Practi Bolts - indoor anchor practice made easy

Full disclosure: Practibolts sent me their product for free. That in no way biases my review; it's a cool product and I want to tell you about it. There are no ads, affiliate marketing links, or paid product promotions on Alpinesavvy. In the rare cases when I get a free product like this, I’ll always let you know. 

---

Looking to practice your anchor building or sport draw clipping technique indoors? Check out Practi Bolts, from the Denver Climbing Company.

This cleverly designed bit of gear has two aluminum bolt hangers, along with two plastic quick links and two short lengths of plastic chain. The hangers have a strong magnet on the back, and some gel material. Press the hangers firmly on any magnetic surface (such as your refrigerator) and you're ready to go. The magnets hold up to about 30 pounds, and the gel keeps them from scratching the surface.

(Hopefully this is blindingly obvious, but I'll say it anyway: these are not meant for any kind of bodyweight load. You will discover this instantly as soon as you lean back on them and end up with your butt on the floor.)

You can use this to practice just about any sort of anchor configuration you can imagine, as well as sport draw clipping. If you have additional quick links or rings, you can use those too. Give ‘em a follow on Instagram, @practibolts, to see more rigging examples.

Let's look at a few configurations that I set up in a few minutes on my fridge. (Sorry about the funky lighting, it's hard to take pictures of shiny stainless steel without some weird reflections . . .

---

Out of the box, here’s what it looks like. Note the approximate 45° angle of the hanger, with the Practi Bolts logo being level. Installing the hangers with this tilt on them helps helps the magnet hold better.

Here's one possible set up for top roping. This makes it easy for the last person, especially if they’re inexperienced. First person threads the rope through the chains, and clips it to a carabiner (locker or non locker) which takes all the wear and tear from top roping. Last person up cleans the carabiner and lowers off. Learn more about this technique here.

Hey, now we're getting fancy. How about the fixed point lead belay? Learn more at this article.

If you have your own anchor hardware, feel free to use that too. Here I added a couple of steel rings, a common anchor set up in many climbing areas.

---

I think you get the idea. Practi Bolts are a fairly inexpensive and versatile way to practice anchor building, rigging, and sport draw clipping from the cozy comfort of your kitchen. Give ‘em a try and help support a small Colorado USA, climber owned business!

Big wall anchors: have "links"

Here’s a classic beginner mistake when making a big wall anchor. (How do I know this? My partner and I manage to do it multiple times on our first wall!)

You clove hitch the rope into the anchor, and then clip something else into the carabiner closer to the gate; let's say there's a 100 kg haul bag on the purple sling. (Sidenote, best practice is to use a docking cord for your haul bag rather than a static sling.)

So far so good . . . except when you need to untie that clove hitch. Good luck unclipping that past the loaded sling. I remember having to actually untie the end of the rope to decluster something similar to the left photo. You do NOT want to be doing this! It's frustrating and a big time waster.

It's also dangerous. Having several things loaded on the master carabiner, and then having to open that carabiner to remove one of them, is risky. Keep that gate closed whenever possible!

A solution: try to rig anchors more like the photo on the right. Avoid tying hitches and clipping slings directly into the master point carabiner, and instead add a “link” (usually a locking carabiner) to everything clipped to the master point.

Short on locking carabiners? Of course you are, that always happens on a big wall. Try a cheapskate locker; a standard carabiner with some athletic tape wrapped around the gate.

Adding “links” makes it much easier to unclip things when another part of the anchor is under load. Pretty simple concept, right? But, it's very easy to screw up, because the anchor is busy, you’re mentally a bit stressed, and you have large static loads like haul bags.

A related big wall anchor concept is known as “last in, first out”. To put it another way, the last thing that gets clipped to a master point should be the first thing that gets unclipped when you're breaking down the anchor.

(The same concept can also apply to a standard anchor, but it's usually not as important to follow. Real live humans can see the problem, clip into another part of the anchor while something gets declustered for a moment, and then re-clip. Much different and easier to solve than the dead weight of a haul bag.)

---

Here's another great option for a big wall masterpoint: the Grivel Vlad. It's a combination locking carabiner and rigging plate. Here's a detailed article about this cool piece of gear.

Edelrid Aramid slings

This article was written with assistance from Max Lurie, an AMGA Certified Rock and Alpine Guide. Connect with Max at his website and Instagram.

---

120 cm Edelrid Aramid sling; stiff enough to pretty much stand up by itself!

Note, I bought my Aramid slings myself. There are no ads, paid product promotions, affiliate marketing links or similar fluff on Alpinesavvy. In the rare cases where a company sends me a product for free, and I review it, I’ll always let you know.

---

Dyneema slings are great for clipping protection when climbing. They are light, strong, fairly inexpensive, and absorb minimum water. However, for anchor building they have a few drawbacks.

1. If you tie an overhand knot in them, it can be really difficult to untie (a figure 8 is a bit easier).

2. Many people have a fear (perhaps mostly unfounded?) that the knots weaken the webbing to a dangerous level. (That’s an entire topic onto itself, which we cover in this article.)

The German company Edelrid makes a sling that’s an attractive alternative: It’s an Aramid (kevlar) cord, that has a sewn connection. This sewing that keeps the bulk down, and eliminates the permanent bend of the material inside of a knot, which may cause the fibers to be damaged over time.

Kevlar cord has been around for a long time, but fell out of favor because it was thought that the fibers can start to cut through each other after repeated flexing at the same place, which you might find if you made a cordelette with, say, a triple fisherman's knot, and never untied it.

So what's the deal? Does repeated load cycling weaken Kevlar to a dangerous level? I asked Edelrid about this, and they sent me an interesting PDF article from the German Alpine Club (DAV), who has tested this extensively. (Here’s a link to that article.)

“Aramid's vulnerability for changing flexing loads was discussed early on, but has shown itself to not be relevant in real life. The number of flexes required to weaken the fibre cannot really be reached during the product's ten year life-span."

Here are more comments from an Edelrid product manager about these slings:

• We have done in house cycle bending tests, and found no notable results.

• Tying knots in the aramid cord sling is perfectly fine, but we always recommend storing slings untied, to let the material rest.

• Always assume that a knot will lower the tensile strength of any sling by 50%, since this is the worst case scenario. The affect of a knot on any material varies greatly between the kind of knot and how well it was tied/dressed.

• The Aramid Cord slings are unique in their stiffness. This makes them perfect for threading in ice or through holes in the rock, or even for throwing them around a rock that the back can’t be reached.

• Compared to a normal webbing sling of nylon or Dyneema, the Kernmantle construction of the Aramid Cord slings (and our Tech Web), offers superior safety (cut resistance, abrasion, aging, UV degrading, etc).

---

They’re easy to rack if you use the “twist” method: double the sling, twist it a few times, and clip the ends together.

---

I've been using Edelrid Aramid slings for a while now, and it's becoming my go-to for lots of applications. It comes in various lengths; I have a 30 and 120 cm. Why do I like ‘em?

• Robust construction, burly outer sheath that's resistant to wear

• Nice and stiff, easier to thread through chockstones and behind rocks

• Very easy to untie after loading

In all fairness, let's look at a few drawbacks.

• They are expensive compared to most other slings.

• Their stiffness, which makes some helpful in some areas, makes them a bit awkward to carry as alpine draws. You probably don't want to replace all your Dyneema slings with these, but having maybe a 30 cm as a friction hitch, a pair of 60 cm for clipping gear, and a 120 cm for anchor building might be a good start.

Where do they shine?

1. Threading around / over a chockstone, icicle, rock spike or other natural feature

2. Standard two piece bolt anchor, statically equalized

3. Rappel extension

4. Friction hitch / prusik

5. Fixed point lead belay

---

1) Threading around /over a chockstone, icicle, rock spike or other natural feature

Because of the stiffness of the material, you can poke it around a chockstone or through a small hole and grab it on the other side more easily than a normal sling. The heavy duty sheath protects against abrasion.

image credit: Max Lurie, @alpinetothemax

---

2) Standard two piece bolt anchor, statically equalized

Note the figure 8 knot. This is usually easier than an overhand to untie after taking a big load. However, with the stiff sheath, even an overhand is quite easy to untie.

---

3) Rappel extension

Works great as a rappel extension, again because you don't need needle nose pliers to untie the knot when you're done. (This is one of many ways to set up a rappel extension. Here's a complete article on the topic, with several more examples using this sling.)

---

4) Friction hitch / prusik

The 30 cm works great as an all-purpose friction hitch and rappel backup. The grippy sheath grabs really well on a skinny rope. The Kevlar is very heat resistant, so on a fast rappel that’s helpful.

It's comparable to the popular Sterling HollowBlock, also a great piece of kit. Similar to the HollowBlock, when this cord is under body weight load you can release it by giving it a good tug. This can be very helpful in certain self-rescue situations.

Note that because of the stiffness and sewn area, the French prusik / autoblock hitch doesn’t work so well with the 30 cm length as a rappel backup. The two wrap prusik is probably a better choice, see photo below.

As with any kind of auto block rappel backup, it's good practice to get used to one kind of cord, and get a feel for how it works with a variety of different ropes. Be sure and practice on something like a staircase before you ever try it for real.

Photo: Triple wrap prusik on a single strand on the left, double wrap prusik on double strand rappel backup on the right.

Here's another interesting application for the 6mm, Edelrid aramid sling: if you do a 4 wrap prusik, it holds on a 6 mm Petzl RADline. Normally, a prusik hitch made with cord that's the same diameter as the rope you're putting it on slips and doesn’t work, but here it does, at least under my body weight.

