Alpine Tips
Belay communication - the “silent system”
In Climbing 101, you learned the standard verbal calls. Most of the time those work well. But what if you have a long pitch? That goes out of sight? High winds? A hoody layer or two over your ears? The standard calls may not work, and you better have a different way to communicate. Here’s a good one: the so-called “silent system.”
The fictional example of Maria and Jorge (shared here with permission) is from Derek DeBruin, and originally appeared in the American Alpine Club blog as part of a longer article on belay communication. Derek is an AMGA Certified Rock Guide and Assistant Alpine Guide. Connect with Derek: Facebook and Instagram.
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.
Big wall climbing: excellent place for a good communication plan. Moonlight Buttress, Zion National Park. Utah USA. Me (belay) and my pal Gent Mende (leading)
Photo: Chau Phan Mende
You and your partner are on a multi pitch rock climb, at the belay at the start of the second pitch. The pitch is fairly easy climbing, but it’s close to a full rope length, and goes around a corner with the next belay out of sight. In addition, the wind is picking up.
Your partner heads out on lead. After about 10 minutes of climbing the rope comes to a stop. You think you hear a faint call from your partner above, but you can’t make out the words. You of course continue to keep your partner on belay. The rope doesn’t move for a few more minutes. You think this probably means your partner has built an anchor, but you’re not sure, so you continue to keep the belay on.
Suddenly, the rope starts to move up quickly. You feed it through your device as fast as you can until it goes tight on your harness. About a minute later you feel some hard pulls on the rope.
“Huh,” you think, “what ‘da heck is this?” A few more minutes go by. The rope doesn’t move, you don’t hear any verbal calls from your partner.
So there you are, in what has become an uncertain and stressful situation: you don’t know if you’re on belay, and you also don’t know if your partner still needs your belay! This is a MESS in which many climbers will find themselves someday! Obviously, the simple verbal calls you learned on your first day climbing are not working in this situation.
Fortunately, there are several solutions. Let's have a closer look at a good one, the so-called “silent system”.
Here’s the core idea: if you can’t communicate verbally, the second simply keeps feeding rope until the rope is tight on their harness. They wait a minute or so, and then start to climb. Agree on this system before you need to use it!
Here's an example written by AMGA Rock Guide Derek DeBruin (shared with permission), with the fictional Maria and Jorge on a multi-pitch climb.
“Maria reaches the top of the pitch and secures herself to the anchor. Because they suspected the possibility of poor communication, Jorge and Maria agreed in advance to use only the necessary formal verbal commands. As Maria is secured to the anchor, she shouts, “Off belay!”
Unfortunately, Jorge is unable to hear this command. However, he knows that there are only two reasons that he might need to feed rope to the leader. Either Maria is still leading, or she has arrived at the belay stance and is pulling up excess rope. Since Jorge is unsure which is the case, he simply continues belaying until he reaches his end of the rope. As he did not hear Maria issue the “off belay” command, he has no reason to affirm this command. Instead, he skips this and simply proceeds to the next command, “Maria, that’s me!” He then removes his belay device from the rope. (The device is no longer needed because the rope is tight on his harness.)
Maria has pulled the rope until it is tensioned and thinks she hears Jorge shout a command to her, but she’s not positive. Regardless, her next step is clear: put Jorge on belay. She does so promptly and shouts, “On Belay!”
Meanwhile, down below, Jorge is diligently waiting to climb. Prior to starting the climb, Maria and Jorge agreed to a 30 second waiting period. After shouting, “Maria, that’s me!” Jorge waits 30 seconds and then removes himself from the anchor to begin climbing. He does this knowing that Maria will promptly put him on belay after the rope is tensioned, a task that should take no more than 30 seconds. Jorge and Maria could have agreed to any amount of time they felt appropriate; again the prior agreement is the important thing.
After the agreed upon amount of time, Jorge bellows, “Climbing!” and makes a couple moves. He has one last chance to make sure that he is on some form of belay. He’s making sure the rope is travelling up, in the characteristic progression of a belay cycle. In this sequence, Jorge and Maria have accepted that it might also be possible that Maria is not actually belaying. It is possible that she is still leading, and the team is now accidentally simul-climbing. Even though this may be scary and hopefully avoidable, Jorge and Maria understand that Jorge will have to climb in that scenario, even if he’s not on belay. What choice does he have?
Meanwhile, back at the top of the pitch, Maria cannot hear Jorge, but she can feel the slack in the rope he generates by climbing. She pulls the rope through the belay system and after a few feet of movement is sure Jorge must be climbing. As a confirmation, she yells, “Climb on!”
Notes . . .
Talk about this method with your partner BEFORE you think you might need it. Partners need to be in agreement. A 10 second discussion can save you from a very stressful and potentially dangerous communication breakdown.
One option for the leader is to put the second on belay with an plaquette style device BEFORE pulling up the slack rope. This is going to be a bit inconvenient if there is a lot of rope at the top, and it's not standard practice. But it does add a little extra insurance, and allows the second to start climbing pretty much the moment the rope goes tight on them. Again, a factor to agree on before you need it!
Have a close look at the route topo; what does the next pitch look like? Consider wind speed, pitch length and/or route going out of sight. Any one of these can make it impossible to hear a verbal belay call; two or more of these factors and you're more likely to have difficulties.
As the belayer, you need to watch for clues of what’s happening above. One, if you know the rope has gone out for the approximate known length of the pitch, and you notice that the rope has stopped moving for a few minutes, you can be pretty darn sure that your partner is in the process of building an anchor. If, after this pause, the rope quickly starts to be pulled up, your Sherlock Skills should deduce that the leader is pulling up slack, and you are about to be put on belay. You can be even more certain of this if you know the pitch length; if you know the pitch is 40 meters, and the leader has pulled up 60 meters of rope until it’s tight on you, you can be 99% sure they are at the anchor and are just about to put you on belay. Keep an eye on the middle mark of the rope, and use that to help estimate how much rope is out. (This assumes bolted anchors. For alpine climbing when you're building your own gear anchors, this guideline may not apply.)
Be cautious linking pitches. It seems trendy in some circles to link pitches together, especially if you're itching to use that new 80 meter rope you just got. However, linking pitches has several downsides. In addition to increased rope drag, having to carry a bigger rack, and maybe not having all the gear you need, another big problem is increasing the likelihood of the usual verbal commands not working. If you are going to link pitches or run out the rope, be sure to agree on a backup communication plan. (Might be a good time for a 2 way radio, more on that below)
Improved verbal calls. Verbal comms can work even in a challenging environment. A few tips:
Yell LOUDLY and direct your voice downward to your partner, not outward.
In alpine climbing, you can often choose where to build your anchor. Consider using shorter pitches to be sure you’re heard.
If possible, extend your clove hitch tether to the anchor a bit, which may let you lean around the corner and perhaps have line of sight with your partner.
What about rappelling?
A silent way to signal “off rappel” is for rappeller to grab both rope strands and pull them back-and-forth through the anchor. This does a couple of things. 1) It’s a clear and obvious symbol that they are off rappel, and 2) it does a sort of “test pull” of the ropes and can show the remaining person up top where there might be a snag so they can hopefully deal with it..
The one downside to this method is that it doesn’t work if the top person has pre-rigged their rappel. Like climbing, and in life, pros and cons to just about everything.
Other options . . .
Rope pull signals
As the saying goes, they work great, until they don't. Rope pull signals can work quite well in favorable conditions, like relatively little rope drag, the pitch goes more or less in a straight line, there aren't cracks or protrusions where the rope might get hung up, etc.
Some folks try out a system that initially sounds pretty clever, with different numbers of pulls meaning different things. However, if you pull four times but your partner down below only feels two or three, which may have a completely different meaning, then the potential for serious miscommunication should be obvious. Avoid any system like this.
The pull signal that I used for quite a long time is this: Once the leader is safe, they built an anchor, they pulled up slack rope and they put the second on belay, then they pull on the rope as hard as they can five or six times. If the person down below only feels two or three, that’s all the signal they need to start climbing. Most of the time this works quite well, but I had it not work a few times when there was lots of rope drag. I think the “silent system” is better.
Radios
For a more technical solution, short-range FRS radios are Increasingly popular. Some newer models have beefier construction, better electronics, and are a big improvement over the ones you may have used 10+ years ago.
However, radios come with their own problems, such as high cost, batteries that can die, one extra thing to remember to bring along and take care of, and sometimes a hassle to carry on your harness. In some scenarios, such as with multiple partners, very long pitches, ski touring or big wall climbing, they can definitely be useful. However, as a default solution, it's not my first choice.
DIY - Anchor practice board
Stay sharp and practice your anchor skills! If you have a simple training board like this, you can rig up just about anything you can imagine: top rope anchors, rappel transitions, multipitch, and more. Cost is about $5 in materials, and five minutes of your time with basic hand tools. Check it out for complete instructions and step-by-step photos.
Disclaimer - Hopefully this is blindingly obvious, but this is ONLY to be used when your feet are firmly on the ground, and NEVER for any kind of training at height! Do not use this for full body weight or rappelling!
Here’s an easy and inexpensive way to make your own anchor practice board.
about $5 worth of hardware
5 minutes of work
a few basic tools
I’ve seen some commercial versions of these selling for well over $100. If that works for you, then great. This version is for the Frugal Climber. (Take that money you saved and go buy another Totem cam instead. =^)
There are many approaches to building a board like this. I'm showing one that works for me. I've made a few different versions (with T nuts, eye bolts, plywood, etc) and I think this is the winner in terms of simple, inexpensive, and versatile.
The trick with this method is that the bolts/nuts are recessed into the wood on the back, so there’s nothing sticking out. This means you can use it on a car or a door inside your house, and nothing will get scratched by hardware sticking out the back.
Here's what you need:
Notes:
If you want to be SURE nothing you hang the board on (like a car) is going to get scratched, you can glue a piece of scrap fabric on the back, like a towel.
This version is pretty simple, with only two bolts. Feel free to add another bolt and hanger if you like.
While stainless steel hangers are best for outside routes, for your anchor board you can use the less expensive plated hangers, which are made for indoor/rock gym use.
