Trad Climbing Basics

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Trad Climbing Basics Placing Trad Gear and Building Safe Anchors E-Book Edition © VDiff Climbing 2019. Updated June 2022. All rights reserved. This publication is the property of VDiff Climbing. Writer and Illustrator: Neil Chelton Photographers: - Fraser Harle - Alex Ratson - James Rushforth - James Rosselet - Will Nicholls Front Cover: The Octopus Garden, Smoke Bluffs, Squamish, Canada. Photographer: Alex Ratson.

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Trad Climbing Basics

Placing Trad Gear and Building Safe Anchors

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Warning: Climbing is Dangerous While this book explains everything you need to know to get started trad climbing, it cannot assess the quality of your equipment or check your anchor before you abseil. Mistakes are easy to make and accidents can be fatal. This book is intended to be supplemented with practical instruction from qualified professionals. Do not rely on this book as your primary source of rock climbing information. If you are unsure about any of the information given in this book, it is strongly recommended that you seek qualified instruction. Failure to do this may result in serious injury or death. The writers and employees of VDiff disclaim all responsibility and liability for any injuries or losses incurred by any person participating in the activities described in this book.

Who is This Guide For? This guide is intended for those who already have a solid understanding of the following basic climbing skills: - Wearing a harness - Tying in to the rope - Lead and top rope belaying - Using the correct climbing calls If you are unfamiliar with these techniques, or need a refresher, consider reading our beginner’s guide; Rock Climbing Basics.

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Contents

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Introduction

14

Equipment

26

Protecting the Climb

74

Building Anchors

96

Belaying

110

Descending

124

Multi-Pitch

136

Technique: Face Climbing

150

Technique: Crack Climbing

164

Essential Knots

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Introduction

Photographer: Alex Ratson.

What is Trad Climbing? When climbing indoors, or at a sport crag, the leader clips their rope, via quickdraws, into pre-existing bolts. On a bolted route, it is generally safe to fall at any time. Having this high level of safety allows the leader to focus on the physical aspect of climbing up the rock. When trad climbing, the leader must place their own gear in the rock. To be safe when trad climbing, the leader must focus on finding gear placements and then select the right piece of gear to fit. This adds a technical and mental aspect to the route.

With a good understanding of trad skills, you can branch out from the indoor walls and sport crags to reach unique places that would otherwise be inaccessible.

Can I Trad Climb? Yes! Learning to trad climb is similar to learning to drive a car. It takes time, effort and commitment. It can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing, or very safe once you become competent. This book focuses on the physics behind trad gear and the reasons for using different rope techniques. This is ……….. VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Introduction

so you understand why each technique is used, and therefore you'll be able to adapt them for any situation. Learn the skills and practise them safely. Start with small adventures to build up your problem solving ability before you move on to anything bigger. And remember to have fun! 8

Climbing Etiquette There are different rules when you venture outside of the climbing gym. When you go to a new climbing venue, ask the locals what the special considerations are. Generally, it all comes down to being polite, respecting other climbers and having common sense. Here are some basic etiquette guidelines: - Avoid making excessive noise. - Keep your stuff in a small, tidy pile. - Take your litter and human waste home.

- Stick to recognized trails to avoid trampling vegetation. - Keep pets on a leash or leave them at home. - Don’t alter the natural environment (never chip holds). - If other climbers arrive at a route before you, they get to climb first. - If you’re moving slow on a multi-pitch, it is polite to allow faster teams to pass – if you have plenty of time and there is no danger of rockfall.

Finding a Climbing Partner There are a few different ways to find a climbing partner, including: - At the indoor climbing gym - On a climbing course - At a climbing club - Through friends - On internet forums However you find a partner, it’s important to assess how safe they are. A good ‘first date’ is to climb at the gym. Be upfront and honest about your skills but be aware that some people will exaggerate their abilities in order to impress. If you are unsure of their abilities, have a staff member test you ….ooooooooo..

both on belaying and lead skills before you climb together. Progress to a single pitch crag after the gym. Inspect the quality of their equipment and their anchor building techniques carefully before you move on to more committing multi-pitch routes. Don’t blindly trust someone with your life until they have proven themselves trustworthy. Stop climbing with someone who does strange or dangerous things. Instead, recommend that they take a course, or read this book, or both.

Where Should I Place Trad Gear? Trad gear is normally placed in cracks, behind flakes and around blocks. The important thing to remember is that these features are weaknesses in the rock. Some of these features are solid, VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Introduction

and some are incredibly unstable and dangerous. To a beginner, these may appear the same. You must pay close attention to how solid the rock is. You can test flakes and blocks by hitting tttttttt 9

them with your fist; loose rock sounds hollow. Look for fracture lines (super thin cracks) around features and visualize how they are attached. If a block isn't securely attached to the main part of the rock, then look for something else. Gear placed behind loose features is likely to be pulled out in a fall, along with the feature itself. This could potentially hit your belayer or cut your rope. Because most trad gear relies on oooooooo

friction to stay in position, you must make sure the rock is clean and dry. Gear placed in a crack coated with dust, mud, ice or water is much less reliable. There are no definite guidelines of exactly which type of protection should be used for each particular situation. The important part of learning to use trad gear is understanding the physics behind it; how and why each piece generates force on the rock.

How Often Should I Place Trad Gear? Here are some things to consider:

Trad Gear is Less Reliable than Sport Climbing Bolts It's generally safe to fall at any time on a bolted sport route, whether indoors or at the crag. However, if the same attitude is applied to trad climbing, you'll soon get injured. Nuts can wiggle out, slings can lift off and cams can walk out of position. This is caused by movements in the rope as you climb past. As a general rule of thumb, you should place two good pieces of trad gear for every bolt you would clip on a sport route.

Where is Your Next Gear? If gear placements are far apart, poor quality and/or difficult to find, you should place gear at every opportunity. As a beginner, however, 'runout' climbs like these are best avoided.

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Climbing Gear is Only as Strong as the Rock it is Placed in. It is rare for trad protection to break. More commonly, it is the rock around the placement which breaks during a fall. See page 66 for more information on rock quality.

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Bigger Falls Generate More Force on Gear Placements Most pieces of trad gear are strong enough to hold an enormous 'whipper'. The gear itself probably won't break. However, the force of a huge fall is more likely to break the rock which holds it in place. The higher you climb above a piece of gear, the less reliable that piece becomes. See page 68 for more information about fall factors.

Fall Factor ≈ 0.4 Force ≈ 2 kN Fall Factor ≈ 0.7 Force ≈ 5 kN

Consequences of a Fall When you climb above a ledge, spiky flake, or any other nasty rock feature, make sure to place gear to stop you from hitting it.

How Good is Your Last Protection? If the pieces below you are suboptimal, place solid gear as soon as you can.

The Likelihood of Falling If the chance of falling is near zero (because the rock is solid and the moves are incredibly easy), you can justify placing less gear. If the chance of falling is high, because the moves are insecure or the rock is brittle, you should place lots of gear close together. Be careful of getting into the bad habit of placing minimal gear, even on super easy terrain. If you’re carrying the gear anyway, you may as well use it. Holds can break or you might find a weird move with no protection. If you placed gear on the easy terrain below, it could save you from a long fall. Easier ground tends to be blocky and slabby – a long fall down this could be fatal. VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Introduction

Pulling Crux Moves A crux move will be much harder if you stop in the middle to place gear. If possible, place a few pieces as high as you can just before the crux, and then commit to the moves. Place gear again once past the crux. Obviously this is only safe if the gear is good and the consequences are minimal. If the crux section is long, you will need to seek out the best points to place gear during it. Utilize large hand holds or good stances and look for spots where the gear is quick to place. 11

Safeguarding the Follower When climbing traverses, make sure to place enough gear to keep your partner safe as they follow. If there is a traversing crux, you’ll need to place good gear immediately after it to prevent them from taking a dangerous swing if they fall.

Saving Gear for the Anchor Make sure to ration out your gear so you finish the pitch with a sufficient amount of protection to build a solid anchor.

Easy Section

Crux

Easy Section

Crux

The Golden Rule Always keep at least two good pieces between you and the hospital!

Route Finding Some trad routes follow straightforward crack systems, and others weave an intricate path through a labyrinth of small features. It is wise to scope complex routes during the approach and match the features you see with the guidebook description. Plan the descent too. Even if the main route is obvious, the handholds, footholds and gear placements (micro route finding) may not be so clear.

On popular routes, the clues are: - Chalked handholds - Polished footholds - Lichen and dirt free rock - Difficulty which matches the grade given Be careful about continuing if you are off-route. It is usually better to downclimb to the last point when you were definitely on-route and reassess from there.

Your First Trad Lead Leading trad for the first time can be pretty scary. Suddenly you're exposed to greater dangers than you would lllllllllllllll VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Introduction

leading a sport route, or following a trad route. Here are some tips for your first few times on the sharp end.

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Practise Placing Gear It is important to learn how to place trad gear well before you lead anything. A good way to start is to walk along the base of your local crag and place every piece on your rack in as many different spots as you can find. Get used to placing and removing each size and type of gear. Assess each piece carefully. Which way will it be pulled if you fall? How solid is the rock around the piece? Could it be pulled out by movement in the rope as you climb past? Could you remove it easily? When you find a place which has three good pieces close together, practise equalizing them together with a cordelette or a long sling to make an anchor. Have your experienced partner check the gear and give you critiques about whether it was placed correctly. The fundamentals of placing gear are easy to learn. But recognising subtle constrictions in cracks and maximising rock-to-nut surface contact is an art only learnt through experience. Practise makes perfect!

Lower Your Grade Choose a route that you find very easy. A HVS (5.9) trad route may equate to a F5+ sport route on a grade conversion chart, but in reality it's much harder to climb the trad equivalent. While the actual moves are the same physical difficulty, it takes much longer to find potential gear placements, and to place gear well, than it does to clip a quickdraw. Also, without a line of bolts and coloured holds to follow, you'll often end up doing many more moves to reach the same point, and not always going the easiest way. VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Introduction

Follow the Leader Once you've practised placing gear at ground level, the next logical step is to follow, or 'second', an experienced leader on a single pitch route. When you are removing the gear, try to understand how they placed it and why they chose that exact place instead of another. Remove each piece and then place it back in the exact same spot.

Single Pitch Try a short climb first. If something goes wrong, it'll be much easier to get down from a single pitch than a multipitch.

Make a Belay Plan It's a good idea to assess the top of the crag first to find potential anchor points and figure out your belay position. Remember what gear you will need for the anchor and make sure to still have it when you reach the top!

Take Your Time Have a look around for better gear placements and take time to figure out the moves. Focus on placing each piece as perfectly as it can be. Make slow and controlled movements, committing to holds only when you've explored the best way of holding them.

Be Ready It is strongly recommended that you take a course with a qualified climbing instructor prior to leading. Once you have gained approval from them, you can lead your first climb. Wait until you're ready, but don't postpone it too long or you may never try. Be brave, take your time and focus on making the climb safe. And make sure to have fun! 13

Equipment

Climb: Surface Tension, Auchinstarry Quarry, Scotland. Photographer: Fraser Harle.

Trad Protection The leader places trad gear (protection) in cracks and features as they climb up. It is then removed by their partner when they follow, so all that is left on the rock are a few chalk prints. Cams, nuts and slings are used on most trad routes. Hexes, tricams, ball nuts and big bros could be either essential or useless depending on the area. Check which types are most cccccccccc

commonly used at your chosen climbing area before you buy a full set. Tailor your rack to suit each climb. Carrying too much gear will weigh you down and make the climbing harder. Carrying too little will force you into dangerous runouts or constructing poor anchors. Consult the guide book to determine what sizes of gear may be needed for your chosen route.

Cams Available in sizes from the thickness of your little finger to the width of your head, cams are reliable and versatile pieces of trad protection. They're also quite expensive. You don't need to buy a full set to start with though, just choose the three or four sizes which you use most commonly at your local crag. When you advance to harder climbs, or climb at different places, you'll probably need to buy more.

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Nuts and Hexes Ranging in size from the thickness of a matchstick to the size of your clenched fist, nuts (also known as chocks, wires or stoppers) and hexes are inexpensive pieces of trad protection. A typical trad rack will contain 10-12 nuts and maybe one or two mid-size hexes.

Slings Slings are strongly-sewn loops of nylon or dyneema tape which are available in a range of lengths. A typical trad rack will have a few 60cm and 120cm slings on it and maybe a 240cm, but bigger and smaller ones are also available. The length is given as the end to end distance, so the actual length of fabric will be double this. They are incredibly useful for extending gear and equalizing anchors.

When buying slings, try to get a different colour for each size. This makes it much quicker to grab the right size when you need it.

Big Bros Big Bros are expandable tubes which protect wide cracks (approx 8-46cm). They are lighter and more compact than large cams but are harder to place, cannot be shuffled up the crack and do not work as well in flares. Big Bros are only worth buying if you plan pppppppp

to climb a lot of off-width cracks and squeeze chimneys.

Ball Nuts Ball nuts are specialist pieces of gear which you are unlikely to need when starting out. They offer protection in thin cracks (approx 3-18mm), filling the void where even the smallest cams are too big to fit. VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Equipment

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Tricams Tricams are designed to work the same as a nut, but can also be placed to 'cam' into cracks. They are most useful at crags which have many pods, pockets or horizontal cracks.

A typical trad rack will contain one or two mid-size tricams.

Nut Tool Nut tools are used to remove gear while following, or cleaning dirt from gear placements when leading obscure routes. They are also useful for leading when you get the wrong sized nut stuck in a placement and need to remove it in order to get the right one in.

Nut tools are easily dropped, so it’s worth attaching a short loop of thin cord to it. This can be clipped to the rope or gear while you use the tool.

Climbing Ropes Single Ropes Most beginners start with a single rope. They are thick, durable and easy to belay with. Single ropes are marked with a symbol at the end of the rope. A 60m length with a diameter of between 9.4 – 10.2mm will suit most beginners and last well into your climbing career. Uses: - Gym climbing - Sport climbing - Top-roping - Uncomplicated trad

Static Ropes Static ropes have very little stretch, so they cannot absorb the force of a fall like other ropes. They are mainly used as a 'fixed' rope to ascend or descend. VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Equipment

They are usually marked with a EN1891 code. Never lead climb on a static rope!

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Half Ropes Many trad climbers use half ropes (also known as double ropes) instead of a single rope to help reduce rope drag on wandering routes. They also double the length of the abseil you can make – essential for epic retreats! Safety is increased on complicated terrain where there are sharp edges that risk cutting the rope. If one rope is cut, you still have the other to catch you. Half ropes need to be used as a pair – climbing with just one isn't safe. Half ropes are marked by a symbol. 60m ropes will be great for most trad routes. When buying half ropes, make sure the colours are very different. Ideally, you will be able to tell them apart in the dark. Uses: - Trad climbing - Alpine climbing

Twin Ropes Twin ropes are designed to be clipped together into the same carabiners as you climb. They are marked with a symbol. It's important not to get these confused with half ropes. Twin ropes cannot be clipped to gear individually. Uses: - Ice and mixed climbing

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Things To Consider when Buying a Climbing Rope Diameter Climbing ropes come in many different diameters. Basically, thinner ropes are lighter, whereas thicker ropes are more durable. Be aware that the diameter of your rope may affect which belay devices you can use with it. Some devices are not compatible with very thin or very thick ropes. Single rated ropes can be as thin as 8.5mm, making them great for alpine routes. .Skinny ropes are safe – they pass the UIAA lab tests. But at the crag, they are more susceptible to abrasion on rough rock or being cut over a sharp edge. For high-use situations (e.g: big walling, top-roping or working a sport route) a thicker, more durable rope is much better. Your rope is your most critical piece of gear – it’s better to carry a bit more weight than to skimp on safety.

Middle Markers Most ropes have some kind of mark on their sheath to identify the middle. This is useful in many situations such as gauging how much rope a leader has left, or when setting up an abseil where you need the rope to be perfectly centred at the anchor. Some ropes even have a different colour or pattern on each half to identify the middle. Remember that if you shorten your rope (such as to remove a frayed end), the middle marker will no longer be correct.

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Number of Falls Every climbing rope is rated for a certain number of falls. This is the number of falls using a specific UIAA test which indicates how many falls a rope can take before it breaks. Every UIAA certified rope is tested far more severely than you are likely to experience when climbing, so you don’t need to retire your rope just because it’s rated to six falls and you’ve taken seven. In real climbing situations, a rope will withstand hundreds of falls. They don’t fail unless they run over a sharp edge of rock, which cuts it, or if they have been stored amongst sharp objects or acidic chemicals such as bleach or leaking batteries. They do, however, wear out over time, especially if you take a lot of falls, so make sure to inspect your rope regularly (see page 25).

Maximum Impact Force Ropes stretch to absorb energy. The more energy a rope can absorb, the lower the force on your protection. This isn’t much of a concern for sport climbing, where protection is always bomber bolts. However, for trad climbing, a rope with a low impact force will generate less force on your gear, making it more likely to hold the fall. Lower impact forces are better. After a big fall, let your rope ‘rest’ for five minutes to recover its elasticity. If you get straight back on the rock and then fall immediately, the impact forces will be much higher.

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Dry Treatment Some climbing ropes are made with a special treatment which helps to prevent water being absorbed into them. Untreated ropes can soak up more than their own weight in water during a storm, which dramatically increases the impact force in a fall.

The treatment also helps to stop dirt and sand getting into the rope's fibres, which means the rope will run across the rock and through carabiners with less friction than if it was untreated. It's worth the extra cost for a dry treated rope if you plan on climbing in wet or snowy environments.

Other Trad Equipment Helmet A climbing helmet is the first thing you should buy when you start trad climbing. They protect your head from things falling on you (rocks, equipment, etc..) and also from your head hitting the rock if you fall. Climbing helmets are generally not worn in the gym or on steep sport routes. The main reason is that sport crags tend to be overhanging, making both the leader and belayer safely sheltered from rockfall. Although it’s possible to injure your head in a leader fall, this rarely happens on overhanging rock because the leader will fall into ‘space'. In any other situation, it is worth wearing a helmet when climbing or belaying. Rocks can fall and gear can be dropped. If you knock your belayer unconscious, they won't be able to belay you! There are two main types of helmet – rigid shell and foam. Rigid shell helmets are made of hard plastic, with an inner cradle of foam or webbing so the plastic sits away from your head. They are more durable than the foam ttttttttttt VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Equipment

Rigid Shell

Foam Shell

type but generally do not protect from side impact (you falling off) as well. They also tend to be cheaper than foam helmets The foam shell type closely resemble a bike helmet (don't use your bike helmet – they're designed for different impacts). They tend to be ooooooooo 21

lighter than the rigid shell, but are less durable. The most important factor when buying a helmet is getting one that fits your head snugly – it shouldn't move when you tip your head. A sloppy fit reduces the helmet’s

ability to protect your head. Your helmet should adjust to accommodate a hat, and a ponytail if you have long hair. Also, make sure the headlamp attachments are compatible with your headlamp.

