Improv aid climbing - the one ladder method

Credit for this general method goes to big wall ace Andy Kirkpatrick. It's outlined in his book “Higher Education” and also in a blog article, “Gorilla Aid”. Credit for the improv aid ladder goes to Fabio Elli, from the Alpine Aid chapter of his book, “Hooking Up”.

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While the classic two ladder, two tether set up is going to be more efficient for multiple aid pitches, sometimes you may need to improvise with minimal gear. Here’s one way to do it, and it can be surprisingly fast once you get the movement dialed in. (Not to mention, this is gear you already have and it’s less expensive than buying a pair of ladders and adjustable tethers.) You can make the tether and ladder in a couple of minutes.

If you have an actual aid ladder (like my favorites from Aideer) and an adjustable tether, this same process still works.

Gear you need:

• Two 120 cm slings

• One 60 cm sling

• Three carabiners

• One quickdraw

From this gear, you make:

• A tether, made from a 120 cm sling and a carabiner

• A ladder, made from a 120 cm sling, a 60 cm sling and a carabiner

• A “fifi”, made from a quickdraw

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1 - Make a tether (aka daisy)

The purpose of the tether is to 1) test placements if needed, and 2) hold your weight when you move the ladder to a higher gear placement.

1. Take a 120 cm sling. Put the sewn bar tacks in about the middle. Tie two overhand knots in the sling, each one about 10 inches / 25 cm away from the ends.

2. Girth hitch this sling to your belay loop. (Yes, belay loop is fine, but use your tie in points if you prefer.)

3. Clip a carabiner to the end of the tether.

4. The length of this tether is pretty important. You want the tether at least as long as your arm at full extension; if you place gear at maximum reach, you need to be able to clip it with your tether. For me, about 5’10” / 170 cm, a 120 cm sling on the belay loop is about right. If you’re taller, basket hitch another 60 cm sling to it, or add a quickdraw.

If you happen to have an adjustable tether that’s long enough, this is a great time to use it. (My Petzl Connect Adjust is too short, my DIY adjustable tether made with some 8.5 mm rope and a Kong Slyde is perfect.)

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2 - Make a ladder (See article here)

1. Take a 120 cm sling. Nylon is nicer to your feet if you have it. Move the stitching to the bottom.

2. Tie an overhand knot in about the middle.

3. Pull down some sling material to make an offset step, and tie a second overhand knot at the top end, making a very small loop.

4. Girth hitch a single length 60 cm runner into the top of the double runner. Try to keep the bar tacks on the bottom as shown. Tie another overhand knot as before, pulling extra slingage on one one side to make an offset step. Clip a carabiner to the top. Schweeeet, you have a 3 step aid ladder. Give yourself a hi-five.

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3 - Fifi quickdraw / carabiner

Aid climbers usually have a designated fifi hook, which lets you clip to pretty much anything and hang on it for an instant rest. You’re improvising, so you probably don’t. Simply clip a quickdraw to your belay loop or top tie in point. 

Schweeeet, you’re set up and ready to climb. 

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The sequence below may sound a bit involved written out, but once you do it a few times you'll get it dialed.

Step by step:

1. Reach up high and place gear. If it’s a stopper, add a quick draw. If it’s a cam, keep the racking carabiner on the cam. (For this example, let’s assume it’s a stopper with a quick draw.)

2. Clip your tether to the bottom carabiner on the quick draw. 

3. Shift your weight to the tether. If the gear is questionable, you can give it a little bounce test with the tether. If it’s a solid placement, don’t bother. 

4. Clip your ladder to the top carabiner on the quick draw. 

5. Time to climb the ladder. Tips: Remember you just bounce tested the piece you’re hanging on, right? So trust it and don’t dink around second-guessing your placement. It may be tempting to take one or two steps up and then fifi into your tether. Try to avoid this. After you get your foot in the bottom rung, try to rock your foot underneath your butt and stand up. This is not an exercise in one arm pull-ups, use your legs as much as you can. Feel free to grab your tether, or the quick draw, to help with your balance. That’s not cheating, it’s aid climbing. 

6. Climb the ladder until you can clip your fifi into the stopper wire (probably your second ladder step.) Lean back and weight your fifi.

7. Clip your lead rope to the bottom of the quickdraw.  

8. Look up, make another gear placement as high as you can, and clip a quickdraw to this higher placement. 

9. Unclip the tether and clip this into the bottom carabiner on the new quickdraw. Give it a little bounce test it’s it’s questionable.

10. Climb the ladder below until you can’t go any higher. 

11. Unclip your fifi from the lower placement and clip to the upper quickdraw (or tether if needed). Rest on your tether. 

12. Remove ladder from bottom quickdraw and clip it to to the top carabiner of the upper quickdraw. 

13. Climb the ladder until you can clip your fifi to the stopper wire on the top piece. 

14. Repeat!

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Notes . . .

The three components of your system, tether, ladder, and fifi, are (ideally) clipped to three different components of the gear: tether to the bottom of the quickdraw, ladder to the top of the quickdraw, and fifi to the stopper cable. Keeping at least the tether and the ladder clipped to two different points means that everything is (in theory) not weighted/pinched by anything else and easy to remove. It may not always work out this way, but it's something to try for.

With most cams, you also have three places to clip: the racking carabiner, the sling, and the thumb loop. If it’s a bolt, clip a draw to it as the first move.

Think of most things you do in aid climbing as a “movement sandwich.“ That’s a movement or exertion, in between two periods of rest. Rest > move > rest.  Resting: at most any point, you can sit back on either your tether, or clip your fifi carabiner into something and sit back on that. If you find yourself getting tired or your arms getting pumped, you’re probably doing something wrong.

