SAC Anchors II lecture Chris McGuinness 11/08/06 (Original slides by Clint Cummins, modified by Chris McGuinness)

What we’ll cover 0. Knots 1. Placing Gear 2. Constructing Gear Anchors 3. Multipitch Climbing Sequence 4. Multiple Rappels 5. Where to go from here (transition from toprope/bolted to gear climbing)

What we won’t cover Actual climbing techniques (jamming, chimneying, etc.) Leading

0. Knots Overhand on a bight figure-eight on a bight water knot Double fisherman girth hitch clove hitch Munter hitch prusik

Double Fisherman

Clove Hitch

1. Placing Gear General concerns: rock quality (hardness, fractures / thin flakes / loose pieces, sand/dirt/leaves/moss/grass) surface area contact direction of pull ease of removal

Gear types Fixed: – Trees –Rocks (horns/boulders, tunnels) –Bolts + Pitons Removable: – Nuts (Stoppers, Hexes) –Cams (Camalots, Friends, TCUs, Aliens) –Tri-Cams

Trees Preferably living Ideally the size of your leg Sling as low down as possible

Horns, Flakes, Tunnels Pay special attention to rock quality Girth hitch feature securely, and be aware of the possibility of the sling getting pulled up by the rope

Fixed Gear Inspect gear before just clipping –Pitons get old, rusty and can break –Fixed nuts are often not as fixed as they appear Generally a visual inspection, followed by a good tug while observing if the piece wiggles around is sufficient

Bolts From ASCA (American Safe Climbing Association)

Hex nut - surface area

More Hexes

Stopper - sizing + orientation

Cam - placing or removing

Camalots - selecting size Good - Strong + stableNot so good - unstableBad

Friends - selecting size good Not so goodbad

Friend sizing - smaller crack Too tight (hard to remove)goodNot so good

Clipping gear in anchor or lead Orient biner so gate does not touch rock Do not load biner over rock edge - use sling Do not girth hitch sling directly to cable of nut or narrow bolt hanger - could be cut Do not load solid shaft of Friend over edge Avoid loading cable of TCU over rock edge - could be bent permanently

Tri-Cams

2. Constructing gear anchors SRENE = –Solid (invididual placements) –Redundant (independent) –Equalized –No Extension (if piece fails) Add: –Efficient (simple, fast) –Stable (robust to movement / changes)

Standard placement counts 3 strong placements, at least one multidirectional for lead anchor say 1/100 chance of random failure due to unobserved factors. If placements are independent, then: 1/10,000 chance of failure for 2 placements 1/1,000,000 chance of failure for 3 placements

# of anchor pieces - exceptions 2 “good” bolts: good = 5/16” or larger, not rusty suspect = surface/smooth rust or 1/4” bad = corroded/pitted rust and 1/4” 1-2 good trees (still use 2 slings/biners) more than 3 pieces? Too complex, unless some are weak; violates Strong rule, but is sometimes unavoidable

Joining pieces A: Clove hitch

Joining pieces B: slings

Joining pieces C: Cordelette

Joining Pieces D: Equalette

Joining placements in anchor A. Clove hitches on climbing rope +: strong, quick, no extra gear needed -: questionable equalization, must retie if not swinging leads B. Slings (with knots or clove hitches to adjust) +: good for toproping, 1-2 points to clip on leads -: reduces slings available for next lead, hard to equalize well C. Cordelette +: single point to clip, good for leading in blocks -: requires carrying extra 1-2 pieces of gear, may not be long enough to reach all placements D. Equalette +: Same advantages as cordelette, but better equalization -: Takes additional time if limiter knots must be retied

3. Multipitch climb sequence Safety on approach (rope up on demand) Tie in and check knots/harnesses Bottom anchor if exposed ledge, leader outweighs follower, or ledge fall possible Location of belay anchor (to side) Clipping to belay anchor 2 Clove hitches, or Daisy chain + 1 clove

3. Multipitch sequence (cont’d) Stacking belay rope (and second rope) Lead belay position Feed out rope; some slack for quick clips Space to bring braking hand to side/back

Special risk - Factor 2 Fall Problems: A. High force on belay anchor - could fail B. Difficult to hold leader fall. Friction of rope running over biner makes 50% easier! Solutions: A. Clip rope through quickdraw on anchor B. Leader places 1-2 strong pieces early

4. Multiple rappels Four main risks: A. Rappel anchor fails B. Rappel off end of rope (sometimes due to uneven length ropes) C. Loose rock knocked by rope onto climbers D. Ropes hang up during pull

Munter Hitch

5. Where to go from here Transition from toproping / bolted climbing to gear climbing Practice placing gear Practice crack climbing skills Make a list of climbs you want to do Find partners with similar abilities and goals (or more experienced, occasionally) Start leading easier climbs