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

3. 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)

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

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

9. Double Fisherman

10. Clove Hitch

12. 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

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

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

16. 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

17. 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

18. Bolts From ASCA (American Safe Climbing Association)

19. Hex nut - surface area

20. More Hexes

21. Stopper - sizing + orientation

22. Cam - placing or removing

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

24. Friends - selecting size good Not so goodbad

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

26. 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

28. Tri-Cams

29. 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)

31. 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

32. # 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

33. Joining pieces A: Clove hitch

34. Joining pieces B: slings

35. Joining pieces C: Cordelette

36. Joining Pieces D: Equalette

37. 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

39. 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

40. 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

45. 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

46. 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

50. Munter Hitch

51. 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