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So, next time you're on a trad climb and realize you're in a bit over your head, pull this out of your bag of tricks.

The "FB" sling friction hitch

Thanks to my climber friend Gregg Galiardi for showing me this knot.

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The classic prusik hitch has a few problems. It can be fiddly to tie and dress properly, especially if you’re wearing gloves or have cold fingers, and the grip on the rope is not very adjustable. Often a prusik seems to be either hard to move / too tight or sliding / too loose. Plus, there's the confusion with the actual term - “prusik” can be a noun, a verb, an adjective, and a surname - Karl Prusik, the Austrian inventor.

There are lots of other knots that attempt to improve on the prusik, and the FB hitch is one of them. It's credited to the Austrian climber Franz Bachmann (“FB”, get it?) Yes, the same guy who invented the Bachmann knot, he's pretty busy. 

I've never seen the FB hitch mentioned in any climbing book, with the exception of Andy Kirkpatrick’s “Down” (pg. 97). Andy writes that if you have to tie a friction hitch with a dyneema sling, this is probably the best method.

An Instagram fan mentions that this hitch can work on the steel cable of a via ferrata. I have never tested this and I don't know if it's true so your mileage may vary. But hey, I thought I would mention it.

As with any kind of friction hitch, your success depends on lots of variables, like the diameter and material of your sling, the diameter and slipperiness of your rope, what kind of load you're putting on it, etc. Practice in a controlled environment with the gear you typically use before you rely on this in real life.

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What's the difference between this and a Klemheist hitch?

They are very similar. The one advantage to the FB is that it can be easier to slide the hitch after it’s been loaded. If you need to ascend a rope, this is helpful, especially if you're using a skinny Dyneema sling. Of course this depends on material and diameter of the sling, diameter and slipperiness of your rope, your own weight, and a few other variables. Give it a try and see if it works for you.

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The FB hitch solves a few of those pesky prusik issues.

• The amount of friction can be adjusted. Three wraps might work on a pretty fat rope, or maybe try four if your rope is skinnier

• It's made with a sewn sling, which is stronger and more secure than a loop of cord tied with a knot

• The overhand knot makes a loop that stays open because of the stiff bar tack sewing. This means the knot is a bit easier to tie, and more importantly, makes it easier to loosen and slide after the load is released

• Instead of carrying a designated prusik loop, which is really only good for one thing, you can use a 60 cm sling, which you probably already have with you anyway

• Like the prusik, it holds a pull in both directions

• If you have to make a friction hitch with a skinny Dyneema sling, this may be the best way to do it.

• The main downside: you have a weighted overhand knot in a sling, which can be really hard to untie. Might want to deal with it at home when you have some needle nose pliers.

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It’s easy to tie, here’s how.

1. Tie an overhand knot close to the the stitches. Make this loop as small as possible.

2. Wrap the rest of the sling three or four times on the rope.

3. Pass the other end of the sling down through the loop made by your overhand knot.

The “Lazy Kiwi” coil

This tip and video come from AMGA Certified Rock Guide Cody Bradford.

While sadly Cody is no longer with us, his Instagram continues to stay up and is a great source of tips like this, check it out.

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The lazy kiwi coil in action. Butterfly coil the rope, flip it over the top of your backpack straps, fasten the waist strap so the rope doesn't flop around, and clip a clove hitch to your belay loop.

Taking in coils of rope to shorten the distance between you and others on your rope team, (aka the Kiwi Coil, apparently named after the New Zealand guides who invented it) is a very useful but often misunderstood and underutilized technique. Quickly shortening your rope, tying it off, and then walking just a few feet away from others on your rope team is often faster, less risky, and a more efficient way to move in alpine terrain than keeping your rope team stretched out.

The typical way it's done is to make nice, tidy circles of rope around one shoulder, tie off the rope in a clever way through the coils and your belay loop, and then . . . stop to pose for a photo, because you now look like a pro mountain guide. =^)

Here's a detailed article on the standard kiwi coil.

Below is a nice example of the classic Kiwi coil, featuring IFMGA Guide Emilie Drinkwater.

source: https://youtu.be/PD6jYQobGXU

However, there are some times when you don't need to go to that extra trouble to tie off the coils all nice and tidy. You just need the rope up out of the way and not dragging on the ground while you walk a bit over to the next section where you’ll be climbing an actual pitch.

Here's one easy way to do that; Cody calls it the “Lazy Kiwi coil”.

1. Make a butterfly coil with the extra rope.

2. Tie a clove hitch on the strand that's going to your partner, and clip it to your belay loop.

3. Take the coils, and flip it over your neck so they're lying on top of your pack.

4. Key Crafty Move: pull the waist straps of your pack around the bottom parts of the butterfly coils, so they can't move around or slide off.

Schweeeeetness, the rope is now up and out-of-the-way and you can easily walk with your partner a short distance in non-exposed terrain. When you get to the next part where you actually have to climb, simply flip the coils off of your pack, flake out the rope, and up you go.

Here's a short video from Cody showing how to do it.

You don't need those dedicated prusik loops

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.

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image: “mountaineering: the freedom of the hills”, 7th edition, mountaineers books

Old school crevasse rescue technique: anytime you step on a glacier, you have a waist and a leg prusik attached to the rope, immediately available for self rescue if you were to fall into a crevasse.

Some rock climbers even religiously carry a waist and a leg prusik on their harness, should they ever have a need to ascend a rope. (More on that below.)