(Note that this prusik does NOT work on the Petzl PURline, which is a similar 6mm specialty rope, but which has a sheath that’s much more slippery than the RADline. Yes, I tested them both.)

---

5) Fixed Point Lead Belay

The 120 cm is great for a fixed point lead belay, where you belay the leader directly off the anchor. We cover that technique in detail here.

---

Probably the thing I like most about this cord is that it's very easy to untie after its been loaded. Here's a short video clip of me bounce testing on an overhand knot, notice how easy it is to untie. Try that with a skinny Dyneema sling!

GPS bearings: a modern way to navigate

While folks have been using this concept for a while, I was introduced to this idea from Steve McClure of the Seattle Mountaineers, a navigation expert and editor of the classic mountaineering textbook, “Freedom of the Hills”.

The takeaway: GPS is great for identifying your exact location. It’s not so great, by itself, for following a complex off-trail route. Instead, use your compass along with your GPS. Drop waypoints along your route at important junctions, use a GPS app to get distance and bearing to the waypoint, and then follow that bearing with your compass.

You’re at a lake, which you can locate on your map. On your map, you see another lake that's about a mile away towards the north / northwest, with no trail to it. You want to go camp there for the night.

You have several navigation options.

Map and compass: Get out your map and compass. Put either long edge of your (declination adjusted) compass baseplate between your location and the lake, then rotate the compass dial until north on the compass points to the north/top of your map. This should show you the bearing between your location and the lake. Pick up the compass, hold it flat in front of you, rotate your body and compass until the magnetic needle matches the orienteering arrow. You should be facing the lake; start walking. Hopefully there aren't any cliffs, thick vegetation, rabid marmots, or other obstacles between you and the lake. (Learn how to do this here.)

Phone only: Using your preferred navigation app, add a waypoint at the lake you want to go to. Use the “Guide Me” (or similar) function, which tells you the distance and bearing from your location to the lake. Start walking, holding the phone in front of you pretty much all the time, using the directional arrow in your navigation app to walk you to the lake.

---

Both methods can work, but they have some problems.

• With the map and compass, you need to have a printed map, a compass, and know how to use them together. It can take a little time, can be tricky to do if the weather is not cooperating, and if you do it wrong you can introduce large errors, some even as big as 180° if your compass is backwards. (You also have to be able to find your current location on the map. If you're completely lost, this doesn't work.)

• With only the phone, you decrease your awareness of the terrain around you, because you're doing “heads-down” navigation, staring at your phone screen the whole time. Plus, you’re draining your phone battery unnecessarily by leaving the screen on.

---

Instead, try a hybrid method: the “GPS bearing”.

Rather than measuring a bearing between your location and the lake with the old school map and compass method, you get the distance and bearing from your navigation app, and then use your compass to follow it.

Pretty much every quality backcountry navigation app has some function to tell you the distance and bearing from your current location to another point on the map. As I write this, in autumn 2021, using Gaia GPS, you can simply tap the screen. That brings up a pop-up window that says “Marked Location”, and tells you the elevation, distance, bearing and coordinates of the spot you touched. If you have a saved waypoint you're trying to navigate towards, you can use the same technique. Tap the waypoint and see the distance and bearing in the “Marked Location” pop up box.

Now, instead of staring at your phone and following the line and arrow to get to your destination, you dial your compass to that bearing.

In the photo at the top of the page, your phone tells you it's 347° from your location to the lake. Rotate your compass dial to 347. Hold the compass flat in front of you, with the direction of travel arrow pointing away from you. Rotate your body and the compass until the magnetic needle matches the orienteering arrow. Schweeet, you’re now facing the lake. (Learn how to do this here.)

Turn off your phone screen, put your phone away, and start walking towards the lake. No need to be religious about staying exactly on a compass bearing; walking in the general direction is usually fine. Adjust your route as necessary to get around obstacles. Have a quick look at your compass every few minutes to be sure you're more or less continuing in the right direction.

After 10 minutes or so, take your phone out, and simply repeat the process: tap on your objective, and get a new distance and bearing follow it. The distance should decrease as you approach your objective. The bearing will change a bit, depending on how much meandering you’ve done since you started. Change your compass dial to that new bearing, put your phone away, and keep on walking.

You’re saving your phone battery, and you're navigating “heads-up” with much greater awareness of the terrain.

The old school “follow-a-compass-bearing-on-a-straight line” method can work okay if the terrain is open and doesn’t have any obstacles, but that's not going to happen much in the mountains. That's the beauty of the GPS bearing. You don't have to focus on staying on the single compass bearing; you can choose the route that makes the most sense, occasionally repeating the process of getting a new distance and bearing, and making small adjustments to your course as needed.

Another significant advantage of using GPS bearings is that you don’t need to know your current location on the map for it to work - that's a major drawback of the map and compass method.

---

Even if you use GPS phone app and compass, it's still an excellent idea to bring along a paper map. If your partner also has a phone GPS app, a fully charged battery to start the trip, and a back up battery with charging cable, that's a pretty good redundant system. Yes, phone batteries can die, but maps can also blow away or be ruined by rainfall.

Let's be honest, if you have the choice between using a slide rule or a calculator to do some arithmetic, you're going to reach for the calculator every time. Yes it uses batteries, but it's also a superior tool. Same with the phone GPS. Combine it with a compass and you have the best of both worlds: always knowing your exact location and the direction of your next objective, maximum phone battery preservation, and better awareness of the terrain around you.

You don't necessarily need a compass to use this method. Good backcountry navigation phone apps like Gaia GPS and CalTopo have an indicator arrow that changes direction as you rotate your body, which can help point you toward your objective. However, using a base plate compass can still help you preserve battery, because you're not checking your phone as often.

---

The example above is pretty simple, going from one point to another in fairly open terrain for a short distance. We can use the same principle for a longer more complex trip, simply by adding additional waypoints. Here's an example of a ski circumnavigation of Mt. Hood.

The blue line shows the approximate route, which of course changes based on snow conditions, crevasses, etc. The red waypoints show some key decision points. Instead of trying to ski staring at the blue line and attempting to stay on top of it (which of course would be pretty ridiculous), instead focus on moving from waypoint to waypoint. If there is a bit of a detour, and it's not a straight line, such as between points 3 and 4, simply tap the screen on your phone on the track line to add an intermediate marker point, and navigate that to stay on course.

If you spring for the “Pro” level subscription for CalTopo, you get access to a very cool tool they call a Travel Plan. Draw in a route and add some waypoints like what you see above. Then you can generate a Travel Plan, basically a table showing (among other things) the distance, bearing, elevation gain or loss, and anticipated travel time between different legs of your trip. Below is one example.

I have a whole article on the Travel Plan function of CalTopo; you can read it here.

A closer look at the “American Death Triangle”

This article has contributions from Over the Edge Rescue, IFMGA Certified Guide Karsten Delap, and HowNot2.com

---

Short version: the American Death Triangle (ADT) is not a preferred method for rigging anchors, but it's not as bad as you might think. With anchor angles typical in climbing (under 90 degrees), the ADT puts about 100% of the load onto each anchor point; the exact amount depends on the angle. The main problem with it is zero redundancy; if the sling fails, so do you. If you have to use one in the wild, provided the sling is in good shape, you're probably going to be fine.

---

American Death Triangle: top rope setup

American Death Triangle: rappel setup

The so-called “American Death Triangle” (“ADT”) in the early days of climbing, was a fairly common way to build anchors. It uses a minimum amount of webbing, and offers good equalization. At first glance it appears to be serviceable, even if it ignored a few basic rules of physics. Plus, you have to admit it's a catchy name!

However, for a long time it’s been roundly slammed in just about every climbing book ever written. “Don’t use it! Load multiplication! It creates dangerous forces on the anchors!” is usually about the extent of it.

Overall, that’s good advice. There are almost always better options for rigging that are redundant and put lower force on the anchor points.

---

But, you might wonder, how bad is it, really?

Before word got out that they weren't so great, ADTs were used for probably tens of thousands of anchors over decades. Did you ever hear of one failing? Are “catastrophic” forces really being created? If someday you have to use one in the wild, is it a YGD (Yer Gonna Die) scenario? What about other related configurations, like rappelling off of side-by-side rings, or lowering off of an adjacent route, or slinging a big boulder, that are sort of the same thing?

While the ADT may not be as bad as you might think, there are some reasonable concerns (listed in rough order of importance)

• It’s not redundant. In the photos above, any failure of the sling/cord means the whole anchor fails. That's the primary problem!

• It can put a inward / sideways pull on your gear, which could be an issue. For example, a piton in a horizontal crack could be plenty strong enough for a downward pull, but maybe not for an inward pull. More on that below.

• It can increase the load onto the anchor points. The amount of this increase is related to the angle at the bottom of the triangle. It's rarely more than 1X the actual load onto each anchor point. More on that below. If the anchors are reasonably solid, this is probably not a concern.

• You're only using the strength of a single strand of the material, instead of doubling it up, which increases the strength.

• If one anchor point failed, it's likely you’re going to have some extension onto the the remaining piece, no bueno.

---

Since load multiplication is the main concern most people have, let's look at that first. (We’ll keep the physics and math as simple as possible, I promise!)

Pretty much every “Climbing Anchors 101” class has a diagram something like the one below. The smaller the angle between the two legs, the better the load sharing on the anchor points. As you get close to 180°, like on a slackline or Tyrolean traverse, the load multiplication gets ridiculous. This is for sure a good principle to keep in mind for standard anchor building.

Do you remember a vector force diagram like this from your anchor class? I suspect that this is at the root of the idea that the ADT causes high forces: “Horizontal rope in anchor ALWAYS equals super duper load multiplication.”

