Alpine Tips
Adjustable tether + Fifi hook for tricky cleaning
Here’s a DIY gear trick that’s handy when cleaning a traversing aid pitch, or maybe a overhanging sport route. Girth hitch an aid climbing fifi hook to an adjustable tether.
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Cleaning a steeply traversing aid pitch or a sport route that's severely overhanging and/or traversing can be hard!
The challenge you have in both cases is the gear you're trying to clean is being tensioned by the rope under your bodyweight, and that's usually a pretty big problem.
Here’s a simple way to solve it: an adjustable tether plus an aid climbing fifi hook.
I‘ve used this on the infamously traversing bolt ladder on Monkey Face at Smith Rock Oregon, and it works perfecto.
Be sure your fifi has a “release cord” loop tied into the top hole as we see here. This is key to be able to release this under load.
They usually don't come this way from the store, you have to add it yourself. I'm simply using parachute cord.
Notes . . .
It’s pretty much the same procedure for cleaning quickdraws from a steep sport climbing route, but that's a bit easier than this.
Yes, there are several methods you can use to accomplish this, but after you try this you may not wanna do the others. Give different techniques a try and see which works best for you.
What's sweet about this for aid climbing is that it uses gear that you already have on your harness. Typically you would only use a fifi when leading, but in this case, you remove it from your harness and put it on your tether when needed for cleaning.
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Klemheist ver 2.0: stitching IN the knot
A Klemheist is a useful friction hitch / rope grabber, but DANG, have you ever tried to use it to actually go up to fixed rope? Tied in the normal way, that sucker bites down hard and is really difficult to slide! Here’s a clever variation that gives adequate grab on the rope, and is much easier to slide when you need to move up.
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Credit for this method goes to Silvan Metz, @silvanmetzfotografie
Left photo, normal way to tie a Klemheist. Right photo, the modified method which is much easier to slide.
The Klemheist is one of three friction hitches every climber ought to know. (The other two are the prusik and the autoblock, aka French prusik, or Machard.)
Friction hitches are used typically used as a rope grab in a mechanical advantage haul system, and as a tool for emergency rope ascending.
The Klemheist is handy because you can tie it with either cord or a sewn sling, and you can easily adjust the amount of friction by increasing or decreasing the wraps around the rope.
But DANG, have you ever actually tried to climb a rope with a Klemheist, especially one tied with a skinny Dyneema sling? You probably discovered that it bites down very hard on the rope, and is very difficult to slide up after you've loaded it with your body weight.
Here's a clever variation on the Klemheist hitch, where the stitching on a sewn sling is intentionally tied INTO the hitch, as in the photo above on the right.
WTF?! I learned in Knots 101 you should never do this, why would you?
Answer: for ascending a rope.
By including the stitching in the hitch, it allows enough friction for good grabbing on the rope, but also allows the knot to MUCH more easily slide on the rope when you need to move it.
Notes . . .
Works great with a sewn sling, even Dyneema (Don’t use Dyneema for a rappel backup.)
Grabs pretty well in both directions, but still holds best in one.
Easily adjustable with the number of wraps; more wraps for a skinny rope, fewer for thicker ropes or twin strands.
Some people think this is a Hedden hitch, or maybe an FB hitch. To be honest I don't really care about the name. It's more important to know how to tie it and the best applications, so let's not get distracted by lineage and whether I use the exact right term to describe it. Lots of “knot-knerds” like to argue about stuff like this. I’m not one of them.
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Load transfer: The alpine block and tackle
With nothing more than a cordelette and two carabiners, the “alpine block and tackle” creates a bit of mechanical advantage that can help you move a large load a short distance.
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This is part of a series of articles that cover methods to move a large load a short distance, typically to unweight an anchor.
If you tie your cordelette “bunny ears” style, as I recommend in this Tip, you can use it to make a low-tech block and tackle system. #CraftyRopeTrick for sure!
(History side note: The term “block” comes from the wooden blocks that were originally used on ships to raise heavy sails, and the “tackle” refers to the ropes/rigging running between the blocks.)
Climbers typically think that mechanical advantage systems only come into play in a rescue-type scenario. But there are some other situations where they can come in handy.
When might you want to use an alpine block and tackle?
In general, to move a large load a very short distance.
Maybe you're in some other kind of rescue scenario, and you need to momentarily lift a load off of a carabiner an inch or two to unclip something.
Maybe you're on a big wall climb, you screwed up your rigging somehow, and you need to lift your haul bag a few inches to get it unclipped. (Note, if you use a docking cord to attach your haul bag to the anchor, you should never have this problem.)
You have a strand of rope with a weighted knot, and you need to unweight the rope so you can untie the knot. To do this, put prusik loops above and below the knot, and rig the block and tackle between the two prusiks. See image below.
In the example shown in the video below, you can transfer or share the load in a crevasse rescue off a sketchy initial gear placement to a stronger second placement.
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How do knots affect cord and webbing strength?
Most climbers know that tying any sort of a knot reduces the strength of cord, rope or webbing. But what about tying multiple knots in the same strand? Does that reduce the strength multiple times? What happens when you have a loop of cord tied with a knot, is the strength reduced in that? The Alpine Club of Italy did some testing, here are the answers.
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Tying a knot in rope, cord or sling decreases the strength. (While it varies depending on the material and the type of knot, a conservative rule of thumb is about 50%.)
Is there much of a difference in strength loss between cord and webbing?
What about nylon vs. Dyneema?
What about a standard anchor configuration with a knotted sling?
Do multiple knots in the same cord decrease the strength more?
All interesting questions, let's find some answers!
Strength loss from knots in webbing and cord
Here’s a nice diagram drawn by IFMGA Guide Georg Sojer @sojercartoon from an article by German mountain guide / Bergfuhrer Chris Semmel of the German Mountain and Ski Guides Association (“Verband Deutscher Berg und Skiführer” or “VDBS”). It’s from a German climbing magazine, here’s the original.
Interestingly, it shows that cord is slightly stronger than webbing. Also note that when a larger loop is doubled over, even with a knot, the strength is twice that of the unknotted material.
image: https://www.outdoor-magazin.com/klettern/basiskurs-alpines-klettern/
What about nylon vs. Dyneema?
Great question. Lots of people think if you tie a knot in Dyneema, it's somehow magically going to break. Maybe in a drop tower with a concrete block, but highly unlikely in a real world climbing scenario. Some testing from the German company Edelrid gives us some answers.
Edelrid tested the strength of both “polyamid” aka nylon, and “high-density polyethylene”, aka Dyneema, in 3 ways: 1) a single strand, 2) in a sewn sling, and 3) a sewn sling with a single overhand knot in the middle.
Here are the results.
You can see the strength of the nylon sling is higher in every case. In terms of strength by weight Dyneema might be stronger. However, the nylon sling is made of more material and it stretches about three times as much, so it can hold a higher load.
The Dyneema sling with an overhand knot broke at 11.2 kN. This is still significantly higher than anything you would see in a recreational climbing scenario, so I personally don't have any problems doing it. Having said that, if you want to use your slings at full strength, avoid tying knots in them when possible.
screen grab from: https://youtu.be/0SqHwymGxfM
Here's a nice video from Edelrid showing their testing procedure. (I recommend browsing through the entire series of knowledge base videos from Edelrid, there are some gems in there.)
My friend Ryan Jenks, founder of the YouTube channel HowNOT2 did some very interesting testing comparing “tech” cord (Sterling VT-X) with a Dyneema core, to standard nylon cord.
The Minimum Breaking Strength (MBS) the tech cord was significantly higher than a comparable diameter 6 mm nylon cord.
MBS of VT-X cord: 15 kN
MBS of plain nylon 6 mm cord: 8.8 kN
The VT-X cord is rated a bit less than twice as strong as the nylon cord.Ryan broke each cord 5 times, with a figure 8 knot on each end.
8 to 8 average, VT-X: 8.6 kN
8 to 8 average, nylon 6 mm cord: 6.6 kN
The VT-X still tested a bit higher, but not very much higher. Then, he looked at those break test numbers as a percentage of the MBS.
VT-X: 57.6%
nylon 6 mm cord: 75.6%
Isn't that interesting? Tying figure 8 knots in the VT-X cord breaks about half of the rated strength, but the same knot tied in nylon cord breaks about 3/4 of the rated strength!
This tells us that tech cord loses a larger percentage of the rated strength when you tie knots in it.
If I understand Ryan's explanation of this, this is because the tech cord, being very static/non-stretchy, does not elongate at the outer radius of the bend in the knot. The nylon, because it is stretchy, loses less of its strength in the knot. Cool!
So, for me, the takeaway is that 6 or 7 mm nylon cord in just about any recreational climbing situation is probably gonna be fine.
Having said that, using higher strength tech cord for anchor building gives me a warm fuzzy feeling, extra kN and it only cost like $1.20 a foot, so I'm gonna still roll with my V-TX cordelette, which I especially like for snow and glacier travel.
See all the results at his video below.
How do knots weaken slings in standard anchors?
Here's a common anchor scenario. 120 cm Aramid / kevlar sling rated to 22 kN. It’s doubled, with one arm clipped to each bolt. A overhand knot is tied for the master point.
How strong is this anchor?
Scroll down for the answer.
The answer is B, around 22 kN, the original strength of the sling. Why? Because the sling is doubled before the knot is tied.
Doubling the sling also doubles the strength to about 44 kN. Adding a knot reduces the strength about 50%, down to around 22 kN.
Same principle applies to a girth hitch anchor, here are made with Dyneema.
Next time you hear somebody saying “OMG, don't use a girth hitch, it weakens the sling by 50%!” remind them of this.
This is confirmed by the (always awesome) testing by Ryan Jenks at HowNot2.com. His testing showed the girth hitch master point breaking at around 26-28 kN. (Check out his video here, start at 7:10 and go to 9:00.)
A couple of screen grabs are below.
This is a portion of my much longer article on this topic.
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Crevasse rescue: simplified drop loop 2:1
The progress capture on a hauling system does not necessarily need to be on the anchor. If you have it on a fixed strand of rope, you can simplify your rigging, reduce friction, and lower the load on the anchor. Here's one way to set it up for 2:1 crevasse rescue.
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Here's a simple method to create a progress capture on 2:1 hauling system that uses minimal gear, is fast to set up, and puts minimal force on the anchor.
Advantages to this system:
Uses basic gear you’ll always have: one friction hitch and one carabiner.
Doesn’t require a specialized and expensive progress capture pulley.
About the simplest and least complicated rigging possible.
Because there's no redirect, you eliminate this friction in your haul system, AND put the smallest possible load onto the anchor. A redirect puts 2X your pulling force onto the anchor. No redirect means a reduced load on the anchor. That's a good thing.
Modern equipment, such as the Petzl Traxion progress capture pulley, are superb tools for self rescue. They are small, lightweight, cool (because they‘re French!), and they work great.
However, they are expensive, you may not have one when you need it.