Shoes For beginners, the right climbing shoe is one that fits your foot and your wallet the best. Look for discounts, and get a general use shoe. A beginner with sloppy foot technique will wear out this first pair of shoes fast. For your second pair of shoes, it largely depends on what type of climbing you will be doing. For slabs, a shoe with a soft sole and a low-cut upper works well. For steep routes, you’ll be better with a tightfitting shoe that has a pointy toe, good lateral support and a very low-cut upper for ankle flexibility. Different brands favour a wider or narrower foot, so make sure to try tttttttttttttttt

them on before you buy. Only shop online if you’re certain which type and size you need. Whichever shoes you get, your foot should not rotate, nor should your toes be painfully crushed up in the toe-box. A good fitting shoe is more important than one designed for the style of climbing you want to do.

Chalk An excessively chalked route can be an eyesore. It also reveals all the key holds, making the route much less exploratory for the next climbers. Rain usually cleans away chalk marks from exposed rock. Overhanging routes tend to stay sheltered and so the chalk remains through all but the windiest storms. In some areas, you must use specific rock-coloured chalk. Consider your impact on the environment before you ‘chalk up’. VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Equipment

Using 5mm cord to tie your chalk bag around your waist means you will always have a spare prusik cord. 22

Harness You can use any climbing harness to trad climb, but you'll benefit from having a comfortable harness with at least 5 gear loops.

Belay Device The best belay device for trad climbing is an ATC with a guide mode function. Getting one without guide mode limits your options for belaying and rescue situations.

Prusik Cord A prusik cord (see page 182) is used to make abseiling safer and more controlled. Keep it on the back of your harness as you climb.

Quickdraws Having two or three different lengths of quickdraw is useful for extending gear effectively. Most trad climbers carry extendable quickdraws (see page 61) in addition to regular draws. These can be used either as a short draw or fully extended, meaning it's quick and easy to extend your gear without carrying extra slings.

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Cordelette A common way to equalize gear at the belay is to use either a cordelette or a long (240cm) sling. This is explained in detail in the Anchors chapter.

Gear Slings and Bandoliers Trad gear is commonly racked on your harness, but can also be racked on a gear sling or bandolier. This has the advantage of distributing weight to your shoulders (rather than having it all on your hips) and means that gear is more spread out so it’s easier to find. It is also quicker to pass gear between climbers on a multipitch. The disadvantages are that all your gear swings forward on slabs, making footholds difficult to find, and ooooooo

you could potentially lose your whole rack if you fall upside down.

Rope Bags and Tarps Rope bags or tarps provide a clean space for your rope if there is dust or mud at the base of a climb. They are very convenient for single pitch trad climbing if you frequently move between routes. You never need to coil your rope – simply stack it into the tarp and roll it up. Then unroll it at the base of the next route and you’re ready to go.

You can buy a specifically designed rope bag, but a heavy-duty IKEA bag works just fine too.

Looking After Your Gear It’s important to inspect your climbing gear frequently and replace anything which shows significant signs of wear. Frayed or faded slings, or any metal yyyyyyyyy VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Equipment

gear which has been dropped off a cliff should be replaced. Nylon gear (ropes, slings and harnesses) degrades over time and should be replaced every five yyyyyyyyy 24

years, even if you’ve barely used it. UV radiation from direct sunlight will speed this time up. Exposure to battery acid or acid fumes will significantly reduce the strength of nylon. Keep your rope out of the dirt. Grains of rock and sand can cut tiny fibres oooooooooooooo

inside it. Wash your rope occasionally in lukewarm water and allow it to dry in the shade. Store your climbing gear in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight. If any gear gets wet, let it dry completely before you store it away.

Cleaning Cams Keep your cams clean and free of dirt. A cam which is clogged up with dirt, sand or grit or which springs back slowly is less likely to hold in a fall. Clean your cams with lukewarm water and an old toothbrush. Once dry, add some cam-lubricant and work it into pppppp

the moving parts, making sure not to get any on the nylon sling. Wipe away the excess lubricant. Retire a cam if its axle or lobes are deformed. This tends to happen sooner with smaller cams.

How To Inspect Your Climbing Rope You should check your rope for damage frequently. Starting at one end, feed the rope through your hands, looking and feeling for non-uniform sections. Look out for: - Cuts - Burns - Flat or soft spots - Sheath bunching up over the core

A slightly fuzzy sheath isn’t a problem. However, severe fuzzing may make a rope unsafe. As a general rule, if you can see a rope’s inner core, the sheath has worn too thin and it should be retired. Make a nice rug out of it, or use it as a washing line.

Buying Used Gear You'll probably begin climbing using other people's gear but at some point you’ll have to invest in your own. Be prepared though – climbing gear is expensive. Pieces of equipment which your life depends on (e.g: ropes, harness, nnnnnnnnnnn

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carabiners), should be bought new. You can save money on other gear (e.g: shoes, chalk bags) by getting it used. With your own gear, you will know the history of it and therefore know its reliability.

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Protecting the Climb

Climb: Callum Coldwell-Storry on The Isle of Pabbay, Scotland. Photographer: Will Nicholls.

Cams Cams are reliable and versatile pieces of trad protection that are designed to be placed in parallel sided cracks, where nuts won't work. A cam has three or four lobes mounted on an axle. Each lobe is shaped according to a mathematical logarithmic spiral, so the angle between the lobes and the rock is always the same, no matter how retracted the cam lobes are. This means that the cam will work at any point of it's size range (more on this later). When a cam is weighted, the lobes are forced apart, converting the downwards force into a huge amount of outwards pressure on the sides of the crack. It is this outwards pressure which holds the cam in position. When you place a cam, the springs cause the lobes to press out on the sides of the crack, creating just enough friction to keep it in position. Because cams rely on this friction, make sure to only place them in clean, dry cracks. Mud, dust, water or ice reduces the friction and can cause the cam to slide out during a fall.

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A Good Cam Placement - All lobes retracted evenly - Cam is in the middle section of its range of movement - Fits completely inside the crack without being too far back - Each lobe makes contact with a smooth, straight-sided part of the crack - Stem points in the direction of loading, usually down and slightly out from the rock - Rock is clean, dry and solid

Placing Cams – The Basics Step 1 Pull the trigger to retract the cam lobes and slot it into the crack.

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Step 2 Release the trigger to allow the lobes to open up and make contact with the sides of the crack. If the lobes open up all the way, try a bigger size.

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Placing Cams – Size Correct Size This is the ideal cam size for the crack it is in. The strongest and optimal placement is within the middle section of the cam’s range of movement. You should aim to place every cam like this.

Too Big This is 'over-cammed' and will be very difficult to remove. Use a smaller cam if possible.

Too Small This 'tipped out' cam is very unlikely to hold a fall. During a fall, cam lobes often slip down the crack very slightly before being pressed outwards. In this case, at least one of the lobes is likely to open to its maximum range, causing the cam to slip out of the crack. Use a bigger cam.

Placing Cams – Constrictions If possible, set a cam above and below a constriction. This traps the cam in place and prevents it from walking. Placements like this are very stable. Avoid placing cam lobes on tiny bumps or crystals which may disintegrate under load. This could cause the unit to pull out.

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Placing Cams – Depth You'll need to position cams far enough into the crack to accommodate for the slight slippage that can occur when the cam is loaded. In very slippery rock, a cam may slide out completely when weighted due to the lack of friction. Try a cam in both orientations to see which way fits better. It’s usually better if the outer lobes are on the main wall, so they are further from the edge. In shallow placements, it’s vital that the outer lobes go on the widest area of the rock.

Placing Cams – Horizontal Cracks Cams can be placed in horizontal or diagonal cracks. In these types of cracks, placing your cam with the outer lobes on the bottom makes the placement more stable.

Flexible stemmed cams will bend around the edge of the rock and maintain their strength. Old-style rigid stemmed cams will lever over the edge, causing damage to the stem.

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Placing Cams – Flared Cracks A flared crack is one which becomes narrower or wider at one side.

Cracks can be flared in any direction.

Upward Flares The placement in this slightly upwardflaring crack is very good. If the cam slips down slightly during a fall, it will remain securely in the crack. However, when a cam is placed in an extremely upward-flaring crack, as shown below, it could easily walk upwards. This means it will either wiggle out of position or be impossible to retrieve. This is caused by movements in the rope as you climb above. You can reduce the chance of tttttttttttttt

Downward Flares The downwards flare of this crack is too great for the cam to hold. In the event of a fall, the lobes will continue opening until they reach their maximum, at which point the cam will fffffffffff

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this by extending the cam with a sling or quickdraw. An alternative would be to use a nut or a hex instead.

fall out of the crack. Cams can hold in very slightly downward-flaring cracks, but it is best to look for parallel-sided or slightly upward-flaring cracks.

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Offset Cams in Flared Cracks Offset cams have two lobes which are a size smaller than the other two. They are excellent for protecting flared cracks and piton scars which are commonly found at granite crags. In a flared crack, place an offset with the smaller lobes further in and the bigger lobes further out so that all lobes are retracted fairly evenly. Regular cams can be orientated both ways to see which fits better. Unfortunately, due to the asymmetry of their design, this isn’t possible with offsets.

You don’t need offset cams. But if you frequently climb at venues with flared cracks, a set of offsets will provide protection where nothing else will.

Placing Cams – Passive Protection Certain types of cam can be used passively (like a nut). However in most situations, nuts wedge into place better. So unless you've just dropped them all, it’s probably better to place a nut instead. Not all cams are rated for this type of placement – check the manufacturer’s instructions before you place your cams passively.

Types of Cams There are too many designs of cam to list here. Different brands tend to be better suited to different rock types (e.g: Metolius Fat Cams are great for soft sandstone, whereas Black Diamond C4’s are more suited to granite).

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When you go to buy cams, ask the shop assistant which style is best for the rock type in your local area. If you plan to climb on many rock types and in many different locations, any new, flexible-stem design will be good enough to get you started.

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Removing Cams To remove a cam, simply pull the trigger and slide it out. Sometimes you may need to wiggle it around constrictions in the rock. If a cam is stuck, focus on freeing up the lobes which won’t move. Prize them loose tttttttttttttttt

with your nut tool. Once all the lobes can move, it’ll be easier to wiggle it out. If your cam trigger is unreachable, use the hook on the end of your nut tool to pull it.

Racking Cams An efficient way of racking cams is to put them in size order on your harness with their own separate colour-coded carabiners. If you have small cams on a front gear loop and bigger cams further back, they'll be less annoying as you climb.

Cams Vs Nuts Nuts are much lighter and cheaper so it’s easy to carry a lot of them. Cams are quicker to place – great if you’re getting pumped and need to place ggggggggg VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Protecting

gear quickly. There are usually more options for placing cams than nuts, so it’s better to place nuts when you can and save the cams for later. 34

Nuts Nuts are an essential for every trad climber. They are made of a flexible wire which is threaded through a hard 'nut' of metal. They are cheap, light and durable. Nuts exert very little outwards force on the rock, unlike cams. Most of the force is transferred in the direction it is being pulled (in bbbbbbbb

most cases, down and slightly outwards from the rock). It's for this reason that they should be placed in tapered cracks and constrictions, where the crack becomes smaller further down. When weighted (if you fall), the nut becomes wedged further into the crack.

A Good Nut Placement Fits completely inside crack without being too far back

Tapered constriction

Good rock quality; clean, dry and solid

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High surface contact with rock

Too big to pull through bottom of placement

Cable orientated in direction of loading

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Placing Nuts – The Basics Step 1 When you spot a suitable constriction, grab your rack of nuts and try a few that are most likely to fit. Assess the taper and curve of the crack and the quality of the rock.

Step 2 Once you've found the best fit, give it a gentle downwards tug to seat it in place. This will stop the rope’s movements from lifting it out when you climb past.

Step 3 Remove the nut from the racking carabiner, extend it with a quickdraw or sling and then clip it to your rope.

Placing Nuts – Orientation Nuts are generally non-symmetrical, being wider at one side and also curved. This means they can be placed in four possible orientations. If your nut isn’t quite perfect, try placing it in a different orientation.

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Placing Nuts – Constrictions * Nuts are most reliable in tapered constrictions that they fit neatly into. * They could fall out of very flared constrictions due to insufficient surface contact. * Nuts in parallel-sided cracks will not work.

Placing Nuts – Surface Contact You should select the size and orientation of nut which has as much surface contact with the rock as possible. More surface contact means more grip. A nut with more grip is more likely to stay exactly where you placed it as you climb above.

Placing Nuts – Depth Place nuts fully inside the crack, but not so far that you can't see them.

Top View

Remember that your partner must be able to reach with their nut tool to remove them.

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Placing Nuts – Horizontal Slots Nuts can also be placed in horizontal constrictions as shown.

Side View

Front View

Slot nut in here and slide across

Placing Nuts – Diagonal Cracks Nuts work best in vertical constrictions, but they can also be placed in diagonal cracks. Nuts are generally less reliable in diagonal cracks because they are not pulled directly into the constriction when weighted. Pay attention to which way the nut would be pulled in the event of a fall. If it could be pulled out, try a better placement.

Placing Nuts – Threads Nuts can also be used as a thread. This works best with large nuts. Poke the wire loop through the hole, then clip a quickdraw to it. However, holes like this usually suggest poor rock quality. Slings are softer on the rock than nuts so try using a sling as a thread in this situation, or look for something else more solid.

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Placing Nuts – Opposition Nuts can oppose each other to create a multidirectional piece. Modern gear has almost completely removed the nnnnnnnnnnn

need for this old-school technique, but it could help you out if no other gear exists.

Step 1 Place two opposing nuts so the carabiners are close together but not overlapping.

Step 2 Clip a sling into one of the carabiners and pass both strands of the sling through the other carabiner.

Step 3 Pass the end of the sling through the two strands and also through the carabiner as shown.

Step 4 Cinch the knot tight to create tension between the nuts. Then clip the sling to the rope.

Removing Nuts To be removed from a crack, a nut will need to reverse the way it went in. Often, a little wiggle will unseat the nut, enabling it to be pushed up and out. If this doesn't work, tap it from below with your nut tool. If that doesn't work either, hold your nut tool under the nut and hit it with a big hex. As a last resort, yank upwards on the attached quickdraw or sling to dislodge it. Be careful though, this damages the cable over time.

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Racking Nuts Oval carabiners are good for racking nuts – the large bottom radius helps to stop the wires tangling together. Nuts prefer to be organized by size and racked in groups of 4-7 per carabiner. It's common to have 10-15 nuts split onto 2-3 carabiners so you can have a separate rack of small, medium and large nuts. Cramming all your nuts onto one carabiner makes it hard to find the one you want, and if you drop this carabiner, you'll have no nuts. It's better to rack your nuts on a carabiner with a strong gate-spring. A weak gate-spring can be pressed open easily, meaning that you will 'rain nuts' on your belayer.

Hexes Hexes are an old type of climbing protection that are seldom seen on climber's racks since the introduction of cams. The main advantage of hexes is they will work in dirty, wet or icy cracks where cams are likely to slide out. They are also lighter than the equivalent sized cam. This is especially noticeable in the bigger sizes. They cost a lot less too. Hexes can be used passively in exactly the same way as nuts; by being wedged into constrictions and tapered cracks. Hexes can also be placed in 'active mode', so that they cam into the crack. When a hex is placed as shown, and pulled downwards, it tries to rotate (green arrows). This rotation applies increasing pressure outwards onto the ggggggggggggggg VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Protecting

side walls of the crack (white arrows), which locks it in position. 40

A Good Hex Placement

High surface contact with rock

Locks into position when weighted

Crack is smaller further down

Fits completely inside crack without being too far back

Too big to pull through bottom of placement

Sling orientated in direction of loading

Good rock quality; clean, dry and solid

Placing Hexes – Passive Mode Look for constrictions and treat them just like a large nut. They can be placed sideways or straight in. As with nuts, give hexes a gentle tug to seat them in position, then extend them with a quickdraw.

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Placing Hexes – Active Mode When using hexes in active mode, it's much better to place them in constrictions; they are fairly unreliable in perfectly parallel-sided cracks. (Cams are much better than hexes in parallel cracks). However, because of the hexes' camming action, the constriction doesn't need to be as sharp as it would be for a nut placement.

5 cm

5 cm

4.5 cm

5 cm

What you’re looking for is a crack that you can just fit the hex into. Place the hex so that it has opposite sides making contact with either side of the crack, with the sling coming out diagonally from the bottom.

Top View

The important factor to take into consideration is what orientation to use. Try placing it with different sides touching the crack. Place it in the way that fits the tightest, and which 'cams' into position the most when the sling is weighted.

Placing Hexes – Horizontal Cracks Hexes can be used in horizontal cracks in the same way as vertical cracks. It's often better to have the sling coming out of the top, so it doesn't rub over the edge of the crack.

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Removing Hexes Hexes can be removed in the same way as a nut in most cases. If a hex has rotated into place tightly, you'll have to reverse the way it rotated in order to retrieve it. Don't be afraid to hit them hard with your nut tool; they're very durable.

Racking Hexes Most of the time, you'll only be carrying one or two hexes. In which case, you can either put them on the same carabiner with your big nuts (for small hexes), or clip them further back on your harness on their own separate carabiner (for bigger hexes). If you must carry a full rack of hexes, they can be racked in groups of 2-4 per carabiner.

Top Tip If your big hexes are jangling around, slide the hex to the middle of its sling and clip both ends together. This way, the hex only hangs down half the distance.

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Tricams Tricams work in a similar way to hexes; they can be placed in passive mode like a nut, and also in active mode. When a tricam is weighted in active mode, the downwards force is transferred outwards to the sides of the crack (white arrows), just the same as a cam. The head rotates (green arrows) and pushes the fulcrum into the rock while the rails do the same against the other side of the crack. Tricams are not as reliable as cams in parallel-sided, vertical cracks, since the fulcrum needs a small dimple or constriction to rest on. Because the fulcrum of a tricam is a sharp point, it bites into soft, wet or icy rock when weighted, making it much better than a cam in these conditions.

Fulcrum Point Stingers

Cam Shoulders

Sling Retaining Pin

Cam Rails

Clip-in Point

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A Good Tricam Placement

Fulcrum rests on a constriction inside crack

Fits completely inside crack without being too far back

Locks into position when weighted Sling orientated in direction of loading Good rock quality; clean, dry and solid

Placing Tricams – Passive Mode Tricams can be placed in constrictions just the same as a nut. Because they are generally more tapered than a nut, they will fit better in sharper angled slots. Place them in exactly the same way as you would place nuts. Look for a sharp constriction which gives as much tricam-to-rock surface contact as possible.