Support your local climb shop and buy your hangers from them if they have ‘em. Or, if you ask nicely at your local rock gym, they might sell you a couple. Try those options first.
You can also order hangers online, a 10 pack is about $25, or $2.50 each. Make 5 boards and give them to your friends. Here’s an option: Fixe Plated Steel 3/8 3.5mm Bolt Hanger - 10 Pack
The bolts and nuts should be at any decent hardware store.
You should be able to get a free piece of 2x6 in the scrap pile at just about any construction site. A 2x4 works too, more on that below. (Be polite and ask before you take anything from a job site.)
I'm using a board that's 15 inches long. That makes it easy to put the bolts 1/3 of the way across, every 5 inches. If your board is a bit longer or shorter, no worries, it'll work fine.
If you don't have these tools, I bet you know someone who does.
When you hang this board on something and put weight on it, it's going to swing out. If you find this annoying, you can drill another hole in about the middle, on the bottom edge, and put some additional cord in here so you can tie down the bottom. I don’t do this on mine, but you might find it helpful.
I’m using ‘Merican dimensions, cause that's where I'm from. (If you're in a country that's sensible enough to use the metric system, which is anywhere other than the United States, Myanmar and Liberia, I'm sure you'll figure it out.)
Materials:
Piece of scrap 2” x 6” board about 15” long
Two bolt hangers
Two hex head bolts, 1.5” long x 1/4”
Two nuts that fit on the bolts
About 4 feet of parachute cord or something similar
Tools:
Saw to cut your board
Drill
Drill bit that’s slightly larger than the bolt, here 5/16”
Spade drill bit that’s slightly larger than the nut, here 5/8”
Socket wrench or pliers to tighten the bolt
Let’s make it!
Along the centerline of the board, and about 1/3 of the way in from the edges, make two marks for the bolts. You can use a tape measure and square if you want to, but eyeballing is fine. (We're not building a piano here. =^)
Make two more tick marks about 1 ½” down and in from the upper corners of the board.
Drill out these four holes with the 5/16” drill bit.
With the larger 5/8” drill bit, drilling from the back of the board, drill down about half an inch.
Be careful here! Do NOT drill all the way through the board!
Insert the bolt and hanger from the front. Thread the nut on in the back.
Tighten the bolt with a socket wrench or pliers. (If the nut is spinning in the hole, pinch it in place with a screwdriver or something similar when you tighten the bolt.)
See how the bolts sit below the surface of the board? No metal sticking out that can scratch anything. =^)
Cut paracord into two sections about 2 feet each. Seal the ends with the flame so it doesn’t unravel. (Do this outside, it’s toxic and stinky.)
Put a strand of cord through each of the top holes and tie ‘em off into a loop.
(If you have a sander and want to smooth it down, or a router and want to round off the edges, go for it to make it Purty.)
Give yourself a high five, you’re done!
You can also use a 2x4 instead of a 2x6. It's a little smaller to store and lighter. But, there's not much room there to add another bolt if you decide you want a three piece anchor, so personally I'm a fan of the 2 x 6. Either one works. Remember, it's for on-the-ground training only, not for real body weight!
Where can you use it?
My favorite: chain link fence
Around a tree. A cam strap works great to tension the board.
On a door; put the paracord knot on one side and the anchor on the other, and close the door. That's why we're using small diameter cord here, you can fit it between a door and the frame more easily than larger cord.
Of course if you get distracted and open the door, the whole thing will fall down, whoops. Ask me how I know this . . .
On a car door, or car roof rack.
On a single point. That's where the slightly longer paracord loops are helpful, they both can come together to one point. Using an oval carabiner here helps the board stay level.
Add quick links, chain or rings if you like. Pro tip: buy a length of chain with an odd number of links, such as the five shown here. When you add a quick link to the top, then the bottom link hangs perpendicular to the board, making it slightly easier to thread the rope.
If you buy quick links, cheap ones from the hardware store will work fine, but I recommend getting proper CE rated for climbing, such as those offered by CAMP. That way, when you borrow these off your board some day for actual climbing, you know they are up for the task. 8 mm is a good size; not too big, not too tiny.
You can make a three-piece anchor by simply clipping a carabiner to one of the paracord loops. Or if you like, there's room on the board to add another hanger.
Ice climbing top rope? Consider a V-thread
Setting up a top rope anchor for ice climbing? Bolts or trees may give the fastest and most secure option. If all you have is the ice, be aware that screws can melt out very quickly. To increase anchor security and longevity, consider using one or even two V-threads. Guest post by Canadian ice climbing expert Sean Isaac @seanisaacguiding.
Photos from Tim Banfield @timbanfield and article (used with permission) are from Sean Isaac. Sean is an ACMG (Association of Canadian Mountain Guides) certified Alpine guide, a former professional climber, and author of the “Ice Leader Field Handbook” and “How to Ice Climb” (2nd ed.) Follow @seanisaacguiding and @howtoiceclimb for more great tech tips.
From Sean:
“It’s shocking how fast ice screws can melt out on a warm (> 0 C) day especially when under tension in a top-rope context. Even on very cold days, direct solar affect at the critical angle of incidence will loosen ice screws quickly.
I’ve seen top-rope ice screw anchors melt out on -25 C days in January in 30 minutes due to the sun. If warm temperatures or solar exposure is anticipated then melt out should be a concern.
Using bolted or tree anchors is the obvious solution, but if an ice anchor is the only option then mitigate melt out by using V-threads instead of ice screws for one or all anchor points. The nylon cord/webbing does not conduct heat like metal screws so therefore do not melt out as rapidly.
It sometimes can take days for V-threads to melt out. The cord can then be retrieved at the end of the top rope session and a no-thread used to rappel.
Packing snow over the top of ice screws is not a recommended treatment since it does very little to negate melt out”
Some V-thread considerations:
Threads should never be used as a single-point anchor. Make a second point as show here (screw or another thread), and equalize them.
Threads should be made with a 21-22 cm screw.
All angles are 60 degrees making an equilateral triangle that is as deep as it is wide.
Aluminum screws make constructing V-threads easier due to their larger tube diameter.
7mm cord is the minimum recommended diameter. Not because of its strength but because of it’s surface area.
Webbing makes a stronger thread than cord, due to its broad surface area spreading the load at the back of the V.
Horizontal threads test at an average of 11kN in good quality ice.
Vertical threads (A-threads) tests 3kN stronger because most of the force is on the upper hole, placing more total surface area in compression in a single vector.
Remove cord from threads when possible to minimize plastic garbage in the mountains.
V-thread equalized with single screw.
Another option: use a pair of V threads. If you carry a cordelette that's open (a.k.a. untied), you can thread the end through ALL the holes and tie it off. #CraftyRopeTrick!
Use a rigging rope for top rope anchors
Are you setting up a top rope where the anchor points are far away from the edge of the cliff? Using a second rope, called a rigging rope, to set this up is an excellent choice. Here are a couple of different ways to set it up, and lots of reasons why this is better than using old-school tubular webbing.
You’re setting up a top rope at a single pitch climbing area, where you have easy access to the top of the cliff. The anchor points (a solid tree and a boulder with some good cracks for gear) are about 5-10 meters back from the edge of the cliff.
How can you quickly rig a simple, strong and speedy top rope anchor with a master point that extends over the edge?
The old-school way method for many folks was to use webbing; usually a big length of 1 inch tubular, or maybe even start girth hitching or connecting every sling you and your partner have, to extend the master point over the edge.
This is also known in some circles as the “Joshua Tree System”. Joshua Tree is a wonderful climbing area where this rigging is especially handy, because good anchor points are often far back away from the actual edge of the cliff.
A better solution: have a second rope with you that you only use for anchor rigging and safety near the cliff top, aka a “rigging rope”.
A typical rigging rope is static (minimal stretch), 9 or 10 mm, between 20 and 30 meters in length. Even so-called “static” ropes have a little bit of stretch; they are actually about 25 percent dynamic. So it’s not like you’re climbing on a steel cable, a common misconception.
You‘re not likely to find static rope sold by-the-foot at your local climb shop, so ask ‘em if they can special order it for you. (Support your local climb shop before you buy online.) Consider buying a 60 meter static rope, cutting it in half and sharing the other half with a climbing pal.
Another option is to get two different lengths of maybe 12 or 15 meters each. If you only need a shorter length, you can bring one. If the anchors are farther apart, you can tie the ropes together to extend them. That way, you don't need to bring an extra 30 m of rope in your pack for every rigging project.
Consider a canyoneering rope. They are static, and come in various shorter useful lengths, like 30 meters.
Cost is approximately $3 per meter, so you’re looking at $70- $100. Yes, it's expensive, but as they say, buy once, cry once. Every time you set up a top rope like this, it’ll be well worth it.
Why use a static rigging rope instead of 1” webbing?
Overall, using a rigging rope is faster to set up, easier to inspect and adjust, and has fewer individual components.
Static materials are good to use here. With a standard dynamic climbing rope, as the rope is weighted and unweighted. it stretches and unstretches under load over the cliff edge, which could potentially damage it.
Static ropes usually have a very durable sheath. Webbing has no sheath.
Kernmantle (German: “kern”= core, “mantel” = sheath) rope is generally quite abrasion resistant, while tubular webbing is definitely not. When loaded over an edge with a sideways sort of pull, rope will tend to roll, whereas webbing tends to slide. Sliding is going to lead to more potential abrasion.
Static rope works with a Grigri, which is a great tool to reduce your risk when you're working around a cliff edge. Can't use a Grigri with webbing. With a Grigri, always have a stopper knot or hard backup bight knot below the device, as a Grigri can creep downward under a light load.
You can tie many more knots (and use friction hitches) in rope than you can in webbing. With webbing, you're pretty much restricted to a water knot or an overhand on a bight.
Here's another slightly different way to set up a rigging rope. Here, each END of the rope is tied to a solid anchor. You walk to the edge, tie a BHK in two strands, and use that for your top rope master point. You will have an extra loop of rope. Just set this on the ground or coil out of the way and don't use it.