However, this does NOT apply to the ADT, where are the load direction is completely different from the diagram below.

image: https://www.ropebook.com/information/vector-forces/

Let's check the numbers

Here’s a nice chart from “Rock Climbing: The AMGA Single Pitch Manual” by Bob Gaines and Jason Martin. This is the only book I’ve seen with actual data on the ADT.

The second column, “V rigging”, refers to a standard way of clipping a sling to each anchor, making two arms, and then tying it off with a bight knot.

source: “Rock Climbing: The AMGA Single Pitch Manual” by Bob Gaines and Jason Martin

Turns out, with a 100 lb load and a small bottom angle of approximately 30°, there’s only 82 pounds of force being put on each leg of an ADT anchor. That’s a bit more than the 52 pounds or so on each leg with standard “V rigging”, but nothing close to catastrophic.

Even at a 90° angle, about as large as you would normally want to go, the ADT only puts 130 pounds on each anchor. Again, not close to catastrophic. (If your anchor placements can't hold 130 pounds, you've got some much bigger problems!)

So check that out, load multiplication is not really a problem!

For you engineers and more visual folks who want to see the math behind this and some nice diagrams, check out this webpage from our New Zealand friends at Over the Edge Rescue.

---

Rappelling on adjacent rings?

I've heard this question a few times: What about rappelling on adjacent rings? Does that create any sort of a dangerous death triangle? Short answer is no. The angle created by your rappel device in the photo is quite small, 30° or less. This creates a load on each anchor point that's just a bit more than your body weight. The bolts can easily handle that, plus they can take a load in any direction, so no worries. (Check out the HowNot2com video link at the bottom, at around 12 minutes, to see some testing on this.)

---

Stone hitch?

Here’s a similar situation. There’s a Stone hitch tied below the anchor, which isolates each strand of rope, typically so you can rappel on a single strand.

Does this create a dangerous ADT on the anchors? Yes it's an ADT, but with those bolts it’s certainly not dangerous. For rappelling, where the load is never going to be more than 1-2 kN, load multiplication is of no concern.

---

Lowering from an adjacent route?

Scenario: Say you have two different bolt anchors that are the same height at the top of the climb. If you climb the left route, clip 1 anchor, traverse to the right, clip the other anchor, and then lower off without pulling your rope through the first anchor, are you making any sort of dangerous ADT?

Answer: no. A clever engineer friend of mine calculated that the force on each anchor is just a little over the climber’s body weight. (To be more specific, the right anchor takes about 1.25x the climber’s weight, and the left anchor takes about 0.9x the climber’s weight.) So the takeaway: no problem!

If you do this, be aware that you’ll need more rope to safely lower your partner to the ground, so be SURE your rope is long enough!

---

What are the real world forces?

In the “rappel setup” photo near the top of the page, the joining knot is on the legs of the triangle between the load and the anchor. What if we put the knot on the base of the triangle instead, horizontally between the anchor points? Would the knot see increased forces, or decreased forces?

In the photo below, we have an approximate equilateral triangle, with 60° in each leg, and the joining knot, a Flemish bend, between the two anchor points. Say we have a load of 100 kg hanging off of the rappel ring. Will the knot see less than, equal to, or greater than 100 kg? Take a guess!

Answer: quite a bit less. That's because the friction on each of the anchor points absorb some of the load. The actual amount depends on the slickeriness of the material you're using, and what it's actually running through at the anchor, but the takeaway is that the base of a triangle sees the lowest amount of force. Is that surprising? It was to me!

(Note on the photo below: yes I know you could put your rope directly through the rappel rings and ignore the entire ADT rigging, but I needed to set up like this to get a equilateral triangle with the length of cord I had . . . =^)

The theoretical force on each bolt would be the same as the load, or 100 pounds. But because the cord is running through the rappel rings, this friction actually reduces the force going to the hangers, which is a good thing. With a 60° equilateral triangle, about 80% of the load goes to the bolt, and about 36% is seen by the knot (a Flemish bend, in case you’re wondering).

Below is a screen grab from our friends at HowNot2.com who tested pretty much the same set up.

With a load of 2.4 kN at the master point:

• the base of the triangle between the anchor points saw a load of 0.9 kN, about 36% of the load.

• each bolt saw a load of 1.96 kN, about 80% of the load.

(There's a link to the whole video at the bottom of the page.)

image: HowNot2.com, screeng rab from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sQNpjnJe40

---

Changing the direction of force

Here's a diagram that shows a bit how that works. (Original diagram credit: Over the Edge Rescue).

In the diagram, we have an ADT with angles of 60° on each side, an equilateral triangle. “A” are the two anchor points, and “L is the load.

Check out the blue arrows pointing inward from the anchors. This is known as the “resultant”, and it's the change in direction of force caused by the ADT. This means that instead of having the force going down the legs of the anchor directly to the load, it's instead directed inward, halfway between the base of the triangle and the two legs.

In this example, if we have a load of 100 kg at the bottom, 0.6 of that load (red circles, 60 kg) goes to each leg of the anchor. This results in a theoretical force of 100 kg on each of the two anchor points, pulling in the direction of the blue arrows. (As we saw above, in the real world because of friction, this force on the two anchor points would be reduced, but for here let's use the theoretical model.)

---

Here's an example of how this “resultant” force might cause a problem: two pitons in a horizontal crack. Either of these would probably be good for a more downward pull, which we would have with a “V rigged” anchor.

However, the ADT puts a larger INWARD force on the pitons, which could cause them to fail. This is another problem with the ADT, loading gear in a direction you may not have anticipated.

(image credit: Karsten Delap

image credit: karsten delap, from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW15yKu1ATM

---

More resources . . .

Sheesh, the ADT even has its own Wikipedia page!

Our New Zealand friends at Over The Edge Rescue have an article that will appeal to the engineers.

IFMGA Certified Guide Karsten Delap has a nice article on his website, along with the video below.

HowNot2.com has a detailed video on the ADT.

Pre-thread the haul pulley

For any kind of serious hauling, big wall climbers use a progress capture pulley (aka “PCP”), such as the excellent Petzl Micro Traxion. The little puppy is expensive and extremely important, so it’s critical to never drop it!

If you pre-thread the haul rope through the pulley, it’s faster to set up and you’re much less likely to drop either the pulley or the rope. (This may seem like a small detail, but attention to little things like this adds up, reduces cluster, and collectively can make your big wall climb a lot smoother.)

Some climbers like to use a tag line system that involves pulling everything you need at the new anchor up on one thin (5 or 6 mm) cord after they finish the pitch. This approach has pros and cons; climbing with less weight good, takes a bit longer to set up the anchor and haul, not so good.

A more traditional approach is the leader climbing with the haul rope and the PCP attached to their harness. This tip is for them.

---

A note on the harness and gear loop . . .

Typically on a big wall, you'll have a more burly harness then the one shown here, with a designated hauling loop. The harness I’ve used on my big walls has been retired and I haven't replaced it, so I used my current one (Edelrid Sendero, which I love) for the photo.

Personally, I'm fine with using a standard gear loop for the tiny load of a rope like this, but you may want something stronger. Think of it this way: if you're comfortable putting $500 worth of cams onto a single gear loop and not worrying about it breaking and losing your cams forever, then why are you concerned about the haul rope, which would probably just drop down to your partner at the lower anchor?

If you have a harness like this one without a full strength haul loop, you could girth hitch a 30 cm sling around your entire waist loop and use that instead.

---

Check out the photo above.

On the left is the old-school technique: just clip the gear to your harness. This increases the chances of dropping the rope or the PCP, plus you have to put the rope into the pulley at every anchor. It hasn't happened to me, but I have seen a dropped haul rope, whoops!

(Notice on the left photo, the pulley is clipped to one of the side gear loops. This at least makes it less likely you’ll fumble or drop it, rather than using the rear gear loop.)

On the right, the haul rope is pre-threaded through the PCP. Engage the cam in the PCP. Tie a bight knot with a small loop into the end of the rope, clip it with a non-locking carabiner, and clip that carabiner into the PCP locking carabiner. You should never have to remove the haul rope from the pulley for your entire climb.

To pair with the Micro Traxion, Petzl recommends using an oval locking carabiner (which can be a bit hard to find) or a standard HMS carabiner. Here we’re going with the classic Petzl Attache. (A locking “D” carabiner can work with a PCP, but it's not ideal.)

When you reach the anchor, clip the non locking carabiner with the haul rope somewhere on the anchor. Ideally, you clip it on the side where the leader will start the next pitch, so it's all ready to go and easy to grab (and remember). Sweet, now you can't drop the haul rope.

Only THEN do you (carefully) unclip the locker and PCP from your harness and clip them to the hauling point. Schweet, just about impossible to drop the haul rope or the PCP. Plus, the rope is already threaded and you can start hauling sooner. Being that one of the first tasks of the leader is to set up the haul fast and pull the bags a few meters off of the lower anchor so your second can break it down and get started, this is a good thing.

Minor safety note: after you clip the PCP to the anchor, remember to engage the cam on the pulley BEFORE you start pulling up rope. Reason: if your overeager partner below were to release the bags too early, their weight would come onto the cammed pulley. If you did not engage the cam and pulled up a bunch of slack, you could potentially have a free-falling haul bag put a huge shock load onto your anchor, big problem!

What's a good way to make a big wall anchor? Excellent question! We cover it in detail at this article.

The no twist Munter hitch rappel

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.