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Tricams tend not to wedge in place as well as nuts when used in passive mode. This can cause them to wobble out of position as you climb above.

To help prevent this, set them in place with a hard tug just like you would with a nut. Then extend the placement with a quickdraw or sling instead of using just a single carabiner.

Placing Tricams – Active Mode Tricams work beautifully in horizontal cracks or small pockets where cams are too wide to fit properly and nuts would simply slide out when weighted. They can also be used in diagonal or vertical cracks that have dimples or constrictions inside. To place a tricam in active mode, flip the head over so that the sling is running through the cam rails. Set the fulcrum in a slight dimple or constriction on one side of the crack. Then set the rails against the opposite …….

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wall of the crack. Give it a sharp tug to seat it in position. When you pull on the sling, the tricam will rotate and push the fulcrum into the rock while the rails do the same against the other side of the crack. This is the camming, or active, action of a tricam. Be careful though, if there's nothing for the fulcrum to rest on or bite into, it'll probably fall out when you climb past.

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Placing Tricams – Horizontal Cracks In horizontal cracks, you can place the tricam so the sling comes out from either the top or bottom. However, you will reduce abrasion on the sling by setting it with the sling on top.

Removing Tricams Think about how the tricam went in. If it’s in an obvious constriction, shuffle it towards the wider spot to pull it out, just like you would with a nut. You may need to disengage the camming action so it will fit through. Do this by rotating the tricam in the opposite way that you would to seat it. You can use a nut tool for this. Hook the fulcrum with your nut tool, then use the sling to wiggle the tricam out of the crack.

Try not to tug on the sling; that can seat the tricam further into the rock, making it even harder to remove.

Racking Tricams If you take any tricams on a route, you’ll probably only have one or two. Just clip them on with your large nuts. If you take more, you can rack them in groups of 2-4. VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Protecting

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Big Bros Big Bros are expandable tubes which protect wide cracks. They are lighter and more compact than large cams but are harder to place, cannot be shuffled up the crack and do not work as well in flares.

Once expanded into the crack, one side of the big bro will be higher up than the other. When the higher side is weighted (i.e: if the climber falls), the unit becomes wedged into position.

Placing Big Bros Step 1 Find a flat spot in a parallel sided crack. Place the inner tube against the wall.

Step 2 Press the trigger button and let the tube expand slowly to fill the crack (it can damage the big bro if you push the button and let the tube slam into the rock). The inner tube should contact the rock at a lower point than the outer tube. Wiggle the tube around a little to get the best fit.

Step 3 Spin the locking collar to the end of its range and tighten it. This sets the big bro in position. To get the best fit, wiggle the tube slightly as you fasten it.

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Removing Big Bros Spin the collar to the end of the tube and compress the big bro until the trigger pops back into to place.

Racking Big Bros Big bros should be compressed and racked on their own separate carabiner.

Ball Nuts Ball nuts are a seldom used type of climbing gear which offer protection in thin cracks, filling the void where even the smallest cams are too big to fit. Armed with a set of ball nuts, you can protect tiny cracks that you’d otherwise have to leave unprotected. If you often climb in venues that feature very small cracks or pin scars, you will benefit by adding a set of ball nuts and the skills to place them to your arsenal. Ball nuts are comprised of two halves: one half is a paddle and the other is a flat ball which tracks up and down a central groove on the paddle when the trigger is pulled or released. When weighted, the paddle is pulled down while the ball remains stuck in position on the rock. VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Protecting

As the paddle moves down, it slides over the ball, therefore expanding the whole unit and causing it to lock into the crack. The key to using ball nuts is understanding the physics which cause them to lock into the crack: - Ball travel - Surface texture - Topology - Rock hardness 49

Ball Nut Physics Ball Travel When you pull the trigger, the ball travels along the paddle’s central groove. On most units, the ball can travel beyond the paddle at either end. During a fall, the ball stays still and the paddle is pulled down a tiny amount. Essentially, the ball ‘travels’ relative to the paddle. This cinches the whole unit tight into the crack.

6mm

There will be some amount of ball travel in every fall, but the exact amount depends on the rock type and the placement (see below).

12mm

The key to using ball nuts is anticipating and accommodating for the distance the ball will travel. In a typical placement, the ball nut should be placed so the ball starts about 25% of the way up the paddle. When it cinches up in a fall, the ball moves to around 50-70% up the paddle. If the ball starts at the very bottom of the paddle (so the ball nut is at its narrowest setting), it may be difficult to remove. If the ball starts close to the top of the paddle, there is a good chance that the ball will ride over the top end of the paddle, therefore causing the piece to fail.

Surface Texture In completely slick or icy rock, the ball will struggle to grip the side of the crack as the paddle is pulled down. This means the ball nut will slip right out. A slightly rougher surface is much bbbbbbbb

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0%

25%

60%

100%

better. Be aware of tiny crystals or grains of rock which may crunch into dust under the force of a fall. This could cause the unit to expand beyond its limit and fail.

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Topology In addition to getting the ball in an appropriate spot on the paddle, you’ll need to find the best spot for the ball to ‘stick’ in the crack. Remember that the paddle moves under load, not the ball. If the ball moves too, the whole piece will probably pull out. Look for more texture, a tiny protrusion or constriction for the ball to rest on. In perfectly parallel sided cracks, a micro cam would be a much better choice, if it will fit. In very tapering constrictions, a micro nut will be a better choice. This is because ball nuts are more sensitive to rotating upward/outward with movements in your rope as you climb above.

Rock Hardness Harder rock (such as granite) is much better suited for ball nuts. When weighted in very soft, loose or expanding rock, the ball is likely to bbbbbbb

travel the full length of the paddle and slip off the end. This is especially true in the smaller sizes.

Placing Ball Nuts Step 1 When you find a suitable placement, grab your rack of ball nuts and try a few that are most likely to fit. Assess the texture and taper of the crack and the quality of the rock.

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Step 2 Retract the trigger so the ball slides down to the bottom of the paddle slot. Place it in the crack and release the trigger. Closely inspect the placement to take advantage of every subtle feature. 51

Step 3 Tug downwards (in the direction of loading) on the ball nut to seat it into position. The ball should now be around 25% of the way up the paddle. Make a final assessment to check there is no possibility of it cinching up so much that the ball rides over the end of the paddle.

Step 4 Extend the ball nut with a quickdraw or sling. Think carefully about where your rope will pull on the piece as you climb above. Ball nuts should stay exactly where you placed them. Rotation can make them blow.

25%

Removing Ball Nuts To remove a ball nut, you have to reverse the cinching action. For many placements, this can be done by retracting the trigger, just the same as a cam. If this doesn’t work, the strategy is to get the paddle to slide into the crack further while the ball stays where it is. You can assist this by hooking a nut tool over the ball (if there’s space for bbbbbbbb

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it) while you pull the trigger and push the whole unit in. The ball is made of a softer metal than the paddle. Under high forces (such as in a fall), the ball deforms slightly. This helps it to stay in position and stick in the crack. To remove stubborn ball nuts like this, you can free up the ball by rotating or tapping the paddle in with your nut tool.

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Racking Ball Nuts If you take any ball nuts on a route, you’ll probably only have one or two. Just add them to your small nut rack. If you take more, rack them in groups of 3-5 per carabiner.

Slings Slings are strongly-sewn loops of nylon or dyneema webbing. They're available in a range of lengths – your typical trad rack will have 60cm, 120cm and maybe a 240cm length sling on it, but bigger and smaller ones are also available. The length is given as the end to end distance, so the actual length of fabric will be double this.

Slings are incredibly versatile, light, strong and cheap. You'll find them useful on almost every trad route. The most common uses of slings are to extend or equalize gear, either on lead or at the belay (more on this later), but they can also be used as protection by themselves.

A Good Sling Placement - Sling is very unlikely to lift off when you climb above - Fits completely around the feature - Sling touches smooth rock; no sharp edges

60°

- The tree is well rooted, or the rock feature is solid and firmly attached to the main wall - V-angle is less than 60 degrees

Joining Slings Together If you don't have one sling long enough to fit around a tree, you can join two together. Do this by using a strop bend – this is similar to a girth hitch. Remember that tying any knot in ccccccccccccc VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Protecting

a sling, including a strop bend or an overhand knot, reduces the strength of the sling by up to 50%. 53

Placing Slings – The Basics The most common features to 'sling' are blocks and flakes. Simply put the sling over the feature and clip it to the rope with a carabiner. If your sling is big enough, you can tie it as a clovehitch around the feature. This reduces the chance of it being lifted off as you climb. After placing the sling, give it a gentle pull in the direction of loading and wiggle it around to simulate how it may be pulled in a fall or by movements in your rope as you climb above.

Placing Slings – Blocks and Flakes A sling around a large block or flake can be a great piece of gear – if it’s solid. Inspect the rock and ask yourself how the feature is attached. Sling flakes as low down as you can to reduce leverage and be careful of fracture lines which indicate the feature is detached. Slings can lift off once you climb above, especially if it's windy or if your rope is pulling on it. To help prevent this, you can wedge them in place with another piece of gear as shown. Alternatively, weight the sling down by hanging something heavy from it, such as a large hex.

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Placing Slings – Trees You can use slings as protection around trees. This is more commonly done at the belay, though many 'classic' British routes have mid-pitch trees. Simply pass one end of the sling around the tree and clip both ends together with a carabiner. There will be less force on the tree if you attach your sling around the base of the trunk. This is especially important with weak or small trees. Although not ideal, you can girth hitch trees as shown below.

Make sure to adjust the girth hitch so it doesn’t bend across the sling, as this puts more force on it.

If you have a longer sling, it is much better to tie it off with an overhand knot. This is stronger and more redundant than a girth hitch.

Placing Slings – Boulders It is common to sling boulders as part of a belay. When choosing a boulder, consider the: - Size - Shape of its base - Shape of the socket it rests in or the angle of slope it is on - Ratio of its height to width VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Protecting

The most stable boulders are large, wide, flat-bottomed and are wedged in place by the ground they sit on. If a boulder rests on debris, is on a sloping ledge, or has a rounded base, it may not be stable.

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Placing Slings – Chockstones A chockstone is a rock which has become wedged in a crack. They are more commonly found in wider cracks and chimneys and can provide great protection where nothing else exists. Assess how the chockstone is wedged in place and be careful of large ones which could roll out onto you. Sling chockstones with a girth hitch on one side. If you sling the middle, the force of a fall could lever it out of the crack.

Placing Slings – Threads Slings can be threaded through a hole or behind a feature. Simply poke the sling through the hole, pull it until both ends are even, then clip a quickdraw or carabiner to it.

Placing Slings – The V-Angle When placing a sling around a tree or rock feature, it's important to keep the V-angle less than 60 degrees. A greater V-angle could cause your carabiner to cross-load in a fall.

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150°

60°

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Racking Slings Short Slings 60cm slings are best racked either as extendable quickdraws (see page 61) or fit neatly over one shoulder.

Long Slings 120cm slings can also be worn over the shoulder, with a carabiner clipping the two ends together.

You can pull one off whenever you need it, but don't wear too many or they'll tangle together.

Instead of pulling them off over your head, simply unclip the carabiner and pull.

Twist Either length can also be twisted and racked onto your harness with a carabiner. For a 60cm sling, hold it on one finger of each hand and twist one end round a few times. Fold the sling in half and clip a carabiner through the two ends to rack it. The same can be done with a longer sling, just double it up first for a 120cm, or double it twice for a 240cm.

Top Tip The velcro on rock shoes quickly kills dyneema slings, so try not to bundle them all into your bag in one big messy heap!

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Nylon or Dyneema Slings? Nylon Slings Usually around 16-20mm wide, nylon slings are much bulkier (and more durable) than lightweight 6-14mm Dyneema slings. This makes them the best choice for situations such as extending a belay device, replacing anchor webbing or attaching yourself to an anchor before abseiling. Nylon webbing is cheap and easy to buy in bulk. It holds knots better and doesn’t melt as quickly as Dyneema.

Nylon will also stretch to help absorb forces, thereby dynamically absorbing the energy of a falling climber.

Dyneema Slings Dyneema (also known as Spectra or Dynex) is incredibly strong for its weight and is more abrasion and cutresistant than nylon. Dyneema slings are usually white with a coloured thread running through them – this is a nylon filler that helps to hold the sling together. Dyneema folds up very small so racking them is easy, especially 60cm slings racked as extendable quickdraws. Due to their thin diameter, they can be threaded through small gaps where nylon slings are too fat to ffffffffffff

fit, and are great for tying-off pitons. Dyneema doesn't absorb much water, making them a smarter choice for winter climbing where your nylon slings will freeze stiff.

Drawbacks of Dyneema If Dyneema is the same strength as nylon, but much lighter, smaller and more abrasion and water resistant, why would you ever get nylon slings? Before you throw out your nylon slings, vvvvvvvvvv VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Protecting

consider the drawbacks of Dyneema: - Dynamic absorption - Durability - Cost - Melting point - Slickness

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Dynamic Absorption Dyneema only stretches three to five percent, so there will be minimal dynamic absorption of falls through the sling – it's all reliant on your rope. If you fall without a rope in the system (e.g: when attached directly to an anchor with a sling), the resulting fall will be as abrupt as if you were attached by a length of steel cable.

Durability The repeated flexing of Dyneema degrades its fibers much quicker than nylon, especially when knots are tied in it. Dyneema quickdraws, slings and cam slings need to be replaced more frequently than the nylon equivalent.

Cost Dyneema is almost always more expensive than good old-fashioned nylon. Buying nylon helps you save money for more important things like climbing road trips.

Melting Point The lack of stretch means that energy is dissipated as heat rather than movement. As Dyneema has quite a low melting point compared to nylon, the heat generated can damage the material, causing it to fail.

Slickness Dyneema is much slicker than nylon. You can buy nylon cord and webbing off the spool in most climbing shops and tie it together to create your own cordelette, prusik or sling of the desired length. Dyneema webbing, however, is only available in finished, sewn products. One reason for this is because a knot tied with Dyneema webbing tends to pull through itself under load. The exception is Dyneema cord, which you can buy in raw lengths. Be careful though – the weakness in Dyneema cord is the knot you use to tie it together. It is recommended to use a triple fisherman’s bend with long tails. The most important part of this knot is how well you fasten it – make it neat, tie it very tight and check it before each use. The same knot can be used if you must cut and retie your sewn Dyneema slings, such as threading a sling around a feature to back up an abseil anchor. While a water knot is the preferred choice for tying nylon webbing together, the triple fisherman’s bend is better for thin Dyneema. Because Dyneema is so slick, water knots pull through themselves at a much lower force than the triple fisherman’s.

This effect is more apparent when knots are tied in the sling as the strands of Dyneema rub over themselves. Knots in thin slings are also incredibly hard to unfasten if heavily loaded.

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Nylon or Dyneema Slings – Static Falls Because of the poor dynamic absorption of Dyneema, it is not suitable for use in situations where the sling or daisy chain alone must hold the full force of a fall, or when there’s very little rope in the system. Falling on the First Piece of Gear When there is little rope in the system to soften a fall (such as falling on your first piece of gear), you can reduce the force on that piece (slightly) by using a nylon extender rather than Dyneema. As you climb higher and reduce the fall factor, it doesn’t really matter which material you use. Falling Directly on the Anchor If you fall when attached directly to an anchor with a Dyneema sling or cordelette, the resulting fall will put higher forces on the anchor than if you were attached with a nylon sling. Depending on the severity of the fall, this could cause internal injuries, break the sling or break your anchor. A much better alternative is to attach to the anchor with the rope. If this is not possible (such as when abseiling), make sure not to put yourself in a position where you could fall and shock-load the anchor, even if you are attached with a nylon sling.

Nylon or Dyneema Slings – Summary For most situations, you should focus on using the sling correctly, rather than worrying about what material you should use. There are no definite rules for when to use either material. Both are good when used in the right way, but neither are perfect. Having a immmmmmmiiiiiiiii VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Protecting

mixture of both on your rack keeps your options open. The key is understanding the advantages and limitations of each and using your knowledge to select the best type for the situation.

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Extendable Quickdraws Extendable quickdraws (or alpine draws) are usually made from a 60cm sling and two snapgate carabiners. They can be used either as a short draw or fully extended.

It's great to carry at least a few of these on trad routes instead of fixed length, shorter draws. You could also opt to only carry extendable draws, particularly for alpine routes.

How to Make Extendable Quickdraws Simply attach both carabiners to the sling, then pass one carabiner through the centre of the other one. Clip the extra two loops of the sling to the carabiner as shown. This can now be racked on your harness like any other quickdraw.

Top Tips * You should have a gear carabiner and a rope carabiner, just like you would with sport draws. The sharp edges of bolts or other fixed hardware can notch the gear carabiner. This can damage your rope if you swap them over. Using different coloured carabiners makes it easy to distinguish between them. * Thinner dyneema slings (6 or 8mm) fold up more neatly than thicker dyneema or nylon, which reduces bulk on your harness.

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How to Use Extendable Quickdraws Clip the draw to your gear, then slip two loops of the sling out of the rope-end carabiner. Pull it out to full extension, then clip the rope in.

Twisted Sling Sometimes, the sling can become twisted which results in it being looped around the gear carabiner. It's OK to use it like this if you're really pumped and need to make the clip quickly, but much better to sort it out if you can. If you fall while the sling is tangled like this, the strands of it will slide over each other, causing it to weaken, just the same as if it was knotted.

Warning: Elastics Many short draws have a loop of elastic at the rope end to hold the carabiner firmly in place. It's important NOT to use one of these elastics on an extendable quickdraw. If the draw is twisted in the wrong way it can end up with the sling attached only with the elastic. This is easily missed and would be disastrous if you fell on it!

Racking Extendable Quickdraws When following a pitch where the leader has used extendable draws, you can either re-make the draw as you go and rack it onto your harness, or simply sling the whole thing over yyyyyyyyyyy VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Protecting

your shoulder – much easier in a tricky position. Some people prefer to carry them on lead like this too, rather than racking them on their harness.

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Extending Gear Attaching a sling, quickdraw or extendable quickdraw to a piece of gear has advantages in certain situations. The disadvantages are fairly minor; you’ll have to carry extra aaaaaaaaaa

slings, it'll take a little extra time and it increases your fall potential slightly. Planning ahead is important. Visualize where you want your rope to run, and extend gear as necessary.

Wandering Routes When gear placements are not in a straight line, you'll have to extend them to avoid rope drag. You should aim to extend gear so that your rope runs as straight as possible without creating unnecessary fall potential. For this type of route, it can be worth using half ropes too (see page 70).

Gear Position Using extenders helps to keep your gear in the position that you placed it. If you don't extend gear appropriately, slings can lift off, nuts can be pulled out and cams can walk out of position. This happens because of movements in your rope as you climb above.