Notes . . .
Don’t stress out about getting perfect equalization between the two arms. Most of the time, you’ll have a stout rope with each strand attached to an unquestionably strong anchor. Try to get each arm of the anchor as close to equal load sharing as you can, but there's rarely a need to make them an exact match.
It's good practice to always secure yourself if you are within 2 meters of the edge of a cliff. After you set up one leg of the anchor, you can put on a Grigri or friction hitch to approach the edge and tie the BHK.
It's good practice to tie a hard backup bight knot below your Grigri or fiction hitch, and clip this backup knot to your belay loop with a locking carabiner.
Be nice to trees. Try to avoid damaging the bark, especially if the tree is regularly used as an anchor. Consider padding the tree with an empty backpack, or maybe an old piece of carpet. If you have an option to use a rock, you might want to do that instead.
If the rope is being loaded over a rough or sharp edge and you’re concerned about it getting damaged, you have a few options. Quick and dirty, put a backpack under it. If you plan ahead a bit, you can take a section of cut up garden hose sliced lengthwise, and put that around the rope as a protector. What works best, and are still fairly inexpensive, are commercial rope protectors. If you find yourself setting up top ropes a lot, these can be a good investment.
If you still don't like the rope being loaded over a sharp edge, then maybe you should go climb somewhere else. =^)
Here's an example of a specially made rope protective sleeve. If you top rope a lot on rough rock, this can be a good investment. Under $20.
image: https://www.amazon.com/MONSTER-Rope-Protector-Armor-1-6/dp/B08NPNYN82
Finally, here's a great video from our friends at Smile Mountain Guides with a more detailed tutorial of how to set it up.
Hauling - not just for big walls
Are you on a longer multi pitch route and have a backpack for your extra stuff? The second doesn’t always need to carry it; it might be more efficient to haul with a second skinny rope (like the Petzl PURline) instead.
On a long multi pitch route, you’re probably going to have at least one pack with food, water, extra layers, shoes for the walk off, headlamps, and maybe that #4 cam you only need for one pitch.
While climbers typically default for the second to always carry the pack, a better option is often for the leader to haul that extra gear. Previously, that might have meant lugging along a larger-than-needed additional rope.
Fortunately, with modern specialized equipment, hauling becomes much more feasible. Progress capture pulleys such as the Petzl Traxion (or even a Tibloc), combined with a 6 mm rope like the Petzl PURline, which is specifically made for hauling and a rappel pull cord, work great for lighter loads. (Plus, you have a perfect rope for a rappel pull cord, should you need it.)
Two good progress capture options (top photo) are the Petzl Traxion or Tibloc. The Traxion is a much more efficient pulley, so hauling with that will be quite a bit easier.
A few hauling tips . . .
Once the leader is secure at the top anchor, the first thing they do is set up the haul, and pull the bag a few meters off of the lower anchor. This allows the second to start breaking down the anchor.
The next thing the leader does is put the second on belay. Then, the leader can start hauling as fast as they can, while the second is deconstructing the anchor and getting ready to climb. That way the leader is (mostly) not trying to belay and haul at the same.
Small diameter ropes like the 6mm Petzl PURline can be very tangle prone. A stuff sack or rope bag is highly recommended, ideally one that has a little rigidity to it so it holds itself open when you’re stuffing in the rope. See an example below.
It's nice to rack your Tibloc and/or Micro Traxion on an oval locking carabiner.
If you have a Tibloc (or even another Micro Traxion), you can add a large carabiner to it and use it as a handle to pull down for moderate loads. This is a lot easier on your hands than pulling directly on the 6 mm cord. See photo below.
Don’t have a Tibloc? No problem. Take a large carabiner, take add a few wraps of rope, and use that as a handle to save your hands.
If you’re using a Tibloc as a progress capture, Petzl suggests rigging it as shown below, with the rope clipped through the carabiner. If you rig it as shown on the right, the progress capture function still works, but it can be hard on your rope.
image: petzl.com
If the load is heavier, you can try the method in the nice Petzl diagram below. Clip a Tibloc / ascender or something similar to the haul strand, clip in a double length sling (or aid ladder) for a foot loop, step in it, and haul with your bodyweight by stepping down in the sling. Usually this is easier than hauling with your arms. This is one of the common ways to haul when big wall climbing.
image: https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Ropes/PUR-LINE-6-mm
Rope bags are great!
Here’s 65 meters of 6 mm Petzl PURline in a stuff sack about the size of a basketball, and weighs just a hair over 3 pounds / 1.3 kg. Smaller diameter ropes like this love to get hopelessly tangled unless you take active steps to avoid it; a bag like this is one approach. A bag that is slightly larger, and has a stiff opening, makes it easier to insert the rope.
Another option for minimizing tangles is to daisy chain your haul rope, as shown below. Here's a whole article on that technique.
Here's another tip: pre-thread the rope through your haul pulley as shown. You can do this on the ground and keep it that way for the entire climb. Doing this gives a couple of benefits: it's just about impossible to drop your haul rope, and setting it up is faster.
Finally, if you don't have a progress capture pulley, you can try the old school Garda hitch. Hopefully this is for a fairly light load, because it can add quite a lot of friction, but it still works.
To minimize evil friction, pull up on the “load” strand to create slack, and then down on the “haul” strand to capture the slack.
The Figure 9 knot
The “Figure 9” is a variation of the standard figure 8 on a bight. The figure 9 simply takes an extra wrap of cord. This can help raise the master point a bit higher. (Many people think that the figure 9 is easier than the figure 8 to untie after loading, but it turns out this isn’t always true.)
The figure 9 is pretty much the same as figure 8 on a bight. The one difference is you make an extra twist before you tie it.
Why might you want to use the figure 9?
Because the figure 9 uses extra cord, this raises your master point a bit higher, which may be more ergonomic. Check the photos below, you can see how the figure 9 gives the highest master point.
Admittedly this is fairly rare, so most of the time the figure 8 is going to be the better choice.
A possible downside: the figure 9 may not be as recognizable as the figure 8, so you might have to explain to your partner what the hell you're doing. =^)
The sling I'm using is the Edelrid Aramid cord, my favorite for anchor building. Strong, very durable sheath, and easy to untie after being loaded, no matter what knot you use. Here's a longer article about these slings.
Lots of people think that figure 9 is easier to untie then the figure 8, but depending on your loads and the rope/cord you're using, that may not be true. Check out this video below from The Rope Access Channel on YouTube. He puts about a 480 kg load on both knots and tests which is easier to untie. Hint, it's the eight.
In the video below, the test goes from about 2:45 to 6:00.
Modern crevasse rescue techniques
There are many different approaches to crevasse rescue. Some older methods are cumbersome, slow to set up, and add unnecessary clutter. With modern tools like a progress capture pulley and micro ascenders, crevasse rescue is usually faster and simpler. Let's look at some techniques and video from pro European guides showing how it's done.
image: screen grab from https://youtu.be/lsTihq92IlQ
The German Mountain and Ski Guides Association (“Verband Deutscher Berg und Skiführer” or “VDBS”) has a well-deserved reputation for professionalism and technical expertise.
Petzl and Ortovox created a superb series of instructional videos featuring some top VDBS guides. They show a few crevasse rescue techniques that were new to me, and you may find them helpful also. (Side note, there are many other solid videos in this Ortovox series: lab snow, lab ice, lab rock, and first aid.)
I’ll say up front: there are many approaches to crevasse rescue. While most of them can get the job done, some are definitely more elegant, easier and faster to execute, and result in less harness clutter than others.
Old-school crevasse rescue (at least in my corner of the world in the Pacific Northwest) was centered for a long time on several principles:
Using a 3:1 “Z drag” as the main mechanical advantage system.
Always having a designated waist and leg prusik either on the rope, or at least on your harness.
Using these prusik to (usually awkwardly) transfer the load to the anchor.
Tie in to the ends of the rope.
More modern technique, shown in these videos, is a lot different:
Using a 2:1 “drop C” mechanical advantage system as the primary tool.
No one is climbing with a designated waist or leg prusik. Yes, friction hitches are used, but they’re made from an open (aka untied) cordelette when needed, and are NOT attached to the rope while you’re climbing. (Check out the diagram below: the cord is carried untied, then prussiked to the rope and tied through the belay loop only if needed.)
Load transfer to the anchor involves no prusiks; simply clip your clip in bight knot to the anchor. Simple and fast.
Climbers clip to the rope at a fairly short distance apart. The end climbers carry the extra rope coiled in the pack to use in a rescue if needed.
image: https://www.ortovox.com/uk/safety-academy-lab-ice/chapter-3/rescuing-a-companion
The drop C requires you have extra rescue rope, which should be no problem if you have a 60 meter rope and a 3 person team. Here's a whole article on how to rig your rope for a two, three, or four person team.
One simple approach for rigging with a three person team: middle person ties a bight knot in the middle of the rope and clips it to their harness. From the middle, the two end people measure out seven or eight double arm lengths of rope, tie two more bight knots, and clip ‘em to their harness. The remaining rope gets tied into butterfly coils and put into the packs of the end people.
Usually, it's best practice for glacier travel to have everyone clipped to the rope, not tied into the rope. You can use any sort of bight not you like - overhand, figure 8, or butterfly.
These methods are made a lot easier with some modern tools such as a Petzl Micro Traxion or Edelrid Spoc progress capture pulley, and a micro ascender such as a Petzl Tibloc.
Below are links to three videos. (They have a LOT of information, I’ve watched each one several times. Like most everything with climbing, these techniques are better learned from video or live demonstration than from a written description.)
Drop C 2:1 rescue
Self rescue from the victim’s perspective
The “team pull” rescue, with 3+ people on top
Video #1 - Crevasse rescue with the 2:1 “drop-C”
No pre-rigging with prusiks on the rope, so no need to bring separately tied chest prusik, leg prusik, etc. This means less gear to carry and less cluster on the rope and harness.
Instead, each climber carries about 5 meters of 5mm or 6mm cord, and uses this to tie friction hitches as needed.
