Alpine Tips
Add clip in tethers to your wall rack
Your gear rack is arguably the most important, and certainly most expensive, thing you have on a big wall. You absolutely, positively, never want to drop it. Here's a quick harness modification to be sure It always stays where it should.
Rule #1 of big wall climbing: everything has a clip in point.
There are a lot of critical items on the big wall climb, but probably the most important (and expensive!) one is your gear rack. You absolutely never want to drop it! Here's a way to minimize the chance of that ever happening.
Get two strands of stout cord, each one about arm’s length. (I’m kind of a cheapskate, so I use parachute cord; it’s rated to about 550 lbs. and plenty strong enough. 5mm cord would also be a good choice, and a bit more durable.)
In one end of the cord, tie a bowline around each shoulder strap of your gear rack so the cord is permanently attached. In the other end, tie a small figure 8 on a bight loop, just small enough to clip a carabiner. Repeat for the other cord and other shoulder strap.
When you finish your lead and are at the anchor, pull the two cords around to the front, and clip each one to a separate anchor component. Only then, after the rack is secured to the anchor by these two redundant points of connection, do you take it off your body.
By clipping to two parts of the anchor you spread it apart a little bit, giving easier access to restock the gear when your second arrives after cleaning the pitch.
This tip is from big wall experts Pete Zabrok and Mark Hudon
DIY - Homemade alcohol stove
You could spend $200+ on a high tech canister stove . . . or make one from a a cat food can in a few minutes. Unless you're melting a lot of snow for water, you really don't need to boil water in three minutes.
It's easy to be seduced by the sexy merchandising at your big outdoor store, especially the dizzying array of high-tech stoves. (Yes, I‘ve used it, and it’s an amazing snow melting inferno, but $240 for an MSR Reactor stove, seriously?!)
But, if you're tempted to get one of these, ask yourself this simple question. When I’m on a fair weather backpacking trip or climb, do I REALLY need to boil water in three minutes, or can I wait a few more? You know the answer. You can probably wait.
So, try this. How 'bouta stove:
that costs about $0.50 in parts
you can make in about 10 minutes with simple household tools (or even a Swiss Army Knife)
burns cheap, readily available fuel
burns silently
weighs under 1 ounce
has no moving parts that can break
boils a pint of water in about 8 minutes?
Check out the link at the button below.
Homemade alcohol stoves are big with long distance hikers, and have been solidly field tested. One popular model is called a "cat" stove, simply because it’s often made with an empty cat food can.
I've made a few of these stoves and they works great. It’s not designed to melt snow on an expedition, but for a shorter trip in mild weather it could easily serve as your main backpacking stove. If nothing else, it’s a fun evening project, good for scouts, and could well serve as a disaster preparedness item - with some rubbing alcohol and a few cat food cans, you can cook food after The Big Earthquake when gas and power may be down. A windscreen made from heavy duty tinfoil and a paperclip is a fine addition.
Here's a shot of my cat stove in action. Just a cat food can with two rows of holes.
(Note, the soot on the pan is not from the stove, it's from cooking over a real fire)
A great rappel check acronym - BRAKES
Having a standard system to check your rappelling set up before you head down the rock is a fine idea, especially for beginners. Here's an acronym to check all the relevant components.
Rarely does Alpine Savvy post material directly from another website. But in this case I will, because it can't really be improved upon.
A similar rappel check acronym I’ve used is BARK (Buckle, Anchor, Rap device, Knot) but I was never quite satisfied with that one, because it left out securing the ends of the rope, and putting in an auto block. This new acronym nicely covers both of those.
The below content is straight from Climbing magazine
BRAKES - a system check for rappelling
Prior to rappelling, you should check every aspect of your system. The rappelling safety acronym BRAKES, developed by Cyril Shokoples in 2005 and now widely used by climbing schools, can easily be employed as a pre-rappel checklist. It’s a good idea to go through this list out loud by stating each letter and touching the part of the system you’re checking. Confirm with your partner when possible that each component of the system has been set up appropriately and is going to be applied correctly.
B – Buckles: Check the buckles on your harness. Make sure they are snug and that all appropriate straps are doubled-back.
R – Rappel Device/Ropes: Check that the carabiner attached to your device is locked, both strands of the rope have been loaded correctly in the device, and the rope is properly threaded through the rappel anchor.
A – Anchor: Confirm that the anchor is strong. If it’s a tree, make sure it’s alive, large enough to hold your weight, and that it has a good root base. If it’s a boulder, ensure that it is not going to move. If rappelling off bolts or gear, confirm that they are suitably strong enough. Double-check that any webbing or cord isn’t damaged or too faded.
K – Knots: Check all the knots in the system. Make sure that knots adjoining two ropes in a double-rope rappel are correctly tied with enough tail.
E – Ends: Confirm that the ends of your ropes are on the ground or that they reach the next anchor. Confirm that your system is closed with knots at the end of your rappel lines.
S – Safety Backup/Sharp Edges: Use an autoblock backup and check to make sure that you aren’t going to rappel over any sharp edges.
The auto locking Munter hitch
While more of a trick knot used by guides, the auto locking Munter hitch can still be a good tool in your bag of Crafty Rope Tricks (CRT).
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.
An old school yet effective way to belay your second is with a simple Munter hitch. The Munter has one advantage over an auto locking belay device such as a Black Diamond ATC or Petzl Reverso, in that you can easily lower your second if you need to. However, most people think that one of the downsides is that the Munter does not have the nifty auto lock feature that these belay devices offer.
Not so, grasshopper! With this crafty rope trick (CRT) you simply add one carabiner to a Munter hitch to make it autolocking. There are a couple of ways to do this.
Here’s one method. By adding the carabiner, the hitch remains in raising mode, and can't “flip” into lowering mode.
A few things to note:
Let’s start off by saying this is kind of a guide trick, and may not have a lot of utility for recreational climbers.
This knot is best used in situations where the chances of the second needing to be lowered is unlikely. This is a subjective choice that depends entirely on the skill of the climbing team. Also, it should probably not be used on any sort of traverse where you might swing into something vertical or overhanging. If there’s more than a slight chance that the second may need to be lowered, it’s probably better to use a regular Munter hitch or some other belay method.
Let’s start with a few general principles of Munter hitch belay.
As always when using a Munter hitch, it’s best to use a large pear-shaped “HMS” belay carabiner with round metal, which helps minimize friction.
Using a thinner rope or a new one with a sheath that’s a bit slippery works best. I’ve tried it with my ancient 10 mm workhorse rope with a fuzzed up sheath, and it’s quite a bit of work to feed that rope through the hitch.
You want to use two hands. Your”feed” hand pulls in slack rope and the the brake hand simultaneously pulls it down. If you only pull on the brake side of the rope, you’re going to get a lot more friction, do more work than you need to, and potentially get some twists into the rope.
Some specifics of using this hitch in auto lock mode:
You can add or remove this auto lock method into the Munter belay at any point in the pitch when your follower is coming up. For example, if the climbing starts off easy and then gets hard for the final part of the route, you could have your follower in auto lock mode for the easy part, and then simply remove the blocking carabiner when they get to the crux, so you have an option to lower them if necessary.
Or, you can belay mostly without the auto lock. If you need to put on a jacket, sort out the ropes, take a photo, whatever, you can put it into lock mode, do your business, and then remove the locker and go back to normal. Can't do that with any other type of belay device that I can think of.
Be sure the hitch is set up in “raise” mode before you clip the blocking carabiner.
Test this before your follower begins, to be sure it is locking up properly.
One handy use for this knot is for light hauling, such as a backpack or light haul bag. The blocking function serves to capture the progress of your haul. Typically, another semi-obscure knot called the garda hitch would be used in this situation, but many people find this knot to be, shall we say, temperamental.
Another use of the auto locking munter hitch is to climb a rope. If you're short on gear, like a plaquette style device (Reverso), Grigri, extra friction hitch, etc., the auto lock munter can be your progress capture on your harness. This is definitely a trick use of the knot and something you wanna practice in a controlled environment before you ever use it for real!
This knot suffers from the same general problem as a standard plaquette device like the Petzl Reverso: if your follower is weighting the rope and needs to be lowered, you can’t easily do so.
By far the easiest way to transition to lowering mode is to have your follower unweight the rope just enough for you to unclip the blocking carabiner from the load strand. Once the carabiner is gone, you’re back to a normal Munter hitch, and can easily lower your follower.
If that’s not possible, there is in fact a way to release this when loaded. Use a small locking carabiner for the blocking carabiner. Unclip the loaded rope from the blocking carabiner. This should allow the hitch to flip into lowering mode, and the small carabiner should pass through the large carabiner. Having a third hand autoblock backup on the brake strand before you do this is highly recommended. Yes, this is kind of clunky, and it's probably better to avoid that situation in the first place, but it is possible.