Especially with skills like crevasse rescue, a good approach is to learn it first with the bare minimum of gear, and then add fancier tools after you have the basic mechanics dialed.
As climbers, we’re often locked into the idea when we build an anchor, all the important things must happen actually ON that anchor. For example belaying up your partner, and having the progress capture in a hauling system.
However, it doesn't have to be that way. Often, we can use a fixed strand of rope, instead of the anchor itself.
Doing this can create many interesting options, which may make your rigging more efficient, comfortable, or ergonomic.
Let's have a look at the basic mechanics of the 2:1 drop loop.
When one strand of the rope is fixed to the anchor, and a loop is on the load, and you pull on the other side of the rope, you create a 2:1 mechanical advantage.
If you pull 2 meters of rope, the load moves 1 meter.
In a theoretical frictionless world, you can move a 100 kg load by applying about 50 kg of “pull. ”
In the real world with the friction of a carabiner on the load, your actual mechanical advantage around 1.5:1.
When you're pulling, you’re lifting about half the weight of the load, and the remaining half of the load is on the anchor.
Check out the photo. Note that one side of the “C “ is fixed to the anchor, the other side you can pull.
The “pull” side moves, and the “fixed” side doesn't.
This means that you can use the fixed side to attach your progress capture. This is the key to the simplified method.
Here's a step-by-step of how to set up a simplified 2:1 drop loop.
Step 1: Tie the rope to the anchor.
This could be the end of the rope, or any point along the middle of the rope (as shown here) and would be typical in a crevasse rescue. Be sure you have at least twice as much rope between you and the load.
Step 2: Clip a loop of rope to the load.
In a crevasse rescue, this would typically be lowered down to the victim. If you have a pulley to minimize friction, this is a great place to use it. If you don't, it still works, but you need to pull a little harder.
Step 3: Tie a bight knot to the “fixed” strand of rope.
This is the side of the “C” that’s tied to the anchor, and it doesn’t move when you pull. Here I tied a butterfly because it's easy to untie after it's been loaded. A figure 8 or overhand works fine as well.
Tie this knot at any convenient spot along the fixed rope. Make the loop small, like fist sized.
Step 4: Tie a prusik (or attach a Traxion) to the “pull” strand of rope.
This is the side of the “C” that’s returning to you from the load, and moves when you pull. Use a prusik rather than an autoblock or klemheist, because it usually grabs the best and you don’t want this knot to slide/creep when weighted.
Here I'm using a Sterling Hollowblock which is quite short. Short is good.
If you have a progress capture pulley like a Traxion, put it on the “pull” strand and clip it to the bight knot with a locker. (This actually works better than the friction hitch, but for this example I’m showing simple gear.)
There are several more steps involved in reading this correctly.
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What’s a “series” anchor?
Traditional anchor building teaches trying to “equalize” the load. However, with solid bolts or ice screws, it may be faster and more convenient to build what’s called a series anchor, where all the load goes to one component and the other is a backup.
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Peer review on this article comes from Sean Isaac. Sean is an ACMG (Association of Canadian Mountain Guides) Certified Guide, a former professional climber, and author of the “Ice Leader Field Handbook” and “How to Ice Climb” (2nd ed.) Follow @seanisaacguiding for tech tips. Thanks, Sean!
Series anchor onto vertical bolts. Edelrid Aramid sling on left, rope on the right. (Belay connection to second omitted for clarity.)
On your first day of Climbing 101 class, you probably got the concept of equalization drilled into your head - always try to distribute the load (more or less equally) among all components of the anchor. This is still about the only technique taught in most every how-to book I’ve ever seen. Overall, this is still a valid approach, especially with trad anchors, made with stoppers, cams and maybe pitons.
However, it’s not an absolute rule when it comes to using two reliably solid pieces, such as bolts or ice screws.
There’s a whole other genre of anchors, known as a “series” anchor, where all of the primary load goes to ONE anchor component. The second component of the anchor is used only for redundancy, as a backup in the extremely unlikely event that the first bolt were to fail. There’s no attempt at equalization/load distribution. Redundancy, yes. Equalization, no.
So, how can we get away with ignoring equalization, one of the cardinal rules of anchor building? Because modern bolts and hardware are so ridiculously strong (well over 20 kN for each one when properly placed in good rock) that there’s no requirement to try to equalize forces. In many cases with good bolts, it can be faster and more convenient to build a series anchor.
Series anchor overview
As a general guideline: if you have two unquestionably strong bolts, consider a series anchor. Anything other than that, consider a distributed anchor.
Series anchors are best made with two components; three or more is tricky.
Series anchors work on horizontal, vertical or diagonal bolts or ice screws. The vertical or diagonal are preferred. These can be hard to find in North America.
Series anchors are more common in Europe. They are endorsed by the German Mountain and Ski Guides Association (“Verband Deutscher Berg und Skiführer” or “VDBS”). Here's a detailed article covering series, and other interesting anchor flavors.
If you have vertical bolts, make the master point on the bottom bolt. If the bolts are horizontal, make the master point on the bolt where your second will approach the anchor.
A series anchor does not provide a shelf, so all of your clip in points get kind of scrunched together.
You can make a series anchor with a sling tied with a double loop bowline on a bight, a double loop figure eight, or with the rope.
An advantage to using a sling is that you can easily transition to a fixed point lead belay on the next pitch. (That is a whole other topic, which I cover extensively in this article.)
How strong a ring loaded bowline in Dyneema?
Double loop bowline in Dyneema sling being ring loaded, breaks around 20 kN. From HowNot2 (about 6:30 in the video). A belay loop usually breaks around 15 kN, so think about that for a moment . . .
The series anchor is definitely not a new concept! Check out this classic photo from the early days of Yosemite climbing, which I caption as” “I’m so happy to still be alive after jugging this rope connected to a few RURPs strung together by clove hitches . . . (Photo by Dave Diegelman, climber, Dale Bard, Sea of Dreams, El Capitan, 1978)
Photo credit: Dave Diegelman
When considering how strong an anchor needs to be, it’s good to keep in mind the realistic forces it might be required to hold. Petzl did some very nice studies on this, showing what real world realistic forces are when you measure actual climbers instead of static weights in a drop tower. I have a whole article in that that, read it here.
Below is a great diagram from Petzl. If your French is a little rusty:
gray dot = force on the top piece of gear
blue dot = force on the climber
black dot = force on the belayer
The three different columns indicate different fall factors: 0.3, 0.7, and 1.0.
Even when catching a significant fall factor 1, the force on the bottom anchor is only about 2 kN, quite low! That’s good!
If you are belaying up your second and keeping the rope reasonably tight, the force should never get above 1 or 2 kN. Given this, trying to equalize that load between two bolts that can hold 40 kN combined may seem unnecessary.
FALL FORCES IN CLIMBING. IMAGE: HTTPS://WWW.PETZL.COM/US/EN/SPORT/FORCES-AT-WORK-IN-A-REAL-FALL
Let’s look at a few ways to make a series anchor.
Method 1: Series anchor with sling and double loop bight knot.
Typically made with a a 120 cm sling, with a double strand bowline on a bight, shown here. (A double loop bunny ears figure 8 works too.) Don’t worry about ring loading the bowline, it’s fine and it’s been tested. See the video below to learn how to tie the bowline on a bight. It’s a new knot for most folks. Can be on horizontal (photo 1) or vertical (photo 2). Vertical is better, but you gotta use what you have.
Using a sling:
makes block leading easier
simplifies self rescue
allows you to do a fixed point lead belay
Method 2: Series anchor with the climbing rope
You get some minimalist style points. You already have a nice strong dynamic rope, so use it if you like.
Downsides are the opposite of the 120 cm sling:
block leading is harder
self-rescue is more difficult
fixed point lead belay is trickier
Can be on horizontal (photo 1) or vertical (photo 2) bolts.
Here's a another version of the example just above. This one might work well for the very top of a route where there is a walk off, or a large secure ledge, because there's not much place for the second to easily attach when they arrive.
The set up as shown in the photo is not very ergonomic because the masterpoint is low. But you could extend the clove hitch from the harness, and the butterfly knot, if you want to conveniently stand at most any distance from the bolts that you want.
(Inspiration credit, IFMGA Guide Dale Remsberg, from his Instagram post.)
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The quad anchor
The quad anchor rig offers fast set up, great strength, good load distribution and complete redundancy, all in a light, compact package. Learn all about it here.
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The quad anchor, first mentioned (I think) around 2006 by John Long in his book “Climbing Anchors”, was an attempt to have the Holy Grail in anchors. What’s cool about the quad?
Good load distribution
Minimal extension
Fully redundant
Quick to set up and break down, no knots to untie
Super strong (would you believe 40 kN?!)
Bonus, two independent and load distributed master points, which can be quite handy
Well, it didn’t catch on right away. One reason may have been that the original version suggested using a long and bulky cordelette to rig it.
Traditional quad anchor rigged with 7mm cordelette. Nothing really wrong with it, just big and bulky.
Well, here’s the modern iteration of that idea, in a much lighter and more compact package. Rather than using a huge honker cordelette, instead you use a Dyneema sling; I prefer 180 cm. Double it, tie two a figure 8 or overhand knots (with the stitching in one of the end loops), and then use two strands to make an anchor for both toproping and multipitch.
The knots stay in the sling for at least the entire day. It's good practice to untie the knots every few days or after a weekend of climbing to “rest” your sling.
This system works best with two solid pieces of gear that are fairly close together and ideally in a horizontal plane. Two bolts on a sport route are a perfect application. Two ice screws that are slightly offset would also work too. (If you’re building a 3 piece anchor from trad gear, it may be faster to use a more traditional cordelette.)
What's the best sling length?
For me, the 120 cm is a bit too short. It can work if the bolts are very close together and you use a small diameter sling, like 8 mm.
I think 180 cm is about the sweet spot. Not too short, not too long, works on horizontal bolts and with a little adjusting, vertically offset ice screws.
Some people think this is called the quad anchor because it uses a “quad” length sling, or 240 cm. A 240 cm sling can be handy for many kinds of anchor building, especially for equalizing three points of protection, orslinging around a tree. But for side by side bolts like this, many people find it’s too long, a bit bulky, and hard to rack.
But hey, as you can see below it's only a bit longer than the 180, so many people this is gonna work fine.
Notice the 180 and the 240 are tied with a figure 8 rather than overhands. This uses up a bit more material which raises the master point, and it also makes the knot quite a bit easier to untie after it's been loaded.
Here's another trick with the 240 cm sling quad to make it a little more manageable. Instead of doubling the cord, you can triple it. Then, when you tie your knots, it raises the master point and you clip to three strands rather than two. This makes it the effective same size as the 180 cm sling, nice!
If you look carefully at the photo below, you can see the yellow locking carabiner is clipped to three strands of cord, rather than two.
If you were climbing a route that maybe had a mix of gear anchors and bolt anchors, this might be a good trick to be able to use the 240 for both.