After arresting the fall, the last person initially holds the load. (This assumes one of the end people has fallen in the crevasse. Rescuing the middle person is more problematic.)
The middle person uses an open (untied) cordelette to make a friction hitch between themselves and the victim. They tie an overhand knot to create a clipping point, pass one end of the cord through their harness, tie another overhand to secure themselves to the rope, then unclip from their figure 8 loop. Doing this lets them stand up and move around to make the anchor, while being secure and no longer clipped to a fixed loop of rope.
The middle person makes an anchor: a single ice axe buried in a T slot. Important, stomp down the snow between the anchor and the crevasse. No pickets needed.
Interesting way to transfer the load onto the anchor: clip the friction hitch onto the anchor, end person gives a little bit of slack, and then the tie in loop for the middle person get clipped to the anchor.
Using modern tools like a Petzl Micro Traxion progress capture pulley to make a drop C 2:1. With this method, the progress capture is on the victim, not on the anchor.
Using the drop-C as the primary raising system. An advantage to the drop C is that you can prepare the lip of the crevasse to minimize the rescue rope cutting into the snow.
With a 3 person rope team, you can probably haul your partner out of a crevasse with a 2:1. This is a LOT easier if the victim can pull down on the rope they fell in on, which generates a bit of slack. (If you can’t pull the victim up with a 2:1, it’s easy to make the drop-C into a 6:1.)
Alternative if you don’t have a traxion pulley: drop a C loop with carabiner (or pulley) to the victim, and add a progress capture prusik above.
Clever way to lower a Tibloc down the rope to set up the drop loop if your victim is unconscious, or if you’re short on rope.
Video #2 - Self-rescue for the victim
Again, no one is climbing with prusiks already attached onto the rope. In fact, they don't recommend prusiks at all. Instead, use a Tibloc or other type of micro ascender, then clip a sling to it. In the video they suggest a 90 cm sling, a bit hard to find in the United States. Use a 120 cm and tie a knot to shorten it up.
Using ascenders means you can easily pass them around any brake knots that might be on the loaded rope.
For your foot (or climbing) prusik, put a Micro Traxion on the rope below the Tibloc, then clip a long sling to this.
To get past the crevasse lip, remove the foot loop, clip the Micro Traxion on your harness, and run the tail of the rope through the Tibloc. This gives you a 3:1 mechanical advantage and you can literally haul yourself up the rope and hopefully past the lip.
Here's a more detailed article about using the Traxion and Tibloc in two different combinations to climb a rope.
Video #3 - crevasse rescue with the “team pull”
A larger team, with three or more people on top, can usually pull out a victim with simply walking backwards. It's very important when doing this to have one person monitoring the victim at the edge of the crevasse, and pulling in a coordinated and controlled manner. Do NOT pull your victim into the lip of the crevasse!
The team rescue does not have to happen just with your team. If another group is nearby, they can step up to help.
The right (and wrong) ways to backup a V thread anchor
V-threads are used for rappelling on ice when you don't have bolts, trees, or established rappel stations. While they can be very strong, a redundant backup is usually a good idea. There are some best practices for doing this correctly. Learn them here, from Canadian Guide and ice climbing expert Sean Isaac, @seanisaacguiding
Photos from Tim Banfield @timbanfield and article (used with permission) are from Sean Isaac. Sean is an ACMG (Association of Canadian Mountain Guides) certified Alpine guide, a former professional climber, and author of the “Ice Leader Field Handbook” and “How to Ice Climb” (2nd ed.) Follow @seanisaacguiding and @howtoiceclimb for more great tech tips.
Learn this and much more on Sean’s Ice Leader Camps and Ice Series Clinics through Yamnuska Mountain Adventures @yamnuskamtnadv.
PHOTO CREDIT: @TIMBANFIELD AND @SEANISAACGUIDING
Hopefully this is obvious, but this is for RAPPEL ONLY. You should NEVER top rope through cord like this, the friction from the weighted rope could cut through the cord!
Sean writes:
“V-threads (invented by Soviet climber Vitaly Abalakov) are used for rappelling on ice when fixed anchors like bolts or trees are not present. Like any anchor, redundancy is important, so rappelling from two equalized V-threads might make sense in some situations. These can be equalized to a master point or simply in series where one takes the load while the other exists as a backup. Unfortunately, this would also mean leaving behind a lot of cord that ultimately becomes garbage.
With experience, it is acceptable to rappel off a single V-thread, but always implement an unweighted backup anchor clipped loosely to the rappel rope for the first person(s) down to fully test the V-thread. The last person to rappel removes the unweighted backup, relying only on the tested V-thread.
The V-thread backup must be clipped to the rappel rope and not to the V-thread cord. A locker draw is very useful for the backup as long as the length is satisfactory. It also must be slack enough that it does not take any weight, but not so slack that if the V-thread were to fail there would be a major shock load to the backup anchor.
No-threads—also called zero threads or naked threads—are V-threads where the rope is fed directly through the bored holes, eliminating the need for leaving cord behind. This is environmentally more friendly but should only be done in dry ice to prevent the ropes from freezing in place. No threads also need an unweighted backup to test its integrity.”
What about using just one screw as a backup?
“We often see parties using a one screw connection point where the entire team anchors to on a descent. Think about the weight here, the medium we are in, and the issues that may present. Does it hold, yes, but are there great security margins here for the medium we are on? We'd say no. Incorporating another screw to build a stronger anchor it takes seconds and significantly increases the team security.”
Let's look at a few examples.
Here's the right way to do it.
The backup is two screws, statically equalized.
It has a locker draw, for extra security.
It's clipped to the climbing rope, not the thread.
It's clipped with minimal slack.
photo credit: @timbanfield and @seanisaacguiding
The same principle applies for a no thread / naked thread anchor, where the rope goes directly through the ice instead of cord.
photo credit: @timbanfield and @seanisaacguiding
Now, some common mistakes . . .
Whoops! Backup is clipped to the threaded cord, not the rope. Initially this might not appear to be a problem. However, if the V thread fails, your backup, and thus you, are putting a sudden large load on some 6-ish mm static cord, rather than the larger diameter, stretchy dynamic rope. Better to remove the this cord altogether, and clip the back up directly to the rope.
PHOTO CREDIT: @TIMBANFIELD AND @SEANISAACGUIDING
Whoops! Backup is partially holding the weight of the climber, instead of having the full weight on the thread. This never properly tests the anchor for the last person.
PHOTO CREDIT: @TIMBANFIELD AND @SEANISAACGUIDING
Whoops! The backup is too long. If the thread fails, you could have a big shock load on that sling.
PHOTO CREDIT: @TIMBANFIELD AND @SEANISAACGUIDING
How to ice climb - video tutorial series by Will Gadd
Canadian ice climbing expert Will Gadd posted an excellent series of ice climbing tutorial videos on Youtube. Video production is excellent, and Will’s vast experience, good humor and teaching ability comes through in every one. Highly recommended!
image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwl4XAdIKGM
Canadian ice climbing expert Will Gadd and Black Diamond teamed up to make an excellent introductory video series about ice climbing techniques. There are nine videos in the series, most are about 10 minutes long. (Pretty sure these came out just as I write this, late November 2022.)
Topics include:
footwork
how to swing
steep ice technique
dry tooling
screws
clearing bulges
V threads
pick sharpening
Will radiates his usual positive energy, vast experience, good sense of humor (and humility), and overall stoke. Solid tips from a solid guy, good video production quality, highly recommended!
Search YouTube for “Will Gadd how to ice climb”, or see the whole playlist from this link.
Tame skinny ropes with a daisy chain
Long lengths of skinny rope, such as a 6 mm rappel pull cord, can easily turn into a hopeless tangle if you're not careful. Solution: the daisy chain. This “crochets” a rope into a series of short chain links, reducing the length by about a factor of six. A daisy chained rope is pretty much impossible to tangle when stored, and easy to deploy when you need it.
Daisy chain, lineman’s coil, chain sinnet. A few different terms that mean the same thing: to do a little crocheting on your climbing rope to help it stay tangle-free in your pack.
Daisy chaining your rope can be especially helpful when using a long length of tangle-prone skinny rope, such as like the Petzl PURline or RADline, or a rappel pull cord. The photo above shows a 30 meter RADline.
(It also works great to bundle up long electrical extension cords, which is where I first learned this trick doing construction way back when.)
If the rope is inside your pack, a daisy chain lets it smoosh it around and better fit the contours of your backpack and other gear, as opposed to a butterfly coil. If you’re carrying your rope draped over the top of the pack, then a butterfly coil is probably a better choice.
And, even if you don't have a skinny rope to deal with, it's still a fun rope trick to play around with and practice, so get out your cordelette and give it a try!
How to make a daisy chain
I like to start at the middle of the rope. (Your rope DOES have a middle mark, right?) Make a girth hitch, reach one hand through the loop you made, and grab two strands of the rope. Pull these two strands through the girth hitch loop, forming a second loop. Reach through that loop, grab two strands, and repeat. (Congrats, you just learned to crochet.)
When you’re done, the rope will be in a series of what looks like chain links. In link, you’ll see six strands of rope. So, the daisy chain effectively shortens your rope by a factor of six. That means your 60 meter climbing rope is now a much more manageable 10 meters long. You can take a daisy chained rope and stuff/smash/smoosh it around all you want, and it’s never going to get tangled up.
To deploy the rope, find the ends of the rope and pull on them. The entire daisy chain should magically unravel itself, and you should be left with a nicely flaked rope with both ends on top.
(Another good approach for managing a long length of skinny rope is a rope bag. It doesn’t need to be fancy, a reusable plastic grocery bag with sturdy handles works fine, packs down very small, and weighs just 2+ ounces / 60ish grams.)
Like most everything to do with knots, it’s a better show then a tell. Check out the video below to see how it’s done.
Petzl - RADline vs PURline comparison
Petzl makes two highly specialized ropes suitable for alpine climbers, the RADline and the PURline. Both have a static Dyneema core, both are 6 mm, and both are designed for different applications. Here's just about everything you need to know about these ropes.
Petzl offers two flavors of highly specialized ropes for alpine climbers: the RADline and the PURline.