As stated clearly at the top of this post, please practice this in a controlled environment before you ever do it in real life!
Here's a nice video on how to do this.
Here’s a second method, which results in less friction. Depending on your rope, this might be a big help. Watch the video for the whole scoop. (Start about 2:00 for the action.)
At first glance it looks like a bit of a mess, but it works remarkably well.
Crevasse Rescue - skip the munter mule overhand
The munter mule overhand, or MMO knot, is a load releasable hitch. While it can be helpful in advanced rope rescue scenarios, it’s not required in crevasse rescue, and in the opinion of various experts, does not need to be taught to beginners.
Or, “just say no to the MMO”
Short version: In my opinion (and that of many experts) the munter mule overhand knot (from here on referred to as the MMO) is not a required component of a crevasse rescue system. Including it in a beginner crevasse rescue class adds further unnecessary complexity to an already very complicated situation. It’s fine when taught to intermediate or advanced climbers, and it certainly has a place in more advanced rescue scenarios, but it’s probably best not to teach it to newer climbers.
Long version: You’re considering taking a class in crevasse rescue from your local mountaineering club. You read the class curriculum online, and see that requires that you tie an MMO knot at the anchor to make a “releasable system”.
In addition, the generally always awesome and hilarious cartoon book, “Glacier Mountaineering: An Illustrated Guide to Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue”, says to use one also.
Conversely, the following reputable sources do NOT suggest using an MMO for crevasse rescue:
Book: “The Freedom of the Hills”
Book: “The Mountain Guide Manual” a reference book for, you guessed it, professional guides
The American Alpine Institute (AAI, see their crevasse rescue sequence here.)
YouTube instructional videos presented by professional mountain guides
The munter mule overhand with a cordelette
(Note: Mule knot not snugged up against Munter hitch to show the various parts more clearly. Carabiner through the overhand knot for extra credit.)
So, what’s the dealio, you may be wondering. Do I really need an MMO for crevasse rescue, or not?
To help answer this, ask yourself a few questions.
Is the MMO a seldom used, specialized rescue knot, that’s tricky for most people, especially beginners, to tie correctly? Answer, yes.
Is it likely that you’re going to forget how to tie a seldom used, specialized rescue knot, that you never use in your day-to-day climbing, years from in a rescue scenario that’s already stressful and complicated? Answer, yes.
Is it possible to rig a successful mechanical advantage crevasse rescue system without using this knot? Answer, yes.
Are the vast majority of crevasse rescues performed by raising only, without ever needing to lower at all? Answer, yes.
Is it possible to lower a victim safely (if for some reason you need to) without having an MMO in the system? Answer, yes.
I’ve watched several crevasse rescue videos made by AMGA (American Mountain Guide Association) certified guides on YouTube, and none of them use an MMO. Why is this? Probable answer - see the previous five questions.
(If you watch the excellent crevasse rescue videos made by AMGA certified guides that you’ll find on the video portion of AlpineSavvy, nowhere do you see this knot.)
Additional note: The MMO, as it’s usually taught, requires a cordelette. Which is probably okay if you have three or more people on your rope team and everyone has one. But if you’re a two person team, you probably already used your cordlette to build the 2 piece anchor, so you don’t have a second one for the MMO.
Let’s get back to the purpose of having an MMO in the first place, which is to have a “releasable system”. Why is this needed?
Typical answer - if the person in the crevasse needs to be lowered, the releasable system lets you do so. Reality - if you want to lower them, all you need to is pull about 1 inch up on the whole raising system, loosen the holding prusik, then lower. You can easily do this without the complications of an MMO.
(There is one additional highly unlikely rescue scenario, and that’s if the hauling team on top gets over enthusiastic, does not monitor the fallen climber during the pull, and somehow manages the epic screwup of pulling the fallen climber into the lip of the crevasse. In this case, theoretically, you may not even be able to get 1 inch more lift out of the raising system to loosen the prusik initiate the lower.)
Well, there is a way to do it. It involves getting out your knife and VERY carefully cutting that prusik knot, thus removing it from the system and getting your victim out of the problem that you caused. In this rare case, it could be argued that a MMO would be a superior solution, but it’s so unlikely to ever happen that in my mind it’s not worth planning for.
Takeaway: the MMO component of a crevasse rescue system is entirely optional, and in a beginner level class, adds needless complexity and a difficult-to-remember component to an already stressful and challenging situation.
Most people starting to learn crevasse rescue have their heads completely full with the steps that REALLY need to happen. Thus, most people don’t have any room for anything optional or overly complicated, or in this case both.
Once you have the basic crevasse rescue skills down, or certainly if you’re on a professional mountain rescue team, then you can start adding in more advanced components such as two person rescue and releasable systems. But for beginners, teach the basics, make sure they understand it inside and out, and keep it simple.
That's probably why “Freedom of the Hills and “The Mountain Guide Manual” don’t teach it.
Just say no to the MMO.
Spot, don’t belay, before the first clip
When does a good belayer not belay? Before their partner has made the first clip. Avoid this common beginner mistake.
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
Assorted "vertical camping" tips
Big wall climbing can offer enough suffering when you're actually moving upwards. Once you reach the bivy, you’ve earned a little comfort. Here are some tips from wall expert Mark Hudon to stay warm, dry and cozy.
Mark Hudon Is a Yosemite free climbing and big wall veteran. His systems are thoughtful, dialed, and generously explained both on his website and various online forums. The following collection of tips were mostly taken from a post on his website. You can read the entire thing at hudonpanos.com. Here, I'm posting the ones that seem especially brilliant, but I encourage you to go to his site and read the whole article.
See related post - Portaledge set up - Top Tips
Each climber has their own separate haul bag. Mark likes the Metolius Half Dome, about 125 liters. If you are a little taller, you can get the next size up which is only a little bit more in cost and weight. (Here's another post about had to choose a haulbag.)
You want to minimize rummaging around in the bag during the day when you’re climbing. Before you leave your bivy in the morning, pull out items you think you might need to access during the day and keep those handy. This might include snacks, water, lip balm, sunscreen, wind shell, warm hat, visor cap, and camera/phone. Keep these in a wall bucket or sturdy small big wall bag like a Fish Gear Beef Bag that hangs outside of the haul bag on a gear tether cord.
Mark has a comprehensive clothing list, see his website for details. All fleece and synthetic; no down, no cotton. He keeps it all in two separate size large Metolius Big Wall Stuff sacks. These bags are stout, have nice clip in points, are fairly inexpensive, and (best of all) from a company based in Bend, Oregon (my home state).
Mark cleverly organizes his core equipment into five different color coded stuff sacks: clothing (2 sacks) kitchen, food, personal care, and technology. This makes pulling out exactly what you need from the bottom of the haul bag a lot easier. (Any small item will migrate to the bottom of the bag unless it’s clipped to something or in a stuff sack.) Every stuff sack has a carabiner clipped to it.
Personal care bag: Mostly small stuff to deal with the constant dings and cuts that are going to happen to your fingers. Athletic tape, Advil, sunscreen, hand lotion, earplugs, unscented baby wipes, and paper towels instead of toilet paper. A little Bag Balm underneath a Band-Aid can really help heal your hands overnight. Take care of little cuts early before they become a larger problem.
Technology bag: phone, maybe a Bluetooth speaker, maybe a Kindle reader, all fully charged up, fully charged large spare battery and needed charging cables, headlamp with spare battery, camera, 2 way radio.
Once your ledge is set up, bring all of your stuff sacks out of the haul bag and clip them to your ledge. You want everything close at hand and avoid burrowing in the bag any more than necessary. You will need 8-10 spare “bivy” carabiners for this, so be sure and bring some. It's helpful to make these bivy carabiners all one obvious color or strange style that you don't use for climbing. Some people even mark them with spray paint.
Everything needs a clip in point. If it doesn't have one, you're going to lose it. Plan this on the ground, and bring extra small diameter cord to improvise as needed. Bank line, a sort of heavy duty black twine rated to over 300 pounds, is an excellent choice for adding tie in loops.
Consider using an old-school sewn daisy chain with pockets (photo at top) to help organize your belay. Having a confusing cluster at your anchor is stressful, because you are never quite sure what you can safely unclip. By using a dedicated sewn daisy chain(s) to clip things like rope bags, water bottles, etc, you can have a much cleaner and more manageable belay. Read more on this here.
Once your ledge is set up, try using a separate length of rope to tie your harness to the anchor, rather than the climbing rope itself. Get 6-7 meters of some old rope (about 8-9 mm) that's only used to tie you to some solid point on the anchor once everything is set up. Tie one end to the anchor, tie a barrel/stopper knot on the other end, and use your Grigri or a friction hitch to adjust your position as you move around the anchor. You certainly don't need to use all 20 feet, but if you're at a larger ledge, you want to be able to freely move around. This lets you tuck away all your lead rope to keep things a bit more tidy.