Deep Placements Sometimes, gear must be placed far inside a crack, or around a corner. You'll need to extend the piece to avoid rope drag. This is especially important if the edge of the rock is sharp.

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Cross-Loading In some situations, carabiners could be cross-loaded over an edge. This is most common in deep horizontal placements. A cross-loaded carabiner could be damaged or break during a fall.

The best solution is to loop a sling through the piece, then clip both ends of the sling to a carabiner. This is better bbbbbbbbbb

Warning! If you girth hitch a sling on the wire loop of a nut it is likely to damage or cut through the sling in a fall.

than girth hitching or having a crossloaded carabiner, but it reduces the strength of the sling by 50% or more.

Sharp Edges Extend gear to keep your rope away from sharp edges or loose rock.

Rope-Eating Cracks Cracks at the lip of a roof or overlap are notorious for eating ropes and halting the leader. Even with gear correctly extended beneath the roof, your rope may get stuck if the route continues up low-angled terrain. . Sometimes, a nut or hex placed at the lip of the crack can help your rope feed more smoothly, or a piece of gear to one side can guide the rope away fffffffffff VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Protecting

from the crack. Another option is to belay immediately after the roof if sufficient gear exists. 64

Fixed Gear You may encounter fixed gear on some trad routes. Fixed gear ranges in quality from new shiny bolts to ancient rusty pitons. You may also find gear which has been left or forgotten by a previous party. Remove it if you can and return the gear to the owner if possible. If you’re not certain about the quality of fixed protection, back it up with something much better. If you clip an old nut or cam, let your partner know the piece is fixed so they don’t waste their efforts trying to remove it. A piton in a horizontal crack is more likely to be better than one in a vertical crack, because it will cam into place rather than rotate out. This however depends on the type of piton, how old it is and how well it was placed to start with. In general, fixed pitons are poor tttttttttttttt

quality and should not be mistaken for bolts. If a piton isn’t fully driven (hammered in up to the eye), you can increase its strength by tying it off with a slip knot. This reduces leverage much more than clipping the eye directly.

Multidirectional Gear The first couple of pieces of gear in a pitch should be orientated to hold a downwards and an outwards pull. Because of the angle of the rope from the belayer to the leader, a fall could pluck gear out which only holds a downwards pull. Similarly, any lead protection placed where the rope changes direction should be able to hold a downwards and a sideways pull, otherwise it might be pulled out when the rope comes tight in a fall. Think about the direction you will be climbing and place multidirectional gear when appropriate. VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Protecting

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Cleaning Gear When following, rack gear on your harness as soon as you remove it. Don’t let it build up on the rope in front of you – it’ll get jammed on rock features as you climb. Organizing gear as you remove it will speed up the belay changeover on a multi-pitch.

Remove quickdraws from cams, twist slings away neatly and rack nuts on one carabiner if possible. If you remove a nut with a quickdraw, clip the nut-end to your harness so it doesn’t hang low and get stuck as you climb.

Rock Quality Trad protection is only as strong as the rock it is placed in. Placing gear behind loose flakes or blocks is very dangerous.

Not only is the gear unlikely to hold a fall, but it could dislodge loose rocks which might hit your belayer or cut your rope in a fall.

Rock Type Granite, limestone and sandstone are the most prevalent types of rock in climbing areas, though many other types exist. Each rock type has a different strength and probability to have loose features. Generally, soft rocks (such as some types of sandstone and slate) are likely to have brittle edges and loose features. Harder rocks (such as granite) lend themselves to more reliable protection. Even though granite is solid, you will often find loose blocks or bands of poor quality choss in random areas.

Limestone tends to be devoid of cracks and can be difficult to protect with trad gear. Some types of sandstone are coated with a hard patina of mineral-hardened rock. This makes the surface strong but masks an underlying soft layer. When a cam is heavily loaded, the lobes can punch through the patina into the softer layer, causing the unit to skate out of the crack. For this reason, it’s wise to place protection more frequently in soft rock.

Cams in Poor Rock Because of the large forces applied outwards on the sides of the crack, cams should always be placed in extremely solid rock. If you fall on a cam which is behind a loose flake, the cam lobes will press outwards and force the flake away from the main aaaaaaa VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Protecting

wall, meaning that your cam will be pulled out. If the rock seems a little suspect, try finding a constriction to place a nut instead, since nuts apply far less outwards force when weighted. 66

Testing Rock Quality Visual Test Look at the feature and figure out how it is attached to the main part of the wall. If it looks detached, don’t touch it. Some features have very thin fracture lines around them, which suggest poor rock quality. These fracture lines are sometimes covered in lichen or otherwise hard to see, so look carefully.

Tap Test If you are still uncertain about the quality of a rock feature, give it a gentle tap and listen to the noise it makes. Loose rock ‘echoes’ and sounds hollow. If you must climb through a small band of brittle flakes, determine which are the best holds and selectively distribute your weight between them. Pull down on holds, rather than out.

kN Ratings This is the kN rating. It's on all your gear: nuts, cams, slings and carabiners. kN stands for kilo Newton. 1kN is about 100kg (220lbs for the Americans). So this nut will hold around 900kg. This is Nelly. She weighs 850kg, so the 9kN nut would hold her weight – if she doesn’t move. But if Nelly climbed above the nut and then fell, she would put more force on the gear. This force would certainly exceed 900kg, causing the nut to break. Every fall exerts a force greater than body weight – often many times more than your actual weight. Your goal as a leader is to reduce the potential force on gear, therefore keeping the climb safe. The exact force generated depends on: - The distance fallen - The climber’s weight - The length of rope in the system - Friction through gear in the system - How dynamic the belay is - How dynamic the rope is

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Fall Factors The fall factor is the distance fallen divided by the length of rope in the system. The higher the fall factor, the more force is applied to protection. This is why a bigger fall puts more force on gear.

3m

7m

Fall Factor ≈ 0.3 Force ≈ 2 kN Fall Factor ≈ 0.7 Force ≈ 5 kN

If a climber falls 3 meters, when 10 meters up a pitch, the fall factor is 0.3. If a climber falls 7 meters, when 10 meters up a pitch, the fall factor is 0.7. Similarly, a fall taken close to the belay puts a much larger force on protection than the same length of fall taken higher up the pitch. If a climber falls 2 meters, when 20 meters up a pitch, the fall factor is 0.1. If a climber falls 2 meters, when 3 meters up a pitch, the fall factor is 0.66.

2m Fall Factor ≈ 0.1 Force ≈ 1.5kN

Fall Factor ≈ 0.66 Force ≈ 4.5kN 2m

Warning! If a climber falls 2 meters, when 1 meter up the pitch (falling directly onto the anchor), the fall factor is 2. This puts a large force directly on the belay device which makes it hard to hold the fall. It is important to eliminate the chance of a factor 2 fall by placing gear immediately off the belay.

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Top Rope Vs Leader Fall Forces Most lead falls have a fall factor of 0.20.7 and generate 2-5kN of force on the top piece of gear. When top-roping, the distance fallen is minimal, therefore the fall factor is near zero. The force on the anchor will be the weight of the climber plus part of the weight of the belayer (around 1kN of force). If there is slack in the system, the force will be a little higher, but still significantly less than the typical forces on gear during a leader fall.

Forces on Climbing Gear Most medium/large sized trad gear is rated to about 10-14kN. This is strong enough to hold the most enormous fall you'll ever take. In most cases, the gear itself won’t break.

The weakest link in the system is usually the quality of the placement or the rock it is in (e.g: a 14kN nut in a suboptimal placement may be plucked out with a 2kN force).

Micro Gear Micro cams and nuts have low strength ratings and will only hold small falls. If you take a massive whipper onto a 3kN nut, it'll probably break. If your route is protected by small gear, make sure to place plenty ooooooooo

of pieces and consider equalizing them to make a stronger point of protection.

Heavy Climbers The heavier you are, the more force you apply to gear when you fall. Heavier climbers should consider thicker ropes with low impact-force ratings, which can take more abuse lllllllllllllllllllll VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Protecting

than thinner ropes. Heavyweights should beef up all anchors, place protection more often and make sure the belayer is able to take the load. 69

kN Ratings – Summary It’s important for a leader to understand when potential forces may be high, and to place gear appropriately to reduce this. High forces can break micro gear, break the rock that holds bigger gear in place or pluck out poorly placed gear. Extend gear when necessary to avoid rope drag. Rope drag reduces the effective amount of rope available to absorb the impact, which increases the fall factor. Never rely on a single piece of gear, eeeeeeeeeeeeeee

especially if it has a low strength rating. If you're 'cruxing out' above unreliable gear, it's usually safer to down-climb to a place where you can rest and re-think your options. The belayer’s role is to assist the leader in making these decisions. Often the belayer has a better perspective of the potential forces on gear. Let your partner know if they are creating a dangerous fall potential. You can also help by being ready to give an appropriate dynamic belay (see page 105).

Half Ropes Half ropes (also known as double ropes) are thinner than single-rated ropes and are designed to be used as a pair.

Best Situations to Use Half Ropes - When climbing a wandering route. - When climbing a long alpine route with an involved descent.

Advantages - Rope drag is reduced on wandering routes where the protection is not in a straight line. - You have more options for protecting your partner when they follow traversing pitches. - Half ropes double the length of abseil you can make. - If one rope is cut on a sharp edge, you still have the other to catch you.

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Disadvantages - Involves more forward planning. - More difficult to belay. - It's possible to get into a situation where only one half rope would stop you from hitting the ground. They are not designed to be used like this.

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Leading with Half Ropes Designate Your Ropes Tie in to half ropes just as you would with a single, but with one rope on either side of your belay loop. The left rope will be used to clip gear on the left side of the route, and the right rope is for gear on the right.

Traversing On a traversing route, it's best to have an upper and a lower rope. The upper rope can help protect the second from taking an enormous sideways swing.

Belay Position If there is a traverse to the belay, you can protect the second better by building the anchor above the middle of the traverse.

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When there are sections of downclimbing, the second will often have worse fall potential than the leader. Plan ahead and place gear high on the upper rope to protect the second.

Building the anchor to one side could create unnecessary fall potential for the second.

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Straight-Up Pitches On a straight-up pitch, clip your half ropes alternately to each piece. This way, you never rely too much on one rope and you never pull extra slack into the system when clipping a high piece.

Crossing Ropes Beware of crossing the ropes as you clip gear. It’s possible to trap one rope around a piece of gear, creating very bad rope drag.

Half Ropes – Fall Ratings Can You Fall on Just One Half Rope? There's no simple answer to this. Half ropes are designed to be used together and are fall-tested by the UIAA with a smaller falling mass than for a single rope. The theory is that one rope will take most, but not all, of the force in a fall. In reality, all of the force goes on one rope if you fall. You should be very cautious of creating situations where only one rope would hold a large fall. This situation would also reduce the redundancy that is inherent in half ropes on complicated terrain, where there is any risk of a rope being cut by a sharp edge. If you need to use half ropes 'separately' (e.g; if you have to clip gear to one rope for the first half of a route and then use the other rope for the last half) you should consider using two single rated ropes instead of a pair of halves. It is also recommended to use two single rated ropes (instead of two half oooooooooooo

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ropes) if you are climbing as a team of three. Some ropes are available that are rated as both a single and a half rope; a perfect compromise!

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The Statistics For a single rope to pass UIAA testing, it must hold five falls of 80kg at a fall factor of 1.77. A half rope must hold the same five falls at the same fall factor, but only with a mass of 55kg. If half ropes are tested as single ropes (with the full 80kg), most hold between

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one and three falls before failing. This means that half ropes are safe to fall on individually. However, they shouldn't be relied upon to hold massive whippers. If you take a large fall on one half rope, you should retire that rope afterwards.

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Building Anchors

Climb: Dalriada, The Cobbler, Scotland. Photographer: Fraser Harle.

Building Anchors The climb isn't over when you reach the top. You still need to make an anchor to attach yourself and belay your partner from.

Gear Placements You should produce an anchor with at least two (preferably three) good pieces of gear. Gear placements are sometimes obvious and close together, and sometimes not so obvious and far apart. If you can't find enough gear to make a secure anchor, you'll have to go somewhere else! Try a little further back or along the crag top. On a multipitch, you may have to climb up a bit higher, or down-climb if you've just passed a suitable place. It is essential that you find a place to make a solid anchor. Never accept that an anchor is poor quality. There are always other options.

The Central Point Your gear placements need to be equalized together to form a central point. This is where you attach yyyyyyyyyyt

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yourself and belay from. How you create the central point will depend on what gear is available, how spaced it is, if you have one rope or two, and whether the climb is a single or a multi-pitch. It's essential to know each technique and be able to adapt your anchor building skills for each unique situation.

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The 6 Point Rule You should create an anchor which is worth at least 6 points. Only experience can teach you how many zzzzzzzzz

points your piece of gear is really worth. As a guideline, points are awarded as follows:

3 Points: A new bolt or a sling around a large tree.

2 Points: A well placed piece of trad gear.

1 Point: A well placed micro nut or micro cam.

0 Points: Any suspect gear which is either placed incorrectly or in bad rock.

Warning: Loose features Don't place all of the anchor pieces behind the same feature (especially with flakes or blocks). If that feature is loose, your entire anchor will fall out when weighted! For this reason, it’s better to place gear in different cracks and features.

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Belay Plan When you've found enough good gear placements for the anchor, you'll need to make a belay plan. Your plan will include: 1) How you will equalize the gear together. 2) Exactly where you will sit or stand to belay.

3) How you will attach yourself to the anchor. 4) Which belay technique you will use. 5) Where you will put the extra rope. When your plan is complete, you can start making the anchor. Each part of the belay plan is explained on pages 78-102.

Equalizing Anchors – The Basics Let's assume you've got two incredibly good pieces of gear or two bolts. The easiest way to equalize them together iiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Step 1 Clip the sling or cordelette to both pieces of gear. Pull it down in the middle so both strands of sling are equal.

is by using a long (120cm or 240cm) sling, or a cordelette (a loop of 7 or 8mm cord).

Step 2 Tie an overhand knot in it. This creates a central point.

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Step 3 Clip a screwgate carabiner into the central point.

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Equalizing Anchors – Advanced An overhand knot in your sling will equalize the anchor pieces in a basic sense. However, it must be tied in a way which meets the following three criteria:

2) The anchor is set up for the direction that the pull will come from.

1) The gear is equalized so the Vangle is less than 60 degrees.

These are explained in detail on the following pages.

3) If one piece of gear was to fail, the other would not be shock loaded.

Criteria 1 – The V-Angle In theory, if you have two pieces of gear with 100kg hanging from them, each will take 50kg, right? Unfortunately not. This depends on the angle the sling makes just above the overhand knot (the V-angle).

At an angle of 60 degrees, 58% of the total weight of the belay (the weight of both climbers) will go onto each piece. This is good. 58kg

The smaller the V-angle, the smaller the force on each piece of gear. You don't need to know how to calculate these numbers – just remember that an angle up to 60 degrees is acceptable.

At 90 degrees, 71% of the force will go onto each piece. This isn't too good.

71kg 58kg 71kg Trad Climbing Basics > Anchors

90 °

100kg

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At 120 degrees, each piece of gear takes 100% of the force! Never equalize gear with such a large angle.

100kg

120 °

You can decrease the V-angle by using a longer sling or cordelette, or by extending a piece with a short sling as shown.

100kg

60 ° 100kg

Criteria 2 – Direction of Pull Your gear needs to be equalized together in the direction of pull. This is the direction that it would be weighted if your partner falls. If you've climbed straight up to an anchor and will be standing or sitting directly below it, this will be straight down. But if you've traversed in to a ledge and the rope is running off to the side, the pull will be in a different uuuuuuuuuuu

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direction. You'll need to place and equalize the anchor gear to suit that. When you're setting the anchor up, think about the direction that the pull will be in. Tie your overhand knot accordingly, then test it by pulling hard in that direction. Are both strands of the sling taking the weight? If one is slack, then adjust your knot so both take an equal amount of weight.

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Criteria 3 – Shock Loading Imagine hanging a heavy shopping bag from a nail on your kitchen wall. If you place it there gently, the nail might strain a bit, but it'll hold. Now imagine extending that shopping bag with a piece of string. Hold it up high, then drop it. What happens? The increased force will likely break either the nail, string or bag, dumping your shopping in an untidy pile of broken eggs and plasterboard. This principle is exactly the same at a belay. If one piece fails and the anchor isn't equalized correctly, all the weight of you and your partner will 'fall' onto the other piece, shock loading it. The extra force caused by shock loading could pull out or break the remaining piece.

There should be no slack in any part of your anchor, so that if any piece failed, there would be no movement or shock loading.

Equalizing Three Pieces The previous example explained how to equalize an anchor with only two pieces of gear. This is fine if both pieces of gear are absolutely bomber (such as a new bolt or a sling around a big, sturdy tree). However, in most cases you'll be building trad anchors out of regular trad gear – nuts, hexes and cams. These are not as strong as bolts or massive trees, so you'll need to use more of them. If you're not sure how many pieces of gear to use, see 'The 6 Point Rule' on page 77. To equalize three pieces of gear, simply use a longer sling or cordelette.

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Pull two loops down and tie one big overhand knot in it. Then clip a screwgate through all three loops. You may need to fiddle with the overhand slightly to get all strands to pull equally tight – often the longest one can go a little slack as you tie it.

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Top Tip If you have two pieces of gear close together but the other one far away, it can help to use two slings. First, use one sling to equalize the two pieces which are close together. Next, equalize the central point of that with the third piece of gear using another sling. You may need more than three pieces of gear to make a secure anchor. Use the same method to equalize as many pieces together as you need. If you don't have enough slings, you can use the rope as part of the anchor (this is explained later).

Top Tip Once you've got one piece of gear in, clip the rope through it as if you're still climbing. This will protect you if you slip while building the rest of your anchor. You can unclip this later when you are safely attached to the anchor.

Attaching to the Anchor – Belay Position You'll need to attach yourself to the anchor in a way that you can see your partner as they follow the pitch and brace yourself if they fall.

Central Point

Optimal Belay Position

Make sure you are positioned in a straight line between the anchor and the climber. You shouldn’t be pulled sideways if the climber falls. You may need to extend your anchor to get into the optimal belay position. There are many ways to do this, each with their own advantages and limitations.

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Some of the most common methods are described on the following pages. With practise, you should develop the ability to adapt and combine these methods to suit every belay situation.

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Method 1 – Clip Directly Clip your belay loop into the central point directly with a screwgate carabiner. Best Situation to Use This Method If extending the anchor with the rope would put you in a bad position to belay.

Advantages - Simple. Disadvantages - No dynamic aspect to the anchor (using the rope is much better. See methods 2-5). - Very difficult to adjust belay position.

Method 2 – Tie to the Central Point Tie your rope to the central point using a clovehitch. You can fine-tune your belay position by adjusting the clovehitch – just shuffle rope through and pull it tight. The rope between you and the central point will need to be fairly tight.