What's with the acronyms?
Can I lead climb on ‘em? (Quick answer, NO!)
Are they both basically the same thing?
Can I really use a 6 mm rope for something practical, or is this a dog leash?
They both have a lot of similarities and some important differences, so let's get into it.
Similarities of RADline and PURline
Both are hyperstatic (just 2% stretch!) and NOT meant for lead climbing.
Both are 6 mm.
Both have a core of HMPE (High Modulus Polyethylene), commonly known as Dyneema. This makes them very strong (12 kN RADline, 15 kN PURline) and cut resistant.
Because of the HMPE core, these ropes absorb essentially zero water, so they're much lighter when dragging through the snow.
Both have a sheath that’s bonded to the core, which means you can use them for hauling with ascenders, such as a Tibloc, Micro/Nano Traxion progress capture pulleys, and even larger ascenders, see diagram.
The ascender/pulley compatibility may be confusing, because the technical documentation for the Tibloc and Traxions specify a minimum rope diameter of 8 mm. Apparently it's fine to use these devices on these 6mm lines. Petzl says that these ropes can take about a 4 kN load with these devices before the sheath will be damaged. See Petzl test results on this here. (Summary: Use a Traxion on RADline only.)
Because of the small diameter, both are highly prone to tangling. Using some sort of rope bag is highly recommended. If you don't have a rope bag, coiling it with a daisy chain (aka chain Sinnet or crochet) works pretty well too. If you tie the bottom end of the rope to your rope bag, you can toss it for rappel and quickly deploy the rope perfectly, even in high winds.
A basic nylon stuff sack works okay as a rope bag. However, it’s difficult to stuff the rope in a floppy bag. Here I’m using an ice screw bag made by High Mountain Gear. It's the perfect size, has a lid that stays open for rope stuffing, has a couple of attachment points, is extremely sturdy, and works great as rope bag.
RADline details
Intended use: crevasse rescue, glacier travel and rappelling.
Made for “Rescue And Descent”, hence the name.
Static ropes can be great for glacier travel, provided you have excellent rope management, i.e., minimal slack. Because it's static, the distance of any fall will be minimized - less rope stretch. On the downside, because it's static, if the people on top have extra slack out, it can give them a powerful yank. If using this rope for glacier travel, be very mindful of distance between partners and watch your slack.
Weight: 22 grams per meter (about half the weight of an 8mm dynamic rope)
It has a rougher sheath for better handling, more friction on ice and snow when arresting falls, and for extra friction when rappelling.
It's a bit more supple, which makes it a bit easier to handle and to stuff into your pack.
It's orange, which gives better contrast on snow.
Rappelling on this is easier than the PURline, but still can be challenging because of the small diameter. Definitely learn some techniques to increase friction, such as shown in this article. You also use specialized rappel devices made for small diameter ropes such as the Black Diamond ATC Alpine guide, Grivel Scream, or the Edelrid Mago 8 (see below).
I tested using an 6mm Edelrid Aramid cord as a four wrap prusik on both ropes. This held my body weight on the RADline, and not on the more slippery PURline. A Tibloc may be better choice than a prusik on rope this thin.
Comes in lengths of 30 and 60 meters.
Supposedly has a 10 year rated lifespan, which is longer than the typical dynamic rope.
Sorry, no nice diagrams from Petzl. =^(
The Grivel Scream is one of the few devices rated for ropes between 5 and 8 mm. If you are a ski mountaineer and plan on doing lots of rappelling on a RADline, this might be a good one to get. (Note, I don’t have one of these and I've never tried it. I love the name!)
image credit: Grivel
Another rappel device option is the Edelrid Mago 8. This is a modified figure 8 with a few extra horns on it, similar to rappel devices popular for canyoneering. This device is rated for ropes from 6mm to 9.5mm. (Note, I don’t have this device and I've not tried it.)
image credit: Edelrid
PURline Details
Intended use: rappel retrieval/tag line or haul line.
Made of “PURre” Dyneema, hence the name.
Weight: 20 grams per meter, a hair lighter than the RADline (about half the weight of an 8mm dynamic rope)
The PURline is both slippery and stiff, which makes it easier to pull over rock and a bit less prone to tangles when you're using it as a rappel tagline. Surprisingly durable.
It's white, which gives it better visibility on rock.
Because it's so slippery, rappelling directly on it with a standard device is not recommended, even if you take extra steps to add friction. A super Munter might work. (Don't even think about rapping with a Grigri on one strand of PURline.)
When used as a tagline, Petzl recommends using TWO stacked opposed overhand knots to join the ropes. The standard flat overhand bend is NOT recommended, see diagram below.
Hopefully obvious, but when used as a tagline, you should rappel on your normal climbing rope of a larger diameter, and only use the PURline to pull the rope down, see diagram below.
NOTE: Rappelling on a Reepschnur / knot block, and two ropes of different diameters, opens up LOTS of concerns and considerations, more than I can get into here. Definitely practice in a controlled environment with a qualified instructor before you ever do it for real.
Rappel tip with a tagline like this: thread both strands through your rappel device, as this can help remove twists as well as keep the tagline attached to you. (That’s the one strand you need to pull, so you NEVER want to let the tagline swing/blow out of your reach!)
The PURline comes in lengths of 65 meters and 200 meters. Does 65 meters sound like a strange length? It did to me, until I learned that the clever Petzl gear gnomes chose this to account for the dynamic stretch of a typical 60 meter rope that you're using it with. (And that 200 meters? Maybe that's for fixing lines on K2 or something.)
Hauling tip: If you're hauling a load or pulling down a rappel tagline, a small diameter rope is slippery and rough on your hands. Here's a quick tip: add a Tibloc, Micro Traxion or similar ascender onto the hauling side and clip a large carabiner to it as a handle. It’s much easier on your hands!
Best use: hauling and rappel pull cord.
image credit: https://www.petzl.com/INT/en/Sport/Ropes/PUR-LINE-6-mm
For hauling, the PURline is compatible for with the Petzl Mini/Micro Traxion (and even larger ascenders like the Basic or Ascension.)
image credit: https://www.petzl.com/INT/en/Sport/Ropes/PUR-LINE-6-mm
Caution: rappel on the larger, blocked strand of rope.
PRACTICE using knot blocks and retrieval cords with a qualified instructor before ever using them for real! There are lots of ways to screw this up!
image credit: https://www.petzl.com/INT/en/Sport/Ropes/PUR-LINE-6-mm
Caution: Petzl says to use a stacked, opposed overhand to connect the two ropes. Flat overhand bend is not recommended, figure 8 bend definitely not recommended.
Petzl has a very detailed article on their website about recommended knots to use in RADline. The short version: flat overhand bend or stacked overhand is recommended. Have rope tails of at least 30 cm and dress/ snug down the knot very well.
image credit: https://www.petzl.com/INT/en/Sport/Ropes/PUR-LINE-6-mm
What’s a “Unicore” rope?
A regular climbing rope is made with the core and the sheath as two separate components. A Unicore rope, made by the French company Beal, bonds the core and the sheath together, resulting in a rope that has much greater resistance to catastrophic damage.
image credit: screengrab from: https://youtu.be/K83a5zH014I
A standard climbing rope is made of two parts: the dynamic stretchy core, and the colorful protective sheath. (Another term for this is a ”kernmantle” rope, from the German, “kern” = core, “mantle” = sheath.) Andy Kirkpatrick has a memorable way to describe this: The sheath of the rope is like the muscles around your intestines, it holds all the soft inside parts together and protects it. =^)
Typically, the core and the sheath are manufactured separately and are not connected together. Most of the time this works great, but if the sheath of the rope gets damaged, especially when the rope is under tension, it can separate dramatically, also known as a “core shot”. This can: 1) cause you to wish you brought your brown pants that day, and 2), immediately retire your rope (if you're still alive.)
Thankfully, modern climbing ropes are plenty durable enough in most applications, and we're not hearing about ropes regularly self-destructing. However, there are a few cases where having an extra durable rope can be a good thing:
single skinny alpine lead ropes
big walls (more below)
a remote and longer trip where you need your lead rope to stay in good condition
Solution: a “Unicore” (aka “bonded sheath”) rope, created by the French company Beal around 2012, has the core and sheath glued together. With a Unicore rope, the sheath can get a cut, but the sheath does not separate from the core like with a kernmantle rope, and the rope (probably) remains still usable.
To use another anatomy example, think of it as how your skin is attached to the tissue underneath it.
Beal has a wide variety of ropes available with Unicore technology, from skinny alpine, to sport climbing, to burly big wall 10.5mm. (Some other manufacturers have their own version, such as the Maxim Platinum, Edelwiess Element, and the PMI Extreme Pro. (These companies mentioned Unicore technology, so I don't know if that's under license from Beal, or their own proprietary system.)
Especially for big wall climbing, you want ropes (lead and haul) that are as stout and abuse-resistant as possible. Your partner who's cleaning your pitch will especially appreciate your fine choice of rope, as, they jumar that single strand that’s loaded over an edge thousands of feet off the ground!
Also, in big wall climbing you're using ascenders with teeth on them, which can be especially hard on ropes.
With a Unicore rope, a small nick does not turn into catastrophic damage, so even if your rope does get slightly cut, you can (usually) continue to climb with it.
The Beal Top Gun Unicore 10.5 / 70 meter would be an excellent choice for your next big wall adventure.
For a more alpine mountaineering type rope, the 9.4 mm Beal Joker Unicore 9.1 would be a good choice. Finally, if you want one of the lightest single ropes available, check out the Beal Opera Unicore 8.5 (which I have and really like). Having the Unicore technology on a small diameter rope can boost your confidence when you see it loaded over an edge . . .
(Reminder: there are no affiliate marketing links or paid product promotions on Alpinesavvy. I’m writing about Unicore ropes because I think they're cool, and providing these links as a courtesy, not because I make many money off it.)