You generate a surprising amount of garbage on a big wall climb. You need a plan to deal with it. Having some sort of extra stout bag or stuff sack will be needed. It's easy to overlook this, ask me how I know. You can hang this below your main haul bags on a gear tether.
Do NOT bring a down sleeping bag, regardless of how sunny at the weather forecast might be.
Having a thin fleece sleeping bag liner gives warmth and feels great against your dirty skin, and having a bivy sack offers further moisture protection for your bag and makes it warmer.
If you’re warm and dry in your portaledge, do everything you possibly can to stay that way. Anything that gets wet on a big wall is probably going to stay that way for a while. That means not going outside into the rain to fix another pitch unless you absolutely have to.
Many modern ledges have flies with some rigging to keep them away from your face. If yours does not, bring a tent pole that you can rig inside the fly to help push it away from you, so you have a bit more room.
Speaking of staying dry in your ledge, bring a sponge to mop up spills, drips or condensation inside your fly.
Metolius Big Wall Stuff Sacks, perfect for organizing your vertical camping.
image: https://www.metoliusclimbing.com/big_wall_stuff_sacks.html
Girth hitch a cam hook to your aider
Cam hooks, while they may appear about as secure as a tortilla chip, are essential tools for modern clean aid climbing. Here’s a trick for deploying them that offers convenience and extra reach.
The humble cam hook is an essential modern aid climbing tool for moving quickly in crack systems that are generally too narrow for spring loaded cams; i.e., slightly smaller than Donald Trump's pinky finger.
Instead of fiddling with a micro stopper or (gasp!) banging in a piton, just slot a cam hook vertically into that micro crack, carefully step onto it, and it magically locks itself into place. The first few times you won't quite believe that it actually is going to hold, but your trust and confidence will grow quickly.
Repeat as needed by alternating your aiders, and when the runout starts getting spooky, then put in solid gear. (That little stopper you place with a gentle tug for fall protection will be a lot easier for your second to clean than one you have bounce tested with your full weight.)
It's best not to bounce test cam hook placements if you’re doing several in a row. Just ease onto the upper placement with a firm step into the aider, and move up.
You want to buy at least two cam hooks, one for each aider. Fortunately they are quite inexpensive. MountainTools is a fine place to score some. They come in four sizes, with the middle two generally being the most useful. Pictured below is I think the Leeper medium, which has worked well for me.
Note that cam hooks are generally not used in soft rock like sandstone, because the force they can generate can literally break the rock. The smaller size hook, the more force is generated. Apparently the newer cam hooks made by Moses have a model called “fragile flake” that’s acceptable for use in softer rock, but I haven’t used them.
The typical way to deploy cam hooks is to have them on a short loop of webbing, and clip them to the top of your aiders when you need to use it. (Like this; a perfect placement in my wooden deck!) Yes, that webbing loop could be about 2 inches shorter, but we’ll get to that in a moment.
However, here’s an alternate set up - if you anticipate a lot of cam hooking, you can girth hitch the hook directly to the top loop of your aider. like this:
This offers a few benefits.
You can deploy your hook fast; no reaching for gear on your harness
You get a few extra inches of reach on the placement, because there’s no carabiner involved
You can never drop the hook
You could tie the hook directly into the top of your aider. However, this makes the hook pretty much permanently attached to the aider, because the water knot connecting the webbing is going to get welded. Aid climbing is confusing and clustered enough without adding anything unnecessary into the equation, so in climbing where you don’t need the hook, it’s cleaner and tidier NOT to have it always on the business end of your aider.
With a girth hitch, the cam hook is ready to use fast when you need it, but is easily removed when you don't.
To rig this, get 18 inches of 1/2 inch webbing for each hook (or 3 feet for 2 hooks). Yes, this looks like a lot of webbing, and you may have an inch or so left over, but those darn water knots always seem to take more webbing and than you think.
Tie a water knot through the cam hole to make a loop, that's a half inch or so longer than the length of the cam. You’ll probably have to experiment a couple of times to get this loop just the right size. If the loop is too big, you lose reach on every placement. If the loop is too small, you won't be able to girth hitch it.
Water knots are notorious for loosening under repeated cycling loads, so tighten down the knot with a pair of pliers, and check it often to be sure it's not loosening up.
The original and classic cam hooks were made by Ed Leeper, so they are sometimes referred to as Leeper hooks. They are now manufactured by Moses, and available through various outdoor retailers, such as MountainTools.
Here’s a nice video that shows the basics of using cam hooks.
Adding friction to a rappel
Cold hands, no gloves, skinny rope, wet rope, beginners, heavy pack . . . or some combination! There are many scenarios when you might want to add some extra friction onto a rappel. Here are a few ways.
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.
Sure, on a bluebird day, standard rappel practice is probably going to work fine. However, some rappel situations, such as:
a single strand
wet/icy rope
skinny rope
cold hands
no gloves
forgot your third hand friction hitch backup
wearing a heavy pack or dangling a haulbag
a rescue where you have the weight of 2 climbers on the rappel rope
dark
an icy, slippery slab
a knuckle scraping overhang
not sure where the next anchors are, need to go slowly and look around
or any multiple combination of these cluster factors, can make adding some friction a fine idea.
Raps under Less Than Ideal conditions are often safer and easier when you add extra friction to the rap to better control your descent speed. This can be especially true for beginners, who most of the time are happy to go down a little more slowly under greater control.
Note, using these techniques does not replace having a third hand backup autoblock.
Note: It is critically important that you always use a rappel device that is properly sized for your rope.
This is especially true if you are using twin or half ropes. Many accidents have happened when people have started to slide uncontrollably when they had a skinny rope in a rappel device designed for something larger. The techniques below do not replace having the correct rappel device to begin with.
Here are a few easy ways to add friction to a rappel.
Note - Method 3 is my favorite, because it's more easily adjustable on the fly. Need just a little bit of extra friction? Redirect the brake strand through the bottom carabiner. Need even more friction? Redirect the brake strand through the top carabiner.
Methods 3 is what we might call “adjustable”. Meaning, you can have the carabiners in place, ready to go in case you need them. If you find your rap is going faster than you like, you can then use them. Because rappels get faster near the bottom when there is less rope weight, this can be a good approach.
1) Use TWO carabiners and clip the rope through both.
The extra friction of the second carabiner slows your descent. This may be counterintuitive, as it seems that the sharper angle made by a single carabiner would slow the rope more. It’s actually the opposite - try it yourself and see. This second carabiner does not necessarily need to be locking, and it does not have to be clipped to your belay loop.
Lots of pro guides advocate this technique, but personally I‘ve found it doesn’t make much of a difference.
Bonus tip - if you find yourself having to belay on a skinny rope with a belay device that's not quite rated for it, you can use this same “double belay carabiner” trick to add a bit more friction. (Ideally, you should never find yourself in this situation . . .)
2) Clip a spare carabiner to your device’s “ear”, then to the belay loop.
If you have a plaquette style belay device such as a DMM Pivot or ATC Guide, try this: feed the rope as for a normal rappel. Clip a spare carabiner (non locker is fine) through the “ear” of the device, then clip that carabiner to your belay loop. Doing this changes the braking angle of the device, increasing friction.
Note: The effectiveness of this has a lot to do with the rope diameter, how slippery the sheath is, and the size of the carabiners you’re using. This might be the perfect solution, it may only give a tiny bit of increased friction at all, or it may completely lock up your device. Definitely practice this one on a staircase first!
Note, if you’re rappelling from a sling with an extended rappel, can you clip this year back to your belay loop, you will immediately lock up your device and be in ascending mode. Which at times can be super helpful! Learn more at this article.
3) “Rappel Z” with an extended rappel
This is pretty hard to describe in words, so check out the diagram below.
This has the advantage of working with an autoblock backup, if you choose to use it. Note that you need to attach the autoblock to the leg loop, and it might also add an unnecessary extra amount of friction and cluster. As always, practice in a controlled situation, like a staircase, before you use it for real.
image: “Self Rescue”, by DAvid Fasulo, illustration by Mike CLelland
Snow anchors: how strong are they?
Sinking a snow picket and having a few people try to pull it out is kind of fun . . . but not very scientific. The French national guide school did some real world pull tests on snow anchors, and there are a few good takeaways.
Here’s another “tres bien” video from ENSA (“École Nationale de Ski et d'Alpinisme”, or the French National Guide School) where they take engineering tools out into the real world and see how climbing gear and technique really work. (Video link at bottom of page.)