Quad toprope anchor
Lockers on each of the two bolts, opposite and opposed lockers for the rope, good to go.
There's some difference of opinion about whether you should clip the master point lockers onto two separate strands (left), or put both of them onto three strands (right).
Argument against the set up on the left: the sling arms could rub against each other when loaded, and the carabiners might bind against each other a bit, giving you less than ideal equalization.
Argument against the set up on the right: if either bolt where to fail, you're only being held by one additional strand.
I think both of these issues are highly unlikely, and you're gonna be fine no matter how you rig it. Personally I prefer the one on the left.
(Hopefully this is glaringly obvious, but you absolutely should NOT clip all four strands. If you did this and any anchor point failed, the carabiners with slide off and you would die.)
Side note regarding lockers on the bolts . . . For a top rope anchor, when you're not right there next to it to keep an eye on it, and maybe multiple people will be using it over a long period of time, it's good practice to use locking carabiners on the bolts. In some circles this is known as an “unattended” anchor. However, if you’re multi pitch climbing, it's fine to use non-locking carabiners on the bolts. We can call this an “attended” anchor, because there's someone there the whole time watching it.
Notes . . .
For those of you who are extra concerned about tying a knot in Dyneema . . . A full strength Dyneema runner is about 22 kN. Here, we are doubling the sling, which in theory makes it about 44 kN, and then we're tying a knot, which reduces that in about half, which brings it back down to about 22 kN. In other words, it's absolutely not an issue. We cover the “tying a knot in Dyneema” issue more detail here.
A 180 cm sling can be a bit hard to find, But is this type of anchor becomes more popular, hopefully more manufacturers will offer them. (If the links below don't work, just Google around until you find them.)
A skinny Dyneema sling is best for this. (It won’t work nearly so well with a nylon runner because the knots are too big, plus finding a 180 cm nylon runner is difficult.)
A 10 mm or 11 mm Dyneema sling is recommended for anchor building. These are larger than the 8 mm used in many 60cm and 120cm slings. Most of the 180 cm slings I have seen are in this larger diameter, so that's good.
How strong is the quad?
Ridiculously strong. How about a 40kN break test? The great team at HowNot2 tested this several times, and the quad is WAY stronger than anything else you will probably have on your harness. See the video here.
image: screen grab from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=she8vH1DCBU
Can I clip the shelf? Yes. HowNot2 did a pull test on the shelf, and the knot started sliding at around 13 kN. SuperGoodEnough! (Same video link, start at 7:00.)
Quad with a cordelette
While I'm generally not a fan of the 7 mm cordelette, you can certainly use one to make a quad anchor. In the photo below, the red cord is Sterling Powercord. While it’s a bit expensive, it's only 6 mm but is rated to 20 kN, almost 3 times stronger than normal 6 mm cord. If I am carrying a cordelette, this is what I grab first.
As the saying goes: “You can have it strong, light, and cheap. Pick two.”
In the photo, both left and right anchors are structurally strong. However, the right photo, showing the knots tied a bit lower, is slightly preferable. In the highly unlikely event of a bolt failing, the lower knots limit the extension of the anchor.
Here's another option: Tie a “figure 9” knot rather than an overhand knot to isolate the strands. This is simply a figure 8 knot with one more turn. This has a few advantages: it brings your master point up a bit higher, because the knot takes up more cord, and because of the extra turns, it's easier to untie at the end of the day.
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The extended rappel, explained
Extending your rappel device away from your harness has a host of benefits . . . and a few problems. Learn multiple ways to rig it, and the pros and cons of each.
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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.
So, what exactly is an extended rappel?
Simply put, rather than attaching your rappel device directly to your belay loop in the standard manner, you add some sort of runner / carabiner combination to “extend” it farther away from your body.
Maybe a decade ago, the extended rappel was regarded by many as a sort of a fringe Euro rope trick. I recall seeing as a diagram in a long-ago Petzl catalog and thinking, “Hmmm, I’m not so sure about that one…”
While it’s now becoming more standard, many beginners may not be familiar with this method, or the various ways you can rig it. So, even though it’s in a lot of instructional books and websites, let's cover some rigging options and the benefits, a couple of which are not generally recognized.
There are some downsides.
It requires a bit extra gear and time to properly set up.
There’s a potential for long hair to get caught in the rappel device. Tuck away your hair, clothing, and anything that may get caught.
It also add some extra cluster onto your belay loop; depending on how you set it up, you could have three total carabiners and associated webbing on your loop, rather than just a single rappel carabiner. Ironically enough, this extra cluster can make it a little harder to do a proper safety check, because the front of your harness gets pretty busy.
If you have an awkward start to the rappel, such as having to shimmy off of a ledge in a weird way, the extended hardware can sometimes scrape on the ledge as you’re getting started.
Should you use this set up on every rappel? Probably not. If it’s just one pitch to the ground and a bluebird day, then the traditional rap off of the belay loop should work just fine. However, there are some subtle benefits to it, outlined below, that you may want to consider.
Note: If you're rappelling a single strand of rope on a Grigri or similar auto locking belay device, it's best to NOT use an extended rappel. You get better control of the Grigri lever when it's closer to your body.
Why would I want to use a extended rappel?
Excellent question! Here are some answers, in rough order of importance.
1 - Works better with an auto block “third hand” back up. With an extended rappel, you can clip an auto block directly to your belay loop. This is the most secure and comfortable place to clip it (better than your leg loop), it keeps the rope and the auto block centered in a straight line, helps the rope feed more smoothly, and ensures the auto block does not become caught in your rappel device.
(Note: With a larger group, especially beginners, adding an autoblock for every climber can take a long time. One alternative: the first person down uses an auto block, everyone else gets a firefighter’s delay from below.)
Are you doing a straightforward rappel on a bluebird day with no complicating factors? Then you can maybe skip the auto block. Or, are you rapping with one or more challenges, such as beginners, darkness, cold, wet, icy ropes, new ropes that are slick, heavy pack, heavy rappeller, vertical or free hanging, pendulum to reach the next rap station, rope cluster that needs fixing, single strand, unsure of the next anchor location, etc.? In these cases using an auto block can be an excellent idea. (Personally, I think of it like wearing a seatbelt.)
2 - Allows the whole team to “pre-rig” a rappel. This means that team members use an extension, rig for the rap at the same time, and leave their rappel devices on the rope while other people are rapping. The extension allows them to stand close to the anchor but not be pulled around by the rapelling person, who is tensioning the rope. Pre-rigging improves safety, because the last person can get a safety check, and it improves speed, because there’s no waiting around for each person to rig for the rappel. Pre-rigging is covered in depth here.
3 - Easier to rig your rappel device correctly. If you’re rapping off your belay loop, and if you’re wearing loose or bulky clothing, and/or it’s dark, it can be a struggle to look down and be SURE that your rappel device is in fact threaded correctly and the carabiner gate is locked. (Both of these mistakes are common causes of rappelling accidents.) By extending the device away from any clothing, it’s easier for you and your partner to inspect.
4 - You have less chance of your clothing getting caught in your rappel device. But there’s maybe an increased chance of getting your hair stuck, because it’s closer to your head, so this might be a trade off. Bottom line - tuck away your hair, beard, pack straps, hoodie strings, dreadlocks, and any stray clothing whenever you rappel, extended rap or not.
5 - It makes the rappel more ambidextrous. Because the rappel is in front of you and elevated, the rope runs between your legs rather than over one hip. This lets you use either hand as needed. Or, as I like to do when the rap gets faster as the friction decreases near the bottom, use both hands comfortably in front of you on the brake strands at the same time. It's very awkward to get both brake hands on the rope if you’re doing a traditional rappel off of your belay loop with the rope over one hip. Having both hands in the brake position offers more control.
One more small benefit: the rope tends to twist less when it's hanging straight between your legs, as opposed to running over your hip off to one side.
6 - Easier free hanging rappels. By moving the “pivot point” higher, a free hanging rappel done with an extension greatly reduces the tension on your abs to stay upright.
7 - Offers more braking control / power. Because your device is positioned high and in front of you, this lets the brake strand be pulled down easily 180° opposite the “top” of the rope, for maximum braking force.
8 - Advanced Crafty Rope Trick (CRT) - If you’re using a plaquette style belay device such as a Black Diamond ATC Guide, an extended rappel lets you easily “flip the plaquette” to ascend the rope. If you ever need to transition from rappelling to ascending your rope (like that time you rapped past the anchor and looked up only to find it was 20 feet above you, whoops) this is a pretty cool trick.
Clip a locking carabiner to the “ear” of of your rappel device, Find a stance where you can get a little slack in the rope, and then clip that locking carabiner back onto your belay loop. BAM, your rappel device is now an ascender! Granted, this is going to be an extremely rare thing to do the average recreational climber, but it’s still another trick in the toolbox. This Crafty Rope Trick is covered in detail here.
An extended rappel works great with an autoblock “third hand” rappel backup.
An autoblock is an optional but often used addition. The autoblock functions as your “third hand” rappel backup, and let you go hands-free on the rappel at any time.
To make the auto block, use a webbing loop designed for this such the Sterling Hollow Block, or second choice, a short prusik loop (start with 1.5 meters of 6mm cord).
Wrap a Hollow Block or prusik loop a few times around the rope, then clip both ends to a locking carabiner on your belay loop. (Use your belay loop rather than the old-school method of your leg loop.)
A note on auto block rappel backups:
This is becoming much more popular, to the point of it being taught as pretty much mandatory in some mountaineering classes. However, like everything in climbing, it comes with some downsides. It should be a conscious decision to use this technique, and not a “always yes” sort of choice.
Requires a short friction hitch which you may or may not have with you
Takes longer to rig (especially true for beginners), and is one more thing to safety check for your partner
Can cause you to rappel more slowly (especially true for beginners)
Can make for a start-stop-jerky rappel rather than a nice smooth one, which can put more load on the anchors. Avoid this by not making too many making to many wraps on the rope, which makes too much friction.
Tips: for a friction hitch, start with 1.5 meters / 5 feet of 6mm cord. See this 1 minute video from Petzl for a how-to.
One simple option to consider to reduce risk for everyone: send the first person down with an auto block backup. Everyone else on the team does not use a backup, but gets a firefighter belay from below.
A few notes on rigging methods . . .
You want to use an extension that’s roughly 1-2 feet / 30-60 cm long. Reason: you always want to be able to reach above your rappel device to put on a prusik in case you need to unweight your device. So, don’t use a double length (4 foot / 120 cm) runner at full length for an extended rappel; it’s too long.
Like most aspects of climbing, how you set this up and whether or not to use it really comes down to personal preference. Try out a few different options, and see which one makes sense for you. Your choices may depend on the gear that you have (sport climbing or alpine trad?) and the type of terrain you're rappelling (is it loose and blocky with large ledges, or is it steep or overhanging with hanging anchor stations?) Your height and arm length also influence what method you use.