Advantages - Only uses a small amount of rope. Disadvantages - Belay position must be close to the central point.

Best Situation to Use This Method If the central point is within reasonable reach of your belay position (up to 2 meters or so).

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Method 3 – Loop Through the Central Point Clip the rope through the screwgate on the central point, then walk to your belay position. Attach a screwgate to your rope loop and then clovehitch the rope to it. Best Situation to Use This Method If the central point is out of reach from your belay position.

Advantages - You can fine-tune your belay position without moving back to the anchor. Disadvantages - Uses more rope and one extra screwgate than method 2.

Method 4 – Attaching to Two Points Step 1 Attach the rope to the nearest anchor point with a clovehitch.

Step 2 Clovehitch the rope to the other anchor point, leaving a little slack between the two.

Step 3 Clovehitch the rope to your rope loop with another screwgate.

Best Situation to Use This Method If you have two anchor points which are too far apart to equalize with a sling/cordelette. Advantages - Equalizes two points. - Uses less rope than method 5.

Disadvantages - Must be close to the first anchor point in order to fine-tune your belay position. - The central point is created at your belay loop. This means that you must belay directly from your harness (you can't use guide mode).

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Method 5 – Attaching to Three or More Points Step 1 Clip the rope through the furthest away point, then walk to your belay position.

Step 2 Attach a screwgate to your rope loop and then clovehitch the rope to it.

Step 3 Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the second point.

Step 4 Clovehitch the rope to the third point. You can fine-tune the clovehitches to equalize the three points.

Best Situation to Use This Method If you arrive at a belay with no slings or cordelette.

Disadvantages - Uses up a lot of rope. - You must belay directly from your harness.

Advantages - You can use this method to equalize as many points as you need. Just keep repeating steps 1 and 2 until you've equalized all your pieces.

Attaching to the Anchor – Half Ropes When climbing with half ropes, you can use any of the previously ddddddddddddd

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described methods with either one or both ropes.

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Attaching to the Anchor – Trees Walking around a large tree and clipping the rope back to your rope loop is a quick way to make an anchor with only one screwgate carabiner.

The clovehitch or figure-8 on a bight are good knots to use. It is only suitable to do this with very large trees. Watch out for tree sap.

Attaching to the Anchor – Cordelette Craft If equalizing the anchor with a cordelette, it is typically better to create the central point at head to chest level. This provides a convenient workstation to attach yourself to and belay your partner from. The following methods describe a few ways to adjust the height of the central point.

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Keeping the Central Point High Double Up One or more strands can be doubled up. The double loops don’t stretch as much, so they may give the higher ppppppppppp

Tie a Knot Tie an overhand in the cordelette to shorten it.

piece more than it’s share of the load. Consider this when equalizing the pieces together.

Figure 8 Tie a figure 8 instead of an overhand at the central point. Or wrap the cord around itself one more time to create a figure 9. When using any of these methods to adjust the height of the central point, try to keep the V-angle below 60 degrees.

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Extending the Central Point If you would prefer to use a cordelette to equalize the anchor (rather than the rope), but it isn’t long enough, try extending the furthest away piece with a sling. Alternatively, unfasten the cordelette's double-fisherman’s bend and tie a figure-8 loop in each end of it. Clip the ends into the furthest away pieces and equalize with an overhand knot. The disadvantages of this setup are a reduced strength on the outer pieces (one strand of cordelette is weaker than two) and there is no top shelf.

The Top Shelf To free up space at the central point, you can clip in to the ‘top shelf’ of the cordelette. This is useful when: - Belaying in guide mode. - Using a redirected belay. - There will be more than one other climber attaching to the central point. Step 1 Cinch the cordelette tight and attach a screwgate to the central point. This ensures the knot cannot roll. Step 2 Clip each individual loop of the cordelette with another screwgate as shown. Step 3 Attach yourself to this screwgate.

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Warning! Make sure you have clipped through each cordelette loop individually. It is dangerous to clip around the loops as ooooooooo

shown. If one part of the anchor fails, you will become completely detached.

Attaching to the Anchor – PAS's and Daisy Chains Personal Anchor Systems A Personal Anchor System (PAS) is a series of very short sewn slings connected in a chain-link-style. They are designed as an idiot-proof anchor attachment. Once girth hitched to your harness, any part of the PAS can be clipped to an anchor to provide a full strength attachment.

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Daisy Chains Daisy chains look and function in a similar way to the PAS, but they are only full strength when clipped end-toend. The stitching between daisy chain loops is very low strength. If you connect to an anchor by clipping a carabiner through two consecutive loops, the stitching could break, causing you to become completely detached from the anchor.

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Adjustable Daisy Chains Adjustable daisy chains are not full strength (usually rated to around 5kN). These are designed for aid climbing and should never be used as your primary anchor attachment. Moving Above the Anchor It's only safe to attach yourself to an anchor with a sling, daisy chain or PAS if you won't be moving above it (such as when setting up an abseil). If you fall when above an anchor (even if you are only 30cm above), unusually large forces will be generated. This is because slings (especially those made of Dyneema) do not absorb much energy – think of it as similar to falling when attached to a length of steel cable. You can damage internal organs with just a 10kN force – falling onto a sling directly is likely to be much higher than this. It could also break the sling, or the anchor. If there is any chance that you will move sideways or above the anchor, make sure to attach to it with the rope.

Attaching to the Anchor – Common Mistakes Tying Clovehitches on Snapgates Part of the clovehitch could easily snap through the gate, making the knot useless. Never tie clovehitches on snapgate carabiners. Use a screwgate, or two opposite and opposed snapgates (see next page) instead. Clipping Snapgates Together A slight twist can cause the carabiner’s gate to open. Instead, use a quickdraw, sling or screwgate depending on the situation. VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Anchors

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Non-Equalized Anchor Attachment If one part of the anchor fails, everything will swing onto the other side. This presents a real danger of losing control of the belay. Always make sure your anchor is equalized.

Too Many Knots on one Carabiner at the Central Point This is bad because: - If the blue rope is weighted, it will be impossible to remove the green rope. - If the green rope is a climber’s attachment point and you open the gate to remove the blue rope, the climber will only be attached by an open carabiner – this is very dangerous. If you need to attach more than one knot to an anchor, use a separate screwgate for each.

No Screwgates? If you need a screwgate but don’t have one, you can use two ‘opposite and opposed’ snapgates instead. This is useful in situations such as attaching to an anchor.

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Warning! This is a common incorrect carabiner alignment. If one carabiner flips around, both gates could be pushed open at the same time.

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Top-Rope Anchors With the security of an anchored rope above, top-roping is the safest way to climb. A top-roped climber can rest on the rope whenever they are too tired to continue, safe in the knowledge that they will only fall a few inches. Toproping is great for beginners, large groups or for experienced climbers who want to push their physical limits.

Forces Forces on gear when top-roping are much less than forces on gear during a leader fall. However, with a little slack in the system, the force at the anchor could exceed several times the combined weight of the climber and belayer. The anchor needs to be bomber.

Top or Bottom? Depending on the terrain, the length of your rope and the anchor arrangement, you may choose to belay from the top or the bottom of the crag.

Lowering When belaying from the top, the climber is often lowered down and then climbs out. If possible, it can be much better to belay directly from the anchor. This keeps the climber’s weight off the belayer’s harness. If lowering is impractical (e.g: it could damage the rope or it’s difficult to communicate when to stop being lowered), the climber could abseil down instead. This could be on the same rope, or a separate one. Plan logistics well before descending.

Setting Up the Anchor Be careful when walking around the top of a crag un-roped. You may need to make an anchor further back from the cliff edge and then be put on belay while you set up the top-rope anchor.

Belaying from the bottom: - Makes it easier to switch between climbing and belaying. - Makes communication clearer. - Generally creates a more social setting. Belaying from the top can be better if: - The bottom of the crag is difficult or impossible to access (e.g: the last pitch of a tall cliff). - There is a chance of a climber knocking rocks on the belayer. - The crag is higher than half a rope length.

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Step 1 Find enough good gear placements directly above the route to make an anchor. Trad Climbing Basics > Belaying

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Advantages - The weight of a falling climber isn't on your harness, which is much more comfortable. - You can bring up two climbers at the same time (on two different ropes) – great if climbing as a team of three. - Because you are not directly attached to your belay device, it is easier to detach yourself from the system in an emergency.

Disadvantages - Time-consuming to lower a climber, even a short distance.

Best Situation to Use this Method - When it is unlikely that you will need to lower the climber (e.g: climbing an easy slab route). - When climbing as a team of three.

Lowering a Climber in Guide Mode Before you use guide mode, you must understand how to lower a climber. Note: The belayer's anchor attachment has been omitted from the following diagrams for clarity.

Lowering a Short Distance If the climber only needs a few inches of slack, you can wiggle the belay carabiner as they weight the rope. Carabiners with a perfectly round cross-section are not so effective at this.

Lowering a Long Distance There are a few different ways to do this, some are faster and some are safer. The following description is a safe way to do it.

Step 1 Redirect the brake strand(s) through a high point of the anchor with a screwgate carabiner. Then tie a prusik knot around the rope and clip it to your belay loop.

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Harness Belay Loop

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Step 2 Girth hitch a sling through the small hole on your belay device. Newer devices have a big enough hole to clip a carabiner. If yours does, you can clip a sling to it with a carabiner.

Step 3 Redirect the sling through a high point of the anchor with a carabiner, then fasten the sling to your belay loop with another carabiner. This will allow you to use your weight to release the belay device. You could also stand in the sling to release the belay device, though it's often easier to control when clipped to your harness. You are now able to lower the climber in a controlled manner. Remember to slide the prusik knot as you continue lowering.

Warning! Never weight the belay carabiner as shown on the right. This will disengage the device and cause the climber to fall.

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Tying-Off a Climber in Guide Mode If you need to go completely handsfree while belaying in guide mode, you can tie-off the device. Simply form a loop in the brake strand and clip it to the rope. Be aware that if the knot jams up into the belay device, it will be difficult to lower the climber without belaying them up a few inches first. Consider this before you tie them off.

Where to Put the Spare Rope There are basically two options. Either stack it into a neat pile somewhere or stack it through a sling. For the sling method, start by pushing a long loop of rope through the sling. Continue doing this, making smaller loops each time (bigger loops are more likely to get tangled into each other when you are belaying the leader on the next pitch). However you choose to stack the rope, make sure it is within reach and that you can do it one-handed – you'll need to belay at the same time.

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Rope Loop or Belay Loop? You can belay either from your belay loop or from your rope loop. In some situations, using the rope loop can be more comfortable – it can allow you to transfer the weight of a fallen climber onto the anchor, rather than having their weight pulling on your harness.

Remember that if you used two ropes in the anchor, you'll need to belay from both rope loops. If you are unsure, just use your belay loop. If you have a carabiner attached to your rope loop, remember to take it off before you untie – many carabiners have been lost this way.

Using the Belay Loop

Using the Rope Loop

Belaying Techniques Before the First Piece of Gear Before the leader reaches the first piece of gear you'll need to spot them, just the same as if they were bouldering. Make sure to have enough slack rope for them to clip their first piece. Obviously this technique only works when climbing off the ground (i.e: not from a hanging belay on a multi-pitch).

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Runout Routes On sparsely protected ‘runout’ routes where a fall onto a ledge or the ground is possible, the belayer can run backwards away from the route if the leader falls. This takes rope out of the system far quicker than pulling slack through a belay device, which means the leader will fall less distance. Remember to keep both hands on the rope in the locked-off position as you run back, and look out for trip hazards. It results in an uncomfortable, abrupt fall and puts much more force on the gear. So consider this before you mmmmmmmmmm

move backwards. Routes like these, however, are best avoided.

Weight Differences If the climber weighs more than the belayer, a fall usually lifts the belayer into the air, naturally softening the fall for the climber. However, if the climber weighs significantly more, a fall could cause the belayer to slam into the rock or be ‘sucked in’ to the first piece of gear. There is a real danger of losing control of the belay if this happens. To combat this, the lightweight belayer can anchor to the ground. This technique, however, reduces the belayer’s ability to move around the base of the route and give a soft catch. A good compromise is to attach to a ground anchor with enough slack to aaaaaa

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move around and give a soft catch if needed, but not so much slack that you would be pulled into the first piece of gear.

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Soft Catches On steep routes, a ‘soft catch’ is a common technique which makes the fall much more comfortable for the leader and stops them from slamming into the rock when the rope gets tight. The leader will fall further during a soft catch, so make sure to only use this technique on steep, overhanging routes where you are certain the leader cannot hit anything. To soften a fall, belay with your knees bent. Straighten them during the catch, allowing the weight of the falling climber to pull you upwards slightly. You could even take a small hop just as the rope begins to pull tight. Considering that many micro cams and small nuts have breaking strengths of 3-6kN, a dynamic belay could make the difference between your gear breaking or holding. There are many situations when a wwwwww

dynamic belay is unsafe. A lightweight belayer might be pulled upward into a roof or a piece of gear which could disengage their belay device, or the extra rope could cause the leader to hit a ledge or the ground. Watch your partner carefully and learn to recognize how much of a dynamic belay (if any) is appropriate.

Belaying with Half Ropes Belaying the Second To belay with half ropes, you'll need an 'ATC style' belay device which has two slots in it. You cannot use a GriGri. You'll often need to take in or give slack on one rope more than the other to keep the ropes equally tight on your partner. Simply go through the normal belaying motion, but hold one rope tight while letting the other slide through your brake hand. Obviously, never let go of either rope.

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Lead Belaying Sometimes you'll need to feed out more slack on one rope than the other, as the climber pulls it up to clip. Pull rope out with your upper hand while letting it slide through your brake hand. Once the climber has clipped one rope higher than the other, you'll need to take in that rope, while giving out slack on the other. This can be pretty tricky to do well and takes some practise. It helps to keep the two ropes separated in your hand above the belay device. Remember to keep hold of both of them together in your brake hand.

How to be a Better Belayer Just as people pick up bad habits after they pass their driving test, climbers often get lazy with belaying once they eeeeeeeeeee

have learnt the basics. Here are some tips to keep your climbing partners alive.

Don't Let Go of the Rope Sounds obvious, but it's amazing how many experienced climbers let go of the brake rope for a brief moment while belaying.

The Bottom Line Your partner's life is literally in your hands. If they fall while your hand is loose or off the rope, you probably won’t catch the fall.

Letting go of the brake rope is like letting go of the steering wheel while driving on a fast country road. Avoid the temptation to loosen or release your grip, even just for a second. Use your other hand to wave to friends, get something out of your pocket or scratch your butt. Or better yet, just wait until you’ve finished belaying. This is a common problem with assistedbraking belay devices, where people get comfortable using them and forget that they do not always auto-lock.

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Stay in Position You should stand in a position fairly close to the wall where you can take a few steps forward or backward to give slack or take in while still locked off. Don't sit down, lie down, or face in the wrong direction. If the climber is to the left of the first piece of gear, you should stand to the right to avoid being hit by rocks, dropped gear or their feet.

Check Make it a habit to check yourself and your partner before each climb. Rope runs through the correct two points of harness Waist belt and leg loop buckles fastened

Stopper knot Correctly tied knot

Waist belt and leg loop buckles fastened

Rope to climber (live rope)

Screwgate fastened Rope to ground (brake rope)

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Correctly set up belay device

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Be Ready and Inform Let the climber know about any dangers or mistakes they are making. Look out for back-clips, if their leg is around the rope or if they should extend a quickdraw.

You should stand in a 'ready' position, so that if your climber falls or needs some help, you can react quickly to the situation.

Keep an Appropriate Amount of Slack When lead belaying, the rope should always travel outwards and upwards from your belay device to the first piece of gear. Lazy belayers often give too much slack so they can wait longer before having to deal with the rope again. This can be incredibly dangerous for the leader. Take and give slack as your climber moves to maintain the correct arc in your rope. When top-rope belaying, keep the rope fairly tight for the first few moves so the climber doesn’t hit the ground if they fall.

Close the System If you are not certain how long a pitch is, or how long your rope is, the belayer should tie into the bottom end of the rope. This closes the system. When the climber is tied to one end, and the belayer is tied to the other, it is impossible to lower the climber off the end of the rope. Alternately, tie a knot in the free end of the rope.

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Watch and Listen Keep an eye on the climber so you can give slack at the exact same time as they are clipping a high piece of gear, or brace yourself if they fall. If you can’t see the climber, listen for commands from them and watch for movements in the rope. Pay special attention when the leader is clipping the rope into a piece of gear. The extra bit of slack you have out makes the leader vulnerable to a longer fall if they slip just before making the clip. You cannot give complete attention to the climber if you are talking to someone else. Likewise, avoid starting a conversation with someone who is belaying, and walk well around them so you don’t compromise their belay.

Communicate Climbers in different countries often use slightly different climbing calls. Before you climb, make sure that you and your partner are familiar with the same 'climbing language'. At a busy crag, the climber and belayer should call each other by name. This confirms that any shouted commands are actually meant for them. You won’t always be able to see or hear your partner very well. Shout the climbing commands loudly to be clear. You and your partner should have a pre-arranged signalling system for situations where you can’t hear each other. One common method is for the leader to give three sharp tugs on the gggggggg VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Belaying

rope to signal they are off belay. The belayer then gives three sharp tugs back to let them know they are about to be taken off belay. The problem with this method is that it is possible to mistake a leader’s jerky movements or tugs for slack as the off-belay signal. If there’s rope drag it can be even more difficult to decipher these movements in the rope. Keep the climber on belay until you’re certain they are safe. When you feel the same signal repeated many times, you’ll know what the leader is trying to say. The Bottom Line Never take someone off belay until you’re sure they are off.

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Descending

Climb: Callum Coldwell-Storry on Torre Norte del Paine, Patagonia. Photographer: Neil Chelton.

Descending After absorbing the view at the top of a climb, it’s time to get down – safely. Sometimes you must descend when tired, in the dark or in a storm. Even when everything is fine, you still need to concentrate. The climb isn’t over until you’re down on the ground. Depending on the situation, you may nnnnnnnnnn

choose to walk off, downclimb an easy route or abseil (rappel). The least technical descent is usually the best option. However, if there are good fixed anchors, a quick abseil could be more convenient than a long walk around. Plan your descent before climbing up.

Walking Off When walking off is a common descent method, there will usually be an established trail back to the base. Always be securely connected while cleaning the anchor. You may have to do a mini pitch in order to reach safe walking terrain. If you want to carry regular shoes for the descent, clip them to the back of your harness. Many shoes have clip-in loops for this. If you don’t have a loop, tie your laces together and clip them on. Tie them as short as possible to stop them dangling around as you climb.