If you haven't seen it yet, be sure and watch this other great video, where they test the usefulness of brake knots in the rope for two person crevasse rescue.
In the mountains near Chamonix, they rigged some pull tests on all manner of snow anchors, some traditional (pickets, snow bollard, ice axes, vertical and horizontal skis), and some unconventional (plastic bags, soda bottle).
Here are some takeaways:
Placing a vertical anchor, like a picket, at a 25° angle leaning away from the direction of pull makes the anchor approximately 40% stronger. (See graphic below.)
Even in a buried plastic bag and a soda bottle held 200+ kg, more than enough to rappel from. (I still think I'd let my friend go first . . .)
From the 2010 International Snow Science Workshop, a paper called “Snow anchors for Belaying and Rescue”, by Don Bogie (New Zealand) and Art Fortini, (USA) is probably the most detailed study on snow anchor strength. It states (pg. 315): "In order to allow some room for error when placing a stake it is recommended that when placing upright mid clips that an angle of 30 degrees back from perpendicular is used.”
So, somewhere in the neighborhood of 30° is probably optimal.
image: screen grab from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYtYZgeUpek
There’s a nice chart near the end that summarizes all of the data. (The fourth column, “strength in daN”, means “dekanewton”, a metric unit of force. It's 0.01 kN, or approximately the same as 1 kg of force.)
image: screen grab from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYtYZgeUpek
Finally, for a very deep dive into snow anchors, here’s a training video for the Mountain Rescue Association featuring a presentation from snow anchor expert Art Fortini.
Top reasons why “hydration systems” are Less Than Ideal
Lots of people use water bladders, but they have a host of downsides that are rarely considered. Here's a list of why water bladders really do “suck”.
Everyone agrees that keeping properly hydrated is important in any endurance sport. But do you really need a so-called “hydration system” to do this? While water bladder / reservoirs can work for mountain biking and day hiking, they have a host of downsides you may want to consider before you take one on your next long hike, trek or alpine climb.
The tubes can freeze.
There are many delicate parts (tubes, bladders, mouthpiece bite valves) that can easily break or malfunction, and they’re hard to repair in the field.
They have lots of hard to clean cracks and crevices where funky microorganisms can grow.
They’re hard to fill, either from streams or with snow.
It’s difficult to monitor your water consumption and see how much you have left.
It’s hard to share water with others.
Depending on the design of your pack, you may have to empty out a good chunk of it to remove and refill the reservoir.
The mouthpiece can easily drag in the dirt when you put your pack on the ground, yuck.
You can’t use a reservoir in camp as a cup for hot drinks.
You can’t put hot water in a reservoir and put a sock over it at night, to help dry out wet socks.
They’re very expensive compared to a simple water bottle.
Bonus reason: Unless you’re in some sort of a race/competition, are you REALLY in that much of a hurry that you can’t stop for a minute or two and drink some water?
So, how to stay well watered on the go? A simple water bottle.
Get a small ultralight mesh bag and attach it to your pack shoulder strap. (Search Etsy for “backpack water bottle holder”, or try this Etsy store.
Put a water bottle in one of the stretchy mesh pockets on the side of your pack, a feature of many packs designed for backpacking. If it's hot, start your trip with larger bottle(s) inside your pack, and refill the small bottle at breaks. This lets you drink on the move as effectively as a bladder system, with none of the cost and hassles.
Don't get a Nalgene bottle, those are too heavy (about 7 ounces empty). Simply re-purpose most any empty water or juice bottle. Smart water bottles are popular, they are tall, skinny, and have fairly sturdy plastic. Personally, I am a fan of the 20 ounce Gatorade bottle.
Oh, and, check the water bottle aisle next time you’re in REI. Camelback sells, you guessed, it, a simple water bottle (complete with large Camelback logo.) A tad ironic, no?
Related story: A friend of mine went on a trekking expedition to Tibet. The trekking company explicitly told everyone on the trip NOT to bring water reservoirs with a tube. Reason: The trails were also used by pack animals such as yaks. Yaks poop everywhere. The sun and low humidity dries out the yak poop, and then the poop pulverizes into tiny particles from the feet of people and animals. The floating yak poop powder then settles on, you guessed it, your drinking tube, YUCK! They found that many Westerners were getting sick on their trips. When they had guests change to a simple water bottle, the illness rate went way down.
Finally, here's what world-class alpinist Steve House thinks about water bladders.
(Can you imagine planning and saving money for months for an expedition, traveling halfway around the world to a remote serious mountain, and then bailing because your water bladder leaked all over?!)
Use a tarp for a quick snow shelter
Carrying a tarp is not only for shelter; it does extra duty as a first aid and rescue tool. Here's a slick way to make an emergency snow trench shelter with a tarp.
This tip comes courtesy of the Jackson Hole Outdoor Leadership Institute.
The photos were first published in this Facebook post.
Carrying a lightweight tarp as part of your emergency shelter system is an excellent idea for lots of reasons. In addition to the obvious tent-like shelter to sleep in, here are a few other options.
Lunchtime quick shelter for you and a small group (sit on your packs and pull the tarp over you.)
Package an injured person and drag them out in snow
Outer layer of “thermal burrito wrap” to package an hypothermic or injured patient with foam pads and sleeping bags / warm clothing while you wait for rescue in a cold environment
Extra layer over a simple bivy bag, offering more protection for your upper body and some covered room to move around
For today's post, it's a key component of a snow trench winter shelter.
The basic concept is simple, and the photos below show it pretty well, but here's a step-by-step. (The photos below are for people with ski touring equipment, but if you don't have it you can improvise.)
Dig a rectangular hole that's wide enough for you and your ski buddy, and about 4 feet deep. (If the snow isn't that deep, you can excavate down to bare ground and then build up walls on three sides.)
Place your skis across the top (If you’re below timberline and don't have skis, branches would work also)
Put your tarp over the skis. ( A 7’ by 9’ tarp is about the minimum size you can use; ask me how I know this!)
Use your ski poles (or branches) to anchor the four corners of the tarp.
Pack some around the edges of the tarp.
Dig a separate access hole, and carefully build an arch / hole so you can get in and out of your trench.
If you have an proper sleeping bag and sleeping pad, you're all set. If you don't, you better dust off your bushcraft skills, and go collect a bunch of conifer boughs to place under you for insulation, and on the side to keep snow from falling in on you.
There you go! Fast, reasonably comfy, and constructed without any advanced igloo building skills or getting sopping wet from trying to dig a snow cave.
photo: https://www.facebook.com/JHOutdoorLeadership/posts/1920166718037956
photo: https://www.facebook.com/JHOutdoorLeadership/posts/1920166718037956
There are lots of good quality tarps out there.
Ski rescue sled tarps
If you spend a lot of time backcountry skiing, you might want to carry a rescue tarp. Use it as a quick lunchtime shelter, a more serious overnight pit shelter, and a toboggan-style rescue sled. Check out the one below, made in Seattle by High Mountain Gear.
Use the discount code ALPINESAVVY10 to get a 10% discount from High Mountain Gear.
High mountain gear ski guide sled tarp. Photo: https://highmtngear.com/
High mountain gear ski guide sled tarp. Photo: https://highmtngear.com/
Here's a tarp I have that I like a lot, the Pariah Sanctuary Sil tarp. The main thing I like is the price.
Note that the link below will show you tarps in several shapes and sizes. I have the 8’ x 10’ “flat cut rectangle”. The sewn tabs at the the 16 tie out points are well made, and it comes with all the goodies you need to set it up, including six ultralight stakes, 60 feet of 1.5mm Dyneema guy line and a carrying stuff sack.
(And note how to pronounce the name = “Pariah” is pronounced like the woman's named, “Maria”.)
DIY - Make a rug from a retired climbing rope
Your trusty climbing rope has served you well, and deserves a better fate than to be cut up into dog leashes. Make a rug out of it instead.
Got a newly retired climbing rope? Feeling crafty? Turn that rope into a lovely rug.
As always, YouTube is your friend.
The 2 to 1 “Z pull” haul, explained
On a longer big wall, with bigger loads, using mechanical advantage to lift your haul bags can be extremely helpful. Here's a deep dive into the 2 to 1 hauling system.
Credits for this idea, as best I can. The 2:1 Z pull haul is generally attributed to Chongo, a legendary Yosemite dirtbag who was famous for extended vertical camping trips on El Capitan with ridiculously large loads. Pete Zabrok, also no stranger to multiple week outings on the captain with huge loads, popularized it via a 2004 Tech Tip in Climbing magazine, and now climbers such as Mark Hudon have refined it further.
This technique is explained nicely in the comprehensive aid climbing manual “Hooking Up, by Pete Zabrok and Fabio Elli, highly recommended for all big wall climbers!
A few words on hauling, from the excellent book “Higher Education” by Andy Kirkpatrick.