Should I put the extension on my belay loops or through my tie in points? Short answer, it doesn't really matter. As long as you don't leave your extension on all the time in the same place on your harness, you can use either one. Personally, I’m a belay loop guy, so that was shown in the photos below. Here's an article that covers this in much more detail.
There are LOTS of ways to rig this. People on the inter-webs can argue about the fine points until the cows come home, but as long as your setup is strong and secure with a sewn runner or quickdraw, (and ideally not tied with a water knot) it's probably going to work just fine.
“But it’s not redundant . . . OMG, what if the runner breaks, Yer Gonna Die (YGD!)”
Some of the following set ups are not fully redundant. But, for you redundancy fans, keep in mind you are rapping on one rope, with one rappel device, one rappel carabiner, and one belay loop, so you don't need to freak out over rapping off one sling rated to 22 kN (even if it does look like Swiss dental floss.) Having said that, if redundancy gives you a warm fuzzy feeling, feel free to choose a technique that offers redundancy, or add another sling to one of the methods shown below. Remember, you are responsible for your own level of risk and comfort level; don't let it be dictated by someone else.
Okay, let’s see some ways to rig an extended rappel.
For the simplest configuration, all you need is a runner or quickdraw. Everything past this adds either convenience, redundancy or both, but with the trade off of longer setup, more gear to carry, and as mentioned, extra cluster on your harness.
Note - for all of the setups below that do not have a built in tether, simply girth hitch a separate sling into your harness, and use that to connect yourself to the anchor.
Let’s look at a few bare bones setups first, then get into more complex rigging.
Use a quickdraw(s). You may have a locking quickdraw, so use it! This is a simple approach when a single pitch climb requires a rappel, because there's no need for a tether to clip into the next anchor. Pros: fast to rig, easy to break down. Cons: you might not have one.
Sport climbers can also use two standard quickdraws, with carabiners opposite and opposed. This is the equivalent of a single quick draw with locking carabiners. Pros: fast to rig, easy to break down. Cons: depending on your draw length, it might be a bit short and not give enough extension. Longer draws are generally better. No tether for clipping to rappel anchors.
Now, let's look at some rigging that uses a double length (4 foot/120 cm) runner. Note: A sewn sling is preferred here, rather than a length of webbing that you tie with a water knot.
The blue sling I'm using here is the Edelrid Aramid 120 cm. I love it because the sheath is very abrasion resistant, and the Kevlar core is super strong. Most important, it's very easy to untie overhand knots after it’s been loaded, unlike Dyneema. Perfect for all-around anchor building and rappel extensions!
Let's start with something simple. 120 cm sling, basket hitched through your harness, overhand knot with the ends. Super strong, redundant everywhere, but no built in tether. (If you want a tether, take another 120 cm sling, girth hitch it to your harness, and clip that into the anchor.)
Double length sewn runner girth hitched through the harness tie in points, overhand knot tied for rappel carabiner and device, locker clipped to end. Pros: fairly easy to untie, redundant (with the girth hitch) has a tether for clipping to rappel anchors. Cons: None.
Bowline on a bight tied through harness. Double redundant loop, fast to tie once you know how, very easy to untie. (Yes, the bowline is ring loaded, but that doesn’t matter here.) Tie the bowline through your belay loop or tie in points. I have a more detailed article on this technique that you can read here.
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Rappel pull cords 101
Using a skinny pull cord, in combination with a regular climbing rope, allows full length rappels with reduced gear and pack weight. However, there are some nuances to doing it correctly, efficiently, and with reduced risk. Learn all about it here.
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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.
This article was written with collaboration from expert alpine climbers Priti and Jeff Wright. Connect with them on Instagram (Priti / Jeff) and their website, alpinevagabonds.com
This article focuses on the how to use a rappel pull cord. It's closely related to:
(If you’re completely new to this descending method, I suggest starting with this rope block article and then coming back here.)
Using a small diameter pull cord (which some folks call a tagline) can allow you to do a full length single strand rappel, and (typically) use that smaller diameter rope to pull down your primary climbing rope. This can allow full length rappels with less rope, weight and bulk.
The key to making this work is what's called a rope block. This can be done with a knot or a carabiner. A rope block allows the rope to move through the anchor in one direction but not the other. You rappel on the full strength climbing rope, which is fixed to the anchor by the block. When it's time to pull the rope you use the pull cord on the side that’s not fixed to the anchor.
But, like everything in climbing, there are pros and cons, so let's have a closer look.
Conceptually, pull cords are pretty simple. In practice:
There are some subtleties to doing it correctly.
There are some downsides to it even when you do it correctly.
If you screw it up, you could die or get your rope hopelessly stuck.
For these reasons, I consider it an advanced technique that you absolutely should practice with a qualified instructor. And, even when you’re confident with it, I feel it should generally not be part of your regular practice. It can definitely get you out of a jam in certain situations, but there are enough moving parts that I feel it's not a routine technique for most recreational climbing situations.
Here are articles on two closely related techniques that use pull cords:
Before we dive into pull cords, let's look at some other options
Bring a second properly rated double rope that you can actually use for real climbing if necessary. This is a popular option for many people. If you're gonna bring a 6 mm pull cord, why not just bring a slightly larger 7.5 or 8ish mm half rope, which can cost about the same anyway, and offer a few more benefits? Or climb on twin/double ropes to begin with?
A more specialized option for a full length rappels, that does not require a tag line (but does require a bit of courage to use for the first few times) is the Beal Escaper; a very clever bit of gear that you definitely want to practice with first. I'll have an article on that coming up soon.
First off, let's be clear on the Golden Rule of a rope block: it absolutely, positively cannot pull through the rappel hardware.
If you haven’t closed the system by attaching the pull side of the rope to the rappel side of the rope and the block pulls through the hardware, you will probably die.
If you have closed the system and the rope pulls through, your rope will probably be hopelessly stuck.
If you had the slightest suspicion that the knot might be able to pull through the anchor hardware, it's probably a better choice to use a carabiner block instead.
Potential downsides to using a pull cord / rope block
The big one was already mentioned, but it's worth mentioning again: if the knot pulls through the hardware, the entire system fails and you die, or your rope gets stuck.
You’re adding an extra knot and carabiner to your system, which are two more things that can potentially get snagged when you're pulling your rope. Note that the last person can choose to remove the safety carabiner.
There are increased steps and complexity, which can increase the chances of making a mistake. This is especially true because for most people, this is a non-standard system that does not get used regularly. See accident reports at the top of the page.
If you're using a lighter weight pull cord, if you start pulling your rope and it gets snagged after the end of the climbing rope is out of reach, you only have a 6 mm rope in your hands to deal with the problem. Not good.
It can be difficult to toss the pull cord in the normal manner, because it's so light it doesn't want to spool out nicely down the cliff.
If you're doing multiple rappels, and want to always pull the same strand of rope, it takes additional time to do the standard trick of threading the pull cord through the lower anchor. Why? Because you’re usually pulling the skinny cord, but the fat rope needs to be the one through the anchor. This means you have to do some shenanigans like untying your joining knot, putting the proper strand of rope through the anchor, and then re-tying the joining knot at each rappel station, which takes additional time.
Yarding on a 6 mm rope can be rough on your hands. Consider adding a Tibloc or Micro Traxion on the pull cord to make the pulling easier. Gloves are recommended.
Pulling the rope can be significantly harder, because you do not have a counterbalanced weight on the pulling strand to assist your pull.
The safety carabiner that's clipping the block onto the rappel strand can add a significant amount of extra friction, making your rope pull more difficult.
You’re rapping on a single strand of rope, which might be uncomfortably fast. Be sure you know some ways to add friction to your rappel. LINK
When you “close the system” by clipping the blocking knot to the rappel line, you've essentially created a closed loop that you then need to pull down. If the two sides of the rope making this loop happen to go on either side of some rock protrusion, boulder, shrub, etc, the loop is going to get caught when you pull down your rope, causing your rope to get stuck. Check my article on rope blocks to see a photo example of this.
Skinny rope pull down trick
This can really save your hands! #CraftyRopeTrick!
When to use a pull cord?
A pull cord usually makes the most sense when you have one or maybe two full length rappels and want to go light, or maybe as a sort of emergency back up if you need to retreat unexpectedly. If it’s long or remote route, with many rappels needed, using a proper second rope may be a better choice for most folks.
A pull cord generally works best on relatively smooth, clean, steep ice or rock. The more low angle, cracks, shrubs, boulders, and rope-grabby bits, the higher the chance your block might get caught on the way down (A good general rule on terrain like this: it can be better to make more rappels that are shorter, than fewer rappels that are longer.)
Tangle-free pull cords - in praise of rope bags
Ahh, the dirty little secret about pull cords - those skinny rascals need constant attention to keep them from turning into a hopeless spaghetti pile. This is even more true in high wind, low angle blocky terrain, etc.
There are several options to try to deal with this. Some people opt for the “saddlebag” technique, others butterfly coil the rope over the rappel extension. I’ve tried both. For me they didn’t work very well, and I still got some maddening tangles.
Fortunately there's a simple system to tame your pull cord that works just about perfectly every time: the rope bag.
Rope bags are magical! The first time you use them, it looks like there is no possible way you can just flake the rope into a bag and have a feed out perfectly from the top every time, but that's pretty much what always happens. Rope bags are common in industrial rigging, SAR / rope rescue, canyoneering and whitewater, but rarely used by recreational climbers. I hope that changes, because they can be extremely helpful.
To deploy, you simply clip the rope bag with a sling onto your harness so it hangs below you, and the rope should feed out perfectly as you rappel.
When it's time to pull on the skinny cord to retrieve your rope, good practice is one person pulls and the other one stacks the rope into the bag. If the rope is already down, it's convenient to redirect the rope through some high point on the anchor, and then pull the rope down into the bag, hand over hand.
Once you have a fairly direct line to the bottom of your rappel, you can toss the bag and hopefully the rope will come out of it cleanly. (Yes you DID remember to tie the end of your tagline onto the bag, right?)
The rope bag doesn’t have to be fancy. Try a reusable plastic shopping bag; large, sturdy, cheap, lightweight, convenient handles for clipping onto an anchor, and the top is stiff enough to stay open so you can easily stuff in the rope.
If you find yourself using pull cords a lot, you're probably gonna want to upgrade your rope bag. A great option is this sweet version made by High Mountain Gear. It's super sturdy, easily holds a 60 meter 6 mm cord like the Petzl PURline, has a grommet in the bottom so you can tie a stopper knot so you don't lose the bag, and has a tab so you can clip the bag to your harness.
Keep control of the cord
Be sure and keep the pull cord attached to you. If you lose control of it and it blows or swings out of reach, you could have a serious problem! Some people like to have the pull cord going through their ATC / rappel device, even though you're not putting any weight on it. This can help take any twists or kinks out of the cord as you descend. Others prefer simply clipping it to a spare carabiner on the gear loop. That's my preference, because if you're using a rope bag, you pretty much don't have any twisting in the cord.