---

Rappelling on a Munter hitch is considered by some to be an outdated, old school technique, right up there with hip belays, hexes, and braiding your own harness out of blackberry vines.

However, in some cases it can still be useful:

• If you know you have some short rappels on a canyon explore, ski mountaineering trip, bushwhack hike or similar, and want to take minimal gear

• Ropes are frozen and hard to get into a rappel device; sometimes the Munter is the only thing that can work

• You're using ultra skinny 6 mm static cord (like the Petzl RAD line) which is too small for a standard rappel device

• You don't have enough locking carabiners (or forgot, or never learned how) to set up a carabiner brake

• Dropped or forgot your device (whoops!) and for whatever reason do not want to be lowered

• Have to rappel in some kind of emergency situation (river rescue?) when you're seriously short on gear

• Need to rappel past an overhand knot (fairly advanced maneuver, learn about it here)

• Want to earn some Euro style points =^)

Why can a Munter rappel be problematic?

1. Not create enough friction (more concerning with small diameter newer ropes or single strand)

2. Depending on which way you face the carabiner, the rope can rub against the gate

3. Most important, the normal way it’s done can twist the holy hell out of your rope! This is more than an annoyance, because if you have twisty “pigtails” in your rope and then try to pull it through the rappel anchor, the twists can bunch up and cause the rope to get completely stuck at the anchor, big problem.

(Side note: here's a good way to remove any kind of twisting from your rope: clip a tube style belay device into any sort of an anchor around head height, and feed the rope through the device.)

Below: Standard way to set up a Munter rappel. Pretty much guaranteed to twist your rope.

---

However, there is a simple modification you can do to the hitch that will keep those evil twists away. I first saw this technique in a video from Petzl Germany. I have to say I was a little skeptical when I first saw this, but I've tried it a couple of times and it works just fine.

Pass the brake strands over the TOP of the hitch, then pass them back UNDER the carabiner to your right hand. Rappel normally, with no twisting.

Notes . . .

• This adds a little more friction and slightly slows down your rappel, but most of the time that's a good thing. If you have fat, old, crusty ropes, and you don't weigh much, it might add too much friction. As mentioned at the top of the page, practice in a controlled environment is mandatory.

• This method works best on a standard harnesses with a fairly stiff belay loop. If you have a lightweight alpine harness with kind of a floppy belay loop, the loop can twist when you do this, and it doesn't work so well.

• You might be familiar with the “Supermunter.” This is a Munter hitch, with the brake strand making an extra pass around the hitch and being clipped to the carabiner. This can be a very useful tool for lowering huge loads on a skinny rope, but it's not recommended for one person on a double rope rappel because it adds too much friction and you probably won't be able to move. More on the “Supermunter” at this article. This modified hitch is very close to a Supermunter.

• When practicing, don't be too concerned which strand of rope is on the top or the bottom. The ropes tend to put themselves in the proper orientation when she put weight on it and start actually descending.

• I'm certainly not saying you should start rappelling on a Munter all the time. But if you ever need to, keep in mind that with this technique a Munter rappel works fine with minimal twisting.

---

Single strand with a “super Munter”

Another option for the Munter rappel is to descend on a single strand, and use a “super Munter”. Fix the rope at the anchor so it can't slide through, rig a super munter on one strand with a large carabiner, and down you go. Depending on your weight and the rope diameter, this should work well with a single strand and also result in a no-twist rappel. (Of course, the last person down on fixes the rope and needs to descend on two strands.)

Here's an Instagram video showing how it works.

Here's an article on the super munter.

---

Check out the short video from Petzl to see how it's done.

Rigging the 2 strand "mega toprope"

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.

If you're not confident you can do this technique correctly, then go top rope somewhere else.

---

This Crafty Rope Trick comes from Adam Fleming @adam.fleming.climbs Adam is an AMGA Certified Rock Guide based in Utah.

---

Indian Creek Utah, and many other climbing areas, hosts some LONG pitches. Even with 80 meter ropes becoming more common, sometimes you'll need two ropes in order to return to the ground and toprope those mega 200' routes. Here's Adam’s preferred method. This is one of several ways to do it.

Before we get into the techniques, here are some important considerations:

• This is uses some fairly advanced techniques, so pay attention! (But if you’re top roping 70+ meter pitches you're probably ready for it.)

• The video link below shows the leader descending with a single strand, counterbalanced rappel with a Grigri. The counterbalanced rappel may be new for a lot of people. The leader is counterbalanced by the weight of the belayer on the ground, which means even though the leader is rapping, it's vital that the belay always remain ON. Talking it over on the ground and having complete agreement with your partner is vital for safety. As mentioned above, practice this in a controlled environment first! Remember, stay on belay the whole time!

• The counterbalanced rappel is a good approach if the route is overhanging and/or traverses, because the leader can rappel directly to the ground without having to rappel through gear that might be difficult to unclip and then re-clip. If the route is more or less straight up and down and vertical or less, the standard two strand rappel with a tube device is probably fine.

• A Flemish Bend or Double Fisherman's Bend is the preferred joining knot because it handles cyclical loading (subsequent loading and unloading) better than other common bends, such as the flat overhand bend. Adam uses the Flemish Bend (not to be confused with the flat-8) because it is easy to untie.

• Ropes stretch! One popular 9.8mm rope has a static elongation of 8.6%. That means it could stretch over 34' at the start of a 200' pitch. Keep your climber extremely tight when they are near the ground and above ledges. Before the climber starts, they can “pre-stretch” the rope by fully weighting it, and the belayer can take in the slack through the Grigri.

• A static rope can be used as the tagline and greatly reduce dangerous rope stretch. Be sure the climber always ties into the dynamic rope if you're incorporating a static rope.

• Half/double/twin ropes stretch even more than single ropes and can be hard to control when lowering. Adam prefers single-rated ropes when using this method.

• A Grigri (or similar Assisted Braking Device) is highly preferred for this technique. They allow you to more easily manage the additional stretch.

• Have the first top-roper clean most of the gear but leave any necessary directionals, reclipping them while lowering.

• Adam keeps the upper belay device on the rope when lowering climbers. This makes the transition when another climber ascends a touch faster and easier.

• While this method can be done with a single belayer, it's often easier with a pair of belayers (one for each rope) who assist and check each other during the transition.

---

Regarding passing the knot when belaying. . .

The video below shows different techniques to pass the knot. You may think this is unnecessary, all you need to do is pull the knot up until it touches the anchor, have the climber on the ground tie at that point with a figure 8 on a bight and maybe a couple of locking carabiners, and off they go. When the climber reaches the anchor, the knot should be at the belayer, and you don't need to pass it. Easy, right?

Sounds good in theory, but . . .

1. When tying in short, the climber will have rope dangling down between their legs. This can be pretty annoying.

2. Because of rope stretch, the belayer very likely will have to pass the knot anyway. One option is to walk backwards from the base of the cliff to take up some of the rope, but in many places doing that’s not an option. You might get lucky and not have to pass the knot when belaying, but it's better to be prepared to do it with an extra device and ideally an extra person to help.

---

Like most fairly complex things in climbing, it's a better show than a tell. Here's a video from Adam showing how it's done.

Rappelling - How to pass other teams

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.

---

Short version: the climbing team adds one of their locking carabiners onto their anchor. The rapelling team uses this carabiner to clip their rope, without threading the rope through the actual anchor hardware.

---

“You should never clip the rappel rings/chains for your anchor when ascending, because rappelling teams need to use them!”

Have you ever heard that one?

On a popular multi-pitch route with no walk off, where the descent rappel is the same as the climb, it's very common for a rappelling (descending) team needing to get past a climbing (ascending) team. (Red Rock Nevada, I’m looking at you.)

On a big wall climb, a team that's bailing / retreating may need to do many rappels, potentially onto other teams coming up the same route where the anchors might well be clogged with the typical big wall cluster.

The objective is simple: for the teams to pass as quickly, safely (and politely) as possible. So, what's a good way to do this?

While it’s probably drilled into your mind that when rappelling, you ALWAYS thread your rope through the existing hardware (chains, quicklink, ring) you actually don’t have to do this. All you really need is a safe place to attach your rappel rope.

To expedite passing, consider this (unconventional) method: the climbing team clips one of their locking carabiners to the master point of their anchor, and the rappelling team clips their rope to the climbing team’s carabiner.

---

To be clear, I am NOT saying that you should do this every time, or that you should build anchors that always obstruct the rappel hardware. Depending on the situation, it might be a better call for the descending team to use the chains, not your master point. This is another simply another tool in the toolbox for more advanced climbers.

---

What's cool about this method?

• There's no finagling the rappel rope underneath any existing anchor cluster. Instead, it gets clipped on TOP of everything that’s already built. (This can be even more important on a big wall, where anchor chains might be clogged with gear and pretty much inaccessible.)

• This can be a bit faster to set up, because you're simply clipping the middle mark to a carabiner, instead of threading the rope through the hardware and pulling half of it through.

To be fair, let's look at some possible downsides:

1. The climbing team can’t leave their anchor until the rappelling team is finished. Most of the time this shouldn’t be a problem, because a competent team rappelling should be down and through the anchor in just a few minutes. (If the climbing team is pretty much ready leave the anchor, then the rappelling team can simply wait for a couple minutes until the anchor is completely free.)

2. The climbing team may not have a spare locking carabiner. (Maybe the rappelling team can be generous and donate one of theirs.)

3. Having a legible and accurate middle mark on your rope is pretty much required. Fortunately most newer ropes have this. If yours does not, get a Beal rope marking pen and add one.