“Hauling is potentially one of the most dangerous aspects of big wall climbing. This translates to ultra-caution in all parts of your hauling system and interaction with bags, haul lines, docking cords, and pulleys. If you rush and make a mistake, drop a load or have it shift where it's not wanted, you could easily kill someone or yourself. I try and teach climbers to view their bags as dangerous creatures, like a great white shark, rhino, or raptor that is in their charge. The ability to keep them calm and under your control comes down to paranoia, foresight, and heavy respect for the damage they can do.”
Think before you act. Before you connect or disconnect anything, always think a step or two ahead and anticipate what will happen and potential problems. “If I untie this docking cord, then the load is going to go there, and after that happens, I’m going to do this . . . ”
On big wall climbs taking two or three days with a team of two, you can probably use a traditional 1:1 hauling system. However, for climbs much longer than this, or a team of three, or when you or your teammate are significantly lighter than the bags, or if the hauling is on terrain less then vertical, or maybe when you simply want to suffer a lot less, you may well want to add some mechanical advantage. As the saying goes, you can work hard, or you can work smart. For a big load, a 2:1 haul is working smart. (If you’re taking a truly ridiculous amount of stuff and need a 3:1 or 4:1, you're probably an expert enough climber to figure that out on your own, so I'm not going to cover that here.)
Say you have a pair of haul bags that together weigh 200 pounds. If you rig a 2:1 haul, you (theoretically) can lift this load with only 100 pounds of force. The catch is, you have to pull twice as much rope in order to get the load to the anchor, but for many people that’s a fine trade off to make. Think of it this way: do you want to lift 200 pounds once, or 100 pounds twice?
Now, there is Google-load of information out there about 2:1 haul systems. But like most things on the interweb, especially discussion forums, the signal to noise ratio is not so great; you’ll have to wade through pages of the usual randomness to get anything worthwhile.
Well, good news you you, I’ve taken care of the sorting and sifting. This post is a summary of current (2020) best practices, clear photos, and some specific gear reccos for the 2:1 big wall haul.
I’ll be honest, the first time I saw this I found it pretty darn confusing, and wondered if it was really worth it. But once you get the components arranged correctly, and give a little thought to what is happening, and try some real world testing, you’ll get the hang of it. And, hopefully you will never have to use that all too common excuse for bailing, “The bags were too heavy . . .”
One of the best climbing diagrams ever made, IMHO. Drawing by Mike Clelland, first published in Climbing magazine (March 2004) article written by Pete Zabrok. Note, while the system has been refined in several areas since it was first published, this is still the core idea.
image credit: Mike Clelland
Big picture concepts:
Minimize stretch wherever possible
Use high quality/efficiency pulleys
Lift the load by doing squats using your body weight or pushing down with your legs, not by pulling with your arms
Practice a lot with real loads
Get it set up fast and haul the bags a few meters off the lower anchor ASAP so your follower can get to work
The basic set up is a 1:1 haul through a progress capturing pulley, such a Petzl Traxion. (This is a pulley that has a one-way rope grab on it like an ascender, that let you pull the rope through one direction but prevents it from sliding back.) Yes, these little suckers are expen$ive!
On the load strand of the haul line, you add on an entirely separate 2:1 lifting system. You raise the load with the 2:1 lifting system, and then pull the slack rope through the progress capture pulley.
In the rigging world, this is sometimes referred to as a “pig rig”, because you are “piggybacking” a 2-1 system on top of the main loaded rope. (And, that’s an entirely appropriate name for big wall climbing, because haul bags are affectionately known as “pigs”.)
General diagram of a 2:1 “pig rig”. (The black rope is the main static haul line. The gray cord is the 2-1 “Z cord.” Tilt your head to the left; it looks like a letter Z, get it?)
In the diagram below, the system is spread out over two anchors. It also works fine on one.
(Note: if you've taken a crevasse rescue or rope rescue class, you might think of a “Z drag” as being a 3:1 mechanical advantage. That is correct. However, in this case, the “Z” is a 2:1 system, with a change of direction pulley, as you can see below. Trust me, it's 2:1, don't let the “Z” in the name confuse you.)
Here's how it works.
The hauler pulls down on the gray cord, maybe by squatting in the harness.
This lifts the black rope, creating slack.
Pull that slack through with your hand, capturing the progress with the pulley on the right anchor.
Repeat!
Image credit: Andy Kirkpatrick, from his excellent book “Higher Education”, used with permission
There are various ways to rig a 2-1 haul. Here's one.
Components
All parts live in a designated small stuff sack and stay clipped together between hauls, ready to deploy.
Large HMS locking “master point” carabiner
Short Dyneema dogbone quickdraw runner (hard to see in the photo, sorry.) Zero stretch, important! This could also be a large stopper or custom made metal quickdraw. This allows the carabiner and progress capture pulley below it (3 & 4) to rotate and align when pulling.
Locking carabiner
Progress capture pulley, here a Petzl Mini Traxion
The “tractor” pulley, so called because it’s doing the work
Quicklink, I think 8mm
Inverted ascender, here a Petzl Croll. Could be a Petzl Basic or similar small ascender without a handle.
The haulbag(s), aka “the pig”
Haul line, typically 70 meter, 10 mm, static rope
Handled ascender. Add this to the “pulldown” side of the haul line to make it easier on your tired wall hands. But remember, you want to be doing most of the hauling with your bodyweight and not your arms.
The Z cord - 7 mm cord, start with about 5 meters. If you find you have too much extra cord, trim some off. Could be a thinner 5.5 mm static spectra cord for a slightly more efficient pull. Be sure and tie a large stopper knot on the end to prevent your hardware from sliding off accidentally. (Pro tip, bring a second spare Z cord, in case the first one gets trashed.)
The “redirect” pulley, so called because redirects the Z cord downwards so you can use your body weight to lift. This pulley does not add any mechanical advantage. This should be a high quality pulley, see examples below.
Small loop of 11/16” webbing tied through the pulley. This webbing connection, rather than a carabiner, allows the redirect pulley to freely rotate and give a more efficient pull. It’s important to have this webbing loop small so the redirect carabiner is high, which gives you a longer, more efficient pulling stroke.
Not shown: Two carabiners with rounded cross sections on your belay loop. When you’re hauling, you can clove hitch the orange Z cord to both of these carabiners. Having two of them makes untying the loaded clove hitch easier. Old school oval carabiners work fine.
Another option is to clip an ascender with a stirrup of webbing or an aid ladder onto the Z cord, and pump down on the Z cord with your leg.
Here’s another way to rig this. Note the redirect pulley (orange) with an integrated swivel, smaller diameter static Z cord, a cable quick draw (zero stretch) and a Petzl Basic ascender. This looks a little simpler without the haul rope, but it's the same basic idea.
image: https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/115790897/the-latest-greatest-21-hauling-kit
Side note: You might be tempted to use a rigging plate clipped to the master carabiner, because it has three things clipped to it and it's getting kind of busy. This would be a mistake. Reason being, that rigging plate is going to rock back-and-forth as it's loaded and unloaded on different sides, which will decrease your hauling efficiency.
Rigging plate - Do NOT use it in your 2-1 hauling system.
One of the beauties of the 2 to 1 haul kit is that you can set it up pretty much once, keep most of the components clipped together in the correct order, and leave it that way. It has its own small designated sturdy stuff sack (medium sized Fish “Beef Bag” works great). The haul kit is never taken apart, and is either being used or in the storage bag. Note that the hauling system hardware always stays clipped to the storage bag; can’t drop the bag if you do this.
Note that the leader does not have to take the haul kit up with them on lead. The leader can trail a tagline, and bring up the haul kit once they arrive at the anchor. Doing this saves weight and cluster on your harness. More on using taglines here.
At the belay, here’s what you do:
Build an equalized master point anchor from 2 bolts. (If the bolts look newish and extra stout, you can haul off just one, but I’ll leave that choice to you. Me, I like 2 bolts.) Use an “anchor kit” of several large locking carabiners, and maybe a pre-tied quad anchor or PAS that you and your partner can set up fast and the same way pretty much every time.
Clip the master point carabiner for the Z haul system to the anchor master point (or lone hauling bolt).
Run the haul rope through the progress capture pulley, engage the cam, and pull all the slack through the pulley. Then clip on the inverted ascender. Hopefully you have a rope bag; now would be a good time to start using it to stack the haul rope.
Extend your daisies or connection to the anchor so you are free to move. Find yourself a good stance and adjust the Z cord with the clove hitch on your harness. (Altenatively, clip an ascender to the Z cord, clip on an aid ladder, and press down with your leg.)