An Instagram reader noted that if you clip the cord to your harness like this, it works fine for a normal rappel when you’re in contact with the rock. But if there's any sort of overhang or free hanging part, and you start to spin, the ropes can easily twist around each other. (This may be also an issue rapping double strand in a normal tube style device.) If you anticipate this happening, it may be better to tie the end of the cord to you rather than clipping it to your harness like this.
Here’s a great diagram from the always awesome Petzl website showing how to do it.
image: https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Multi-pitch-rappelling-with-a-single-rope?ProductName=PUR-LINE-6-mm
Don’t load both strands when rappelling
If you rappel with both strands through your ATC, it's important to remember it's a single strand rappel, and keep your brake hand and third hand/autoblock on the real climbing rope. If you put your weight on both strands, the difference in friction going through your device can make the knot start to do some weird things at the anchor.
Also, if you're using something other than a stout rated (15 kN!) rope like a Petzl PURline, it's probably better practice to clip the pull cord through a carabiner on your harness gear loop rather than have it go through your ATC.
How to connect to the pull cord to the main climbing rope?
Petzl recommends a “stacked overhand”; basically two flat overhands right next to each other, to connect their slippery PURline pull cord and the larger diameter rope. Some people might consider this a bit overcautious and be fine with a single flat overhand bend, and that's probably gonna be fine as well.
IMAGE CREDIT: HTTPS://WWW.PETZL.COM/INT/EN/SPORT/ROPES/PUR-LINE-6-MM
What cord to use?
Over the years, climbers have used everything from parachute cord, to 5-ish mm accessory cord, to highly specialized expensive cord/rope made specifically for this purpose.
Today, lots of manufacturers offer various flavors of pull cords: The Beal Backup Line, the Black Diamond 6.0 static rope, the Bluewater 8 mm Pull Down cord, and the Imlay Pull Cord 6.0, to name a few.
However, the generally accepted gold standard for pull cords is the Petzl PURline. It's static, it's slippery, it's super strong, lightweight, compact, and works great as a pull cord (or for hauling moderate loads). Unfortunately it’s expensive. Here's a detailed article on the Petzl PURline.
The PURline comes in a rather odd length of 65 meters. Why is that, you wonder? When you rap on your 60 meter dynamic rope on the other side of the block, your rap rope will stretch about 5 meters, which takes you conveniently to the end of the 65 meter static PURline. Yes, those Petzl product designers are quite clever!
How should I rig a pull cord?
It's best practice to have the pull cord set up to pull the rope, and should not be part of the blocking knot. Tie the blocking knot in the full strength rope. Why? If the blocking knot were to pull through the anchor, your entire weight is now resting on a 5 or 6 mm pull cord, instead of the full strength of the “real” rope. (If you're using a Petzl PURline rated to 15 kN this should not be a problem, but if you're using 5 mm accessory cord then it very well could be.)
Pro tip for multi pitch rappels: as the butterfly knot and carabiner arrive at the lower station, take a moment and clip the carabiner into some point on the anchor. Doing this instantly secures your rope at the middle point.
Here’s another variation on how to rig the pull cord, from the always awesome Petzl website.
The slight advantage to the bottom system, with the pul cord attached to the carabiner, is that you can start threading the rope at the lower station and setting up the rappel before you pull down the entire rope.
The potential disadvantage to this bottom system is that if you have any twisting in either rope, they are much more likely to twist together, which could be a substantial problem. The solution is to keep the safety carabiner in place for everyone except the last person. If the last person is carefully inspecting the knot and is absolutely sure it cannot pull through the anchor, they can unclip the safety locker from the blue rope, which greatly reduces the chance of rope twist induced problems.
image: https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Multi-pitch-rappelling-with-a-single-rope?ProductName=PUR-LINE-6-mm
The rest of this article covers an advanced and controversial topic: What about using the fat rope as the pull cord?
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How to best connect a tether to your harness?
“What's the best way to connect a tether to my harness?” Turns out there’s not one best answer. While some people feel strongly you should always use your tie in points, the truth is that the “best” method depends on a few different factors. Let's take a closer look.
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Have you ever heard some version of this?
“You should NEVER connect your tether/PAS to your belay loop. Todd Skinner did that, his belay loop broke, and he died. So, you shouldn't do it either.”
or maybe:
“You should ALWAYS run soft goods, like rope and slings, through the tie in points, and clip hard goods, like carabiners, to the belay loop.”
I’ll start off with my opinion on this, right up front: I think, in most cases, it’s fine to attach a tether to your belay loop.
There are a lot of people who feel differently, and if you prefer your tie in points for a tether, that’s great. But know that in most cases, your belay loop is going to work fine as well. There are very few black and white, “Should”, “Always” and “Never”, “Gotta do it this way or else” rules in climbing. This is not one of them.
Here's what IFMGA guide Dave Searle thinks about it, and I agree!
When ascending a route, it's usually best practice to use the rope and clove hitch yourself to the anchor. But when it's time to rappel, you're probably going to want a tether. Whether you use a designated tether like a PAS or a Petzl Connect, or make one DIY with a double length sling, or you’re an aid climber and have a pair of daisy chains, you need to choose where to connect it to your harness - belay loop or tie in points?
The truth is . . . it depends! There are some cases when attaching your tether directly to your belay loop is not only acceptable, but the recommended practice. There are some other situations where it's probably not such a great idea.
What kind of climbing (rappelling, big walls, via ferrata) are you doing?
What does the manufacturer say?
What’s your tether made of?
What kind of knot or hitch connects the tether to your harness?
These are all nuances in technique that need to be considered, rather than a binary “always” or “never.”
Alpinesavvy tries to offer ideas and information, not advice. So, read on and make up your own mind.
Here are some general guidelines and considerations:
First, and perhaps most important, check your harness regularly and retire it without hesitation if it shows significant wear for any reason.
If you do connect a tether to your belay loop, don’t leave it tied there permanently. Doing this can prevent the loop from rotating and may concentrate wear in a single spot. Remove the tether when you're done for the day, or after your rappel.
If you're girth hitching a designated PAS type tether, the usual manufacturer recommendation is to use both tie in points. (Even then it's a bit of a “soft” recommendation, see below.)
If you're girth hitching a “DIY” tether with a skinny Dyneema sling, it’s probably best to use both tie in points. (Should you use a use a Dyneema sling as a tether at all? See the “expert photo” section below.)
If you're girth hitching a tether (or adjustable daisy for aid climbing) with a wider nylon sling, either the tie in points or the belay loop should be fine.
If you're using a rope style lanyard such as the Petzl Connect Adjust, follow Petzl’s recommendation and girth hitch it to your belay loop.
If you’re doing via ferrata, the standard practice is to girth hitch the lanyards to your belay loop.
If you're big wall / aid climbing, the tie in points are usually better, because that gets your waist a bit closer to the gear you're clipped to. Every inch helps!
And . . . if you're not using a girth hitch and using a double loop bowline tether, it's okay to tie it through your belay loop with any kind of material.
What are some of the pros and cons of attaching a tether to your belay loop?
Pros:
Comfort. Having a weighted tether girth hitched through your tie in points can cause your harness to squish together on some, shall we say, sensitive body parts, ouch! This depends a bit on the design of your harness and ahem, personal anatomy, your mileage may vary. This can be especially true for women with wider hips and a higher waist.
Easier to rig and check. For cold weather climbing with bulky clothing, gloves, etc., it can be easier to properly thread your tether through your belay loop, as well as glance down and be sure it's threaded correctly. (This goes for checking your partner also.) Plus, the comfort factor: with more clothing on, tethering to the belay loop will usually be more comfortable.
More reach. If you have a shorter tether and you’re a taller climber, having it on your belay loop can give you a few extra inches of reach.
Less cluster. This probably applies more to big wall climbing, when the front of your harness can get very busy with two daisies, fifi hook(s), rope tie in, etc. Using your belay loop can spread out these connections a bit. Also for big wall climbing, you’re probably sleeping in your harness as well, so a belay loop connection will typically be more comfortable.
Cons:
Not redundant. You're connected to one point of your harness while you could be connected to two. (This introduces a whole other conversation of all of the other non-redundant components in the climbing system you rely on the time, but let's save that for another discussion.)
Puts extra wear and tear on your belay loop. (This argument may be countered by pointing out that the wear and tear is not eliminated, but instead transferred to your tie in points.)
Let's look at some more specific cases of where to attach your tether.
First, let's check out recommendations from Black Diamond. Their website tells you that girth hitching a daisy chain through both tie in points gives you the “green check” of approval. End of discussion, right?
image: https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-bdel/default/dw8f27ba12/instructions/F20/MM5825_C_Daisy-Etrier_IS-WEB.pdf
Well maybe not. Using the bottom tie in point is clearly a no-no, because it might flip you upside down. But the belay loop or the top tie in merits only the orange “caution” notification, not the red skull and crossbones, “Yer Gonna Die”.
image: https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-bdel/default/dw8f27ba12/instructions/F20/MM5825_C_Daisy-Etrier_IS-WEB.pdf
What else gets the Black Diamond orange caution? Getting your tether wet, icy, or dirty! Sheesh, we all know that happens to your gear all the time and it's hardly the end of the world. So, attaching a tether to your belay loop is in the same category of “it's best to avoid doing this a lot, but if you do, it's not going to be catastrophic.”
image: https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-bdel/default/dw8f27ba12/instructions/F20/MM5825_C_Daisy-Etrier_IS-WEB.pdf
Let’s consider the following . . .
1 - No warnings from harness manufacturers
The Alpinesavvy web gnomes looked carefully at the technical documentation for harnesses from Black Diamond, Petzl, and Edelrid. None of these manufacturers give a warning against attaching a tether to the belay loop. If doing so is “wrong”, do you think the top harness manufacturers might warn against it in their technical documentation?
2 - Petzl Connect Adjust, Beal Dynaconnexion, CAMP Swing, and Edelrid Switch: use the belay loop
In 2015 Petzl introduced their “Connect”series of lanyards. These are made from dynamic climbing rope, and have a stitched, fixed loop at one end. It's a pretty sweet piece of gear.
Petzl recommends girth hitching it to your belay loop, as shown in this illustration from their website.
image: petzl.com
Let's check out another nice diagram from Petzl.
1. Where do I attach my lanyard?
“From a safety and strength perspective, the lanyard can be attached to the belay loop or to the two tie-in points. But as a matter of comfort, it is preferable to attach your lanyard to the belay loop.”
So, sounds like the final recommendation from Petzl is the belay loop.
image: https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Belay-loop-and-tie-in-points--where-do-I-attach-my-lanyard--my-belay-device-and-my-rope-?ActivityName=Multi-pitch-climbing
Beal Dynaconnexion: use the belay loop.
image: https://www.beal-planet.com/en/index.php?controller=attachment&id_attachment=8219
CAMP Swing: use the belay loop.