This dogma has been part of traditional mountaineering classes for a long time. On some mountains with very high risk of crevasse falls, it's probably good practice. However, it may not be so useful outside of that.

Problem 1: Having long dangling prusiks on your rope when you’re traveling on a glacier a hassle. It’s going to be needed probably zero times in your entire climbing career, yet there they sit on every glacier climb, cluttering up the front of your harness. The instruction books say “clip it to your harness or shove it into a pocket”, both of which add to the cluster.

image: “mountaineering: the freedom of the hills”, 9th edition, mountaineers books

Problem 2: In a real crevasse fall, the rope is probably going to cut into the lip of the snow, making it difficult for you to get out of the crevasse entirely under your own power. The more modern approach is to rely on your teammates setting up a separate rope they drop down to you, preparing the lip of the crevasse so the rope doesn’t cut in. But that’s another topic . . .

And on the left, another way to potentially rig it, the “Texas prusik” system, with not one but two foot loops, which can get even more cluttered.

Maybe a good setup for cavers ascending a long free hanging fixed rope. For most alpine climbers, not so much.

Problem 3: You're carrying specialized rescue gear that you have very small chance of ever actually using, and can't really be used for anything else.

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Here’s another way to think about ascending a rope: Instead of using a designated waist and foot prusik, how about improvising and getting creative with gear you’re already carrying?

There are LOADS of ways you can ascend a rope if needed with improvised gear. There are countless variations you could craft with a Tibloc, Micro Traxion, cordelette, Grigri, plaquette device . . . let’s look at one of the simpler ones for now.

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Here’s some pretty typical gear to have a multi pitch climb:

• short friction hitch carried for rappel backup (here the Sterling HollowBlock)

• 60 cm / single length sling

• 120 cm / double length cord (here the Edelrid Aramid, my new favorite for anchors)

With this basic gear, you can ascend a rope. Here's the set up:

Here's what it looks like connected to your harness. (Note highly recommended backup bight knot is not shown.)

The waist connection is clipped on the rope ABOVE your foot loop. An pneumonic to remember this is “waist away”, meaning the connection to your waist is always farthest away from you.

The 60 cm sling is girth hitched to the HollowBlock. This is somewhat optional, you could make a friction hitch directly with the yellow sling. However, having the friction hitch made with the HollowBlock makes it MUCH easier to slide, compared to a prusik hitch made with a Dyneema sling. It also adds a little bit of length, making ascending more efficient because you get more upward “throw” for each motion.

Note: I recently learned that Sterling specifically says in the documentation for the Hollowblock not to girth hitch another sling to it, as I’m doing here. Personally, I’m OK with it, as of course I’m tying backup knots. However, it's usually a good idea to pay attention to manufacturer recommendations, so I wanted to mention it. Another good option for a rappel backup sling/hitch that might be more appropriate in this situation is the Beal Jammy, a sewn friction hitch with an Aramid core and a nylon sheath. I just got one, and in early testing it’s looking great.

The HollowBlock is attached to the rope with a three wrap prusik. This is going to be a bit grabby; you may find an autoblock / French prusik can hold your weight and be easier to slide.

Important: Because this 60 cm sling is your only connection to the rope, tie a backup bight knot (an overhand on a bight is fine) every 5 meters or so and clip it onto your belay loop with a locking carabiner, creating a second point of connection.

What if you’re sport climbing and you don't even have a single length sling? Maybe use some quickdraws, ideally opposite and opposed, and be darn careful they don't come unclipped. Like I said, get resourceful.

The 120 cm blue sling is your foot loop. I really like the blue Edelrid Aramid slings (shown here) for lots of reasons, and one of them is that they make great friction hitches; they really bite down on the rope under load, but they’re also very easy to release and slide. Whatever you’re using to build your anchors - cordelette, quad, double runner - you can probably also use for a foot loop.

If you’re tall and the set up is too short, extend components with a locking carabiner. If you’re short and the set up is too long, tie a knot or two in a sling to shorten it up. (For me, about 5’ 10”, this setup as shown is great.)

So please, let’s stop teaching new climbers that they have to carry designated prusiks with them all the time, as standard practice.

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Emergency rope ascending can even be helpful when rock climbing. A friend of mine recently had the following happen: they were traversing on a multi pitch route, took a fall, swung into overhanging terrain, and found themselves hanging in space about 5 meters below the last bolt. All they needed to do was ascend the rope and keep on climbing. They had everything they needed on their harness (pretty much the exact gear shown in the above photo) to climb back up the rope, but didn’t know how. (There was too much friction in the rope for the leader to haul them up; plus the leader didn’t know how.)

This turned into a call to the local search and rescue team, and my friend had to wait almost 4 hours to get rescued, hanging there in their harness! Ouch!

There is a crafty way to get out of this situation, and we will cover it in an upcoming article.

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Finally, here's another way to think about glacier travel and crevasse rescue - you don't necessarily need to travel with prusiks on the rope at all. If a crevasse fall happens, put the hitch on the rope after, not before. This also applies to the person down the hole, not just the rescue team up top.

Here's a very interesting video on modern crevasse rescue techniques demonstrated by some top German guides. Note that none of them have prusiks on the rope while climbing. When they do add friction hitches to the rope, they use an “open” or untied, cordelette.

(YouTube: Pulleys: Crevasse rescue with pulleys on a glacier – Tutorial (15/18) | LAB ICE)

Aideer climbing big wall gear - handmade in Sweden

One of the most iconic legends in big wall climbing is Yvon Chouinard, hand crafting pitons in his metal shop and selling them to other climbers in the early days of Yosemite. The spirit of creativity and craftsmanship still lives on with various small scale manufacturers.