4. Hopefully obvious, but if the climbing team is on a sketchy anchor and the rappelling team is not comfortable using it, then you need to work out something else. (On popular routes, hopefully all the established anchors are well-maintained, so this should not be a problem.)

5. If the rappelling team has any rope issues, like tossing the rope, starting down, then having it get stuck or some other weirdness, the climbing team might be pretty much unable to move until it gets sorted out. Hopefully the team heading down is competent enough to get through smoothly and make a decent rope throw, but there's potential for a hang up here.

---

Maintaining good vibes:

While descending parties usually have the right-of-way, there’s no reason for anyone to be a jerk. You and your partner are out to have a good day climbing, same as the other team.

Whoever raps first, it might be wise to hang out (literally) for a minute next to the lower anchor, explain your approach, and get some buy-in from the other team before you just swing in and start rigging. Conversely, if you’re the ascending team and someone raps down to your anchor, explain to them that you have a way to make the pass happen faster, which benefits everyone. (Not many people are aware of this method, and you hopefully can use it as a teachable moment.)

Here's how to set it up.

---

The ascending team is using the bottom chain link as their master point. What inconsiderate jerks, how can anyone rappel past that!?

(Yeah, I know most people don't build anchors like this, but let’s use an extreme example - even when the chains are completely blocked, you can still rappel past it.)

No problem! The ascending team simply adds one of their locking carabiners (blue) to their master point carabiner . . .

. . . and the descending team clips their rope (blue) into the ascending team’s locker.

Are you concerned about multi-directional loading on the master carabiner? It's not really a problem.)

Pulling up slack rope? Try a redirect

This video comes from IFMGA Certified Guide Karsten Delap. Connect with Karsten and see more tips like this on his Instagram, YouTube, and website.

---

When you finish a pitch, you need to pull up the slack before you put your second on belay. Yes, this is a pretty simple process and usually you don’t need to overthink it, just start pulling the rope up hand over hand.

However depending on your stance, anchor configuration, rope friction on the terrain below, and the amount of rope you need to pull up, simply redirecting the rope through a carabiner clipped to the anchor can increase your speed, efficiency, and comfort. If you're making lap coils, or even a pancake stack on a nice ledge, redirecting through a high point usually keeps things more tidy.

This method also has the benefit of working out most of the kinks or twists in the rope while you're doing it.

The same trick works really well if you need to stack a rope inside a rope bag or a backpack. If you don't have a high anchor point, like on the top of a climb, put the pack or rope bag on the ground in front of you, drape the rope over one shoulder, and pull the rope down hand over hand into the pack.

Here's a nice diagram from @climbing.technical showing the “over the back” method. (If you just have a T shirt, watch out for rope burn. =^)

image: https://www.instagram.com/p/CcPyST1hde0/

---

Like many things in climbing, it's a better show than a tell.

Here's a short video by IFMGA Guide Karsten Delap showing the technique.

Retreat anchors - sport climbing

Note - This post discusses techniques and methods used in vertical rope work. If you do them wrong, you could die. Practice vertical rope techniques with 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.

---

Takeaway:

• Dos: Lowering off of a single snapgate carabiner is probably gonna be fine. If you're not comfortable with that, use a locker or put some tape on a snapgate.

• Don’ts: Avoid using quicklinks, because they can be hard for the next person to open and complicate others using the route. Don’t lower off the hanger, nad for sure don’t lower off a sling!

---

Not comfortable lowering off of a single snap gate carabiner? Make a “cheapskate locker” with a few wraps of tape securing the gate. Stick the tape end to itself to make a tab for the next person to clean more easily.

• Is this a little harder for the next person at the route to clean? Yes.

• Is making it convenient for the next person more important than your comfort and level of acceptable risk when lowering off one bolt? No.

Ever bailed from a sport route? If not, it's probably going to happen someday, and when it does, you’ll need to have a retreat strategy.

When you bail from a route, be at a one pitch sport climb or an alpine multipitch, the objectives are similar: Get to the ground in one piece, with each anchor point strong enough but not overbuilt, and leave a minimum of gear behind.

Reasons to bail on a sport climb include:

1. “Ambition exceeding ability” - the climbing is too hard for you to complete

2. It’s getting dark, rainy, lightning, etc.

3. The route is longer than the rope you’re using, meaning for a one pitch sport route, the middle mark of the rope goes through your belayer’s device before you make it to the anchor. Hopefully you have both an attentive belayer who notices this, and a good middle mark on your rope. (Next time, bring a longer rope and read the damn guidebook!)

Hopefully, you’re on a modern sport route that has properly stout bolts and hangers. If you trust a bolt to take a lead fall on, you should certainly trust it to be gently lowered from, right? One encouraging thought: the maximum force possible on an anchor when lowering is not much more than double your body weight, 2 kN (about 450 lbs), which should be well within the strength rating of even a poorly placed bolt.

If you happen to be on a bolt that looks sketchy, you can reduce the force on the bolt by rappelling instead of being lowered. This puts only your bodyweight on the bolt. Because of the pulley effect, lowering puts approximately two times your bodyweight onto the anchor. Hopefully the next bolt lower down inspires a little more confidence.

---

What if you’re bailing from one pitch sport route, and more than half of the rope has already been used? Well, that means you can’t lower off from that point and make it to the ground or the previous anchor.

First, make SURE your belayer is tied into the rope end or at the very least has a knot in the very end (aka a “closed rope” system) so they can't drop you. There are a few different ways to handle this, but this is probably the easiest one: Lower to one bolt fairly close to the ground, tether yourself to that bolt, pull your rope, and then lower off again from that lower bolt. Yes, this requires you donate one more carabiner.

Are you bummed you're leaving gear behind? Of course you are. Think of it as the price of a lesson in humility and judgment, and try to do better next time.

---

Safety note: Do not thread the rope directly through a bolt hanger for either lowering or rappelling! The sharp edge might damage your rope, and if you rappel, the extra friction might make it impossible to pull your rope down. Please, never consider doing this and always leave behind a $5 carabiner instead. (Scroll to the bottom to see one possible solution if you come across anchor bolts with no hardware.)

---

You can lower from basically four gear options:

1. regular carabiner

2. locking carabiner

3. quicklink / maillon

4. taped gate carabiner

---

1) Regular carabiner. Most of the time you can pilfer a carabiner from one of your quickdraws, leave it on a bolt, and lower off that.

This is probably going to be fine most of the time, because if you have a smooth lower under a constant load, it would be quite difficult for the rope to do anything weird in the carabiner. But the load may not be constant: you may have to start/stop, bypass ledges or vegetation, stop and clean gear, etc. All of these could cause some strange carabiner jiggling, cross loading, or some other unwanted some rope/carabiner weirdiosity. So because of this, many people are more comfortable with something that can be locked.

If the bolt you’re lowering from doesn’t give you a warm fuzzy feeling, then leave another carabiner on the next bolt down. In the highly unlikely event of the top bolt failing, you should be caught by the next one. Yes, this does involve leaving behind a second carabiner. (That's never happened in the entire history of climbing as far as I know, but hey, it's cheap insurance.)

---

2) Locking carabiner. Not only is this a secure option, it makes it easy for the next person up to clean and remove it. That's a big bonus, so this is a fine choice. (Don't crank the gate down too hard.)

---

3) Quicklink / maillon. These offer an inexpensive locking lowering point, but they have a couple of downsides. The locking sleeve on the quicklink is probably going to cinch down, maybe get rusty, and be hard to open without pliers, which makes cleaning it problematic. It's more courteous to leave the route in better shape for the next person by lowering from an easy-to-clean carabiner instead.

Plus, depending on the size of the hanger, the next person on the route may have a hard time clipping their quickdraw past the quicklink. If you come across a quicklink (or something similar) on a hanger and you can't remove it, it's best practice to clip your quickdraw directly to it or under the link, as shown below.

Plus, quicklinks are a bit heavy and a single use piece of gear, and for that reason alone many people choose not to carry them.

If you clip a quickdraw on TOP of a quicklink in the same hanger, it can lever the carabiner and actually break it yikes! See this Instagram video of it actually happening in real time.

Photo from instagram.com/zacwronski/ showing a carabiner that broke after being clipped on top of a quicklink, yikes!.

image: instagram.com/zacwronski/

---

4) Taped gate carabiner (aka cheapskate locker). Here's a simple and inexpensive option that only requires a bit of forethought. If you have a tiny roll of tape on your harness, a strip or two stuck inside your helmet, or a premade “bail carabiner” with some tape already wrapped around the spine, you can tape the gate of the carabiner closed. This is known in some circles as a “cheapskate locker.” (Thanks to IFMGA Guide Jeff Ward for the “pre-made bail carabiner” idea, wish I thought of that one!)

Although you might think this looks a little sketchy, the cheapskate locker has been used by big wall climbers for decades, and is “super-good-enough” as an improvised lowering point. Provided you have the tape, this is a low cost, secure, and easy-for-the-next-person-to-clean method.

Please be courteous for the next person up the route who is going to clean this: fold over the end of the tape on itself to make a little tab, so it’s easy to unwrap.

---

When I posted this on Instagram, I had a fair number of comments criticizing it for being “hard to clean”. To those people I say: 

• Someone’s right to choose the method and level of risk tolerance when lowering off a single bolt is more important than slightly inconveniencing the next person up the route, IMHO.

• If you seriously think this would be hard to clean, perhaps you need to work on your clipping skills.

Dealing with this carabiner should not be a surprise in most cases, because you hopefully spotted this from the ground before you started. 

I’ve come across a taped gate, quicklink, etc. on hangers many times. I’ve never had an issue. Simply clip a quickdraw under the quicklink / carabiner (most all modern bolt hangers have room for two carabiners.) Keep on climbing, and clean it when you lower off and have two hands free.