Here's a nice diagram from Beal and the American distributor Liberty Mountain. It shows a few other benefits: you can cut the end of the rope without it getting all fuzzy, it prevents the sheath from slipping, and there is much less water absorption.
image credit: http://libertymountainclimbing.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-real-truth-about-unicore.html
Video from Beal on some vicious rope abuse and impressive Unicore results. (Warning, viewer discretion is advised. =^)
Video from PMI with more rope abuse:
Block leading - don’t “trap” the leader
When climbing in blocks, where one person leads several pitches in a row, it's important to rig the anchor so the leader can easily unclip and continue. A good way to do this: use an extra locker to connect to the master point carabiner, rather than cloving directly to it.
When block leading, the same person leads several pitches in a row. (As opposed to swinging leads, when you alternate leads with your partner.)
Consider this anchor scenario (left photo): The leader arrives at the belay, and clips themselves directly to the master point carabiner (purple) with a clove hitch. Then, they put their second on belay with a Grigri, which is also clipped to the master point carabiner.
This is fine for swinging leads, but . . .
Can you see the (small) problem here when block leading?
How can you prevent the issue by rigging slightly differently?
Whoops, how is the leader going to remove that clove hitch without deconstructing most of the anchor? They can’t. (Ask me how I know this is a problem; I’ve done it!)
By cloving directly to the master carabiner, the leader has essentially “trapped” themselves. Even if they did clove themselves on the gate side instead of the spine side, they would still have to open the masterpoint carabiner, which is less than ideal.
When using a master point carabiner like this, it's good to think of it as being ‘“welded” closed; once it's shut, it doesn't get opened again until the anchor is completely broken down.
(Admittedly, this is a minor mistake and not a lethal one, but it’s annoying and usually takes a few unnecessary shenanigans to decluster it.)
A better rigging choice is shown on the right.
Here, the leader uses one extra locker to clove to the master carabiner. This allows them to easily unclip and continue to lead, without being trapped in the system, and without opening the master carabiner.
In most cases, clipping in like this with one extra locker is usually a better choice, because it gives you more options for general rigging and declustering unexpected situations.
For example, when you agreed to swing leads, but your partner arrives at the anchor and says “Hey, how about you keep on going, I’m tired . . .”
Other concerns, issues?
I know there are some anchor Polizei who are gonna get their feathers ruffled because the second is not belayed next to the spine of the carabiner. IMHO, it's nothing to worry about. The largest possible load when bringing up your second is going to be 2-3 kN; no possible way the carabiner could be damaged from that.
Concerned about three-way loading on the carabiner? It's fine. Carabiners loaded like this have been tested to break at about 17 kN, WAY more then you're ever gonna put on it and a recreational climbing context. Check out the photo below from Black Diamond.
Petzl Traxion pulleys - Micro vs Nano
The Petzl Traxion series of progress capture pulleys are an increasingly popular piece of gear. Let's have a closer look at the Micro and the Nano, learn some of their common functions, a few key differences, and some of the crafty things you can do with them.
The Traxion series of progress capture pulleys, made by Petzl, are an increasingly popular piece of gear. Let's have a closer look the two suitable for alpine climbing, the Micro Traxion and relatively new Nano Traxion.
Before we get into these, a word on the other two flavors of Traxion, the Mini and the Pro.
The red Mini Traxion is discontinued, but still available used. It’s a fine piece of gear for certain big wall applications, but it's too heavy for most alpine climbing.
The yellow/black Pro Traxion is popular with big wall climbers to pull up your haul bags, but it's way too big for the alpine world so we're not gonna cover it here. (If you get the Pro, be sure and get the newer model. It’s a big improvement over version 1.0.)
Micro and Nano Traxion: things in common
Both are rated 91% efficient. (Keep in mind that this “efficiency rating” is tested under optimal laboratory conditions, probably with a low stretch, small diameter rope. My “garage” testing of these devices with an older 8.5mm dynamic rope gives an efficiency of about 72% for the Nano, and about 76% for the Micro.)
Both have a way to attach a keeper cord. (This is obvious on the Nano, and harder to see on the Micro.)
Both work on frozen or muddy ropes.
Both can be used with the 6mm Petzl PURline and RADline static ropes. (This is maybe a little confusing, because the technical documentation for these devices says that 8mm (Micro) and 7mm (Nano) are the smallest diameter ropes allowed.)
Both are best used with a oval locker or HMS locker, not a D shaped locker.
Micro Traxion overview
Weight: 85 grams
Retail price: $130
Pass a locking carabiner sleeve through the clip point? YES
Retract and hold the toothed cam? YES
Rope size: 8 to 11 mm
Nano Traxion overview
Weight: 53 grams
Retail price: $100
Pass a locking carabiner sleeve through the clip point? NO
Retract and hold the toothed cam? NO
Rope size: 7 to 11 mm
Comes in stealth black =^)
Micro Traxion on left, Nano on right. Note the toothed cam is in the “locked open” on the Micro. Can’t lock open the cam on the Nano, but you can open the cam manually and hold it in place.
Both models have a spot to attach a keeper cord, if that’s your thing.
What can you do with a Traxion pulley?
Set up a drop C system for crevasse rescue, which gives you a 2:1 mechanical advantage, and puts the progress capture on the person in the hole, not on top.
Set up a “Z drag” system for crevasse rescue, which gives you a 3:1 mechanical advantage and perfect progress capture without futzing with a pulley and annoying friction hitches to hold the load.
Improvised rope ascending system, combine with a friction hitch or micro ascender like a Petzl Tibloc to go up a fixed rope.
Top Rope Soloing (TRS). One of the most popular applications for this device. (Nope, you won’t learn that on Alpinesavvy, Google is your amigo.)
Haul packs or lighter haul bags, with the Traxion on the anchor.
Set up a “far end haul” with a 2:1 mechanical advantage on the bag. (Nerdy big wallers only)
You can belay your second directly off the anchor with a Traxion pulley. But it's best to do it on relatively low angle snow or rock, where the chance of a fall is unlikely, and you’re keeping the rope snug on your second so any fall would not create very much force. With a load above about 4 kN you're gonna start to damage the sheath, as shown in the diagram below. If you choose to use the device this way, please be careful. Petzl has done solid testing on this, and has some major cautions . Read more here before you try this technique.
For putting multiple loads on the same carabiner, it's good practice to put the one receiving the largest load on the spine side of the carabiner. Typically if you're hauling, that's where the pulley should go. See diagram below.
image: https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Pulleys/MICRO-TRAXION
image: https://www.petzl.com/INT/en/Professional/Choice-of-carabiners-for-hauling-systems-and-pulley-attachment?ProductName=MICRO-TRAXION
What's the best carabiner to use with a Traxion?
The Petzl website gives a bit of contradictory information about this. On one part of their website, they have a clear diagram that an oval or HMS locker is generally preferred, because it allows the pulley to sit in a more symmetrical position. However, in the technical documentation for the Sm’D carabiner, they have a diagram of that D-shaped carabiner being used with the Micro Traction. See diagrams below.
So . . . my read on that is that is: while pretty much any kind of locker is acceptable, you're probably gonna get slightly better results with an oval or, what I use, wide gate HMS belay locker.
image: https://www.petzl.com/INT/en/Professional/Choice-of-carabiners-for-hauling-systems-and-pulley-attachment?ProductName=MICRO-TRAXION
image: https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Pulleys/MICRO-TRAXION
So, the key question: do you need one?
If you find yourself doing a lot of glacier travel or pack hauling, the answer might be yes. If you're doing more moderate snow climbing and rock climbing without much hauling, then the answer could be no.
This is an expensive item of specialized gear. If you're a beginning climber and building your rack, I suggest getting more commonly used gear first, and perhaps adding this later.
If you already have the Micro, I’d think most people would be pretty happy with this and not want to get the Nano.
If you don't have either, I'd probably recommend the Nano because it's less expensive and lighter and pretty much has the same functionality.
The always amazing Petzl website has a great series of tutorial articles on all the ways you can use this handy device. Read it here.
Finally, check out this short Instagram video that shows using the Mini Traxion for Tyrolean traverse, rope ascending, and large load 1:1 hauling.
(If the embedded video below breaks, you can try here.)
Rigging your rope for glacier travel
Here's a fast, clever and easy-to-remember way to ensure proper spacing between team members when traveling on a glacier. Plus, a diagram and photo to show actual distances for three and four person teams.
Image: from the highly recommended and hilarious book, “The Illustrated Guide to Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue, by Andy Tyson and Mike Clelland. Anyone setting foot on a glacier would do well to get this book. The method shown is a bit outdated, but it's still a great drawing!
(There are a few different book editions with different covers. They're all good, get whichever one you can.)
credit: Mike Clelland
I remember when I first learned crevasse rescue WayBackWhen, it was pretty darn simple. Two people tie to each end, one person ties to the middle, and off you go! 50 meter rope, 25 meters between everybody.
Turns out that has a few problems:
Communication can be difficult because people are further apart.
All the extra rope gets hung up on ice blobs and snow-sickles.
How do you do a rescue if the middle person falls in?
Happily we’ve moved into the modern era, where you climb a bit closer together (at least in my neighborhood, the Pacific Northwest), and the end people carry extra rope to initiate a rescue. But, that still leaves a few questions:
What distance should you have between climbers?
It sort of depends on the potential size of the crevasses you may be facing, but for moderate sized crevasses typical of the Pacific NW, here’s a quick and easy to remember how to set up the rope spacing. It varies a little bit, depending on the size of your team.
Take the number of people on your rope team, and subtract that from 10. That gives you the number of double “arm spans” between climbers
2 climbers: 10-2 = 8 - 8 arm spans of rope between climbers
3 climbers: 10-3 = 7 - 7 arm spans of rope between climbers
4 climbers: 10-4 = 6 - 6 arm spans of rope between climbers
Notes . . .
This is known in some circles as the “10 minus equation.”
If you’re on a two person team, it’s best practice to tie 4-5 brake knots in the rope between each climber. It's optional for 3 and 4 person teams, but if the terrain is hairy then go ahead and tie some.
Generally, you want to put the least experienced person(s) in the middle, and the two more experienced/skilled people on the end. The end people will be more responsible for route finding and probably initiating a rescue if you need one.