Here's one to check out: Sweden’s Olle Hjort of Aideer Climbing big wall gear. Olle sews high quality, well designed, and yes, colorful gear for your next big wall adventure. Olle was kind enough to send me a pair of ladders and adjustable fifi for review, and they are schweeeeet! (In the rare cases I’m offered gear for a review like this, I’ll always tell you about it upfront.)

Connect with Olle on Instagram (preferred), email, or website.

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Currently, Aideer offers the following products:

• ladders (let’s not call them “etriers” - French for “stirrup” - anymore, okay?)

• Russian aiders (VERY cool, more on those below)

• adjustable tether/daisy

• adjustable fifi

• big wall gear sling

• prototyping a portaledge (currently being tested in Patagonia, production should start soon.)

Olle has a website, but he prefers that people contact him for current pricing and order through his Instagram. You can customize length and colors of many products, message him for details.

Prices are in Swedish kronor (SEK). (As I write this in winter 2022, the exchange rate is about 10 SEK to 1 USD.) Pricing on his gear is very competitive. Shipping costs to USA are 200 SEK (about $20 USD) for 1 kg, say a pair of Aideers and an Adjustable Fifi.

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Aideer ladders

Let's check out those ladders, a key piece of big wall gear. I’ve used the Yates ladders for pretty much forever, and been quite happy with them. However, while they are certainly durable, the Yates ladders always felt a little clunky. The first thing I noticed when I picked up the Aideer ladders: these things are LIGHT! I got out the scale and discovered they are literally HALF of the weight of my Yates ladders, 221 grams compared to 443, wowzer!

Lightweight does not mean less durable. The Aideer ladders trim some weight in clever places, like using a strip of fiberglass to stiffen the top step. They are reinforced with 1 inch tubular webbing around the top of triangle, which is going to take the most beating, and the quality of the sewing is impeccable.

My Yates ladders seem to easily get a twist in the bottom step or two, a minor rock in my shoe to deal with. The few times I've been out testing the Aideer ladders, they never seem to get a twist.

In terms of dimensions, they are pretty comparable to the Yates: six steps, with the third step down being a different color to remind you to get in ASAP. Speaking of colors, you might be able to ask for something custom. I didn't, and Olle sent me ladders with red white and blue, three of my favorite colors. =^)

The Aider ladders do not have an elastic band under the 4th and 5th steps like the Yates, which some climbers (like big wall ace Kevin DeWeese @failfalling) find convenient for leg hauling. (Olle said you can add a thin bit of elastic cord yourself if you want this feature.) Kevin also mentioned to me that the narrow steps of the Aideer are slightly more tiring for the arch of your foot on very long routes. He writes: “All in all my Aideers are my go to for in a days and pushes and my Yates speed walls are my go to for vertical camping trips.”

Overall, I’m super happy with these ladders. If you're looking to get started aid climbing I think you’ll love them too.

Photo below, Aideer ladder on top, Yates ladder on the bottom. The Yates weigh twice as much!

The Aideer ladders. Simple, clean, functional.

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Russian aiders

Let's talk about those Aideer Russian aiders! This is sort of a mythical piece of big wall gear, rumored to exist and be amazing, but seldom seen in the wild. There are some small companies in the former Soviet bloc who are making these, but they are still rare. Trango made them for a while, but not anymore.

Russian aiders are a completely different method of aid climbing than the more traditional ladder style.

How do Russian aiders work? You have a hook attached with webbing straps to the inside of each leg, about knee height. There is a foot stirrup attached to the knee webbing strap. After you place gear, you clip a “tree” to the gear, which is thin webbing with some metal rings sewn every foot or so. You step up by inserting the hook into the metal rings. The main advantage: you can step a lot higher and be in better balance then you can in normal aid ladders.

Full disclaimer: I don’t own these Russian aiders and have never tried them, but apparently they are pretty sweet on steep to overhanging rock, and not so great on lower angle terrain. Are they going to be ‘da bomb for you on your next big wall? Might want to buy a pair from Aideer and find out!

As we like to say around here, it's a better show than a tell. Here’s a video that shows Olle using them. (Yes, he gave me the video file and I posted it on my YouTube channel.)

Notice how high he is in the steps when he's done; the bolt is pretty much at knee level. Also, no fifi hook required. Standing this tall in a normal ladder on steep rock would be just about impossible.

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You may be wondering, as I did: “Sounds good on lead, but what about the second? How do they clean? If you try to jumar with this set up, doesn’t your foot lift out of the hook?”

It's a little complicated to explain in writing, but just know that there are various attachment points on the knee strap where you can clip a carabiner (rather than a hook) into the aid tree, to give you a secure connection point when you’re jumaring. Another option is that the cleaner/second can use a dedicated foot loop.

Here’s a long and detailed discussion of Russian aiders on Supertopo, by the always loquacious Pete Zabrok. Check out his terrific book on aid climbing, “Hooking Up”, highly recommended!

Here's a nice YouTube review of the Aideer aid ladders and the Russian aiders from Yann Camus of Bliss Climbing.

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Let's check out some more Aideer gear.

(All photos are from Aideer Climbing @aideerclimbing, used with permission)

Adjustable tether/daisy

These are similar to the popular Yates tethers, but have a few improvements: smaller diameter Dyneema sling at both ends, and a smoother roller cam buckle. (The Aider webbing is also thinner and a little more slippery, which honestly I'm not sure is an improvement or not.)