CAMP swiNG https://www.camp.it/d/us/us/outdoor/product/2166
Edelrid Switch: use the belay loop.
Edelrid Switch - https://avs.edelrid.com/images/attribut/54625_GAL_SWITCH_SPORT_ANSICHT_DINA4_Homepage.pdf
3 - Via Ferrata: use the belay loop
Standard practice in via ferrata is to girth hitch your tether carabiners to your belay loop. Keep in mind that a via ferrata fall can can generate tremendous force on your anchor system, harness and your body, greater than a factor 2.
Here's a diagram from Edelrid. The text accompanying this diagram reads: “Via Ferrata sets or systems with tie-in loops are fastened to the tie-in ring (belay loop) with a choke hitch (girth hitch).”
image: edelrid.de/en/sports/harnesses.htm
Here’s a similar diagram from Petzl. Clearly, Petzl recommends that via ferrata tethers go onto the belay loop.
imae: https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Harnesses/CORAX - technical notice PDF download
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Top tips: longer phone battery life in the backcountry
Here are detailed tips to keep your phone running longer in the backcountry: changing some phone settings, navigation tricks, and cold-weather protection. Yes, your phone can last for many days on one charge!
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Except for a few hard-core Luddites, most of us carry phones in the backcountry and are glad we have them. Camera, music, podcasts, journal writing, Kindle book reading, compass, maps, GPS navigation and even flashlight . . . You may only use a couple of these, but even so, prolonging your phone battery charge can be very important.
It's less important on a day hike then a multi day outing, but even then it's good to develop good practices.
Some of these may be iPhone specific, because that's what I have. (You Android folks hopefully have something similar.)
If you have a short attention span, here's the takeaway: 1) Bring an auxiliary battery and charging cable, and 2) keep your phone in Airplane mode.
Here are some battery saving tips, divided into three main sections:
Settings
Navigation
Cold weather
On an iPhone, you can set the few helpful controls in your control center to quickly adjust power savings. I think airplane mode and screen brightness are default. You can also add the low power mode.
Phone settings
If you use almost all the battery saving settings in the section, the baseline battery use (phone is on and asleep, but not being used) is around 3% per day. If you have your phone in normal city settings, with none of the battery savings methods deployed, baseline use can be up to 30%. Yes, that's a huge difference!
Start your trip with a fully charged phone and extra battery. Yes, sounds obvious, but it's easy to overlook this, especially on a short drive to the trailhead.
Bring an auxiliary battery and charging cable(s). There are many options. Go with a name brand battery like Anker. Something around 5,000 mAh (milliamps) can charge your phone at least once. Add a short charging cable and you're looking at around $20 for both. For a longer trip up to a week, consider a 10,000 mAh battery. Charging cables can be delicate and get broken, consider bringing a spare. Get into the habit of bringing these on every trip, even a day hike.
Turn on Airplane Mode. This is probably the #1 habit to develop at the trailhead, and a good one to remind your team members about. Airplane mode stops your phone from trying to connect to the cell tower network. Especially when you’re out of cell phone coverage, these constant attempts to reconnect can really drain the battery. To check for messages or make a call, turn Airplane mode off for a minute or two if you have coverage, then turn it back on again when you’re done.
Turn on Low Power Mode. This reduces background activity, like downloads and mail fetching, and sets Auto Lock to 30 seconds. On iPhone: Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode
Turn down your Screen Brightness. The screen is probably the single biggest battery drain. If you're going to use your phone a lot, consider doing it in the evening when you can use lower brightness setting. If you need to use your phone during the day, try to find some shade. On iPhone: Settings > Display and Brightness > adjust the slider bar.
Tip for iPhone users: you can set up your control screen to adjust these three settings, see photo at top of the page.
Important: The GPS chip in your phone does not need cell coverage or Wi-Fi, and works fine in Airplane mode.
Turn off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirDrop, and Personal Hotspot. On iPhone: Settings. Airplane mode might turn all of these off at once, but they can individually be turned on even if airplane mode is activated. If you want to use Bluetooth to listen to music on speakers/earbuds, or use a SEND (Satellite Emergency Notification Device) remember to turn Bluetooth off when you're done.
Deactivate Background App Refresh. On iPhone: Settings > General > Background App Refresh. Apps will no longer run in the background.
Set the Auto-Lock to the minimum. Auto-Lock puts your phone to sleep when you're not using it. Sure it's good habit to press the side button and put it to sleep manually, but if you forget to do this and put it in your pocket, a short screen lock time puts it to sleep quickly. On iPhone: Settings > Display and Brightness > Auto-Lock > set to 30 seconds.
Close all open apps. While most apps just sit there and don't do anything, some continue to refresh in the background or even use GPS location data (like Google maps) and suck your battery. Shut down everything you don’t need in the backcountry, which should be pretty much everything.
Set your navigation app to only get your GPS location when you ask for it. Navigation apps need to be on all the time if you’re track recording, but if you only want an occasional position fix, it doesn’t need a constant GPS signal. On iPhone: Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Gaia GPS > Ask Next Time. Now, when you tap the “show current location” icon in your GPS app, you should get a pop-up box requesting access. Tap “Allow Once” to show your location just for one time. Every additional time you open the app you should get this access request.
Turn off Location Services for your camera. Even if you shut down all unnecessary apps, you're still probably going to take some pictures. If you have Location Services on for your camera, every time you shoot a photo that's going to take a little extra power to “geotag” your photo with latitude longitude coordinates. On iPhone: Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Camera > Never or Ask Next Time.
Turn off Data Sharing. As a default, Apple collects a LOT of data on how to use your phone! Your phone shares this regularly, and the files can be as large as 10 MB. Sending these data packages can put a hit on your battery. If you're already in airplane mode this should not be an issue, but why not turn it off? And protect a bit of your privacy at the same time? On iPhone: Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements > Toggle everything off. (If you're curious what Apple is seeing on your phone, while you're there tap Analytics Data > then tap any one of the analytics files. It probably won't make any sense to you, but it's an impressive amount of snooping.
Turn on Auto-Brightness. This automatically adjust the screen brightness according to the light conditions, and can save a bit of battery. On iPhone: Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size turn auto-brightness on.
Use Dark Mode. A study at Purdue University showed that for higher levels of screen brightness, which you will probably have if you're outside during the day, dark mode can offer a significant improvement in battery life. On iPhone: Settings > Display and Brightness > tap “Dark”. (Or, ask Siri to “turn on / turn off dark mode”.)
Turn on grayscale mode. On newer phones, showing only grayscale instead of color can increase battery life. This setting is pretty buried. On iPhone: Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size (under the “Vision” header) > Color Filters, toggle Color Filters. (Or, much easier, ask Siri to “turn on / turn off grayscale”.)
GaiaGPS settings - GaiaGPS is a popular backcountry GPS phone app. If you tap through to Settings > Power Saving, there are a few adjustments there that can help preserve battery. 1. Keep screen on - toggle off for maximum battery life. 2. Disable altitude lookup - toggle on for maximum battery life.
3. Sync photos on cellular - toggle off for maximum battery life. 4. Better location accuracy when plugged in - toggle off maximum battery life. Note: #2 and #3 are irrelevant if the phone is in airplane mode, since the app won't be able to do those functions without a data connection. #4 will only use more power when plugged in, as the setting says. But possibly someone could have their phone plugged in to a portable charger, so better to leave it off.Power down your phone, if you're really sure you don't need it. If you're confident in the route, have a paper map and decent map reading skills, and don't plan on taking photos with your phone, consider powering it down completely. Note: powering your phone completely off and then on again more than once or twice every 10 hours or so actually uses more battery than keeping the phone on all the time and waking it up from sleep mode. So, for most people, it's probably better practice to keep your phone on and sleep.
Consider powering down your phone at night. Test this at home to see if it makes a difference, see previous Tip. With some phones it does, others not so much. If it's cold, cuddle your phone in your sleeping bag.
Power down your phone, but have your partner(s) keep theirs on. No reason why both phones need to be on if they're not getting much use.
Turn Battery Percentage on. On an iPhone, you can show the percent battery you have left rather than just an icon. Knowing this number is helpful. On an iPhone: Settings > Battery > Toggle Battery Percentage on.
When charging your battery, only charge it when it's below 10% and try to avoid charging it past 70%. It takes more energy to push a battery past 70%, so stopping there helps preserve your auxiliary battery.
Check your battery health. On an iPhone: Settings > Battery > Battery Health. This compares as a percentage your battery with a new one. A lower percentage means a full charge doesn’t last as long. If capacity is less than 80%, consider replacing your battery; Apple consider this “worn”.
Text when you can. Voice calls need a strong signal, and use a lot of battery. A text message can often transmit on a very poor signal, and uses minimal battery.
Test your overall battery use on a long day hike, before relying on it for a long trip.
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Petzl Traxion pulley comparison
What are some of the key differences and best uses for the Petzl Nano, Micro, Mini and Pro Traxion progress capture pulleys? Here's an overview of this very handy piece of gear.
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Comparison of Petzl Traxion pulleys
Petzl makes a nice family of pulleys with the surname “Traxion”. They all share a few common design elements: a spring-loaded toothed cam that lets the rope (or device) move in one direction but not the other, and a high efficiency, sealed bearing steel pulley wheel (aka sheave).
Technically they are a “progress capture” pulley, which means when hauling a load, when you let go of the rope, the load doesn’t slide back down. That might sound like a one trick pony, but these little devices are helpful for lots more than just that!
You can use them as:
an ascender
a progress capture in any sort of hauling rigging
the rope grab in a mechanical advantage system
the “far end haul” for big walls
part of the set up for a Tyrolean traverse
top rope solo rope grab
belaying your partner from above (I don't recommend this! But I know people do it so I'll mention it.)
and more!
Here's a related article I wrote, comparing the Nano and the Mini.
A few Traxion tips . . .
It's best to use Traxions on an oval or HMS locker, and not a D shaped locker. Often with a D locker, the Traxion doesn’t hang straight down. With an oval or pear-shaped HMS locker, you usually get a nice vertical hang up the pulley.
When hauling, you can pre-thread the pulley onto the rope. Doing this lets you set it up faster and lowers the chance of you dropping it.
Traxions in a variety of sizes, prices, weights and best uses, so let's take a closer look . . .
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“Getting the shot” - photo tips from Andy Kirkpatrick
British climber Andy Kirkpatrick wrote a great article for his website about climbing photography. I'm sharing it here, lightly edited, with permission.
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This is from a blog post written by British climbing expert Andy Kirkpatrick, shared with permission. Connect with Andy on Instagram @psychovertical and his website.
Andy enjoying a lovely afternoon in Antarctica. Credit, Andy Kirkpatrick collection.
I’ve always considered myself as a pretty average photographer, who just happens to find himself and his camera in un-average places. That was until last year when I gave a slideshow at the Gigon film festival in Northern Spain. The talk went well, and afterwards the organiser came up and told me my climbing photos where the best he’d ever seen. Knowing that Heinz Zak had done a slideshow the year before, I asked if his weren’t better. “No” he said, “he is only a photographer . . . you are an artist!”