If you want to clean it on the way up, clip the rope to your draw, and call for a take. Remove the tape or locking carabiner. Again, hopefully the previous person was courteous and left you a little tab of tape to easily unwrap it.

Did your redpoint get ruined? Boo-hoo. (Look on on the bright side, you bootied a carabiner.  =^)

Pre-made bail carabiner: Wrap a few inches of athletic tape around the spine. Use it as a regular carabiner for any purpose; the tape is always there when you need it for a cheapskate locker.

Make it easy for the next person to remove it by folding the tape onto itself to make a little tab.

---

A suggestion from Petzl:

While a bolt failing during a body weight lower is very, very, unlikely, here's one way to reduce your risk if you're concerned about it.

If you add a friction hitch to the rope going down to your belayer, and slide this along as you’re lowered, it might prevent you from taking a ground fall if the top piece fails (extremely unlikely) in some way. If you're doing this, you should only take a fall down to the next piece/bolt below you, because it isolates the increasingly larger loop of rope that’s being created as you descend. One more reason to carry a prusik when you lead.

• Would a fall on this be terrifying? Yes!

• Might the prusik melt and damage your rope? Possibly yes!

• Are both of these better than the alternative? Yes!

This may be little hard to visualize, so have a look at the nice illustration below from Petzl and hopefully it’ll make sense. According to the diagram, Petzl has tested this, and it works. (Note the diagram shows a quick link on the top bolt, but as mentioned above, a carabiner is recommended.)

image: petzl.com

---

Finally, a tip on not exactly bailing from a sport route, more about what to do if you come across a pair of bolt hangers that don't have any rings / chains / rappel hardware.

This happened to me at Smith Rock. My partner and I climbed a route that was brand new; so new that the route developer had not yet put chains at the top. We finished the route, and found just a pair of bolt hangers. After some head scratching, we decided to clip one carabiner to each hanger and lower off. This got us to the ground, but the rope was very difficult to pull, and we had some nasty rope twisting, because the carabiners were lying flat against the rock instead of perpendicular. Lesson learned! (Here's a longer article that explains this phenomenon.)

Here's one of many ways to deal with this, assuming you have a cordelette.

---

1. Pass a bight of your cordelette through each of the bolt hangers, making a big letter “M”.

2. Bring the loops together, tie them off in an overhand knot, and add a cheapskate locker. The cord is doubled up going through the hangers, which should give a little more peace of mind. While certainly not ideal for a long-term anchor, it’s definitely strong enough, and fully redundant, to rappel on. The cost is about $10 for the cord and $5ish for the carabiner; less than leaving behind two quickdraws.

Here’s a close up of the cheapskate locker.

What's in my pack: Denali gear by Mark Postle and Steve House

Steve House and veteran guide Mark Postle have more then 30 Denali summits between them. Learn what Denali gear they like (and don’t like) in this article and in two videos from Uphill Athlete.

They review pretty much every piece of gear, naming exact brands and models. What do they cover?

• What temperature rating sleeping bag should you bring?

• Why are baby wipes (usually) a bad idea?

• Do you need gaiters? How about a headlamp?

• How much sunscreen should you bring? (Hint, not much)

• What's the best size and shape of duffel bag to go on your sled?

• Who’s the most important person to make friends with when you land at base camp?

• Pro tip: At camp, remove your liner boots, put on your down booties, and then put your foot in your outer boot to wear around camp.

• Pro tip: if you’re wearing puffy pants, you can unzip the fly and clip the rope to your belay loop through the fly. 

You get the idea - loads of tested expert tips! (Plus, a pretty long list of things you should not bring.) If you're headed to Denali, have a look.

---

Here's a video covering clothing and personal gear with Mark, about 45 minutes.

---

Here's a longer video/podcast version on the same topic, with additional expert advice from Steve House, about 2:12.

---

And finally, here's the original article at Uphill Athlete, with a summary of the gear list.

---

Weekly hi-res satellite imagery in CalTopo

A common question for backcountry users: How much snow is on the ground, right now, at a given location?

• Is the trailhead snowed in?

• Is my intended campsite under snow, or is there some exposed ground?

• Are there some snow patches available for drinking water on the ridge climb I want to try?

• Can I still get a few more runs in, or is backcountry ski season really over?

• Is the brush filled valley you need to cross still covered with snow, making it much easier?

• How does the snow level at a certain location compare from year to year at the same time?

Yes, you can look at snow depth models, as we cover in this article, but often seeing the snow level directly is really helpful, especially when you can overlay track and waypoints of your intended route over the top.

Well, as usual, CalTopo has you covered.

For subscribers at the “Pro” level ($50 a year) CalTopo, the best backcountry mapping software, now offers weekly, high resolution satellite imagery. This can be a very useful tool for trip planning, because you can see current snow levels in the satellite imagery overlaid on a base map, along with a GPX track and waypoints.

Bonus, you can print this, which you can’t easily do with the Google satellite imagery in CalTopo.

Summer 2021 update: imagery now is available six or more times a month rather than weekly, so sometimes you get imagery on a five day cycle, even better!

---

Other options . . .

Before we take a closer look at CalTopo, note that there are some other ways to view recent satellite imagery.

Gaia GPS has a map layer they call “FreshSat”. This is available for a premium level subscription of around $40 a year. This works pretty well, but the resolution does not seem to be as good as the CalTopo layer, and you can only see the most recent imagery, instead of the historical imagery that CalTopo offers. But, if you already have a Gaia Premium subscription, give that a try and see how it works for you.

You can also look at the Sentinel satellite imagery, which is basically free, but the user interface has a bit of a learning curve. If you want to explore this tool, use the link above.

What about Google? Google does offer wonderful high resolution satellite images, but as of summer 2021, it's definitely not on a weekly basis. Depending on where you’re looking, updates can be many months apart. So, if you're looking for current snow coverage, Google is probably not going to work.

---

Let’s look at a few examples in CalTopo, here of Mt. Adams Washington.

Here’s the default “MapBuilder Topo” layer in CalTopo, along with the GPX track of the climbing route, shown in red, with waypoints added for the trailhead, camp and summit.

(Tip: it's helpful to have a track like this and a few waypoints, because if you change the opacity of the underlying map, the opacity of your tracks and waypoints stays nicely visible. More on that below.)

From the Map Layers menu in the top right, you can choose “Sentinel Weekly”. (If you don’t have the Pro level subscription, these options are grayed out.)

From the “Sentinel Weekly” drop-down menu, you can look at historical imagery back to 2017.

---

A great feature of CalTopo: stacking one map layer on top of another and then changing the opacity. Here’s the MapBuilder Topo layer stacked on top of the satellite imagery, with the topo layer set to 33% opacity. This lets you see both the snow line and the underlying roads, trails, contours, etc.

Notice that the red GPX track showing the route and the waypoints remain at full brightness and easy to see, regardless of what level you set the opacity.

---

Yes, this weekly satellite imagery does cost $50 a year. Is it worth it? If you spend a lot of time in the backcountry, and want the most recent imagery to help plan your trip, probably yes.

Fortunately, there are other CalTopo subscription options. While it doesn't offer weekly imagery, many people find the $20 subscription to be a good balance of features and cost. Even the free version of CalTopo gives you a lot, but I encourage you to subscribe at some level to support the small team who makes this wonderful tool available. Software developers have to eat too!

---

Here's a sequence of (pretty much) monthly images of Mt. Adams in spring-summer 2020. Getting cloud-free images in the Pacific Northwest can be difficult, so the images are not all 30 days apart, but you get the general idea. Again, notice the approximate 30% opacity of the underlying map, which shows trails and roads and contours.

---

Finally, here's a sequence from Mt. Shasta in Northern California in July, 2017-2021. This helps answers the question of what's the snow level like this year compared to previous years? Short answer, 2021 is dry!

---

And hey, if you're stuck with me for this long, here's a little YouTube composite of the Mt. Adams imagery. Enjoy!

Quad anchor with two 120 cm slings

The quad anchor is an increasingly popular choice for many climbers. (See a detailed article about the quad here.)

The standard way of tying it, with a doubled 180 cm or 240 cm sling, works great, provided you have that gear with you. However, those slings are unusual sizes, and can be hard to find.

What if you want to make a quad anchor and all you have is a pair of 120 cm slings? No problem. Put them together, tie two bight knots, and you’re good to go. Tip: Try to tie the bar tack sewing in one of the two loops (above, it's in the left.)

In the photo, notice we have a figure 8 on a bight rather than an overhand knot. This has a couple of benefits:

1. It uses up a bit more cord, which makes your master point higher, which is usually more ergonomic

2. The extra bend in the figure 8 makes it easier to untie after its been loaded

The photo shows a newer Metolius 11 mm Dyneema sling, paired with an Edelrid Aramid cord sling (one of my favorites for anchor building.) Strong anchor, simple (easy to inspect) completely redundant, fast to tie, zero extension if a sling were to fail, and a pair of (pretty darn well) equalized connection points. Bonus: using the blue Aramid cord it makes it much easier to untie as well.

If the bolts are very close together, you might be able to tie a quad anchor with a one 120 cm sling. However, doing this takes a fair bit of fiddling to get the knot and bar tack in exactly the right place, so I much prefer to use a 180 cm sling, or this method.

The many uses of Voile straps

Duct tape, WD-40, Swiss Army knife, and . . . Voile straps. (It’s pronounced here in ‘Merica as “Vo-LAY”, yes I know that's not proper French, I'm going with how the company pronounces it.)