Adjustable tethers like this are extremely handy for aid climbing, because they let you release tension on the buckle even when it's under a full load, which can solve all kinds of big-wally type problems. Bonus: they let you perfectly adjust the height of your portaledge.

If you do use an adjustable tether, try to avoid the time-sucking habit of hauling yourself upwards when you don't need to on easier terrain. Try to keep them at full extension whenever you can, and only use the adjustable feature when things get spicy - like steep/awkward, easing onto a hook placement, and leading and cleaning a roof.

(Note, these are not rated for PPE use, and are for bodyweight only.)

Adjustable fifi hook

Similar to the popular Allfifi made by Skots Wall Gear. Skot welds the hook onto the buckle, while this one has a short sewn webbing connection. Which one’s better? I don't know, try ‘em both and tell me what you think! =^)

The trick to using an adjustable fifi is to pull yourself up and adjust your position on the gear, and not use hoist yourself on your adjustable tether. (Or, if you're bold, you can lead climb without tethers at all, just be sure not to drop that ladder!)

Like the adjustable tether, note the thinner Dyneema cord at the end, which makes it less bulky when you girth hitch it to your harness. (Also not rated for PPE use, and are for bodyweight only.)

Check out this short Instagram video to see Olle using it.

Big wall gear sling

Custom sewn, double gear sling with 1” chest webbing and Austri Alpin D-ring COBRA Pro Style quick release buckle. You can specify the length, placement and style of gear loops that you want, so this is probably more suitable for someone who's already done some aid climbing and knows what they like. (Not rated as PPE.)

Finally, here's a prototype of the Aideer portaledge, based on the increasingly popular open-source D4 portaledge design by John Middendorf.

• No, that clear plastic is not the actual fly, it's to determine the correct dimensions.

• Yes, that’s the narrow side of the ledge against the wall, 90 degrees different how a typical portaledge is set up.

• Yes, making your own portaledge is a very ambitious project!

How to (almost) never drop your belay device

A classic beginner mistake (which I did for, ahem, a rather long time!) is to remove your belay device from your harness, hold it out in front of you when loading or unloading the rope, and then re-clipping it to your belay loop. If you do this, all you need is a moment of fumblefingers and you're going to drop your device, whoops! (Hope you know how to belay / rappel with a Munter hitch or do a carabiner brake rappel . . .)

I'd like to think that most people would learn the correct method on their very first day of climbing, but, based on the embarrassingly long time that I did this wrong myself, and the number of people I still see doing this incorrectly, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

(A possible contributing factor to sloppy technique are the many people learning to climb in rock gyms using Grigris that are more or less permanently attached to the rope, which makes them impossible to drop, or steal.)

(More experienced climbers reading this are probably rolling their eyes at this basic tip, but if you already do this as second nature, feel free to click on to something else . . . )

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A better approach: Keep your device (pretty much) connected to your harness when loading and unloading the rope. Yes, with the carabiner gate facing left is shown here, you do need to unclip it from the rope for a brief moment. When you do this you can pay full attention and hold your belay device firmly with your left hand.

Doing this makes it just about impossible to drop.

The demo here is with a Grigri, but the same principle applies for a tube style device.

1. Clip the Grigri to your belay loop.

2. As a right hander, hold the Grigri firmly in your left hand, unclip it from the carabiner for just a moment, slide the top plate up with your left thumb, and then immediately reclip the bottom half of the Grigri to your belay loop. Let go of the Grigri. The bottom plate is securely clipped and the top plate should be hanging free.

3. Now you can load the rope, carefully checking that it's loaded correctly.

4. Once again holding the Grigri firmly in your left hand, unclip it from the carabiner for a moment, slide the top plate down with your left thumb, and then immediately re-clip it to your belay loop.

5. The rope is now loaded correctly, and both holes of the Grigri are clipped to your harness. Ready to climb.

6. Reverse this to unload the rope, as shown in the video below.

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A couple of questions/comments I've heard about this method . . .

What about using a keeper cord on the Grigri? Some people find them useful, but I find they get in the way and snag on things. By paying attention and using this technique, you should never need the cord.

What about facing the carabiner gate to the right instead of the left; that way you never really have to take to Grigri completely off the carabiner? That might work for people with superb coordination or who are left handed. As right hander, I always have my belay carabiner gate facing to the left so I can open the carabiner more easily, so that's how I set it up. If it works for you facing right, go for it.

Does the same technique work with a tube style device? Yes. Personally, I use the exact same method: carabiner gate facing left, grip the device firmly with my left hand, open the carabiner gate for just a split second, clip the wire from the device and both rope strands, and then re-clip.

There’s a related method that some people prefer that allows you to keep the wire on your device pretty much on the carabiner the entire time. After loading the rope into your device, you can push the two strands off to the left next to the gate, open the gate, clip the strands, and the wire stays on the carabiner all the time. There is a second or two when the gate is open and you could theoretically fumble it and drop it, but it's very unlikely.

See photos below. You can use your right thumb to hold the wire in place when you open the gate.

To me, both these methods offer a comparable level of security, try each one and see which works best for you. Bigger picture, keep in mind the thing we generally want to avoid: removing your device entirely from your harness and holding it out in front of you to load or unload the rope.

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Here's a short video that shows how it's done. Again, the same concept applies to just about any flavor of belay device.

How to pass a knot on lower with the "Dog-N-Tails"

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.

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image credit: screen grab from CMC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_aEAt9Fk-U

A friend of mine (thanks Lauren!) learned this knot when training with a mountain rescue team, and she passed it on to me. I thought it was a very Crafty Rope Trick (CRT)! What do you think?