Note - there are lots of different ways to rig your rope team for glacier travel. This is one of many that works. In areas with larger crevasses, like Alaska and the Himalaya, you’d probably want more distance between people than what I’m describing here.
Pro tip: If you're doing an alpine start, rig your your rope with knots and coils the night before. It's one less thing to do at 0:dark:30 by headlamp when you're sleepy.
Generally, it's best practice to have all team members clip to a knot with a locking carabiner, rather than tying the rope through the harness. Doing this allows you to unclip from the rope more easily, which is convenient when performing a rescue.
The end people need a good way to secure the extra rope. Some people advocate stuffing it in your pack. Bad idea, because every time you want to get in and out of your pack you have lots of annoying rope coils. Much better is to secure the rope in a small butterfly coil, I like to secure the coil with a Voile ski strap. Yes, I know how to tie off a butterfly coil, but using a ski strap is faster and easier. I don’t like the coils around my neck unless there’s a good reason to do so, like moving from glacier to rock, where you need to take in coils and walk close together.
The standard approach to clipping to the rope is to use two carabiners, opposite and opposed usually with at least one a locker. Here's my alternative, using the odd-looking Grivel Clepsydra S carabiner. It has a wire clippy thing so it can never be cross loaded, and it has a double gate that will never freeze shut or wiggle open during a day of tromping around on the glacier. It's my new favorite.
A team of two can require a longer rope (60 meter minimum) than a team of three or even four.
Yes, this is a little counterintuitive! If you're using the modern standard of a drop loop C, that means you need about twice the distance between climbers at a minimum for a typical rescue. A party of three or four will ideally build an anchor at the closest team member to the fallen person. This allows them to use the rope between the other team members for the drop loop and thus they can carry fewer rescue coils on each end. A team of two is probably not able to do this.
This means that it's best practice for a two person team to be on a 60 meter rope at a minimum, while a three person or four person team can probably use a 50 meter rope.
Check out the below diagram for a two person team. With 8 arms spans between climbers, and with 4 brake knots which each take about 1 meter, that leaves just 15 meters in rescue coils for each person to carry.
The good news is, if your drop loop turns out to be a little bit short, it's easy to extend it with whatever extra slings, cordelettes, etc. you might have available. This means that a two person team does NOT always need to carry twice the amount of rope between climbers. (Another alternative for a two person team with a shorter rope is that they do not use a drop C and instead use a drop end 3:1, which comes with its own set of problems and benefits. Here's a detailed article on this technique.
Either way, the bigger picture, if you’re a two person team in serious crevasse terrain, you absolutely have to have your systems dialed and be completely self-sufficient to perform a rescue. Two person glacier travel is recommended for experts only.
Rope rigging for a THREE person team (with at least two experienced climbers):
Find the middle of the rope, tie a butterfly knot for the middle person.
Measure about seven full arm spans from this middle knot towards one end, and tie a butterfly knot. Repat for the other half of the rope. These are the clip in points for the two end people. The end people coil the remaining rope for use in a possible rescue.
If you have only one experienced person on your rope team, then the novices should probably clip in starting at one end of the rope with seven arm spans between them, and the more experienced person should carry all the the remaining rope. Let’s hope they don’t fall in . . .
Rope rigging for a FOUR person team:
Find the middle of the rope.
Measure three arm spans to the right of the rope middle, and tie a butterfly knot.
Measure three arm spans to the left of the rope middle, and tie another butterfly knot.
Finally, measure six arm spans from each of these knots toward end of the rope, and tie your final two butterfly knots for the end climbers. Again, the two end climbers should ideally be more experienced people capable of route finding and crevasse rescue. They also carry the remaining rope, either coiled over their shoulder or stuffed into a backpack.
Distance wise, this works out to be about 10 meters between climbers.
(Note the orange Voile ski strap securing the coils for the climber on the right, a quick and secure way to tame extra rope.)
Check out the nice video from AMGA Guide Jeff Ward to see how this works.
DIY tether with the Kong Slyde
Tethers are not for everyone, but many people find their instant adjustability to be handy in lots of different climbing situations. Some of the more specialized ones can be quite expensive. Here's a low cost DIY version, using the cleverly designed Kong Slyde.
Kong Slyde + 2 meters of rope = low cost adjustable tether.
This clever device works much the same as the Petzl Adjust tethers, but costs a lot less, around $12. Kong has it in the “aid climbing” category on their website, but I think it’s better as a personal tether.
Note:
Not all carabiners fit in the Kong Slyde. Some wider D shaped lockers may not fit. Here I’m using the Petzl Sm’D twistlock, which fits great and has a twistlock for extra security.
8.5-ish to 9ish mm dynamic rope is the best choice for this. Anything smaller the strands can invert and the Slyde fails! Much bigger and it’s really hard to pull the rope through. Dynamic is good because, ya know, it stretches.
My friend Ryan at HotNOT2.com tested different rope flavors, and he likes the Beal 9.1 mm Joker rope for smoothness and adjustability. Buy that rope by the foot, along with the Slyde, at his sweet online gear store.
You can buy rope by the foot from Arbsession. Arbsession can add custom sewn eye splices into your rope, which could be nice. I have not tested this rope myself with the Slyde, but the diameter looks about right.
Two meters of rope will give you a tether that's probably a bit on the long side, but that's better than having it too short. Feel free to trim it down if needed after testing. For me, I'm about 5’ 10” / 180 cm, and these measurements work for me. If you're much taller, you probably want to add a bit more rope.
Start with 2 meters of 8.5mm or 9mm rope.
In the tail end of the cord, tie a stopper knot. Cinch it down well. I took the extra step of securing it with a zip tie so it can never come undone.
Correctly thread the cord into the Slyde, see photo below.
In the other end, tie an overhand on a bight, with a loop that's just big enough to girth hitch through your belay loop. Dress and cinch down the knot. Done!
To extend the Slyde, grab it with your palm down, and the rounded end of the Slyde pointing toward you. Tilt your hand up and push forward, and the Slyde should extend. Little hard to describe, watch the short video clip below. Practice and you’ll get the hang of it.
Check out this short video on using it.
Rope ascending with the Petzl Traxion
The Petzl Traxion is a handy device for many different climbing situations, including ascending a rope. Here are a few different ways to set it up.
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.
The Tibloc micro ascender and the Traxion progress capture pulley are a pair of versatile tools from Petzl that are handy in a variety of self-rescue scenarios.
They work especially well for those (hopefully rare) times when you unexpectedly might have to ascend a rope (working WAY better than a trasditional prisik / friction hitch.)
Important:
When ascending a rope with any kind of toothed device like this, keep the rope tight between you and the anchor at all times. Do not allow slack rope between you and the anchor. A fall or slip with even a tiny amount of slack rope can generate enough force to damage the rope. Petzl has done some sobering studies on this, read them here.
The Tibloc has a reputation as being hard on ropes. Using a rounded stock locking carabiner, and not suddenly weighting the device, can help minimize this.
With both of these methods, you need two points of connection to the rope (your tie in knot doesn’t count). Never rely on just one ascender. A failure may happen for one of three reasons: the ascender comes off of the rope, the ascender fails to properly grab the rope (mud, ice, etc) and your tether carabiner can become unclipped. The simplest backup: Every 5 meters or so, tie a overhand on a bight and clip it to your belay loop with a locker. (More often if you’re scared.)
As mentioned above, definitely practice with this in a controlled environment close to the ground before you ever try it for real!
Let's look at three different methods. If you have this gear, try them both and see which one works for you. (The standard figure 8 tie knot is omitted for clarity.)
Tips:
Think of rope ascending as a “movement sandwich.“ That’s a short movement of exertion, in between two periods of rest. Rest > move > rest. Rest > move > rest. Use your legs. If your arms are getting pumped, you’re probably doing something wrong.
What carabiner to use? With both devices, a wide gate HMS belay carabiner (or oval locker, if you have one) is usually the better choice, as it aligns the load better. A “D” locking carabiner is acceptable.
Method 1: Traxion attached to your harness, Tibloc is the foot loop
Sequence:
Girth hitch a 60 cm sing to your belay loop.
Put Traxion on rope, with teeth facing down.
Clip the sling to it with a locker.
Next . . .
Clip the Tibloc to the rope below the Traxion.
Clip a 120 cm sling, this is your foot loop.
To climb the rope: Put your weight on the Traxion. Push the Tibloc as far up the rope as you can. Bend your foot under your butt, stand up in the foot loop, and simultaneously slide the Traxion up the rope. Sit back on the Traxion to rest. Repeat as necessary.
Tie a backup bight knot and clip to harness every 5 meters or so.
Method 2: Tibloc as a foot loop, Traxion attached to your harness
Sequence:
Clip Tibloc to rope. (if you don't have a Tibloc, you could use a cordelette tied in a friction hitch shortened with an overhand knot for your foot.)
Clip a 120 cm sling to the Tibloc; this is your foot loop.
Put Traxion on rope, and clip to your belay loop. (Clip the Traxion “Teeth toward Toes”, i.e., teeth pointing down.)
To climb the rope: slide the Tibloc up the rope as far as you can, bend your foot under your butt, stand up in the sling, and simultaneously pull any slack rope through the Traxion.
Tie a backup bight knot and clip to harness every 5 meters or so.
From the (always awesome) Petzl website. It looks like this diagram shows an extra backup sling running from the Tibloc to the harness. That's another way to do it if you don't want to tie backup knots, as this provides a second point of connection to the rope.
image: https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Pulleys/MICRO-TRAXION
Method 3: Traxion as a foot loop, Grigri as progress capture
If you have a Grigri, you can use that is the progress capture.
Sequence:
Clip Traxion to rope, with teeth facing down.
Clip a 120 cm sling to the Tibloc; this is your foot loop.
Put Grigri on rope, and clip to your belay loop. Be sure the rope is fed correctly.
To climb the rope: slide the Traxion up the rope as far as you can, bend your foot under your butt, stand up in the sling, and simultaneously pull any slack rope through the Grigri.
Tie a backup bight knot and clip to harness every 5 meters or so.