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Downclimbing Many descents involve some sections of downclimbing. This could be a simple two-move step down onto a big ledge or a long, exposed traverse on loose rock. Depending on the terrain, ttkkkkkkkttttt

you may choose to rope up or not. Never climb unroped on anything you’re not absolutely certain about – remember that it’s easy to get the rope out and belay or abseil a section.

Unroped Downclimbing When scrambling down unroped, keep close together so all climbers are ready to give assistance if needed. It’s better for the more experienced ggggggggggggg

climber to go first to find the easiest line. They can also act as a spotter for short, tricky sections.

Belayed Downclimbing If there are no abseil anchors, or the downclimbing follows a traverse, you can belay each other down. The first climber places gear to protect the other climber(s) while being belayed/ lowered down. The last climber must be careful as they will downclimb above gear which they didn’t place. If the downclimbing section is too difficult, consider leaving behind some gear and abseiling instead.

Abseiling (Rappelling) Abseiling (or rappelling) is a simple method of descending ropes that gets you back to the ground quickly.

Abseiling – Check the Anchor In most situations, there will be a fixed abseil point (such as two equalized bolts or some slings around a tree). This anchor must be bomber. Check the bolts, webbing or cord carefully. If the anchor fails, you will most likely die, so be prepared to replace it.

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A bolted abseil anchor should have two bolts of 3/8” diameter or thicker, which are well placed in solid rock. Inspect the rings or maillons too. If they are rusty or have a groove worn in them, consider backing them up with a carabiner. Closely inspect anchors made with webbing or cord, especially around the back of the feature. Slings which have been in place for years may be stiff or faded – signs that they have been severely weakened by ultraviolet radiation. Animals sometimes chew webbing too, so check thoroughly. If in doubt, add to it or replace it with webbing, cord or slings of your own. Some anchors in seldom-climbed areas may be missing a ring or carabiner at the central point. In this case, you’ll need to add one of your own. The rope should not run directly over nylon slings or cord. Nylon on nylon generates tremendous friction. When you pull your ropes, they will cut into the abseil slings, leaving them dangerously weak for the next team. For the same reason, you should never be lowered from an anchor this yyyyyyyyyy

way. Your rope will probably cut through the slings before you reach the ground. Always make sure your ropes are attached to the anchor with metal. Two carabiners with gates opposite and opposed works well.

Abseiling – Attaching to the Anchor The entire climbing team should attach to the anchor while rigging abseils. A common way of doing this is to girth hitch a short sling through your belay loop and clip it to the anchor with a screwgate. On bolted abseil anchors where the two bolts aren't joined together, you can use two slings with separate screwgates. Attach one sling to each bolt.

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Abseiling – Tying Ropes Together You can abseil with either one rope or two. Whichever you use, you'll need to get the middle of your total length of rope onto the anchor. If you're using one rope, feed one end through the abseil point. Then holding both rope ends together, pull the rope …….. Step 1 Thread the end of one rope through the anchor.

through until the middle is at the abseil point. Some ropes have a convenient middle marker to make this easier. If you are using two ropes, you'll need to tie them together. A simple and safe way to do this is to use the overhand knot described below.

Step 2 Put the ends through the loop to make an overhand knot.

Then hold one end of each rope together and make a loop at least 60cm from the end.

60cm

Step 3 Pull each strand of rope very tight on either side of the knot, making sure the knot is neat.

Step 4 Back it up with another overhand knot immediately next to it. Pull that tight too. You should have at least 30cm of rope left after the knots.

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Abseiling – Throwing Ropes You should throw your ropes down in a way that they are unlikely to get tangled together or stuck on ssssssssssssss

something. The following is a simple method of reducing your chances of a stuck rope.

Step 1 Tie knots (such as the triple barrel or overhand) in the bottom end of both strands of rope. This stops you from accidentally abseiling off the end.

Step 2 Prepare to throw the ropes down. It's better to do this one rope at a time. Starting from the end, stack one rope in coils over your arm.

Step 3 Shout ‘rope’ to anyone who may be in the area below. When you are certain that no-one could get hit by your ropes, you can throw them. Take the first half of the coils in one hand and the second half in your other hand. Throw the second half of the coils down, closely followed by the first. Keep an eye on the ropes at the anchor. With all the weight on one side, the rope could zip through the anchor at this point.

Step 4 Stack the other rope and throw it down in the same way.

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If there are climbers below, either wait for them to finish climbing, or ask them if you can slowly lower the ends of your ropes down. This may cause your ropes to snag on features, but will be much less dangerous for the person leading up.

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Abseiling – Attaching Belay Device Step 1 Clip your belay device to your belay loop with a screwgate (don’t lock it yet).

Step 2 Pull up about a meter of both strands of rope. It will be heavy, so have your partner hold the rope, or stand on it to create slack so it’s easier to clip in.

Step 3 Push the ropes through your belay device, making sure it is orientated the correct way up.

Step 4 Clip both of the ropes and your belay device through the screwgate carabiner and fasten it. You don't need to remove the screwgate from your belay loop when doing this; you are more likely to drop it if you do.

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Step 5 Lean into the anchor and pull any slack rope through your belay device. Holding the ropes in the lock-off position, sit back and apply your weight to the belay device. This allows you to easily check the setup.

Step 6 For most abseils, it's wise to backup with a prusik knot (see page 182). A correctly tied prusik will auto-lock if you let go of the ropes. Clip the prusik to your leg loop. The prusik will slide down the ropes if you hold it close to your leg loop and lock around the ropes if you let go. Test this before you abseil. If it doesn’t lock, take it off and re-tie it with an extra wrap around the ropes.

Harness Leg Loop

Abseiling – Check the System Before you unclip your attachment point from the anchor, check: Solid anchor

Rope threaded through main point of anchor

Correctly tied abseil knot 30 cm

Prusik knot

Both ropes through belay device

Knots added to rope ends

Holding both ropes beneath belay device

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Abseiling – The Descent Step 1 With one hand holding both ropes in the lock-off position, unclip your sling from the anchor and clip it out of the way on the back of your harness.

Step 2 Put your other hand over the prusik. Your hands should be in the same position as they would to lower a climber while belaying.

Belay Loop Leg Loop

Step 3 While keeping a firm grip, lean your weight back and allow some rope to go through your belay device, remembering to slide the prusik down as you go. Continue feeding rope through as you lower yourself down. It takes a little practise, but you'll soon figure out how fast to feed the rope while staying in control.

Step 4 Sit back in your harness and keep your body in an L shape with your feet wide apart. Walk backwards down the rock, making sure to look behind to see where you're going. Move smoothly down the ropes. Don’t bounce, jump or swing around – this puts much more force on the anchor and is likely to damage your ropes if they pass over rough edges. To abseil past a roof, plant your feet on the lip and lower your body down. Once your body is below the roof, cut your feet loose to avoid hitting your head.

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Step 5 If you are the first in your group to abseil, you may have to deal with tangles of rope hung up on ledges, flakes or in bushes. Lock off the rope with your prusik and always deal with tangles when still above them. When you're safely attached to the next anchor (remember to inspect it first) or on the ground, remove your belay device and prusik and shout up to your partner that you're 'off rope', so they can begin abseiling.

Step 6 When everyone is down, you can retrieve the ropes. Unfasten the knots from the ends of the ropes and pull down on the rope that you didn't thread through the anchor. Keep an eye on the other rope as you do this to

make sure it doesn't go up with a mysterious auto-knot fastened in it. When the ropes are about to fall down, shout ‘rope’ to warn your partner(s). Be aware that the falling rope may bring down loose rock with it.

Abseiling – The Fireman's Belay If a less experienced climber is worried they may not be able to control the abseil, they can be given a fireman’s belay. The more experienced climber descends first, then holds the ropes while the other climber descends. A simple pull on the ropes will lock their device. This is also useful if one climber has forgotten their prusik – they can abseil last with a fireman’s backup.

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Abseiling – The Extended Belay Device Sometimes it can be useful to extend your belay device with a sling before you abseil. Best Situation to Use This Method - If you don't know where the next abseil anchor is on a tricky multipitch descent.

Advantages - You can use a prusik with less chance of it getting stuck in your belay device. - Your prusik will be centred, making it easier to use than if you attach it to a leg loop. Disadvantages - Takes longer to set up.

Extending with a 60cm Sling Simply girth-hitch a 60cm sling through the hard points of your harness (the same points that your belay loop goes through) and clip your belay device to this sling. It's better to use thicker nylon slings rather than thin Dyneema for extending your belay device. You could also girth hitch the sling through your belay loop.

Extending with a 120cm Sling Alternatively, you can use a 120cm sling in a similar way. Feed the sling through the hard points of your harness, tie an overhand knot in it and then clip both ends of the sling to your belay device.

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Abseiling – Top Tips - Look out for ledges, trees, chimneys or anything you might abseil into on your descent. - If your rope is stuck, stop just above it and allow your prusik knot to tighten. Make sure to keep hold of the ropes with one hand while you untangle them.

- Be aware of where your rope is (above and below you). Make sure it isn't rubbing over loose rock or sharp edges. - Each abseil can only be half of the total length of rope that you have, so keep this in mind before climbing up. - Be aware of rocks which may get dislodged when you pull your ropes down.

Retreating Sometimes, a climb may prove to be too difficult, forcing you to retreat. This is fairly straightforward if you are less than half a rope length up a pitch or if you can downclimb. If you have bomber protection, simply lower back down to the belay. If the pitch traversed a long way, you may have to downclimb all the way back to the belay. Another alternative is to build a belay and abseil down, leaving the belay gear behind.

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When deciding on which pieces or how many to leave behind, remember that the cost of climbing gear is far less than the cost of being seriously injured. Make sure your lower-off gear is bomber and worry about replacing it later. Your partner may want to take over the lead and finish the pitch, or it may be possible to abseil in from the top to retrieve your gear. Different methods of retreating are explained in The Trad Climber’s Guide to Problem Solving.

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Multi-Pitch

Climb: The Apron, Squamish, Canada. Photographer: Alex Ratson.

Multi-Pitch Climbing A multi-pitch route is one that is split into two or more pitches. This may be because it is longer than your rope. Or it could be a wandering route that would involve a lot of rope drag if climbed as a single pitch. Multi-pitch climbing combines many skills: placing gear on lead, building belays, route-finding, rope management dddddddddd

and (often) abseiling down after you reach the top. Due to the length and complexity of multi-pitch routes, you should develop your problem solving and self-rescue skills before embarking on this kind of adventure. This is explained in great depth in The Trad Climber’s Guide To Problem Solving.

What to Bring On long multi-pitches, it's wise to bring the following gear in addition to everything you would normally take on a single pitch.

Extra Climbing Gear You’ll need two anchor kits for a multipitch route. Make sure you bring: - Two cordelettes/ long slings - At least six spare screwgates - Two belay devices If the descent from your route involves abseiling, make sure to bring ATC style belay devices and prusik cords.

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First Aid Kit A small first aid kit can be useful, along with a pocket knife for cutting anchor webbing or stuck ropes. Make sure the knife has a folding blade which is impossible to accidentally open when attached to your harness.

Food and Water If your multi-pitch is likely to take more than a few hours, consider bringing food and water to snack on at the belays. Many routes have luxury belay ledges, so if you're not in a rush, why not have a vertical picnic?

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Clothes Any comfortable all-cotton clothes will suffice for single pitch cragging, especially venues with a short approach. For multi-pitch routes, or for any climbs with a long approach, wearing synthetic clothing is a better choice. Synthetics insulate much better than cotton in wet or cold environments. If you expect cold temperatures, bring a pair of gloves so you can belay with warm hands and then take them off to climb. A thin hat that fits under your helmet is a very lightweight way of keeping you warm too. If the descent is long, it's nice to bring a pair of approach shoes. A warm/waterproof jacket, or even a thin wind-proof layer, can make multipitches more comfortable when it gets windy and the sun disappears, especially for the belayer. Down jackets are a poor choice unless you’re climbing in dry climates below freezing. Most down jackets will repel a small amount of moisture, but the feathers will clump together in a storm and you’ll freeze. They also tend to rip very easily on rock.

Headlamp Headlamps are essential on long multi-pitches. Finishing a climb, or trying to descend in the dark can be incredibly difficult and dangerous. If you take spare batteries, tape them together in the correct orientation, so you can just plug the whole block in at once. This also means you won’t have random batteries floating around your bag and no idea if they are full or empty.

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Extra Rope You’ll need to bring a second rope if your route involves an abseil descent where the anchors are more than half of your rope’s length apart (i.e: you can only abseil 35 meters with a 70 meter rope). You will also need a second rope if climbing as a team of three (see page 132).

Route Description On a single pitch, it's easy to remember where to climb. However, on a multi-pitch you may have forgotten the details by pitch six. Bringing the whole guidebook is a bit excessive. But a route description (or topo), neatly folded in your pocket, will help show you the way. Another option is to take photos of the topo on your phone. Make sure you don’t run out of battery though. Take descriptions from adjacent routes too, as this can help you figure out where you are.

Backpack All this stuff can be put into a small backpack and carried by the second. Alternatively, the load can be split between climbers so neither climber has a particularly heavy bag. Depending on the route and your tolerance of suffering, you may not need any of this stuff. For long committing routes, you'll probably need to bring everything. Plan before you go.

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Multi-Pitch Anchors If the leader falls on a single pitch route, the belayer is often pulled up off the ground when they hold the fall. On a multi-pitch, the belayer would instead be pulled out of position. This could potentially pull out part, or all, of the anchor if it was built to only hold a downwards force. For this reason, you should build multi-pitch anchors with both an upwards and a downwards pulling aspect. If the last pitch traverses into the belay or the next pitch traverses away from it, the anchors could get loaded with a sideways pull. Build the anchor to be strong in any conceivable direction of pull.

If the best upward-pulling gear is just below the downward-pulling anchor pieces, you can incorporate it into the anchor with some cunning cordelette craft to make it multi-directional. There are many variations to this. One is to tie clovehitches on the lower two pieces as shown on the right.

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Belay Changeovers Efficient belay changeovers will speed up your ascent, making you less likely to get benighted or stranded in a storm. Sometimes the more experienced climber will lead every pitch. Other times, each climber will choose which pitches they prefer. A common tactic is to swing leads (lead alternate pitches). Be aware that easier pitches may be runout.

Method 1 – Tie-Off Belay Device If alternating leads, the easiest method is to tie-off your belay device (see page 170). When the leader is ready to climb, simply unfasten the knot and they will be on belay immediately. This works well if there is a small ledge to stand on. If not, you may prefer to choose method two.

Swinging leads is the most efficient. The rope is already stacked with the new leader’s end on top and the gear from the previous pitch will be racked on their harness. It’s much better if both climbers can go hands-free during the changeover. How you do this depends on who will lead the next pitch. Two methods are described below.

Method 2 – Attach to Central Point If the same person is leading every pitch, the second will have to attach to the central point when they finish following the pitch. They can do this in the same way as the leader. Use separate screwgates to attach the second's rope to the central point(s). When they are attached, they can be taken off belay. Remember – The leader will need to be put on belay before they detach from the anchor.

Leader

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Second

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Leaving the Belay It's a good idea for the leader to clip a high point of the belay as their first piece of gear. This eliminates the chance of a factor two fall. It's also much easier for the belayer to hold a fall this way.

You can reduce the fall factor further by extending the belayer's anchor attachment. This puts less force on the first pieces of gear if the climber falls.

Fall Factor = 0.66 3m

2m

Fall Factor = 0.33 6m

2m

Where to Belay Recommended belay stations are described in all good guidebooks. You don’t have to belay there, but they are usually the best spots. Experienced climbers often stretch pitches to the full rope length to reduce the number of belay changeovers and therefore speed the climb up. Teams with an inexperienced partner may do shorter pitches so they can communicate more clearly.

When looking for a belay, choose a place which: - Has cracks for solid gear placements. - Has protection from rockfall (especially if there are climbers above). - Does not cause the rope to run across loose rocks. - Allows communication between partners. - Provides a comfortable stance for belaying, if possible.

Hanging Belays If there is no belay ledge, you will have to create a hanging belay. Try to create this in a place which at least has some good footholds. It can be unnerving at your first few hanging belays, because you must completely trust your anchor and lean all your weight on it.

The key points are making sure the anchor is bomber and having the central point at chest level or higher so you can lean out comfortably. For long belays, keep moving your feet around to stop your legs from going numb, or stand in a sling to get the weight on your feet if there are no footholds.

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Rope Management Stacking or coiling the rope neatly so it doesn’t tangle is important on multipitches. If the belay ledge has a flat area, simply stack the rope onto it in a place where it won’t slide off. If there isn’t a suitable area to put the rope, you can stack it in neat coils across the rope which goes between your harness and the anchor (lap coils). Alternatively, stack it through a sling. Either way, the first coils should be the longest, with progressively smaller coils added on top. This ensures the rope feeds out well on the next pitch. If it is windy or there are bushes or loose rock below you, make sure to keep the coils short enough so they don’t get stuck. If climbing with half ropes, treat them as one rope and stack them together in the same way.

Time Budget and Retreat Options Make a realistic estimate of how long the route might take. Figure out what time you need to have finished the route (to avoid thunderstorms or darkness etc..) and then work backwards from there. Break the climb down into pitches and figure out how long each one will take. Remember to add time for approaching and descending the route

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and for belay changeovers. Be conservative with your estimations – it’s much easier to lose time than gain it. As part of your time budget, it’s smart to figure out places where you can switch to an easier route if you are running low on time, or places where you could easily descend without leaving most of your rack behind.

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Teams of Three In most situations, a pair of climbers is faster than a team of three. But having someone to chat with at the belay makes climbing as a three more social. It also means you have an extra person to help carry the gear and lead ckkkkkcccc

some of the harder pitches. There are many ways to connect three climbers to the rope. Two popular methods are described here, both of which require two ropes.

Caterpillar Style Step 1 The leader climbs a pitch with one rope.

Step 2 The second climber follows on that rope, but trails another rope (both ropes are tied into the harness tie-in points).

Step 3 The second climber unclips the gear from the first rope and clips it to the second rope beneath them. This ensures the third climber is protected from a swinging fall if the pitch traverses. If the pitch is straight up, the second climber could remove the gear.

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Step 4 When the second climber has reached the anchor, the third climber is put on belay on the second rope. They remove the gear as they follow.

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Double Rope Style Note: This technique is often employed with half ropes. However, half ropes are not designed to be used individually when following a pitch. For this reason, it is recommended to use two single rated ropes instead. Step 1 The leader climbs with both ropes. They clip alternate gear to each rope. The leader can be belayed by both climbers on one rope each, or by one climber with both ropes.

Step 2 The second and third climbers follow, keeping around five meters apart from each other, while the leader belays them both at the same time. It is highly recommended to belay with an autoblocking belay device directly from the anchor, such as an ATC in guide mode (see page 99). When communicating, finish the command with the rope colour, so the belayer knows which rope you mean (e.g: slack on red rope!).