It's a clever way of making a friction hitch that allows you to slowly release tension on a fully loaded rope. Plus, it has a very cool name, worth checking out for that alone. (It's almost as cool a name as the voodoo hitch.)

The Dog-N-Tails may not have a lot of application in everyday climbing, but it could be pretty darn helpful in a rescue situation when you need to lower someone (or haul bags?) multiple rope lengths. It uses a few simple pieces of gear you probably already have: a single length / 60 cm sling, and an untied, aka ”open” cordelette.

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This is one of many ways to pass a knot through a lowering system. Some other ones are:

• Use a friction hitch on the load strand , and a some sort of a releasable knot such as Munter Mule Overhand (MMO) on the anchor.

• A Valdotain Tresse hitch can be used in place of the cordelette as shown in the video. A VT hitch is usually releasable under load, but the ease depends on rope sheath, diameter, actual load, and other variables.

• If you’re lowering through a Munter hitch, you can use the MOFT, or “Munter Overhand Feed Through”. That method requires basically zero gear. We have a whole article on that one here.

The Dog’N’Tails might be a good choice if you have a larger flat place to work on and more than one person to help. The other methods mentioned might work better if it's just you doing the pass and you have a more confined workspace. Like with many more advanced climbing techniques, it's another tool in the toolbox, not necessarily something you use in every situation. 

As with all mission-critical (and for most us, hopefully seldom-used) rescue systems, practice this thoroughly on the ground before you ever try it in real life.

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Here's a nice video from the rope rescue professionals at CMC showing how it's done.

“Cast”, don’t throw, your rappel rope

Getting your rope down a cliff face when rappelling may seem very simple. But there are many nuances to doing it efficiently, which can save you huge amounts of time and frustration. Here are some suggestions.

Main idea #1: “Cast”, don't “throw”.

This idea is emphasized by Andy Kirkpatrick in his excellent book on descending mountains, “Down.” Think of casting a fishing line. There's a weight (lure) on the end. The line is carefully spooled on the reel. The weight is cast over the water, and the line smoothly follows it from the reel. No snags, no snares. 

“Casting” rappel ropes uses the same concept. Create a weight with one end of the rope, prepare the rest of the rope carefully, and toss the weight to carry down the rope.

Let's start using that verb, “cast”, instead of “throw”, to emphasize the concept. “Throwing” the rope relies on luck. “Casting” relies on technique.

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Main idea #2: The terrain dictates your rope toss method.

The method in the diagrams below can work best if you have a ledge to stand on with minimal rocks on it, and no one below you might get klonked by the rope. For other situations, lowering some or all of the rope can be better than throwing.

• Completely overhanging or vertical smooth rock? You can probably simply lower one end of the rope at a time without even throwing it.

• Reasonably vertical terrain? Try lowering down a bit less than half of one strand (for a 60 meter rope, that’d be 15 meters of one 30 meter side), and then making a simple butterfly loop as shown below, to cast down the remaining 15 meters.

• Lower angle terrain, maybe with trees, boulders, obstacles? That's when making a weight and giving it a real cast can be the best approach.

• Rappelling at a busy crag, with people below you? Consider lowering the rope as much as you can so you don't nail anyone with the rope, and hopefully so you don't have to scream “ROPE” either.

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Main idea #3: Prep your rope before you throw.

You might feel like you're saving time by hucking the rope as quickly as possible from your anchor. Most of the time, you won't be. The time you “save” by making a sloppy rope toss will be likely used up when you stop on rappel to decluster your rope. It's better practice to take a minute or so to prepare your rope first, hopefully with the help of your partner, and make a good, clean cast to start with.

It's almost always better to separate the rope into two strands and lower or throw each one separately.

Image credit: Andy Kirkpatrick from the book “down”, shared with permission

The classic beginner toss (which yes, I did many times my first year or so of climbing, and paid the price) is making one giant butterfly coil with both strands (photo above on the right). You might rarely get lucky and have a clean toss, but most times it's going to make a guaranteed snarl. Please don't do this.

(Method number two, a slight improvement, is to make one big butterfly coil in each strand and throw those one at a time. You have slightly better odds of getting a clean throw than with both coils together, but it's still highly likely you're going to have a snarl. Still not recommended for the most part.)

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There are many approaches to efficiently getting your rope down the cliff. If you have any sort of a ledge, here's one good way.

Check out the diagram above on the left. Each strand is carefully flaked or even serpentine coiled on the ledge. Each half of the rope is separate from the other.

Two cautions: 1) This method can drag down some stones from the ledge you're standing on, so you might want to avoid this if you have rocks around your feet and people below you. 2) Keep your feet away from the rope that will be zinging off the ledge.

If you’re on steeper rock and don't have a convenient ledge to flake the rope, you can feed out about rope out so it drapes down the cliff below you, and then toss the weight. Another option is to butterfly coil over your partner’s outstretched arms, and then cast the end. The same basic concept applies: prepare each strand carefully, toss each one separately, and have some sort of weight that carries the rest of the rope.

After tying a stopper knot in the free end of the rope, you need form a weight of some kind; think of this your “lure”. You “cast the “lure”, and this pulls the rest of the rope down.

(Like all things in climbing, this is situationally dependent. If there's a crowd of people below you, you probably don't want to toss a bundle of rope that might klonk somebody. Likewise if there's a large deep crack below you, and there's a chance the rope could swing into it, you may not want to try this method. But most of the rest of the time it should work pretty well.)

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Here are two short videos showing the “rope cast” in action, from @benmarkhartguiding on Instagram. (Click images to see the videos.)