Start lifting your bags a few meters, so your partner below can get busy breaking down the anchor. (Once the bags have been lifted off the lower anchor, ONLY THEN you can take a break for a minute or two before you start the real hauling.)
A few notes . . .
As pointed out to me by wall ace Mark Hudon: Yes, you may be theoretically 2:1 efficient, but that can also mean 2:1 inefficient. Meaning, if you have 1 inch of slack in your lifting system, you’re actually losing 2 inches of lift with every stroke. When you push the lifting ascender down, be sure to Z cord comes tight to the clove hitch to your harness so there is no slack. Squat with your body weight. If you doing it right, there should be no pulling or lifting with your arms at all.
Practice, practice, practice with this system. Go find a retaining wall, a tree, a fire escape, an outside staircase, whatever, and load up a haul bag with water bottles or bricks or rocks, and really give it a work out. Which way should the master carabiner face (left or right off the bolt hanger) to be most efficient for you? Do you want to have the inverted ascender by your dominant hand or your weaker hand? How long exactly should the Z cord be? (This changes depending on your stance.) These are some subtle yet important adjustments that can only be found with practice. Taking the time to dial in your system will pay big dividends on the wall.
It's usually less energy to do more small squats than fewer big ones. Doing short little strokes might seem like it's gonna take forever, but you're probably going to expand less energy in the long run.
Ideally, you want your strong/dominant hand on the inverted ascender, and your weaker/non-dominant hand pulling the slack rope through the progress capture pulley. So, in the cartoon diagram at the top, and the labeled photo, this is set up for a left handed person. Experiment with this and see what work for you.
Ideally, both pulleys should be high efficiency, with sealed ball bearings with 1.5 to 2 inch aluminum sheaves/wheels. These will cost about $40 each, don’t skimp on these. If you have one pulley that’s better quality and/or has a larger diameter wheel, use this as as redirect pulley, and use the smaller or lower quality pulley on the tractor. The reasons for this get into some engi-nerd territory, but trust me, this is the best way to rig it. (But, don’t be a cheapskate, just spend an extra 10 bucks or so, get two high quality pulleys, and then it’s not an issue at all.)
When shopping for pulleys, go for quality from major manufacturers such as SMC, Petzl or CMI; they are used a lot by professional riggers and rescue teams. Look at the technical specifications. Stay away from cheaper pulleys that have plastic wheels (aka sheave) or bronze or nylon bushings. You want an aluminium sheave and sealed ball bearings. A small inefficiency in a pulley is magnified many thousands of hauling strokes over a single route, so the difference between say 70% and 80% efficient is significant. Fortunately you can have lightweight, high efficiency pulleys, you just need to buy the right ones.
Mark Hudon likes the 2" Single PMP and the Micro Single PMP, both made by SMC (Seattle Manufacturing Company). Some other good options would be the Petzl Rescue pulley or the CMI RP102.
Prusik minding pulleys (also known by the acronym of PMP) tend to be more expensive that regular pulleys. You don’t need a PMP in this system, because there are no prusiks.
When hauling, remove everything from your harness gear loops. You want to minimize extra weight when you’re repeatedly squatting and standing.
Bring a spare Z cord. If you're doing this over a ledge, the cord might get damaged. Bring a spare.
Practice will not only help you haul more efficiently, but it will help you get set up faster. This is important, because your partner can’t start to break down the anchor and begin cleaning until you haul the bags at least a meter or two and get them off the previous anchor.
If the leader wants to be extra courteous and helpful, they can break down the hauling kit when the bags are safely docked, package it back up in its stuff sack, and hang it on the first piece of gear for the next pitch, so the new leader can be sure and grab it. (If the second is using a tagline to pull up the kit when they need it, then no need to hang it on gear for the next pitch.)
Just like with any hauling system, you want to minimize friction in any way you can. If you have the option, build your hauling anchor as high up as possible, and try to eliminate or minimize the angle at which the rope may run over any rock edges. If the pitch is overhanging, lucky you. If you're pulling the bags up a slab, then you're theoretical 2:1 is going to act more like a 1:1. Prepare to suffer.
Wear gloves for big wall hauling. The Metolius 3/4 finger climbing gloves are great.
Here’s a video of Mark Hudon using this system to haul a big load on the first day on El Cap. Keep in mind Mark weighs about 130 pounds, but look at the great rhythm he has with the pull.
The brake knot for 2 person glacier travel
The brake knot, designed to add increased friction in the event of a crevasse fall, is the best choice for traveling as a two person team on a glacier.
For glacier travel, many experts feel that four is an optimum number on a rope team, with three slightly more risky. If you choose to travel as a two person team, each climber needs to be highly skilled in crevasse avoidance, crevasse rescue, and have all the necessary gear.
A two person team is harder, because stopping the fall and then trying to build an anchor with the weight of your fallen partner on your harness is a significant challenge.
Studies by ENSA (École Nationale de Ski et d'Alpinisme) or French National Mountain Guide School, determined determined that a few bulky brake knots in the rope between a two person team can significantly help with crevasse rescue, assuming fairly typical snow conditions on the surface - not completely bare, and not too loose and fluffy. The knots typically shorten the length of a fall, and make it easier for the person on top to hold the victim.
(On the flipside, the knots can complicate prusiking up the rope and rigging a mechanical advantage system, but the benefits of a shorter and easier to catch fall generally outweigh these shortcomings.)
The short version from ENSA:
“Our tests validated the effectiveness of this technique, and we strongly recommend climbers use it.”
IMAGE: HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=QHW9AM7AHLA
While a standard figure 8 on a bight loop or butterfly knot is effective, ENSA suggests using a “brake knot”. It creates a larger diameter, more spherical-shaped knot that offers more friction against the snow.
Here’s the method they recommend to tie the knot. Fortunately, it's a simple modification of the figure 8 on a bight, so it should be easy to learn and remember for pretty much anyone.
Tip - Don't make the loops too large, because this is just wasting rope.
Each brake knot takes about 1 meter of rope, so take this into account when setting your rope spacing. Tie the knots first, and then measure your 7-8 or so arm spans between climbers.
Start with a standard figure 8 on a bight, with a loop of about 1 foot.
Next, tuck the loop around the knot . . .
and finally, pass the loop back through the knot, then snug down each strand to dress it. The final loop created should be just a few inches tall.
The knot tying instructions starts at 6:20 In the video below, hopefully this link should take you right there.
And here's a nice video from Ortovox featuring some pro German guides who have much the same conclusion. It works!
Crevasse Falls: do brake knots work?
Traveling on a glacier in a two person team can make arresting a fall and crevasse rescue very difficult. Fortunately, we now have some definitive answers on a way to make it safer - brake knots in the rope.
If you've ever tried to perform a crevasse rescue in a two person climbing team, you know it’s a very challenging operation. The two main steps of holding the fall and then constructing an anchor are made much more difficult if you are holding most of the weight of your fallen partner. (If you do choose to travel on a glacier with just a two person team, both of you need to be completely dialed in your rescue technique and have all necessary equipment.)
For some time now, it’s been generally recommended to tie brake knots in the rope when on a glacier as a two person team. The theory is the knots will catch in the snow in the case of a fall, minimizing the distance of the fall, and also helping to hold the weight of the victim, making the rescue initiation much easier.
There are a couple of downsides to this technique, namely it makes it more difficult to prusik up the rope, and can complicate rigging a mechanical advantage hauling system. This is generally true, but with a bit of practice you can overcome both these obstacles quite easily. For the hauling, if you’re carrying enough extra rope in your pack or even a second rope for rescue, you can drop this rope to the victim and use it to carry out the rescue and pretty much ignore the loaded rope that has the knots in it. Two, if needed, it's quite easy to pass a knot through a hauling system provided you have some modern gear like a Tibloc and Traxion pulley; learn how to do it here.
But, while a popular technique in Europe, this method has not fully caught on in North America.
To get some definitive data on this issue, rigorous testing was conducted by ENSA (École Nationale de Ski et d'Alpinisme) or French National Guide School. These are some of the most expert mountain guides in the world, and they have the knowledge and engineering tools needed to come up with some solid answers.
Fortunately, they made a video (in English) that shows their testing procedure and results, which should settle the argument once and for all.
(Note that this recommendation is for TWO PERSON teams only, not three or more.)
The short version:
“Our tests validated the effectiveness of this technique, and we strongly recommend climbers use it.”
image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qhw9AM7ahlA
While watching the whole video is recommended, here are a few takeaways.
3:15 - “Then I did it for real, sliding for 4 or 5 meters until the knots dug into the snow and held the weight. In real life, the belayer would then be completely free to make an anchor and start the rescue procedure, without being pulled forward by the person in the crevasse, and without the rope being continually under tension.”