Their tagline is “Infinitely Useful”, and that's a good description. I've heard them referred to as “Voilà” straps, because using them sometimes feels like a magic trick.

You can find a lot of similar straps made with Velcro. They're not nearly as strong, and the Velcro does not work very well in snow or icy conditions.

These straps, made in Utah USA, are super handy for lots more than attaching your skis together.

• Inexpensive, lightweight, and tough

• The buckle doesn’t freeze in snow or ice

• You can tighten or loosen ‘em with gloves on

• Stitch two or more of them together if you need something extra long. Take a few extra wraps if you need to shorten one up.

How long? 25 inches is a good length. If you need something longer, you can attach several of them together.

How wide? They come in various widths: narrow, medium, and stout. I use a shorter narrow one for crampons, and use the medium width 25 inchers for most everything else.

---

Keep a pair in your pack, you can use them for loads of things!

1. Strap your skis together (duh)

2. Attach skis (or pretty much anything else) to your pack

3. On long sidehilling sections, add a strap to your uphill ski pole for a good grip

4. Repair a broken ski pole (along with a splint of some kind)

5. Broken ski binding? Attach your boot to the ski

6. Forgot your climbing skins? Put a bunch of straps around your ski (photo below)

7. Lost ski? Strap a shovel blade to your boot to make a mini snowshoe (photo below)

8. Fix a broken ski boot buckle (photo below)

9. Attach an ice axe to a ski pole for a DIY Whippet ski pole (only heard of this, never seen it)

10. Somehow lost a climbing skin? Put 3-4 straps around your ski for “tire chain” traction

11. Going up a really steep skin track? Put a strap under your foot for extra traction

12. Convince a wet / uncooperative climbing skin that doesn't want to stick to your ski

13. Rig a rescue sled (with a tarp, skis and maybe poles)

14. Repair a broken backpack buckle

15. DIY Whippet axe/pole combo (photo below)

16. Strap down (narrow) stuff on your car roof rack

17. Repair a broken raft or kayak oar/paddle

18. Cinch down most anything to a bicycle or motorcycle rack

19. Strap your crampons together and secure them to your backpack

20. Repair a broken crampon and strap it to your boot (photo below)

21. Make a hanging stove with your Jetboil (photo below)

22. Cinch down a coiled rope without any fancy tie off knot; photo below. (Very handy for glacier travel, good way to deal with the extra rescue rope instead of loosely stuffing it into your pack)

23. Lash together branches to make an emergency shelter

24. Splint, yikes! (See below . . .)

25. Tourniquet, double yikes!!

26. Rig an A frame pyramid tent by connecting 2 poles; no center pole, so more room. (Check out the photo below from Graybird Guiding. See a longer article here for more details on setting up a tent like this.)

image: @graybirdguiding

---

Is someone seriously hurt on a ski tour? Straps can be the foundation of a rescue sled. (Photo credit: @mountain_madness_inc)

image: https://www.instagram.com/p/CoHk0RrPDO/ @mountain_madness_inc

---

Lost a ski? Broke a ski or a binding? Strap a shovel on the bottom of your boot and you might be able to clomp back to the car. (Photo and tip from Graybird Guiding.)

image: @graybirdguiding

---

Lost your ski? You might be able to shuffle out by strapping shovels together for an emergency snowshoe. (From cascademountainascents.)

image: https://cascademountainascents.com/backcountry-skiing-repair-kits/

---

Lost your ski and no shovel? This is gonna be slow, but you can cut some branches, strap them to your boot and hopefully make it back to the trailhead. (From cascademountainascents.)

image: https://cascademountainascents.com/backcountry-skiing-repair-kits/

---

Forgot your skins? Whoops! Time to break out every strap you have so you can make it up the hill.

image: @benwooster

---

Busted crampon? No problemo. (Photo credit: Sean Isaac)

---

From climbing guide Chris Lyle @lile.chris comes this photo. “The binding broke and would not switch from up to down. Ski straps saved the day!”

---

Hiking uphill, a rock damaged one of the top buckles. Put a strap or two on it, ready to go again. (Technically not a Voile strap, but you get the idea.) Photo credit: @smileysproject

---

Sure, there are various ways to tie off a butterfly coil, but using a Voile strap is faster and less hassle.

---

How about a DIY Whippet? Some skiers don't like them because they don't want to descend with an ax in their hand. This way you can strap an axe to your ski pole on the steep/icy up, and take it off for the ski down.

image: Ben Markhart https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cs4mSnhA22q/?hl=en

---

Here's a pretty clever one I saw on Mountain Project. Put a strap around the top of your Jetboil, add some cord, instant hanging stove.

image: Ian McEleney https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/121448987/hanging-stove-setups#ForumMessage-121534164

---

Check out this photo: a broken leg from a 2021 glissading accident on Mt. Rainier. The rescue team left the splint on and in place all the way to the hospital. Just a foam pad and two Voile straps, nice work!

Photo below by Nick Davis via Facebook, shared with permission.

---

And finally, from Instagram a little closing humor:

A quick rope anchor for rock horns or trees

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.

Here’s a quick and effective way to make an anchor with your rope around an extremely sturdy single point anchor. This is typically a substantial tree or unquestionably strong rock horn.

In this case we’re using a rock horn. If you have a tree, you can walk around it, or if that's not possible, put a long sling / cordelette around it and clip the rope to the sling with a locking carabiner.

If you're using a rock horn, it's probably not good for much of an upward pull. So, if that's the case, and this is your only anchor point, it's best used at the top of a climb when the next step is to walk off or rappel.

Note, in the photo above, there is a very short bit of rope between the knot and the belay device. This was done to keep the photo uncluttered; in real life, you’d have some coils of extra rope here.

Here's how to do it.

1. Find a rock horn that is unquestionably strong and doesn't have any sharp edges around the back. (If using a tree, it's good if it’s not a conifer with sap on it; getting sap on your rope is not fun.)

2. Pull up a couple of meters of slack, and toss a loop of rope over the top of the rock horn.

3. Step down below the rock horn a bit, so there's no chance that the rope can lift over the top. Tie an overhand on a bight knot using both strands of rope. In some circles this is known as a “BHK”, or “Big Honkin’ Knot”.

4. The BHK now secures you (in the photo, that's the strand on the right). It also creates a convenient double loop where you can clip your plaquette belay device, insert the rope, and bring up your second. If you need to shorten up the distance between you and the BHK, tie a bight knot to take up some slack.

5. Done!

---

Now, in fairness, let's look at some downsides of using your rope to make an anchor like this.

• It could get damaged from being loaded around a sharp edge of the boulder / rock horn.

• If you put it around a conifer tree, you could get tree sap on your rope, no fun.

• It makes escaping the belay if you need to do some kind of self rescue a bit more of a problem.

• On a multi pitch route, if you’re seconding, when you break down your rope anchor it introduces more slack that your partner above you now needs to take up.
  

CalTopo - See crevasses on the new MapBuilder Topo layer

If you’re new to CalTopo and want to learn the basics, get started with this video. (Disclaimer, it's mine.)

Sidenote: CalTopo offers a lot of free mapping resources, but I recommend you support their fine work and get even more goodies with a modest annual subscription.

---

CalTopo, my favorite backcountry mapping software, recently added a cool new feature to their default MapBuilder Topo map layer that can be helpful for alpine trip planning: LiDAR elevation model data.

(For the folks who appreciate spelled out acronyms, LiDAR stands for “Light Detecting And Ranging”.) High resolution LiDAR imagery can create extremely detailed and accurate elevation models of the earth.

Why is this cool? You can see crevasses! Check out the examples below of Mt. Baker in the Washington Cascades.

The first image is a previous iteration of MapBuilder Topo. Certainly a nice enough map, but no indication of where crevasses might be. (The purple line is the popular Coleman-Deming Glacier climbing route.)

Now, let's have a look at the same area and map layer, but with LIDAR digital elevation data added. WHOA! Check out those crevasses! Can you see why the the Coleman-Deming route goes where it does? It misses most of the big ones.

The crevasses are even more impressive zoom in a bit more. Here's some detail from the upper part of the route.

---

Now, this added LiDAR imagery comes with a BIG disclaimer. As every alpine climber hopefully knows, crevasses can change on almost a daily basis. The image represented on this map layer is a one time snapshot, and you should be not rely on it for fool-proof crevasse avoidance.

On the other hand, crevasses often tend to form in pretty much the same place year after year, so imagery like this can be helpful for general purpose route planning.

Keep in mind the old cartographers saying, “the map is not the territory”. Meaning, pay attention to what's really on the ground in front of you, not your GPS screen, track, or high-tech imagery like this.

Why is drop tower testing harsher than real world climbing?

Short version: Petzl testing shows that dropping a real climber rather than a “rigid mass” decreases impact forces on the climber and the top piece of gear by almost 50%.

---

Many of us have seen those drop tower gear-buster videos, where a heavy weight is released and snaps a Dyneema sling rated to 20+ kilonewtons like it was a shoelace. Impressive, no?

But, we also know that that hardly ever happens in the real world.

Why are real world forces lower than the drop tower, and by how much?

Fortunately the clever engineers at Petzl had the same question, and here are some answers. Disclaimer: there are many variables involved in testing forces like this. This is not a comprehensive study with definitive results, but more of a way to get people thinking about general technique and assumptions.

---

---

In the diagram below, there is no belayer. The Grigri is tied off at the bottom, with the rope essentially fixed. (If there was an actual belayer involved, and if they had a tube style device such as a Reverso, that would further lower the forces. But that also introduces an extra variable, so perhaps Petzl decided not to include it.)