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There are several ways to do make the weight. Here's my favorite, known in some circles as the “rope bomb.” This works especially well if you need to get your rope down a slab or other lower-angle terrain. (The carabiner isn’t needed, it’s shown for scale.)

After tying a stopper knot in the end, make a small butterfly coil with short loops. I like to make 10 loops, with five on each side.

Finish it off by simply wrapping the rope a few times around the coils. This does not have to be very tidy.

When this mini-butterfly coil hits the end of the rope, it will usually untie itself. If not, just give it a shake or kick when you rap down to it.

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Another way to close your rope system is to rappel while being tied into the end of the rope. If you do that, you could cast your rope as shown below.

Note that in this case, with a double rope rappel, you’re casting the middle of the rope, not the ends.

You get the idea. Take an extra minute or so, properly flake your rope, cast a weight like a “rope bomb” rather than hucking off 30 meters in a huge coil, and your chances of a cluster-free rappel are much better.

Image credit: Andy Kirkpatrick from the book “down”, shared with permission

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Finally, here's a nice video from IFMGA Guide Jeff Ward showing several different methods. The first one is what we demonstrated above, he calls it a “torpedo”.

Finally, if you read this far, here's a short Instagram video on how NOT to throw your rope.

Below are a couple of screen grabs.

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And finally, if you read this far, here's a pretty hilarious short Instagram video about throwing ropes on a windy day.

Progress capture pulley tip - "Teeth to Tail"

The tip comes from @fitzy315 and @climbing.technical, a great Instagram account with lots of rigging tips and nice diagrams.

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Progress capture pulleys (aka PCP) , such as Petzl Traxion, have long been crucial gear for big wall hauling. As these PCPs have gotten smaller and lighter, pulleys like the Petzl Micro / Nano Traxion and Edelrid Spoc are becoming standard kit for alpine climbers, especially for crevasse rescue. These devices combine a high-efficiency pulley wheel with a toothed, spring-loaded cam that grabs the rope. This “captures the progress” as you pull, allowing the rope to only move in one direction.

While in theory these are simple to rig, it can be confusing to do it correctly. This can be especially true in the added stress of a rescue situation, or if the pulley is in a different configuration than how you may normally rig it, such as on your harness rather than clipped to an anchor.

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To thread it correctly, remember: “Teeth to Tail”.

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When threading the rope into the pulley, rig it so the TEETH are resting on the TAIL of the rope, aka the end you're pulling on.

That way, you’ll always capture the progress correctly. Hopefully this is obvious, but the glove indicates where your hand is, which shows the pulling force on the “tail” of the rope.

Note:

• In the photo below, I'm using a very short length of rope to clearly show where the tail is.

• The pulley only has one of the two plates clipped to the carabiner, I left it open so you could see where the teeth are. When using it for real, you have to close the swinging plate and clip both of the holes.

Stamped on the inside of the Nano and Micro are little icons for a “load” and “hand”, which can also be helpful to remind you. Even with this, I still find “teeth to tail” more helpful.

(And if you gearheads are wondering, yes, that is the black ninja version of the new Petzl Nano Traxion. A very nice piece of gear!)

Pre thread your crampon strap

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

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When putting crampons on your boots, especially with gloves and/or cold fingers, threading the strap through the buckle can be quite the back-twisting hassle.

Here's a simple solution: pre-thread the strap through the toe section and the buckle BEFORE you step into it. Tie an overhand knot in the end of the strap so it can't pull through. Plus, the overhand gives you something to grab when you have gloves on.

Insert your boot through the loop, engage the heel lever, and grab the knot, and crank down the buckle. Done!

I have to say, when I first saw the video below it was one of those face-palm moments of, “Why have I been doing it wrong for all this time?!”

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Here's a nice video from IFMGA Guide Karsten Delap showing how it's done.

Staying Warm - pro tips from Derek DeBruin

These tips are from Derek DeBruin, an AMGA Certified Rock Guide and Assistant Alpine Guide. Connect with Derek: Facebook and Instagram.

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Derek DeBruin recently published an article in the journal of the Wilderness Medical Society @wildmedsociety on ways to manage cold in the outdoors. It’s called: “Tips to Stay Warm and Dry (and Injury-Free) in Cold Montane Environments” (Volume 39, Issue 1).

While his tips may not be earth-shatteringly novel, they are the accumulated wisdom of thousands of days spent in challenging environments. Just about everyone can learn a few clever ways to manage the cold from Derek’s article.

Click the button below to read the whole thing.

Here are a few tips that resonated with me.

• When driving to the trailhead, put your boots on the floor of your car and crank the floor heater vents to preheat them.

• Have all your gear as fully packed and ready-to-go as possible, so you're not standing around at the trailhead longer than necessary. Put axes on the pack and skins on the skis at home. Encourage your partners to do the same. (In case they don't, see the next tip . . .)

• Use a “car puffy” - an extra big jacket that you can throw on over everything while you're at the trailhead waiting for other people to get ready. Toss it back in the car just before you're ready to head out.

• Putting some KT tape on exposed skin, like your cheeks, can help prevent frostbite if it's really cold and windy.

• Consider super gaiters such as the Outdoor Research X-Gaiter. This adds an extra layer of warmth over your entire boot.

• The simple trick of squeezing your hands into fists, and curling your toes at every step, can encourage blood circulation and keep those digits warmer.

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You get the idea. There are dozens more tips like this in Derek's article, check it out at the link below.

If that official link to the Wilderness Medical Society page gets broken, here is the article in a PDF on my Google Drive.

Weather overlay maps in CalTopo and Gaia GPS

• How much snow or rain is in the forecast?