4:12 - Brake knots are only effective when there is deeper softer snow above the ice layer. “When the same study was done with only 30 cm of snow over ice, this was not enough snow for the knots to properly dig in, and the knots did not work at all . . . The knots simply slid on the ice and didn’t properly penetrate into the snowpack.” However . . . “if the snow cover at the lip of the crevasse is 1.5 m to 2 m deep, then the knots are pulled deeply into the snow and end up blocking the rope.”
5:06 - “With knots, at the end of a fall, there is a maximum force of only 10 or 20 kg on the belayer, which means it's very easy to hold the person who’s hanging from the rope. This obviously makes the rescue procedure a lot safer.”
5:41 - “The tests showed that 3-4 knots were easily enough to reduce the load on the belayer. There's no point in tying more knots than this, because it will just use up a lot of rope.”
6::00 - “We recommend tying one knot 3 meters from each person, and then another two knots at 2 meter intervals.”
6:01 - “Brake knots should be big and bulky, so they brake effectively when they are pulled into the snow. They should also use as little rope as possible.”
6:20 - Pay attention knot geeks, here’s a new one here I bet you don't know - the “brake knot”, a classic figure 8 on a bight with one addition to give it a larger diameter.
Improvised progress capture
Sure, a svelte progress capture pulley in a hauling system (such as a Petzl Micro Traxion) is great. But if you don't have one, a quick link, captive eye carabiner, or belay device can help keep your prusik loop in place in a hauling system. And let's not forget the big wall favorite, an ascender.
In most any kind of hauling system, you need a way to capture the progress of your hauling, so the load doesn’t slip when you ease up on your pulling.
Sure, it’s great to have a nice progress capturing pulley like a Petzl Micro Traxion) every time you might need one, or maybe a prusik minding pulley. But, dang, those little suckers are expensive! Plus, often in a self rescue situation, you need to improvise and adapt with the gear you have available.
Another option is the so-called “prusik minding” pulley. This is a pulley with the narrow “sidewalls”. This means that the prusik catches on the pulley, and doesn’t get sucked into it. Yes, these work well, but for some reason they seem to cost about twice as much as a standard pulley. I don't understand this at all, and that's why I don't own one nor recommend them.
Here are a few methods.
In all the photos below, the load strand is on the left, the pull strand is on the right.
In most of the photos below, I’m using a carabiner rather than a pulley. Pulleys are better to reduce friction but minimalist climbers do not often have one.
1 - Quicklink
Add a quicklink to both rope strands as shown, above the prusik. This keeps prusik from getting sucked into the carabiner.
The success of this depends on quicklink size, rope diameter, prusik diameter, etc. Like with all self rescue techniques, be sure and test this at home before you rely on it in the field. (And yes, I get it that quicklinks are a heavy, single use piece of kit that some people choose not to carry. You’re especially unlikely to have one on a glacier climb.)
2 - Captive eye carabiner (here, a Grivel Clepsydra)
That tiny end of that carabiner that fits nicely around your belay loop? That also does a nice job of keeping the prusik hitch from pulling through.
I love this carabiner for glacier travel. Your carabiner never gets cross loaded, which can be important when you're clipped to the rope rather than tying in to the rope, the double gate design means it will never freeze shut or wiggle open, and it does extra duty as shown below if you need it.
3 - Belay device
Use a tube style belay device such as a Black Diamond ATC. However, this has a few downsides.
You have to be clever enough to install it when you’re building your system; you can't put it on after the rope is loaded. The benefit of the quicklink is that it can be added after the rope is loaded.
You just “lost” your ATC into the hauling system. Generally it's best to keep important personal gear available if possible in case you have to use it later.
For moderate glacier travel, many people choose not to bring a belay device at all. So you may not have one when you're most likely to need it. But for other hauling situations, it works pretty well.
4 - Ascender
Here's one for the aid climbers, who are likely to have a pulley and an ascender. Before progress capture pulleys were invented, this was the standard hauling method on big walls.
This looks like the rope is getting twisted as it goes through the pulley. In fact, once you put a load on it, the pulley and ascender line up quite nicely.
What size haul bag should I get?
There aren't a lot of manufacturers, nor whistles and bells when it comes to haul bags. The main choice is what size. Surprisingly, you can get a lot more room for a very small increase in weight and cost.
I think the short answer to this is the largest size that you can comfortably carry. If you're under about 5’5”, the larger bags are going to have shoulder straps and waist loops that may not fit your body very well.
How long are the walls you're planning to climb? Are you heading up a short outing in Zion National Park, where you're probably going to be on the wall for maximum one night? Then you can use a smaller bag. Or, are you heading up El Capitan on an outing of more than about three days? Then you probably want the biggest bag you can manage.
Haul bag sizing and pricing is kind of an interesting situation.
Let's look at Metolius, one of the most popular brands. Their largest two bags are called the El Cap and the Half Dome. (Costs are as of Feb 2019)
El Cap: 157 liters, weight 3.6 kg, cost $229
Half Dome: 125 liters, weight 3.4 kg, cost $219
So, for only $10 more money, and a weight increase of only 0.2 kg, you get an extra 32 liters of storage! For me, that's a no brainer. I'm getting the El Cap.
Below: the Metolius haul bag line up. From left to right, Half Dome is #3, El Cap is #4.
image: https://www.metoliusclimbing.com/haul_bags.html
Having some extra room in your haul bag, rather than packing everything into it like a Chinese puzzle, can make your life a lot easier.
And, of course, you don't want to fit everything in your haul bag anyway. For things like your portaledge, garbage bag, poop tube, wall bucket and your day bag, you probably will be using gear tethers anyway, like we described on this tip.
Anchor your haul bag with a docking cord
So you’ve hauled Le Pig to the anchor, now what? Be sure and connect it to the anchor with a system that can be easily released under complete tension - the docking cord.
Standard big wall practice for many decades was to girth hitch a sewn loop daisy chain to your haul bag, and then clip the daisy to the anchor with a locking carabiner. Seems like a decent idea on the surface, doesn’t it?
But just try to unclip that monster bag from an awkward stance, if the bag is being pulled sideways, and any number of other scenarios, and the shortcomings quickly become obvious - you have to lift the entire weight of the bag with one hand/arm, and use your other hand to unclip the carabiner on the daisy. Yes, it sucks!
You don’t EVER want to be doing this if you can possibly avoid it!
Here’s the modern way: always attach your haul bag to the anchor with a system that is releasable under load - the docking cord. This is simply a 15 (or so) foot doubled length of 8 mm (or 7 mm) cord that’s used to tie a munter hitch plus a “barber pole” wrap to the anchor that can be easily released, even under full tension.
A Munter Mule overhand, aka MMO, on a single or double strand, work as well.
The lineage of the docking cord method is a little hard to trace, but it's generally attributed to Chongo, a legendary Yosemite aid climber, and then further popularized by Yosemite veterans Pete Zabrok and Mark Hudon. (Let's give credit where credit is due, eh?)
Nice diagram from vdiffclimbing.com. (Note that the docking cord is clipped to the master haul bag carabiner. I prefer tying it to the long strap on the haul bag, more on that below.)
image: vdiffclimbing.com/bigwall-hauling/
Where do you attach the docking cord?
Many people clip it directly to the master carabiner, as shown below on the right. However, if you do this, when the bag is docked, you have the weight of the bag also loading the master carabiner, which can make opening at the bag bit more difficult.
I think a better option is shown in the left photo below: tie the docking cord with a retraced overhand knot directly to the long strap. If you do this, after the bag is docked and you release tension on the haul rope, you have slack on the master carabiner, which makes getting in and out of your bag much easier.
Here's one more tip on where to tie your docking cord (which I unfortunately learned after I shot all these photos). Most haul bags have some sturdy sewn tabs around the opening. If your tie your docking cord to one of these tabs, you can dock the bag higher up on the anchor, which often makes accessing the bag more convenient. Plus, there is no tension on either of the black straps, which makes getting in and out of your bag easy, One potential downside of this is that your bag may not hang level which is usually okay.
The photo below is not mine, I borrowed it off of Instagram and no longer know the source. If it's yours, please let me know and I will give you proper credit.
Consider where the bag should go on the anchor. Something to keep in mind: does the next pitch traverse? If it does, you want the bag on that side. For example, if the next pitch traverses to the right, you want the bag docked on the right. If it’s docked on the left, when it's released, it's going to do it's best to treat you as a bowling pin as it’s lowered out. You will probably make this mistake only once. =^)
If the next pitch goes pretty much straight up, it doesn't really matter where the bag is docked. Generally, you want it away from where your partner is coming up, so if the last piece of gear is on the right, you generally want the bag docked on the left.
If it's the last pitch of the day and you're spending the night in a portaledge, you need to give some thought to where are you going to hang the ledge and hopefully dock the bags somewhat close by. If you're going to put on the ledge fly, you need to know where the opening is, and hang the bags next to the opening.