Well, I’m not sold on the idea, but lots of people email asking about photography, so here’s a simple list of thoughts and ideas that might help those who aspire to be more than just a photographer!
Don't get hung up with technology (don't be a camera nerd) - There are those who take photos and there are those who talk about them. What you shoot is far more important than what you shoot it with, be it a mobile phone, disposable camera or a homemade pinhole job. The image gives the photo life, not it’s DPI, and in my experience it’s out of focus, thumb obscured shots that people remember. Real life isn’t 300 dpi, it’s also not in focus . . . well, not if it’s any good.
Have your camera where you can use it - It’s no good having your camera in your rucksack lid. Get a camera pouch, hang it around your neck, stick it in a pocket. (If you're using your phone, use a tether so it's un-droppable.)
Take photos when you least want to - The best climbing shots are similar to good war photography. They are real and are dangerous to catch. Mid-pitch, mid storm, mental breakdown, they show a climber and climbers at their most vulnerable.
Catch people off guard - I hate the shots in mags where the climber knows they are being shot. What you see isn’t the real climber, it’s what the climber wants you to see. A good example are the images from Steve House‘s ascent of Nanga Parbat. Basically you need to shoot people when they are at their most pissed off, scared or vulnerable. So no saying cheese.
Take lots of shots - Try and photograph each part of the climb, everything from getting out of the car to getting back to the car. Imagine you have to make a slideshow out of the climb.
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The "crevasse cord"
A standard cordelette (6-ish meters of 7 mm cord) is good for rock climbing. But it's unnecessarily long and bulky for glacier travel and crevasse rescue. Here's an alternative: about 3.5 meters of 6 mm Sterling V-TX cord, rated at 15 kN. This cord is short, light, compact, versatile and great for crevasse rescue.
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For a long time, and without giving a lot of thought to it, I carried a pair of 120 cm slings or standard cordelette (about 5 meters of 7 mm cord) on glacier climbs.
Recently I’ve changed to a shorter, lighter, less bulky and more versatile tool. I call it “crevasse cord”.
It's 10ish feet / 3.5 m of V-TX cord, made by Sterling Rope. V-TX is impressive. It's just 5.4 mm and rated to 15 kN. It has a low stretch Dyneema core and a polyester sheath. It's fairly supple, which means it’s good for friction hitches. I carry it “open” or untied, not permanently tied in a loop with a welded double fisherman’s knot.
It's relatively inexpensive, about $1.20 per foot at my local climb shop.
Using a crevasse cord - friction hitch
As a friction hitch - Tie any friction hitch around the rope, usually a prusik or Klemheist. If you need a shorten the connection, tie an overhand knot.
Left photo: If you’re the unfortunate person in the hole, you can tie a friction hitch and use this as a foot loop to ascend the rope. (Please, stop carrying those old-school designated “foot prusiks”.)
Right photo: As a rescuer on top, you can use this as your primary connection to the anchored rope. Connect yourself to the hitch by passing the cord through your belay loop and tie an overhand knot. Cool, you’re now connected to the friction hitch and you saved a carabiner.
Using a crevasse cord - single point anchor building
If you build a T slot (aka deadman) anchor, you need at least about 4 feet or 1.5 m of sling or cord to connect the anchor to your master point. The crevasse cord is perfect. You can basket hitch the cord through a hole of a picket, or clove hitch it around a deadman such as an ice axe.
Horizontal hangers - clip the ring, not the hanger
Most bolt hangers are vertical, and it's fine to clip those. However, when you have a horizontal anchor hanger, such as this one from Fixe, it's good practice to clip the welded ring, and not the horizontal hanger.
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While by far the most common type of bolt hanger is vertical, you may find horizontal hangers (usually with a welded steel ring) that look like this. (These are from the Spanish company Fixe; other companies might make them too.)
The reason for the horizontal hanger is so the ring hangs perpendicular to the rock. This makes it easier to pull your rappel rope.
To be honest, I'm not a big fan of these. The rings can’t be easily replaced when they get worn out, and a downward load can put some strange leverage on the bolt and hanger. A vertical hanger, a quick link, and a welded ring or another quick link does pretty much the same thing and is much easier to replace.
But you will find this flavor of anchor in the wild, so it's good to know what to do with them.
With these horizontal hangers, it's best practice to clip the ring, and NOT the horizontal hanger.
While most of the time it's not a big deal if you do clip the hanger, with certain carabiners in some configurations, the carabiners can get twisted and torqued in a strange way.
I've never heard of one breaking, but it's not optimal. So clip the ring, and you’ll be fine.
More reasons to clip the ring:
Depending on carabiner shape, makes it easier to “clip it and flip it”, so you can arrange your carabiner gate facing down and out
Will never load your carabiner at a strange angle
Accepts a carabiner of any shape and size
Allows the ring to be used to more easily set up a rappel, either by you or someone else, (more on that below)
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Do you need a triple fisherman's for tech cord?
A long-standing “rule”: always use a triple fisherman's knot to connect ends of “tech” cord, that has a Kevlar / Aramid core. Is this really true? What happens if you tie a double fisherman's instead? Here's the answer, courtesy of the gear breaking lab at HowNOT2.
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General climbing wisdom:
Use a double fisherman's knot to securely connect cord ends to make a permanent loop (like for a cordelette) in standard cord.
Use a triple fisherman’s knot to securely do this in so-called “tech” cord, that might have a Dyneema or Technora/Aramid/Kevlar core.
(Sidenote: yes, this several-different-names-for-the-same-thing is confusing! “Technora” and “Kevlar” are trademarked names. “Aramid” is a more general name, sort of like “Kleenex” and “facial tissue”,
I sure remember learning this when I first started climbing. Way back then, about the only tech cord available was this extremely stiff Kevlar cord that we used for stringing hexes (remember those?) With that ancient cord, the triple was the way to go.
Turned out that that extra stiff material didn’t have very good fatigue resistance, so it fell out of favor. Modern Aramid cord like Technora is more supple, and is more resistant to fatigue, i.e. repeated bending in the same place, like what happens inside a permanent knot.
The classic triple fisherman's knot endures in the modern era. The question is, do you still need a triple fisherman’s, or will a double work?
Ryan Jenks, the gear breaking mad scientist genius behind HotNot2, did some testing on this, using Sterling Powercord. This is very nice cord: 6 mm, rated to 19.5 kN, nylon sheath with a Technora core.
Here are the break test results (yes, small sample size of 1)
Powercord double fisherman's: 18.7 kN.
Powercord triple fisherman’s: 21.9 kN
So . . . the triple was a bit stronger, but the double was quite close.
Given about the largest possible force in recreational climbing is around 8-ish kN, and your spine is going to start breaking around 12, the double fisherman’s appears to be just fine.
The main advantage to using the double? You use less cord to tie it, which is less expensive and a little bit lighter. Is there any downside to using a triple is it makes you feel warm and fuzzy? Not really.
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Ascenders - when not to use the handle
Just because your ascender has a handle doesn't mean you have to use it. On lower angle rope climbing, the handle can be great. When it starts to get steep, you might want to try a more ergonomic hand position.
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This tip idea is from Australian rigging expert Richard Delaney. Connect with Richard on Instagram and his YouTube channel, where he has loads of concise, informative videos.
Just because there's a handle on your ascender doesn't mean you have to use it.
Handles can be great on lower angled rock, but if things get vertical, it might be more ergonomic or comfortable to put your hand on top of the ascender. Squeeze and lift the top to slide it up, and sort of press down on the sides and top as you stand up.
Keeping your hand off of the handle can serve as a subtle reminder that you shouldn’t be trying to do one arm pull ups. Use your legs to push up, and your arms mostly for balance.
Big wall climbers will usually use handled ascenders, because they are alternating between low angle and steeper rock. Rope access people may choose to avoid handled ascenders, or use them in the way shown here.
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The "Oh Sh*t kit"
If you carry some small and lightweight rescue gear, you can improvise just about any sort of hauling, rope ascending, or mechanical advantage system you might need to rig. Here's what I carry.
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Some of the links on this page go to HowNot2.com. These are not affiliate marketing links. They are provided as a convenience to you. Your purchase supports the awesome gear testing YouTube channel HowNOT2.
Having a few basic tools to ascend a rope, set up a mechanical advantage haul system, or cut a rope / webbing is a great starting point for just about any sort of rescue scenario.
There are many items you could put in a kit like this. A frugal start is a couple of prusik loops and spare carabiners. But, having some dedicated gear offers greater efficiency and more options. Combine this rescue gear with a couple of 60 or 120 cm slings, or a cordelette, and you can do all kinds of rescue trickery!
For alpine climbing, here's what I usually carry:
Petzl Nano Traxion progress capture pulley
Petzl Tibloc rope grab
Sterling friction hitch (Hollowblock, or shown here, 6 mm autoblock cord)
Tiny hardware store cheapo lockblade knife, with tape wrapped around it to prevent it from opening accidentally, and a short clip-in loop attached. If you want a better knife, check out the Trango Piranha or the Petzl Spatha
All conveniently racked on an oval locker
The knife is used to remove sun-bleached ancient crusty webbing from rap anchors (hopefully replaced with new material by you), to cut a cordelette for rap anchor material, and if needed, to cut away something under tension in some sort of awful rescue rescue scenario where it might be your least-worst option. (See the classic Joe Simpson book “Touching the Void” for an epic story about this very thing.)
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30+ tips for more efficient aid climbing
A summary of various tricks and tips to aid climb more efficiently, also known as “just about everything I wish I knew when I started aid climbing”. These tips may take years off your learning curve.
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Nearing the top of Moonlight buttress in a day, Zion National Park, Utah. Photo by me
“Speed climbing” on a big wall route gets a lot of press. But in reality, most of us plodders would do better to focus not on speed, but rather efficiency. Efficiency can mean not running out of water when your three day climb turns into four, avoiding strangling your partner (or vice versa), not taking 30+ minutes for a belay changeover, not climbing by headlamp when you could be kicking back in your portaledge . . . you get the idea.
Below is a somewhat random assortment of climbing tips to help you climb with greater efficiency, and thus speed. Why do I mention these particular tips? Because I ignored pretty much every single one of them on my first couple of walls and sometimes went pretty darn slow as a result. Sure wish I knew all these beforehand!
If you’ve been at the big wall game for a while, you probably know most of these already. If you're fairly new to aid climbing, these tips may be more helpful. These are merely my opinion/experience, and are by no means a complete list. In no order of importance, here we go.
Don’t rush
Speed does not mean fast. Speed means smooth, controlled, well-planned, and properly executed. The Navy SEALS have a saying: ”Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.” Do the task you have in front of you at a proper pace, and do it right the first time. “Smooth” comes from practice and having your systems dialed before you get up on a real climb.