• Where can I go hiking this weekend where it might be dry?

• I‘m a powder skier looking for the heaviest new snowfall, where should I go?

• I need to make a long drive; which route might have the least amount of snow?

The superb desktop mapping tools CalTopo and GaiaGPS have a very helpful overlays that that gives a color-coded big picture, and the option to take a closer look at a detailed forecast.

(While CalTopo includes this handy feature for free, I highly recommend subscribing to CalTopo to support the small team of developers that make this superb tool available, hint hint. For Gaia users, this feature is for Premium level subscribers.)

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CalTopo

Zoom into your area of interest, here the northern Oregon Cascades near Portland. From the right sidebar menu under Forecasts, check “Weather Shading” and choose “48hr Snowfall” from the drop-down menu. (For today we’re interested in snowfall, but you can also choose low / high temperatures, rain, and wind speed / gust.)

Here I'm using Open Street Map as a base layer (selected from the top right corner menu). It doesn’t have contours, so it draws a bit faster if you're looking at a large area. You can choose any base map you like. To show some topography, check out the “TF Outdoors” map layer.

The legend is along the bottom. Light blue > purple > gray = increasing amounts of snow.

If you zoom in, you'll see some numbers. This is the estimated snowfall in inches for the next 48 hours. (Data are based on the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast grids, which are about 2.5 km square.)

Yep, that's up to 30 inches of new snow on Mount Hood in the next 48 hours!

Need more details? Right click anywhere on the map, and choose “NOAA Forecast” to get a point forecast for that location.

This opens up a new browser tab, and gives you a detailed forecast from the National Weather Service for that location.

Finally, if you're planning a long winter drive and wondering which route to take to avoid snow, zoom out for a regional view.

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GaiaGPS

Gaia offers a similar feature. You can change the opacity of the overlay with the slider bar (here about 70%).

You can choose between 24 hour, 48 hour, and 72 hour overlays. Find them under the “Feature/Weather Overlays” menu. This overlay is available for Premium subscribers.

Photo is a screen grab of a spring storm in Colorado, in late April, 2022.

Shovel blade as an emergency snowshoe

This clever tip and photos (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.)

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Lost your ski in the deep stuff? Broken ski? This clever tip just might get you back to the trailhead with minimal postholing.

If you have a long ski strap or two, and a shovel with some holes in it, you can probably improvise a mini snowshoe and clomp your way back out. The larger the shovel, the less you’ll sink in. Yet another reason why caring a couple of extra ski straps is a fine idea! Here's a whole article on that topic.

I must say this is a pretty clever trick; I don't think I ever would've thought of this!

Creating redundancy in rappel anchors

Say you have a rappel anchor like the one shown below. The bolts are solid, and you're standing on a decent ledge. In this case, many people would be just fine with each partner clipping to one bolt as shown, and rigging to rappel.

However, each person is clipped to 1/2 of the anchor system, with no redundancy. If the bolts are at all questionable, or if you're on a hanging stance with your weight on the hardware, many people would prefer some kind of rigging that connects both bolts, in the highly unlikely event one of them fails. It's very simple to do and takes a few seconds with gear you already have, so why not?

Let's look at some ways to do that.

(Hopefully this is blindingly obvious, but the last person to descend cleans whatever extra gear you've added.)

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Method 1 - Connect each “half” with a quickdraw

Schweet! Now, each partner can clip to “half” of the anchor, knowing that it's connected to the other half. You can clip your tether, or the quickdraw, to any part of the anchor hardware that's convenient.

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Method 2 - Use a “real” anchor (quad, 120 or 60 cm sling)

Whatever anchor system you used on the way up, you can probably also use it on the way down.

Note, if you’re using a pre-rigged or stacked rappel, you only need one anchor for descending. After both partners are pre-rigged, unclip the quad and send it down with the first person. If you're not using a pre-rigged rappel, then you'll probably need two anchors for descending. (Which should not be a problem, because you of course used two anchors on your way up.)

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Quad

Because the quad provides a pair of redundant clipping points that can be pulled in different directions, this can be good at a hanging stance so one partner doesn't yank the other one around. In the photo, we’re using a 180 cm Dyneema sling. Learn lots more about the quad anchor here.

Notice how the green carabiners are clipped over the top of the quick links. If there was a chance of a large load on the carabiners, this is not best practice, because the carabiners can sometimes be loaded at a strange angle and even break. However, the loads in this situation are so low, it's fine to clip them like this.

Clipping on top of the anchor hardware also makes it a lot easier for someone to clean the anchor while the rope is loaded.

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120 cm / double sling with a bight knot

Here’s a 120 cm sling, tied with a figure 8 on a bight for a statically equalized anchor. (Isn't that a pretty blue? It's an Edelrid Aramid sling, which is quickly becoming my new favorite for anchor building. It's very durable, super strong, and best of all, really easy to untie after loading.)

Note the figure 8 on a bight in the sling rather than an overhand. Doing this takes up a bit more of the cord, moving the master point slightly higher, and makes the knot even easier to untie.

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60 cm sling with girth hitch

Only have a single length / 60 cm sling and the bolts are reasonably close together? No problem. Clip each one and make a girth hitch master point. If you tied an overhand knot you’d probably need a longer sling, but a girth hitch takes up so little material that you can use a 60 cm.

You get the idea. Each of these methods connects the two “halves” of the anchor, giving full redundancy for both partners on your way down.

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. 

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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 . . .

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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.

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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.)

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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.

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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.

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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).

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

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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

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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

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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.

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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.)

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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.)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.)

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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.

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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!

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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

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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.)

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.