Manual" by Marc Chauvin and Rob Coppolillo, and "The Mountaineering Handbook" by Craig Connally.
(This is not an affiliate marketing link, I am offering you these links as a convenience to you and because these books are great.)