What you're really striving for is efficiency, not speed. If you achieve efficiency, you can actually slow down in your movements, be more relaxed, and enjoy your experience more. Another way to think about it: you increase your speed by minimizing the downtime when no one is making upward progress.
Wall ace Mark Hudon: “Most wall climbers today would gain far, far more time by simply understanding and doing the basic big wall tasks faster.” So, what are the basic tasks? Leading, cleaning, hauling, anchor building, belay changeovers, rope / belay management, staying fed/watered and comfy during the day.
Think of everything physical as a “movement sandwich” (rest, move, rest)
Unlike most other aspects of rock climbing, you can rest pretty much whenever you want to on a big wall. Use this to your advantage. From big wall expert Andy Kirkpatrick’s excellent aid climbing book, “Higher Education”:
“You should never find aid climbing hard. If you do, it means you're doing it wrong. If your arms are tired when leading, you're not resting on your fifi hook. If you get pumped ascending a rope, that means your lanyards are not set right or you’re standing in the wrong step of your aider. The same goes for hauling, if you're busting a gut then switch it up to a 2:1 or maybe space hauling. Almost everything physical should be a ‘movement sandwich’, movement placed between two slices of rest. Rest-move-rest. Rest-move-rest.”
Time yourself when practicing
Yes, we’re talking stopwatch. During your training, time yourself and your partner doing different tasks. How long did it take you to do EACH of these tasks - Lead the pitch, build the anchor, fix the rope, set up the haul, do the haul, clean the pitch, re-rack the gear, and have your partner start leading the next pitch? Repeat all these on the same training route different times maybe over different days, and notice your times hopefully start to dramatically improve. Have fun, and make training a little competitive. Time each segment, loser buys beverages.
Don’t “learn” to aid on a real route
People stuck behind you who have the skills to climb it for real will NOT be happy. EVERYTHING you do on a wall should be practiced BEFORE you get to the actual climb. To put it another way, on your actual route, you should never be trying something for the first time.
Do repeat laps on obscure 5.11 cracks until you get your movement and systems dialed. Time yourself.
Haul a 100 pound bag 1:1.
Experience “riding the pig” by rappelling with your fully loaded haul bag. ( Tip - don’t hang it from your belay loop!)
Set up your ledge on a real cliff and spend a night in it, not just in a backyard tree.
Poop in a bag, on your ledge
Do “aid bouldering” close to the ground, placing all manner of tiny stoppers, marginal hooks and micro cams until you really know how far you can push them before failure.
Practice passing a knot, both going up with ascenders and going down (rappelling).
Put in your training. Practice the core skills. You, your partner, and everyone behind you on the route will have a much better time. (People who go try Monkey Face at Smith Rock Oregon who have never aid climbed before and take 2 hours to lead and clean a short bolt ladder, I’m looking at YOU!)
You can practice just about every big wall skill on a short route
When practicing, make the best use of what you have. This could be a route in a cooperative climbing gym, or a one pitch obscure crack at your local crag. Don't start the pitch standing on the ground. Climb up just a few meters, make a hanging belay, and start from there. Make a few moves, build another belay, haul and bring your partner up and repeat. This gives you extra practice at anchor building, hauling, and transitions, which can be a giant time suck for beginners.
Have all the skills needed for your route
Study the topo, photos and trip reports. Is there a pendulum and a lower out? How far is it? Do you need to hook? Is there a burly off width? Do you know how to clean a traverse? What’s the hardest mandatory free climbing, and can I/we do it?
Do you know how to lead AND clean a roof? The classic “Kor Roof” pitch on the South Face of Washington Column in Yosemite has shut down many an ambitious first time big wall team. Roof climbing is admittedly hard to practice, but read the topo and do your best to train before you go. Try the underside of an outdoor staircase, playground swing set, rope between 2 trees, or roof route in a helpful climbing gym. If you’re in Yosemite, be sure to put in a practice lap or two on the LeConte Boulder.
There’s a bounty of route beta for just about every beginner route you would ever want to try. Study up, know what skills you need to have, and master them before you go.
Talk over each pitch before the climb
Before you leave the ground, go over every pitch in detail with your partner. Talk over who’s going to do what, when will it happen, and how you’re going to handle any anticipated difficulties. Do we have all the gear needed for the route? What’s the farthest we need to lower out the bags, and do we need a separate lower out line? Does a pitch go around a corner so we maybe can’t hear or see each other? (Better have a clear communication plan.) Are we leading in blocks or swapping leads? Who gets what pitches? What’s our anticipated timeline, and what do we do if we’re faster or slower than we planned?
Having an action plan means you don’t need to create one on the fly and make important decisions when you’re tired and stressed. Sure, you can change your plan, but it’s a starting blueprint that guides your actions, instead of pretty much winging it on every pitch.
Route topos
Make several copies of the route topo. One for each person on the team and one extra. I like to laminate mine at the office store, and put in a grommet, and then tie some cord through the grommet as a clip in point.
Save a photo or PDF of the topo (and other relevant beta, like the descent route) onto your phone, which is free and weighs 0.0 grams. This goes for your partner as well.
Always ask yourself when you have downtime: “What could I be doing right now to make this climb faster or safer?”
Especially for beginners, there’s almost always something. Be on a constant lookout for small potential problems, and deal with them before they become larger real problems. “Hmm, looks like that haul rope is hung up on something. I better deal with that right now before the leader starts to pull it up . . . ”
Andy Kirkpatrick: Remember the number one sentence that needs to be avoided on a wall: “Hang on a minute!”
Strive for well-organized anchors
This is probably the single biggest time suck and cluster-generator for newer climbers. Something as simple as which side of the anchor to dock the haul bag can create either an effortless release or an incredible tangle. Decide where the bag is going to go, use rope bags, have multiple full strength clipping points, keep the lead rope and haul rope separated and tangle free and you'll be well on your way.
Maintaining the psyche
Big wall expert Mark Hudon has some self-talk he uses when things get spicy: “I may be scared, but I’m at LEAST as good as the WORST climber who has ever done this route! If they got past this point, dammit, so can I!” Remind yourself of this, and maybe even laugh a little when you’re faced with a tough spot.
Be patient with your partner and do not “blame”, no matter whose fault something might be. Mistakes will happen. Work together to overcome the problem.
Use a day bag
Don’t be diving into the haul bags at each belay to get snacks, water, sunscreen, windbreaker, etc. It's big time suck, waste of energy, and greatly increases the chance of dropping something. In the morning, put all the stuff you need for the day in a smaller “day bag” (aka “piglet”) or wall bucket, tied outside your haul bag (probably on a gear tether) for easy access. (Remind your partner to get their day gear all ready at the morning bivy.) Check out the “RTFN bag” and Wall Bucket at Skot’s Wall Gear.
Second leaves the belay fast
Try to minimize time when both climbers are at a belay and not moving. Especially, strive for fast belay changeovers. Slow belay changeovers can be a huge time suck for beginners.
The leader should call down when they are getting close to the anchor (the 25 foot rule) so the second can start tidying things up. One good thing for the belayer to do at this point is to be sure the haul bags are properly packed away, unencumbered, the haul rope is running freely, and the bags and rope are ready for lift off, because the very first task for the leader is to pull the bags a little bit off of the anchor, so the second can clean everything.
The leader should never be “ready to haul” and have to then wait for the second to sort things out!fdecide
When the leader calls “rope is fixed” the second can clip their ascenders to the lead rope and fully weight it. This frees up most of the anchor, the second can get to work breaking it down, and get ready to release the bags.
Releasing the bags should be pretty much effortless if you use a docking cord, which is a tether that’s releasable under load. Forget the old school method of using a daisy chain or some other static sling to connect your bags to the anchor; this can often require brute force to get your bags moving, especially if the pitch above traverses.
If the next pitch traverses to one side (say the right), you probably want the bags docked on the right side of the anchor, so they don't swing across you and smack you when you release them.
There's really no need to haul the bags up snug with the anchor on every pitch, unless you’re spending the night there. Hanging the bags a bit below the anchor can make your belay less clustered.
Generally, the bags should never be undocked by the second until they have fully lifted off from the anchor, and the second can check that nothing is hung up, carabiner is being weighted correctly, etc.
Clean the gear in semi-tidiness
You don’t need to be super type A and organize every piece of gear immaculately when cleaning, but you also don’t want to clip it any which way.
A cleaning system that works well: have two single length / 60 cm runners, one over each shoulder. Use wider nylon slings rather then skinny Dyneema - wider is more comfortable under a load of gear.
Clip free carabiners and slings onto one runner, and gear onto the other. Generally order the gear by size, but don’t be too fussy about it at the expense of upward progress. Avoid racking gear on your waist loops, unless you like the feeling of 30+ pounds of hardware causing your harness to slowly creep down towards your ankles.
When the cleaner gets to the top anchor, these two gear slings get clipped somewhere safe, and quickly added back onto the lead rack by whoever is leading the next pitch.
Doing this allows you to quickly hand off the gear at the next belay, rather than unclipping things one by one from your gear loops. This is much faster, and there’s less chance to drop things.
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Climbing on a chopped rope - lead rope soloing
Yikes, your rope got damaged near the middle from rockfall, and for whatever reason you have to keep climbing up instead of rapping down. The highly advanced technique of lead rope soloing is one way to solve this unfortunate and unlikely situation.
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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.
image shared with permission: https://www.vdiffclimbing.com/rope-solo/
Yo! Lead rope soloing is a VERY advanced technique and far beyond the scope of this article to teach you how to do safely. I’m only introducing this technique if you have to use it in the following unfortunate and unlikely situation.
You’re on a committing route and have the following misfortune:
Due to whatever random act of the goddess, your lead rope gets a severe cut or is damaged by rockfall.
To make it even more challenging, the cut is close to the center of the rope. (If the damage is near one end, you may be able to cut the rope and continue climbing on whatever you have left. You may have to get creative with belay anchors.)
Due to the route, your position on it, or whatever, you decide that it’s better to continue leading UP rather than to rappel DOWN. (In many cases, heading down might be the better choice. There are several clever ways to rappel when you can avoid passing that pesky knot entirely. Here's an article on that.)
If you cut out the damaged part of the rope and tie the two pieces together, the knot won't go through protection if you climb and belay in the normal manner.
So, the crucial question: how do you continue to lead?
An option is lead rope soloing. When lead rope soloing, the rope doesn’t pass through the placed gear like in normal leading.
This lets you climb with a knot in the middle of your rope, schweeeet!
But, it's gonna be awkward, slow and kind of scary, so that's not so schweeeet!
Lead rope soloing is normally the realm of socially inept big wall climbers, who can't find a partner for their week+ vertical camping trip on El Capitan, or big wall speed climbers, who do what’s called “short fixing” to efficiently keep lead climbing while their partner is cleaning the last pitch.
Yann Camus of Bliss Climbing, has online classes in both lead rope solo and top rope solo, Check him out!
You can get a discount on his classes by becoming an Alpinesavvy Premium Member.