Common Mistake Clipping both ropes into a carabiner causes the ropes to rub against each other if a climber falls while leading or following. This could damage your rope or even cut through the sheath.

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If you need to clip both ropes to a piece of gear (e.g: to protect both followers on a traverse), use two quickdraws of different lengths as shown. These quickdraws are then removed by the third climber.

Multi-Pitch Abseils Attaching to the Anchor Attach to each anchor with slings as described on page 114. For bolted anchors, make sure to attach to both bolts independently.

If there is only space for one climber to attach, the other climber can clip directly into their partner’s screwgates as shown. However, this means that the climber who descended last must descend first on the next abseil.

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Removing Your Belay Device Once securely attached to the next anchor, you can remove your belay device as follows:

Step 2 Re-clip the cable. This ensures that you can’t drop it.

Step 1 Unfasten the screwgate. Unclip the device’s cable and both ropes from it.

Step 3 Pull the ropes out of the device.

Threading Ropes Thread the rope through the next anchor and tie a stopper knot in it before you pull it down. Tie the stopper knot big enough so that it cannot fit through the main abseil point. This ensures that you cannot lose your ropes.

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Alternatively, tie the rope to yourself so it cannot be dropped.

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Technique – Face Climbing

Climb: Lynne Hempton on Placca de Mu, Monte Sordo, Italy. Photographer: James Rushforth.

Introduction This chapter introduces the most common foot, hand and body positions used in rock climbing. How you grip handholds or stand on footholds depends on their shape, size and position. How you position your body depends on the location of these holds and the angle of the rock. Practising in a climbing gym builds strength, endurance, flexibility and technique, but to climb well on real rock, you’ll need to actually climb on real rock. Brightly coloured holds in a gym are obvious to find, but they are ooooooooooo

much more subtle on rock. Often a foothold is just a slightly lower angled dimple, or a series of tiny edges that require precise foot positioning. Finding holds will get easier once you’ve learned to ‘read’ real rock. With practise, you’ll be able to use all kinds of weird rock features quickly and efficiently. Watching experienced climbers or hiring a climbing coach will help. But ultimately, improving your climbing movement requires plenty of real rock practise.

Footwork Beginner climbers often concentrate on looking upwards for something to grab with their hands, forgetting to look down for footholds. Having good footwork takes an enormous strain off yyyyyyyyy

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your arms, making the climb much easier. There are basically three ways of using footholds; smearing, edging and hooking. These are described on the following pages.

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Smearing Smearing is a technique used to stand on poorly-defined, sloping features. The aim is to have as much surface contact between the sole of your shoe and the rock as possible, therefore maximising friction. Focus on pushing your foot against the rock with your weight concentrated over your big toe. Over time you will develop the ability to find tiny irregularities on the rock. Smearing on a dimple which is just a couple of degrees lower in angle can make a big difference. Keep a high heel if smearing on small scoops. This keeps the pressure on the front of your foot. Keep a low heel if smearing on a uniform slope. This gives more shoe-to-rock surface dddddddd

contact and therefore more friction. It also puts your calf muscles in a more relaxed position.

Edging Edging means placing the very edge of your shoe on a pronounced edge of rock. Although any part of the shoe can be used to edge, you normally do so with the inside front part of the shoe, beneath the big toe. With a good edge on vertical or overhanging terrain, you can pull in with your toe as well as push down. This moves your lower body closer to the wall and reduces the strain on your arms by keeping more weight on your feet. For tiny pockets and edges, you can edge on the front point of the shoe. This positions you neutrally so you can turn your body in either direction for the next move. It also gives you a little extra reach if you stand up on your tiptoe. VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Face Climbing

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For techniques such as back-stepping, it is necessary to use the outside of the shoe (normally beneath the base of your little toe) to edge. The outside edge is also useful when stepping past your other foot on a traverse.

Heel and Toe Hooking Heel hooking is the technique of using the foot as a ‘third hand’. By hooking your heel over a flake or edge, you are able to pull with your leg. This allows you to move more fluidly and controlled through what would otherwise require a ‘dyno’. On overhanging terrain, a crafty heel hook often helps to pull you into the rock, stops you from swinging out and provides extra reach. You can also employ a toe hook in a similar way to a heel hook.

A ‘foot cam’ can work in the same way too. Be aware that you may break your ankle if you fall with your foot in a really good heel-toe lock.

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Footwork Tips * Push your feet in opposite directions (stemming) to keep the weight off your arms. * With marginal smears or edges, it is important to keep your foot in the exact same position while your body moves up. Use your ankle as a hinge to absorb your movements. Any disruption to your foot position will probably cause you to slip off. * To minimize strain on your upper body, use foot holds which are directly beneath your hands.

* When you’ve found the best hold, visualize how your foot will be positioned on it. Don’t move your foot until you know exactly where it’s going. * When you step from the ground to the rock, make sure to wipe the dirt and gravel from the soles of your shoes. * If you’re not sure whether to edge or smear, remember that you can smear an edge, but you can’t edge a smear.

Handholds The weight on your arms increases as the rock gets steeper and the footholds get smaller. Beginners often over grip the rock and burn out their forearms too soon, making it impossible to hold onto anything.

The challenge, therefore, is to use the lightest possible grip to make each move. There are endless ways of gripping holds, but four basic types are described on the following pages.

The Crimp Crimping works best when the thumb is held over the index finger. This closes the crimp and makes the position stronger. This is because your thumb is much stronger than your fingers in this position. If the hold is too small to fit all your fingers, give priority to the middle finger (the strongest), followed by the ring finger, the index and finally the pinky. Be careful when crimping sharp edges. If you slip off suddenly, you’ll probably slice your fingertips. VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Face Climbing

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The Open Grip The open grip is mainly used to hold onto large or rounded features. Search for the best position on the hold and then pull. If the hold isn’t incut, you will rely on friction between your hands and the rock to hold on. For this reason, having more surface contact gives you more grip. An open grip on sloping holds works in a similar way to your shoe when ssssssssss

smearing. In the long term, the open grip puts less strain on the joints and tendons than crimping.

The Pinch You pinch a hold in the same way as a crab pinches it’s claws. An effective use of the technique is to pinch a hold between your thumb and the side of your index finger.

Pockets To hold onto a pocket, you essentially use an open hand or crimp but with less fingers. If you can fit two fingers in the pocket, it’s often better to use the middle and ring fingers, rather than a middle and index finger combo. This balances the load on your fingers much better. If the pocket is only big enough for one finger, your middle finger will be strongest. Be careful – the edges of pockets are often sharp. When you pull hard on a lllllllllllllll VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Face Climbing

pocket, you are effectively grinding your finger tendons over that sharp edge. A common injury is to strain or break the delicate ligaments in the fingers due to excessive crimping and pocket pulling. 142

Other Common Moves Dynamic Moves ‘Dynos’ are probably the most spectacular climbing move. It is a way of using momentum to reach between distant hand holds. It is almost always more efficient to move statically between holds, but if a hold is too far away, a dyno may be the only way. Get your feet up high and focus your attention on the hold. In one fluid motion, push up with your legs, pull with your arms and move your hand quickly towards the hold. Grab onto the hold when your body reaches its apex. A dyno is much easier if you can keep your feet on the footholds. This way, most of your weight is still on your feet when you grab the hold. The disadvantage of dynoing is that cccccccc

you cannot be sure how good the hold is until you’ve committed to it. And committing is the most important part of the dyno. If you make a half-hearted attempt, you’ll be unlikely to stick the hold.

Sidepull It’s impossible to pull straight down on a vertical crimp. Instead, these types of holds are used as sidepulls. Lean from the sidepull and use your feet to oppose the force. This counterpressure keeps you in balance while you use your legs for upward progress. Sidepulls often give you more reach than a horizontal hold. You can sometimes turn a sidepull into a pinch if there is a catch for your thumb. This will create more inward pulling power if you need it.

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Gaston A gaston is the opposite of a sidepull. It is a way of using a vertical crimp which is directly in front of your face or chest. Push outwards on the hold with your elbow pointing away from your body.

Palming and Stemming Palming is similar to an open grip but you use your palm instead of your fingers. You can push yourself into a corner by palming on both sides of it. To stem, smear your feet on either side of the corner. The opposing pressure of pushing inwards with your hands and feet keeps you in balance. Stemming in the slightest corner can provide your arms with a great rest.

Underclings Underclinging relies on the counterpressure between your hand pulling out from a hold and your feet pressing onto the rock. This technique is often used to keep a climber in balance while searching for a better hold above. On consecutive undercling moves, such as traversing under a flake, try to use footholds as much as possible and keep your arms straight. This takes the strain off your arms. VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Face Climbing

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Mantling Mantling is the technique of surmounting a ledge when there are no holds above it to help with this (imagine getting out of a swimming ssssss

pool without using the stairs). The following is a common mantling method, though many variations exist.

Step 1 – Step High A high, well-placed foot is the foundation of the mantle. With your hands on the ledge, walk your feet up to the highest possible foothold. You may even be able to heel hook the ledge.

Step 2 – Pull and Press Pull up and switch your hands to a palm down press. Search above the ledge for any hand holds. Leaning forward and pulling yourself in with one hand makes the next step easier.

Step 3 – Foot Up If your foot isn’t already on the ledge, you can probably put it there now. You may have to shuffle your hands to make space for your foot.

Step 4 – Rock Over Shift the weight onto your high foot and stand up. Try to avoid using the knee, as this will make it more difficult to stand up.

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Rock Steepness Slab Climbing Climbing slabs (rock which is less than vertical) requires less strength and more balance than steeper angles of rock. Your body should remain in the same upright position as when you’re walking. With gravity forcing the weight onto your shoes, you have more friction on the rock. Essentially, you will hold onto features for balance while pushing up with your legs. Friction slabs are generally devoid of any positive features to crimp or edge ssssss

on. To climb a friction slab, you must rely on the surface contact beneath your palms and feet. Small steps are generally more efficient. High steps tend to disrupt the delicate balance needed to stop you from sliding off. On sustained slab climbs, where most of your weight is on your feet, it’s common to get ‘calf pump’ or ‘disco leg’. Rest on any good footholds by standing with your heel on the hold and your leg straight, so that your center of gravity is over your heel.

Climb: Patrick Deacon on The Marmolada, Italy. Photographer: James Rushforth.

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Vertical Rock It is invariably more strenuous on the arms to climb a vertical rock than it is to climb a slab of the same grade.

other. Known as back-stepping, this allows you to use footholds on either side of your body with either foot.

It’s much more efficient to keep the weight off your arms as much as you can. This is done by pushing your hips and chest close to the wall and by using the minimum amount of energy to complete each move as possible. Remember that your feet provide the upwards thrust, while your hands primarily pull you into the rock.

Take advantage of any rests. Opposing your feet against each other across a corner (stemming) allows you to keep the weight off your arms. If you can’t get a two-hands rest, then alternately shake out your arms when you find a good handhold.

Keep your hips perpendicular to the rock by standing on the inside edge of one foot and the outside edge of the kkkggggkkkk

It’s often better to do a series of small moves, instead of a long one. Being stretched out tends to disrupt your balance and often makes the next move more strenuous.

Climb: Lynne Hempton on Mondviole, Frea, Italy. Photographer: James Rushforth.

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Overhanging Routes To climb efficiently on overhanging rock, you need to keep your hips close to the rock and your arms straight whenever possible. Bent arms will tire out much faster. One way to do this is to use the dropknee. Place the outside edge of your shoe on a hold and twist your knee downward. Be careful though, dropknees put a lot of tension on the ligaments in your knee. As with other angles of rock, it is more efficient to pull yourself into the rock with your arms and push yourself up with your legs. This is much more physically demanding on steep routes,

but even the poorest footholds will help ease the strain on your arms and give you something to push from.

Core Strength Your core is the area between your lower chest and your mid-thighs. Engaging the core while climbing keeps you in control. Without a tight core, you are likely to ‘sag’ beneath your arms, causing you to lean out from the rock, butt first. Think of your core as something which dictates the movements of your arms, rather than something which you are simply dragging up the crag.

Climb: Tim Rankin on Moby Dick, The Fin, Scotland. Photographer: Fraser Harle.

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Technique – Crack Climbing

Climb: Danny Guestrin on Sister Morphine, Mount Nemo, Canada. Photographer: James Rosselet.

Crack Climbing Cracks are often very striking lines. It’s no surprise that many classic routes follow crack systems. Some climbs have short crack sections which offer the security of a solid jam and the sanctuary of good gear. On other routes, a crack may be the only climbable feature up an otherwise blank face. Since most trad gear is designed to work in cracks, there is usually an abundance of bomber gear on crack climbs, making them great routes for learning the art of placing trad ppppppppppppp

protection. Jamming your hands and feet into cracks can be difficult (and painful) at first, but great fun once you learn the techniques. This chapter covers jams from fingertip width to full body chimneys, as well as recommended clothing. Techniques are listed in size order, but the actual measurements of cracks are not given as this depends on how big your hands are. A climber with big hands may get a finger lock in the same place that a small-handed climber gets a perfect hand jam.

Dress for the Occasion Clothing For off-widths or chimneys, you’ll benefit from long sleeves and long canvas pants. Don’t wear your best clothes though – they’ll get scraped up. Some climbers wear socks under their shoes and tuck their pant legs in to them. How much you cover up depends on the coarseness of the rock, how long the crack is, and how good your technique is.

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Shoes Comfortable shoes which keep your toes straight are best for most cracks. Torquing your feet into a crack when wearing tight fitting bouldering shoes is very painful! A high-cut shoe will save your ankle skin on wider cracks. If you have lowcut shoes, you’ll benefit from wearing socks or taping your ankles (or both) if you plan to climb anything wider than a fist crack. For pure off-widths, you may be better with some sticky rubber approach shoes instead. 152

Gloves Some climbing companies make rubber gloves for crack climbing. Made from the same sticky rubber as climbing shoes, they are designed to protect your hands from the harsh demands of crack climbing on coarse rock. Rubber gloves are useful if you plan to do a lot of crack climbing. However, a cheaper alternative for the recreational crack climber is to make your own tape gloves using a roll of 1.5” wide aaaaaaaa Step 1 Starting on your palm, wrap the tape around your hand twice as shown. Spread your fingers wide so you don’t make the glove too tight.

athletic tape. There are many different ways to make tape gloves. The method described below provides a durable glove which protects well, but it covers the palm, which may make face climbing a little more awkward. More tape is better for wider cracks, whereas thinner cracks require less. For routes which only have short crack sections, you’re probably better off without gloves.

Palm

Back of Hand

Step 2 Using thinner strips (split the tape in half), wrap loops around each finger and your thumb.

Step 3 Repeat step 1, but continue wrapping tape down to your wrist.

To Remove When you’ve finished climbing, cut the tape on the inside of your wrist and peel the glove off (shave your hands if necessary to make this less painful). You can now re-use the gloves by adding a wrap around the wrist to hold them on. Some climbers also use spray adhesive to help re-used gloves stick.

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Finger Cracks There are three techniques of climbing finger cracks: - Finger locking - Finger jamming - Liebacking

When the crack is too wide for a finger jam but not wide enough for a hand jam, you’ll have to resort to more strenuous and often painful 'off-fingers' alternatives; thumb stacking and thumb camming.

Finger Locks and Jams When there is a constriction in a crack which accepts your fingers up to the second or third knuckle, a finger lock can be very secure. Just slot your fingers in and pull down. The further your fingers go in, the better the lock. Try locking with your thumb either up or down for the best fit. If there are no constrictions for finger locks, you can use the more strenuous finger jam instead. With the thumb down, insert all your fingers into the crack and rotate your elbows down to torque your fingers into the crack. This creates opposing pressure which jams your fingers in place.

Liebacking If you can’t jam or lock, liebacking might get you through a few moves. Treat the crack as one long sidepull and lean from it while opposing the pressure with your feet. This works best on corner cracks, but also works well on offset cracks (where the rock protrudes further out on one side – like a mini corner). If the crack is more incut on one side than the other, use the more incut side for a better handhold. If there are footholds, you may be able to switch to stemming to get a good rest. Be careful though – it’s hard to place gggggggggg VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Crack Climbing

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Fingertips Cracks These cracks accept only the tips of your fingers. Super thin cracks are often difficult to protect. Look out for constrictions that you may be able to slot a pinky finger in and smear or ooooooo

edge your feet off the crack. Sometimes you will use the crack purely for protection and climb on face holds around it.

Thumb Stacks To thumb stack, put your thumb in the crack first, then wrap your index and middle fingers over the top. As you pull down and drop your elbow, the thumb stack torques into the crack. To fine-tune the jam, vary the number of fingers you place over your thumb and the depth they go into the crack.

Thumb Cams To thumb cam, put your fingers against one side of the crack with your thumb down and push your thumb against the other side. This puts a lot of pressure on your thumb joints – be careful of dislocating it. In corners, this only works with one hand, since the thumb is in the wrong position on the other hand.

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Finger Crack Footwork Footwork can be difficult in finger and off-finger cracks because they are usually too narrow to get your foot into. Often you will only be able to get the yyyyyyyyy

tip of your toe in. Look out for wider spots or constrictions where you can get more purchase with your feet.

Finger Crack Sequence The crux of many finger cracks is finding the most efficient sequence. This is mostly determined by the location of finger locks, face holds and footholds.

Constrictions make the best holds in finger cracks, but they also provide the best gear. If it is safe to do so, it can be better to use the finger lock first, then place gear in it at waist level.

You may need to shuffle your feet up before moving your hands, or maybe you’ll need to do a few finger locks before moving a foot up.

It’ll make the climb much harder if you fill all the best finger locks with gear before using them.

Hand Cracks At first, hand cracks are insecure and painful on the hands and feet. But with practise, a good hand jam is better than any jug and a foot jam is as good as standing on a ledge. Put your hand in the crack, either thumb up or down, and fold your thumb across your palm. This expands your hand and jams it in place. As with other types of jam, look for constrictions and slot your hand in just above to make the jam less strenuous and more secure.

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Thin Hands For thin hand cracks, push your hand in as far as it will go and press your fingers against the crack. Your hand is jammed in position because of the opposing pressure between your finger tips and knuckles. It’s better if you can get a thumb in to help too.

Wide Hands For wide hand cracks, you can either cam or cup your hand. To cam, twist a hand jam so your thumb goes further into the crack. This puts your hand in a position which is half a hand jam and half a fist jam.

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For cupped hands, make a wide hand jam and hook your thumb over your index finger if you can. The base of your palm and fingertips press against one side of the crack, while your knuckles push against the other. You can twist this to combine the cupped and cammed hand jam for more holding power.

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Hand Crack Footwork To jam your feet, slip your foot halfway into the crack with the big toe up. Then

torque it in by pushing your big toe down.