Notes . . .

• If your French is a bit rusty: climber = “grimpeur”.

• The gray dot is called “anchor” in the caption. That’s the top gear placement, not the lower anchor where the Grigri is attached.

---

That’s impressive! When a real climber is involved in the system instead of a concrete block, there’s a huge reduction in forces. That's good news for your top gear placement, your kidneys, and also why those gearbuster test videos may not apply too well to real life.

The drop tower has only the dynamic rope to absorb energy from the fall. In the real world, we have additional variables such as the squishy and force-absorbing human body, the displacement of the belayer, and rope slipping through the belay device. Even with a pretty harsh fall factor of 0.7, force on the top piece of gear is only about 5 kN with a real climber, compared to 9 kN with a rigid mass.

So, another way to think of it, is that having real bodies involved decreases force in the system by about 50%. That is a very good thing!

Now, to be clear, I'm not saying you should be taking factor 1 falls on a Dyneema tether. In that case, there is only your squishy body, and no belayer displacement or rope slippage through a belay device, so forces are going to be a bit higher. But still less than the infamous concrete block drop test.

Some of you are wondering, what about falls greater than factor 0.7? Petzl did test some factor 1 falls, with a real climber and belayer. See that at the link below. You can't really test much more than factor 1 with real people, because somebody's probably going to get hurt.

---

Want to learn more? See these articles that cover similar studies by Petzl.

• This test compares forces on system components between a Grigri and a Reverso.

• This test covers climbing forces tested with actual people (belayer and climber).

• This test shows that a rigid mass weight has a much higher impact on the top anchor point than an actual climber.

Plush snow camping with a pyramid tent

The expertise and photos here (shared with permission) come from Graybird Guiding, a Seattle based guide company that not only leads some sweet ski trips, but also has an Instagram full of solid advice. Connect with them at their website and on Instagram. (Check out their hashtag #sknowmore for specific backcountry ski tips.)

---

Pyramid style, floorless tents have some advantages over standard floored tents when it comes to snow camping and multi day ski trips. Let's learn from some expert backcountry ski guides who have hundreds of combined nights sleeping with this set up.

What's great about pyramid tents in snow?

• Lighter weight with larger floor area and more interior space.

• You can customize it for space and comfort: dig a footwell for legroom, make a snow table in the middle for cooking, or using the slope of the hill as a backrest.

• Better climate control: Lift up the bottom a bit if you need some ventilation, or bunker down from a storm by putting snow blocks on the outside.

• If you rig it as shown below with ski poles, there's no center pole, which saves some weight and gives you even more space inside.

• Because of the extra space and ventilation, it's safer and more convenient to cook inside your tent (even though this is still probably against manufacturer recommendations.) This makes a pyramid tent a popular choice for expedition climbing, like on Denali.

• Floorless, so no more sleeping in a puddle of accumulated meltwater.

• Speaking of melting water, no need to go outside to get snow; just grab a handful and put it in your stove, all from the comfort of your sleeping bag.

• And, last but not least . . . you can pee inside your tent. (Hopefully in the opposite corner from where you collect snow for your meltwater. =^)

As shown in these photos, you're using your skis and poles as part of the tent structure. This works fine if you’re on a tour and moving along every day. If instead you're using the tent as a base camp, use buried “deadmen” anchors like sturdy plastic bags or stuff sacks to anchor the corners.

With your ski poles making an A-frame as shown here, you of course need to remove them the next day when you go skiing. Simply flatten the tent and put a few snow blocks in the middle to keep it from blowing away when you're gone.

Timewise, this typically takes two people about an hour, and a bit faster after you've done it a few times.

---

A few FAQs about pyramid tents in the snow . . .

How do they handle high winds and storms? Better than you might think. Using tents like this for the kitchen or “living room” is standard practice on Denali which of course gets some pretty crazy weather, so that gives you an idea. The snow blocks around the edge are crucial. Do a Google image search for “Denali cook tent” to see many photos of pyramid tents on expeditions.

How about sewing a “skirt” on the bottom to better seal out the weather? That is a common modification that many people do on pyramid tents. Adding a skirt gives more interior space, because you fully stretched out the walls and still have fabric to pile on snow blocks to seal the tent. Check out the photo at the bottom of the page. The tent from Black Diamond has a “skirt”.

What are some other options for anchoring the corners instead of your skis? Any sort of a deadman anchor that you can bury works. Maybe sticks that you pick up on the approach hike, or my favorite, a reinforced 1 gallon Ziploc freezer bag filled about 2/3 of the way with snow. Using a deadman of course makes your skis available to go on a tour and come back to a tent that is fully functional.

Can I use a center pole instead of the A-frame with the poles as shown below? Absolutely. When you’re staying in the tent, using your ski poles as support with no center pole is really nice. When you head out for the day and take your poles, install the center pole to keep your tent upright.

How does this work in faceted or unconsolidated snow? Not so well. It's harder to dig out of the blocks that you need to hold down the perimeter as well as forming the back rest and foot well inside of the tent. If you expect those kind of conditions, this may not be the best choice.

---

Here's how to set up a pyramid tent for snow camping

Here's a photo sequence and pro tips from Graybird Guiding showing how to prepare your campsite and set up your tent.

1) First, choose a gentle slope. This gives a backrest and added height so you can stand up inside. Next, use your ski as a guide / straight edge to start digging.

2) Remove snow in blocks, which you’ll use later. (Bonus: good practice for avalanche rescue digging.)

3) Stomp out pad with your skis. Without skins, point your skis downhill. If your platform is level, you won't slide.

4) Optional: Dig a footwell for even more interior space. Makes putting on your boots a bit easier. You can make a foot well because we’re using an A-frame support, not a center pole, see below.

5) Use your skis (or buried bags) to anchor the four corners.

6) Once the tent is anchored, bury the edges with the snow blocks you made earlier.

5) Rig an A-frame with four ski poles and Voile straps for better stability and more room. Not having a center pole in the way is really nice! Plus, check out the backrest which comes from digging into a slope, clever!

All done!

---

Check out this short (2:40) video that shows how all this comes together.

---

Sounds good, where do I get one?

Here are two of many options.

While different versions of this tent have probably been around for thousands of years, Black Diamond was one of the first (early 1990s?) to make a commercial model, which I think was the Megamid. Here's one of the newer models, the Mega Snow 4P, specifically designed for snow camping. Sleeps four people, weighs 1650 g (3 lb 10 oz). Note the “skirt” around the bottom edge; you can stack snow blocks on this to seal up the tent.

image: blackdiamondequipment.com

Here's a fancier model from Hyperlight Mountain Gear that's made from Dyneema composite fabric. Sleeps two, weighs a hair over 1 pound. Pricey but maybe worth it if you use it a lot.

image: hyperlitemountaingear.com

The Grivel Vlad carabiner

Full disclosure: Grivel sent me this carabiner for free. That in no way biases my review; it's a cool product and I want to tell you about it. There are no ads, affiliate marketing links, or paid product promotions on Alpinesavvy. In the rare cases when I get a free product like this, I’ll always let you know. 

---

---

The Grivel Vlad carabiner, introduced around spring 2019, is an intriguing piece of gear. It’s a combination double gate carabiner and rigging plate in one. It’s exceptionally strong: 30 kN carabiner major axis, and 27 kN on each “ring”. Primary use: master point carabiner that gets various other Important Things clipped into it. With the Vlad, there’s no concern with three-way loading, or loaded carabiners grinding and sliding around on each other at the bottom of the master carabiner.

• It has the Grivel twin gate carabiner system (which can be a little fussy at first, but it’s very secure and easy to open once you get the hang of it). Because there is no screw mechanism, it's unaffected by dirt, sand, mud, and ice.

• The Vlad is substantially lighter (90 grams) and less expensive than a 4 hole rigging plate and two locking carabiners.

• When you clip it to a bolt hanger, the Vlad lies flat against the wall. This keeps the downward pulling force along the axis of the carabiner. Any carabiners clipped to the Vlad are now perpendicular to the wall, which is how you want it. 

• Here's a nice review of the Vlad, with some break testing data.

---

I can hear it now; the first reaction of, “That's too specialized, it’s a one trick pony, I would never carry a thing like that.”

Or, you could think of it this way: It's only about 30 grams heavier than a standard large locking carabiner, and you can still use it as a full strength carabiner in pretty much any scenario. If you sometimes find yourself in one or more of the following situations, it might be a good addition to your kit.

Where might the Vlad be helpful?

• Big wall climbing, where you always need multiple secure places to clip stuff

• Small rescue teams in remote settings, who may not have the luxury of taking extra rigging plates and carabiners

• Canyoneering / caving in muddy environments, because dirt and mud won’t affect the gate

• Maybe climbing/guiding in a team of three (or more) less experienced folks, where you want easy, foolproof connection points

---

A rigging plate typically requires using two carabiners, in order for the plate to lay flat against the wall. As you can see below, the Vlad on the left can be clipped directly to the bolt hanger.

image: https://grivel.com/products/vlad

---

Here's an image from @smilemountainguides, showing a fairly typical guiding situation: Master point carabiner with 3 carabiners (guide and two clients attached). This setup is fine, provided the loads stay reasonably low. However, using the Vlad might make things a bit tidier and add some peace of mind in a scenario where higher loads or change of loading direction in might happen.

image: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNm5e4Sj9Es/ @smilemountainguides, used with permission

With the Vlad, that same anchor scenario might look something like this:

The Grivel Vlad is a specialized carabiner that will probably be useful to only a handful of people. But if you're one of them, it's a pretty cool piece of gear.