And finally, if you're on low angle terrain and maybe want to bend a few safety rules, you could clip a Traxion to a fixed rope, clip it to your harness with a 60 cm sling, and use the carabiner /device to pretty much Batman up the rope.
Check out this Instagram video that shows an IFMGA Guide demonstrating this (pretty-darn-fast-but-probably-not-approved-by-Petzl) method.
Where do you carry your satcom device?
A satellite communication device can be a critical tool in managing a backcountry emergency. A pretty simple question: should you carry it inside or outside the pack? Here's a pretty comprehensive list of pros and cons for both approaches, along with my preference.
A satellite communication device, such as the Garmin inReach, or the one I prefer, the ZOLEO, are increasingly popular for backcountry users (and pretty much mandatory for guides).
What sounds like a fairly simple question: where do you carry it? There aren’t many options.
Inside your pack
Outside your pack, clipped to a shoulder strap
Outside your pack, in a pocket of your clothing or maybe in a padded pocket on a pack strap
If you have a device like this, what's your preference?
To a certain extent this is a pedantic question. In the bigger picture probably doesn’t matter too much. Everyone can do what they want, “Hike Your Own Hike”, blah blah blah. However, I’m coming at this from the point of view of a climber, where there is almost always a range of best practices, and not so much as a hiker, where personal choices like this ultimately may not matter very much.
I have my preference, but I have no agenda to convince people to do it. With this article, I simply want folks to think through what they're doing and realize the pros and cons to different approaches.
(Here, we're talking about a device that's only for emergency comms, and not for GPS navigation. If using any device for actual navigation, you almost always want to have it outside the pack and accessible.)
Reasons for storing a satcom device INSIDE the pack (my preference):
In a nutshell: Security is more important than accessibility.
Why clip an expensive and potentially mission-critical piece of equipment on the outside of the pack, where it has a much higher likelihood of getting damaged or lost? You don’t clip your iPhone to a backpack strap, why would you do this for a satcom device?
I’ve asked many mountain guides and search and rescue professionals this question. Every single one of them says they keep it on the inside of their pack or maybe in a pocket, never on the backpack strap. What does that tell you?
The fewer things clipped to and jangling around on the outside of your pack, the better.
You're going out in a group and at least one other person has one, so the reason for immediate accessibility decreases.
My device, the ZOLEO, maintains satellite connectivity just fine when it’s inside my pack, including sending location pings at preset intervals.
If you do take a fall, it gets ripped off of your pack, you're injured and you really need it, you may not have access to it.
Reasons for carrying a satcom device OUTSIDE the pack (on a shoulder strap):
(Not my imagination, I've heard these reasons from other people.)
You feel the need for immediate access to the device, no matter how unlikely that situation might be, outweighs potentially losing it or damaging it. (This sentiment seems more common for solo hikers.)
If you’re using it for texting a lot, if you have it on the outside of your pack, you can more easily hear the chirp of an incoming text. (For me, sending non-critical texts is the last thing I want to do when I’m in the backcountry, so this is not an issue for me, but it might be for you.)
If you're using it to send check-in (“all is well”) messages, it's easier to grab it off your pack and send one on-the-go than potentially forgetting to do so after you get to camp.
You've seen pictures in social media or ads about satcom devices clipped to pack straps, and so you think that's how it should be done. (I think it’s a subtle marketing ploy by the satcom companies to indirectly encourage the pack strap. Looks better in social media, and free advertising for their device. Not much of that happening if it can’t be seen inside your pack.)
The devices come with a handy little square shaped carabiner, which seems designed to clip onto the flat webbing backpack strap.
To show potential hostile people that you have one, which will hopefully deter any sort of a threat.
If you're in an emergency situation and you get adrenaline-fueled brain malfunction, having it on the outside of your pack might remind you or your partner that you actually have one and you can use it. (Don't laugh, this happened to a friend of mine in a canyoning accident. One of them had a satcom device and they had to deal with a serious accident for a LONG time before they remembered that they had the device.)
“I can get to it more easily in a crazy catastrophe, where I might not be able to get into my pack”. Yes, I can see this might be true if you’re in some sort of boating accident, like ‘man overboard’ in the middle of the ocean or something. But realistically, what’s the scenario when this could happen if you’re hiking or climbing? You could probably come up with some crazy contrived scenario, but if it's a 1 in 100,000 chance of happening, why are you even concerned about it? If you’re so severely injured that you can’t unzip a pocket of your backpack, you’re probably not gonna stay alive long enough for search and rescue to be much help anyway.
One scary story: a PCT backpacker attempted a sketchy river crossing at high water. They were pushed off their feet, ditched their backpack to swim safely to shore, lost their pack, and were then in a serious situation. (This person did NOT have a sat com device). Yes that would suck, but c’mon, how often does something like that happen? If you were in that situation, perhaps you might have the foresight to remove your satcom device from your pack before you did something sketchy and attach it to your body?
If you’re unconscious out in the woods and someone else walks by and finds you, they might see the device on the outside of my pack, hopefully know how to properly use it, and call for help. I suppose that's remotely possible, but extremely unlikely. With logic like that, you’d carry your first aid kit dangling around on the outside of your pack, but no one does that.
So, that pretty much summarizes the pros and cons for both approaches. Like I said, ultimately the more important thing is probably that you have one and know how to use it, either to assist yourself or someone else. If you have some other reasons, feel free to email them to me and I'll consider adding them to this article.
The far end haul, explained
The far end haul is a #CraftyRopeTrick that sets up a redirected 2:1 mechanical advantage haul that happens at the load end of the rope, not at the anchor end of the rope. The far end haul is used in big wall climbing, and can be handy for self rescue. Plus, it's just plain fun to set up to see how it works!
The far end haul haul for big wall applications is generally attributed to Chongo, a legendary Yosemite dirtbag who was famous for extended vertical camping trips on El Capitan with ridiculously large loads.
Having a Petzl Traxion (or similar progress capture pulley) on the load also lets you set up what’s called a “far end haul”, which at first seems like some sort of sorcery. (This load can be you, or another person pack, haul bag etc.)
Usually, hauling happens from the top end of the rope next to the anchor. However, with the far end haul, you to lift your load with a theoretical 2:1 mechanical advantage (MA) by pulling on the “far end” of the rope next to the load, rather than from the primary anchor.
This rig can be useful for big wall soloing / hauling. If you’re hauling your bag from the top, and it gets stuck, you can rap down to it, lift up a little bit by setting up a 2:1 MA with an ascender and a pulley, and free the bags.
I learned from a caver that this is also called a “traveling haul”, used in rescue to raise someone up a large drop. (Hope I never have to do that!)
It also has some self-rescue applications, and can be really helpful for moving your bags around at the anchor, see video below.
To rig the far end 2:1, clip an ascender (or a prusik if you’re short on gear) on the loaded strand of the haul rope, clip a carabiner with a pulley onto the ascender, and pull down on this redirect. Your bodyweight should lift the bags with this theoretical 2:1 MA and the micro traxion will “climb” up the rope and capture your pulling progress, sweet!
In the photo below I'm using a handled ascender. You could use any kind of ascender here like a Tibloc, a second Micro Traxion, Ropeman, etc. The pulley is optional, but definitely helps increase your efficiency when pulling.
Note the real mechanical advantage you will have in the real world when you try this. Below are pull test results with a 10 lb weight from another Alpinesavvy post, mechanical advantage in the real world. You can see that about the best you can do with the far end haul pulley is 1.3 to 1. And if you don’t have a pulley, you probably shouldn't even bother putting the redirect through a carabiner, as the mechanical advantage falls below 1:1. (Note, DMM Revolver carabiners don’t really do anything to reduce friction over a regular carabiner, avoid using those.)
But, even if you’re not soloing, it has a few advantages.
The far end haul can minimize rope abrasion, because the haul rope doesn’t move.
If you have to haul from a point or over a ledge with a LOT of rope friction, you can instead far end haul and have zero friction.
You can easily move the bags around at the anchor; more below.
Here’s a video by wall ace Mark Hudon who shows exactly how to do this. Rather ingenious, no?
9 phone apps for wilderness navigation
There are lots of handy tools you can keep on your phone to help with wilderness navigation. Here are some of my favorites. Better yet, pretty much all of them are free and weigh 0.0 grams!
There are lots of handy tools you can keep on your phone to help stay found. Here are some of my favorites.
Better yet, pretty much all of them are free and weigh 0.00 grams! (This is geared toward iPhone, ‘cuz that’s what I have.)
In rough order of importance:
GPS - GaiaGPS, Caltopo and Fatmap are all popular options. Find one, learn it. Cost, about $20 a year.
Compass - The iPhone has a great built-in compass. Cost, free.
Altimeter -There are lots of altimeter apps. Cost, free.
Photos - Take photos of guidebook pages. Download a photo of a redlined route, save it to your phone. Take photos of your route when climbing, red line or annotate. Save Google Earth screengrabs. Cost, free.
Kindle / pdf reader - Save a PDF of a map. Download an entire guidebook (or wilderness first aid book!) as an e-book. Cost, free.
Inclinometer - The iPhone has a handy inclinometer, under the “Measure” tool. Great for assessing avalanche potential and bragging to your friends about how steep your ski slope was.
Show & share my coordinates - clearly display your coordinates, email or text them along with a message. Extremely helpful to show your exact location if you have a backcountry emergency and a cell connection. This is one of several ways to get coordinates from your phone. This app is called “My GPS Coordinates”. Cost, free.
Barometer - Newer phones have barometric pressure sensors. Rising or falling barometric pressure can indicate a potential change in weather. Cost, free.
GPS Diagnostics - kind of nerdy, but occasionally useful. If your GPS is acting up, you can use this to see the quality of your satellite connectivity. Cost, free
GaiaGPS
Compass
Altimeter
Photos
Screen grab from web, Google Earth screen grab, guidebook photo
Kindle / Book reading app / PDF reader
Make a PDF map in CalTopo. Email it to yourself or AirDrop to your phone. Save in Books or Kindle.
Inclinometer
Show & share my coordinates
(Tip - you only need 4 decimal places.)