And one more thing: some people will tell you to always pull the bag up tight to the anchor. But, unless this is your bivy spot, that's really not so important. The bag can hang down quite a ways below the belay after docking. You shouldn't need to get into it during the day, because you were smart enough to bring a wall bucket, or day bag, right?
Here's a tip: After you have your pigs docked, you need transfer the load onto your docking cord. To do this, you need to release the cam on your hauling pulley. Here's one way way to do that. Put a Grigri onto the “pull” end of the haul line, close to the pulley. Sit down hard, push off the wall with your feet, whatever you need to do to lift the bag just a centimeter or so. Once you lift it, release the cam on your pulley. Now, use your Grigri to slowly lower the load onto the docking cord. Clever, no? (This crafty rope trick comes from the excellent big wall instructional book “Hooking Up”, by Pete Zabrok and Fábio Elli.)
While you're at the gear shop buying the cord, you might as well get another 30 feet of 8mm cord, of a few different colors, so you can make gear tethers, something we cover at this Tip.
Note: it’s a Good Idea to make your docking cord a bright obvious color that’s different than your gear tethers, so you can see at a glance which is which.
You probably wouldn’t be too excited about having your only connection to the anchor be a bit of 8 mm cord, and your haul bags probably feel the same way. After you make the primary connection with the docking cord, consider backing it up to something solid. If you have one bag, this could be clipping the haul rope to some other point on the anchor.
If you have two bags side-by-side, each bag is clipped to a different master point in the bags are clipped to each other, so one essentially backs up the other.
(Think through what would happen if that docking cord were to fail - your haul bag could potentially free fall 60 meters the length of the haul rope, which would then put that force onto your anchor. Bad news!)
Here’s what big wall expert Mark Hudon has to say about this system, from his website Hudonpanos.com:
“I use 15 feet of 8 mil cord, doubled. Tie an 8 knot loop in the middle and clip it to the main haul bag carabiner. When you reach an anchor, reach down and grab both strands of one docking cord. Run them up through a carabiner on the anchor (I hang a carabiner down from one of the large lockers of my “Anchor Kit”) and tie a Munter hitch using both cords. Once the Munter is tied, separate the cords and wrap them in opposite directions (aka “barber pole”) around and down the docking cord coming up from the haul bag. After five or six wraps, secure the ends with a simple square knot. Each haul bag has its own docking cord going to different master point carabiner (and each haul bag is clipped to the other) so my feeling is that one is backing up the other.
Releasing this knot and the bags is one of the great features of this system. Untie the square knot and unweave the 8 millimeter cord.
Only when you get to the Munter will you feel any pull on the cords from the bags. It’s casual to let the cords slip from you hand and set the bags free. If I’m with a partner, I can hold both bags with one hand and only one Munter, while waiting for the haul line to come tight and the bags to start moving.”
Here’s a nice video by Mark that shows a very clever way to transfer the haul bag from one part of the anchor system to another, using “far end hauler”, a Micro traxion pulley attached to the haul bag.
Here’s a video that covers it well.
Finally, here's a great diagram from the always amazing artist Mike Clelland, showing how the docking cord works with the other components of a tidy big wall anchor. Note that the diagram shows a single strand of rope tied with a Munter Mule; a bit different than the double strand method shown above, but accomplishes the same thing.
image credit: Mike Clelland
Climbing "shades of grey" - Dealing with conflicting advice
Beginning climbers often hear a confusing mish-mash of different advice and rules. Read this Tip to discern what's a definitive rule, and what’s more personal preference.
Short version: A vast majority of climbing techniques are not black or white, right or wrong, but exist along a continuum of subjectivity and best practice. If you receive climbing advice that differs from what you already know, ask "Why do you like to do it this way, and what might happen if I do it differently?"
It’s day one of climbing school. You’re out at the local crag with a handful of instructors and a few other eager students. One instructor, over the course of an hour or so, shows you how to belay and tie a few knots. You take a break, rotate to another instructor, and they then proceed to tell you a different method to belay and a different way to tie the same knots.
Aaaaaarrrgh! Confusion and frustration! Who should you listen to?
Sound familiar?
Just about every climber can think of situations in their climbing education where they received wildly different advice on a particular topic or technique. Your climbing mentor tells you to belay with your palm up, but the "Freedom of the Hills" instruction book suggests belaying palm down. There seems like a dozen different ways to tie a butterfly knot and everyone wants to convince you their way is the best. You get the idea. When you’re learning, it sometimes seems like everything is like this!
(And let's not get started on YouTube, where Reinhold Messner himself could post a climbing instruction video and even then some yahoos would rip his "incorrect technique" apart in the comment section.)
After you have some experience under your belt, you may be better able to interpret conflicting advice like this, but it can be especially confounding for the newer climber.
New folks are doing their best just to get their heads around the foundational skills, while underneath it all, anxiety is amplified because we all know we are doing a sport that can get you killed in an instant if you do something critical the wrong way.
Here are two approaches to hopefully cut through this fog. One is to understand that climbing techniques exist along a sliding scale. Two is to remember a back-and-forth dialogue needs to happen when you hear conflicting advice.
Let’s dive into each of these.
One: sliding scale
It’s part of human nature to want to put things in a binary box. Is it A or B? Am I right or wrong? Are you liberal or conservative? Is this restaurant great or terrible? This worldview takes less mental energy than trying to weigh the nuances of real life.
But, we all know that most things in life exist along a continuum, a sliding scale of ambiguity between one extreme or the other. The same is true in climbing.
There are actually very few climbing techniques that we can call black or white, set-in-stone, always-do-it-this-way-or-you’re-gonna-have-serious-consequences. I’m giving this a very subjective number of about 10%.
What are some of those black and white rules? Try to think of a few right now.
Never glissade with crampons on.
Never take your brake hand off the rope when you're rappelling or belaying.
Always check your partner's harness and knot before they start to climb.
Always double back your harness buckle.
You can probably think of a few more, but there really aren’t a whole lot more than that!
That means the other 90% of climbing techniques exist along a continuum somewhere in the middle. You could divide these into five general categories:
1 - Never do it this way, you're gonna die or get seriously hurt. Example: Glissading with crampons.
2 - Outdated technique that has a few problems, but you’re not gonna die. Example, using 1-inch webbing for everything.
3 - Completely up to you, flip a coin. Example: using loose chalk or a chalk ball.
4 - Generally preferred modern method, best practice: Example: belaying directly off the anchor in fifth class rock, as opposed to off your belay loop.
5 - Pretty much everyone agrees you should do it this way: Example: Tying knot(s) in the end of your rappel rope so you don’t zing off the ends.
So, this means that the vast majority of climbing techniques are fairly subjective and generally up to your personal preference. Good news, if you do it a different way, you’re probably not going to die! Hopefully this is comforting to the beginning climber who's trying to sort out all this well-intended advice that often comes from different directions.
So, that tells us that this climbing game is not as black-and-white as some people might lead you to think. What's the next step of sorting through the advice? How to decide what you want to absorb and what you want to discard?
esteemquotes.com
Bruce, that's terrific advice, but as new climbers, it's hard to decide "what is useful and what is not". How do we do that?
Here's how. Simply ask, “What could happen to me if I do it differently than what you just showed me?”
Two: Reasons and Consequences
For the giver of advice (instructor): when you offer advice or suggestions, try to follow that up with your rationale(s) for doing so, and the potential consequences of doing it another way.
For the receiver of advice (student): if you hear something that's different from what you already think is correct, try to ask two questions (in a respectful way and ideally at a time that doesn’t interrupt the teaching flow.)
The first question is: “Why do you like to do it that way?”
The second question is, “What might happen if I do it another way?”
(Of course, this is much easier to do when you’re face-to-face with someone, as opposed to reading a book, magazine, or web post).
“Why do you like to do it that way?” If the person offering the advice can immediately answer with a few tangible reasons WHY, then you might well think: “Dang, they know their stuff and have clearly thought this through. It’s different than what I’ve learned, but I’m going to consider this alternative method.”
On the other hand, if your instructor person shrugs their shoulders and says “Well, I dunno, I’ve just always done it like that and I think you should too," then that’s not a very compelling argument for their technique.
“What might happen if I do it another way?” If the answer is "Ehhh, not much", then no problemo, you can pretty much choose whatever method suits you. But, the answer is "If you do it differently than what I taught you, there's a good chance of serious consequences, which are X, Y and maybe Z,” then that's something you should probably pay attention to.
I think you get the idea. Subjectivity is an essential part of climbing, and it's not nearly as black-and-white as many instructors make it out to be. Do your best to embrace the “shades of grey” and develop your own techniques and style within the sliding scale of accepted methods.