Hand Crack Sequence To move fast on a straight-in hand crack, jam with your thumbs up and ‘windmill’ your arms – reach through with each jam, right over left then left over right. Walk your feet up in the same pattern.

You will generally get more reach if the leading hand is thumbs down and the following hand is thumbs up. Set a high jam, bring your lower hand up just beneath it, then move your feet up and repeat.

If the crack is awkward, diagonal or in a corner, it is usually better to have a leading hand and a following hand – so you never reach through.

On diagonal cracks, you will normally keep in balance better by having one foot in the crack while the other smears on the face.

Fist Cracks If you twist a hand jam further around it becomes a fist jam. Your thumb knuckle and outside edge of your index finger will press against one side of the crack while the outside edge of your pinky finger presses against the other side of the crack. You can fist jam with your palms facing in or out, though facing out makes it easier to move up on straightforward fist cracks. If the crack leans or is in a corner, try having your leading fist palm in and your lower fist palm out. As with hand jams, set a high jam, bring your lower hand up just beneath it, then move your feet up and repeat.

Fist Crack Footwork Unless your feet are particularly narrow, fist cracks make great ffffffffffffffffffffff VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Crack Climbing

footholds. Torque them in just as you would for a hand crack. 158

Off-Width Cracks Wide cracks are often regarded as more work than fun. Although they do require a lot of effort and grovelling, the challenge provides a satisfying rrrrrrrrrrrr

reward. Learning the following skills takes dedication – be prepared to lose some skin in the process.

Off-Width Sequence The general off-width sequence is: 1) Get your feet wedged in the crack. 2) Push your upper body up and wedge it in. 3) Move your feet up. 4) Repeat.

Which wedging technique you use for your feet and upper body depends on the size of the crack. Off-widths often change size so you’ll need to use a variety of techniques.

Off-Width Footwork Foot Cam Slide your upper foot into the crack and twist the ball of your foot against one side of the crack and your outside heel against the other. You can then jam your lower foot on the outside of the crack by pressing the inside heel against one side and the outside front of your foot against the other.

Heel-Toe Jam If the crack is too wide for a foot cam, you can use a heel-toe jam. Position your foot horizontally with your toe smearing on one side and your heel jammed on the other.

Knee Jam This works well if the crack is slightly bigger than your knee, but be careful not to get your knee stuck. Slide your knee high into the crack. Then pull your foot back and wrap your toes around the edge of the crack. VDiff > Trad Climbing Basics > Crack Climbing

You can do a foot cam below with your other foot. As the crack gets slightly bigger, bury your whole thigh in the crack, then bend your knee to expand your leg in place.

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Off-Width Upper Body Technique Hand Stacks Set two jams side by side to fill the width of the crack. You can jam hand/hand, hand/fist, or fist/fist depending on the size of the off-width. Hand/fist and fist/fist jams are generally more secure with your arms ggggggggg

Arm-Bar The arm-bar involves placing your arm deep into the crack. Press your palm (thumbs up) against one side of the crack, and your elbow and shoulder against the other side. Use the opposing force to get a secure jam. The other hand can gaston the outer edge of the crack. Grab it with your thumb down and elbow out, then pull away from yourself.

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crossed at the wrist (rather than normal left/right orientation). For a hand/hand jam (butterfly stack), place the backs of your hands together and jam them in the crack with your thumbs up.

Chicken-Wing Place your arm into the crack, elbow first, with your arm bent and palm facing out. Push your palm against the wall and push your triceps against the other side. Push down and outward on your chicken-wing to cam your elbow and arm into place.

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Off-Width Tips * Once you’ve wedged yourself in a wider off-width, it can be difficult to switch sides, so plan before you get in there. * If you don’t need to switch sides, carry all your gear (belay device, chalk, cams, everything) on the side of your harness which faces out. * If you think you might have to switch sides, it’s much better to carry your whole rack on a gear sling. Simply swing it around to the other side to keep it out of the crack. * Make sure you have enough wide gear to protect the climb – many offwidths offer no other protection.

* To avoid a massive whipper, keep a cam clipped to the rope and shuffle it up as you climb. When appropriate, leave this cam behind and continue up with another clipped to the rope. Don’t forget to extend gear which is far back in the crack. * Sometimes the crack tapers towards the back so you might be able to get a fist jam, or there may be small edges in and around the crack which make upward progress easier. * Focus on relaxing the muscles you aren’t using to avoid unnecessary physical exertion. Rest if you find a comfortable stance, and don’t forget to breathe.

Squeeze Chimneys Squeeze chimneys are big enough to get completely inside, but only just. One way to squirm up is to use the sidewinder technique. To Get Set Up 1) Face one of the chimney walls and turn your body diagonally so your head is only slightly higher than your feet. 2) Set a chicken wing with your upper arm and a reverse chicken wing with your lower arm. 3) Twist your upper hip forward so it opposes the pressure of your butt against the back wall.

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4) Press your knees against the front . wall and your heels against the back . wall (knee bars). . To Move Up 1) Pivot at the waist to move your torso up and reset the chicken wings. 2) Move your hips up and twist them in place. 3) Shuffle your feet up and reset the knee bars. 4) Repeat. It’s best to keep your gear hanging down on a gear sling.

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Chimneys Wider chimneys are generally easier to climb than squeezes or off-widths, but often offer no protection.

There are different methods of climbing chimneys. A standard technique is shown below.

Step 1 Set both feet against one chimney wall and oppose this with your back against the other.

Step 3 Push up with this foot and your hands to move your body up.

Step 2 Set one foot against the back wall as high as you can.

Step 4 Return your foot to a higher position on the front wall and walk your other foot up to join it.

In a wider chimney, you may have to stem across it. Push off the left chimney wall with your hands to move your left foot up. Then alternate with the right side. Bend your knees and keep your feet high to maintain a strong pressure on the chimney walls.

In a super wide chimney, a full-body stem may be required. With both hands on one chimney wall and both feet on the other, walk upwards. Make sure to keep three points of contact as you move up. Be warned – it’s hard to climb out of this position.

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Summary Climbing is like a dance. The aim is to choreograph these different types of holds and moves into one fluid movement. It is much more efficient and enjoyable to move up fluidly, methodically and in balance. Frantic, jerky movements are clumsy and will tire you out faster. Once this becomes second nature, nnnnn

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you will soon begin to develop your own style and move on to more advanced techniques. After climbing each route, review the techniques that you used. Ask yourself what worked, what didn’t and what you could do to climb the route in better style. Practise makes perfect!

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Essential Knots

Photographer: Alex Ratson.

Essential Knots This chapter introduces the most commonly used knots for trad climbing. Every climber should be able to recognize, tie and untie the following knots without having to think about it. Remember that you may have to tie them in situations which are far from ideal and you will trust your life to each knot. Each knot has multiple uses and, in most cases, there are many knots you could tie to achieve the same result. Before choosing a knot, consider the following. In order of importance: 1) Is it suitable for the intended use? 2) Could it slip or roll? 3) Is it easy to untie or adjust?

Diameter, Flexibility and Surface Friction The examples given in this manual assume that you are tying identical sections of cord, rope or webbing together, except of course for prusiks. Knots work best when every rope involved is of the same diameter, flexibility, elasticity and surface friction. Minor differences are fine. For example, tying a 9.5mm and a 10.2mm dynamic rope end-to-end for abseiling is safe. But tying a 6mm tag line to a 10.2mm rope with the same knot will probably result in that knot falling apart. Likewise, a knot joining an old, stiff static rope to a slick, flexible dynamic rope is likely to slip, even if they are the same diameter. A simple alternative for joining ropes or cord of different materials or diameters is to tie a figure-8 loop in the end of each and clip them together with a carabiner.

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Dressing After tying any knot, it is important that you dress it correctly. This means tightening each strand and adjusting the loops and twists so they are perfectly aligned. Your knots should look exactly like the diagrams in this manual. A knot which isn’t well dressed could slip or fail.

Webbing and Cord Webbing (tape) is flat. Cord and ropes are round. Knots which are designed for webbing may be useless when tied with rope and vice versa. Make sure you understand material your knot is for.

what

Figure-8 Tie In Uses The figure-8 is widely accepted as being the safest knot to tie-in with.

Step 1 Make a loop about a meter from the end of the rope. Wrap the end of the rope around the base of the loop, then push the end through as shown.

Step 2 You should end up with an '8'. Make sure the knot is around 90cm from the end of the rope (the exact length varies with ropes of different diameters).

Step 3 Pass the end of the rope through both of the two points on the front centre of your harness – the same ones your belay loop runs through. It is important that the rope goes through your harness in exactly the same way as your belay loop does.

~90cm

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Step 4 Use the end of the rope to re-trace the figure-8. Follow the twists of the rope starting from where it joins your harness.

Step 5 Continue following the twists until you end up back at the start of the knot. Pull the tight.

whole

thing

Step 6 Make sure the end of the rope is around 25cm long. If it is shorter, you'll have to untie and start again. After this, you will need to tie a stopper knot. Loop the short section of rope around the main length.

25

Step 7 Do this twice, with the second loop closer to you than the first.

Step 8 Push the end of the rope through these two loops, away from you.

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cm

Step 9 Pull this tight too (make sure it's pushed right up to your figure-8 knot).

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Figure-8 on a Bight Uses - Attaching the rope to an anchor.

Step 1 Take a bight of rope and form an ‘8’ shape as shown.

- Creating a master cordelette or sling.

Step 2 Push the end of the rope through the top part of the 8.

point

in

a

Step 3 Pull it tight.

Stopper Knot When tying a figure-8 in the end of a rope, make sure to add a stopper knot.

Warning! Figure-8’s should only be end-loaded (pulled along the line of the knot). If you load the loop in two opposing directions, the knot can roll over itself and lose strength or fail completely. For this reason, you should never use the figure-8 to join ropes for abseiling.

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Tying into the Middle of the Rope You can use a variation of the figure-8 to tie into the middle of a rope. Follow steps 1-5 described on pages 167-168, but use a bight of rope instead. Clip the final loop into your belay loop to complete the knot.

Tying Off a Belay Device – The Mule Overhand Times when you may need to have both hands free when using an ATC include: - Switching gear on a multi-pitch - Sorting out a rope tangle when belaying - Passing a knot when abseiling - Escaping the belay in an emergency situation In situations where the rope isn't weighted, a simple overhand knot backed up to your belay loop (as shown below) will work. However, if the rope becomes weighted when using this method (e.g; if the leader falls), it will be almost impossible to release the tie-off.

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If there is any chance of this happening, you should instead use the mule-overhand method (described on the following pages). This allows you to tie-off your belay device while the leader is weighting the rope, and also release the tie-off when it's weighted.

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Step 1 Pass a loop of the slack rope through your screwgate carabiner with one hand while keeping hold of the rope with your brake hand.

Step 2 Pass a loop from the opposite side through the first loop so that a mule knot is formed around the spine of the carabiner.

This can be difficult when heavily weighted – you’ll need to pinch the rope tight.

Do not tie this knot around the gate of the carabiner.

Step 3 Make sure the second loop is around 60cm long. Pull it tight.

Step 4 Tie an overhand knot around the tensioned rope as shown.

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Step 5 A carabiner completes the hands-free mule-overhand knot.

Step 6 – Releasing Under Load To release the tie-off with the rope loaded, first untie the overhand knot. Then holding the slack rope securely with both hands, simply pull down to release the mule knot. You should be ready to expect a few centimetres of rope to slip through. Keep a firm grip so you do not lose control of the belay device. You can now belay or lower the climber as normal.

Top Tips * If you are belaying with two ropes, simply treat them as one rope and follow the same steps. * Make sure to communicate with your partner so they know not to continue climbing while tied-off.

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Overhand Loop Uses - Creating a master cordelette or sling.

point

in

a

Step 1 Clip the sling to both bolts and pull the strands down so they are equal.

Step 2 Pull the bottom of the sling around to form a loop.

Step 3 Push the end of the sling through the loop as shown. Pull the knot tight.

Step 4 This forms two small loops beneath the overhand knot. Clip a screwgate through both of these loops to form the central point.

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The same knot can be used to equalize three or more pieces.

Double Bowline Uses - Securing the end of a rope around a large object such as a tree.

- Could also be used to tie the rope to your harness.

Step 1 Wrap the end of the rope around a tree or other suitable object. Form two loops in the rope as shown.

Step 2 Push the end of the rope up through the two loops and around the back of the main strand. Then push the end of the rope back down through the loops.

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Step 3 Pass the end around the back of the knot and push it up through the new loop as shown.

Step 4 The double bowline is now tied, but needs a stopper knot to be complete. Pass the end of the rope around the main strand twice.

Step 5 Finish the stopper knot to complete the double bowline.

Warning! The double bowline is great for tying around a tree or boulder as part of a toprope anchor. Some climbers also use the double bowline for tying in because it’s easy to untie after multiple falls. However, it has been known to untie itself, especially if the rope is stiff. This is due to lots of movement in the rope as you climb. The figure-8 is recommended as a much safer alternative for tying into your harness.

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Girth Hitch (Lark’s Foot) Uses - Attaching slings to your belay loop. - Attaching slings together.

- Fastening a sling around a tree. - Connecting a sling to a carabiner without opening the gate.

Step 1 Feed a sling through your belay loop.

Step 2 Put one end of the sling through the other.

Step 3 Pull it tight.

Strop Bend You can also link two slings together using these same steps. Arrange the girth hitch as shown below to create a strop bend. This is basically a neater version of the girth hitch.

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Water (Tape) Knot Uses - Joining flat or tubular nylon webbing of equal width.

Step 1 Tie a loose overhand knot near one end of the webbing.

Step 2 Thread the other end into the knot as shown.

Step 3 Retrace the original knot, making sure it lies flat at all times.

Step 4 Cinch the knot tight. The tails should be at least 10cm long.

Warnings! * The water knot should never be used to join: - Dyneema webbing - Any webbing of unequal width - Rope/cord to webbing In these cases, the knot is very weak and prone to slipping.

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* The water knot can untie itself over time with repeated loading and unloading. Make sure the knot is tight and the tails are at least 10cm long each time you use it. * Some climbers duck-tape the tails to keep them neat and to help prevent creeping. If you do this, leave the ends of the webbing in view so you can see them.

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Slip Knot Uses - Tying off pitons, tree stumps or other poor gear in order to reduce leverage.

Step 1 Form a loop in a sling (thin Dyneema works better than nylon).

Step 2 Pull a bight through this loop as shown.

Step 3 Slip this bight over the piece of gear.

Step 4 Cinch it tight and push it as close to the rock as possible. This reduces leverage on the piece, therefore making it a stronger piece of protection.

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Alpine Butterfly Uses - Equalizing a two-bolt belay. - Isolating a damaged section of rope. - Forming a fixed loop in the middle of a rope. This provides a clip-in point which can be loaded in 2 or 3 directions.

Step 1 Form a loop in the rope.

Step 2 Twist the loop so it becomes two loops. Then pull the top of the upper loop behind and underneath the line of the rope.

Step 3 Push the now lower loop through the original first loop.

Step 4 Pull it tight.

View From Front

View From Back

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Alternative Method An alternative way to tie the alpine butterfly is to wrap it around your hand three times as shown. Pull the top wrap down over the other two, then back up behind them.

Equalizing a Two-Bolt Belay Tie a large-looped alpine butterfly to one screwgate and a clovehitch to the other. You can adjust the size of the loop once the alpine butterfly is tied. Then adjust the clovehitch to fine tune the equalization.

Isolating a Damaged Section This is useful when using your rope as a fixed line or in a situation where the rope will not pass through any carabiners. Obviously, you will not be able to lead climb with a knot in your rope!

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Double Fisherman’s Bend Uses - Tying two ends of cord together to make a prusik or cordelette.

Step 1 Loop one end of the cord around twice as shown to create two loops. Then push the end through these loops.

Spare Cord

Step 2 Pull it tight and do the same with the other end of the cord.

Step 3 Pull it all tight so that the two knots jam together. Make sure the tails are at least 10 times the diameter of the cord (e.g: 5cm tails for a 5mm prusik cord).

Triple Fisherman's Bend Add an extra coil to make a triple fisherman’s bend. Some slippery cords (such as dyneema) require a triple so they don’t slide apart under load – check the manufacturer’s recommendations.

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The Autoblock (French) Prusik Uses: - To back up an abseil. Prusiks can be made with a 1.2m length of 5mm cord tied together with a double fisherman’s bend. A correctly ggggggg

tied prusik will auto-lock if you let go of the ropes. Different types of prusik have advantages in certain situations. These are detailed in The Trad Climber’s Guide To Problem Solving.

Step 1 Wrap the prusik neatly around the rope a few times as shown.

Step 2 Clip the ends together with a carabiner. More wraps will create more friction around the ropes, though four wraps are generally enough. Make sure the autoblock is neat and the double fisherman's bend is away from the ropes.

Step 3 Pinch the knot to loosen it. This allows you to move it down the rope. Weight the knot to lock it. The autoblock locks in both directions, but the double fisherman's bend tends to wrap itself into the prusik when the direction is switched, making it much less effective.

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Clovehitch Uses - Attaching yourself to the anchor.

- Attaching ropes, cord or slings to carabiners.

Step 1 Make two identical loops in the rope. Put the rear loop over the top of the front loop.

Step 2 Clip a screwgate carabiner (never use a snapgate carabiner) through these two loops.

Step 3 Pull it tight and fasten the screwgate.

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Final Words Learning the techniques of placing gear and building anchors isn't enough to make you a proficient trad climber. Unexpected situations often arise, especially on multi-pitches (such as not having enough rope to reach a solid belay, or retreating from a climb with damaged ropes and poor anchors).

It's important to develop the ability to adapt your trad skills to suit situations like these that do not have a textbook solution. Being able to solve problems quickly is a vital skill which can only be learnt through experience. So get out there, and climb some rocks!

Climb: The Tantalus Traverse, British Columbia, Canada. Photographer: Alex Ratson.

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Other VDiff Titles

Having the knowledge of safe climbing skills is the lightest and most useful equipment you can take on any climb.

Available as paperbacks or e-books. For more information, visit: www.vdiffclimbing.com

Learn before you go. Don’t actually take these books up there with you!

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Index abseiling, 113-122, 134-135 alpine butterfly, 179-180 anchors, 74-95 autoblock, 182 ball nuts, 17, 49-53 bandolier, 24 belay device, 23 belay loop, 103 belay methods, 98-102 belay position, 82, 107, 130 belay techniques, 103-106 big bros, 17, 48-49 cams, 16, 25, 28-34 chalk, 22 chimneys, 161-162 chockstones, 56 clovehitch, 54, 183 communication, 109 cordelette, 24, 76-82, 86-89 core strength, 148 crack climbing, 150-162 crimping, 141 cross-loading, 64 daisy chains, 89-90 descending, 110-123 double bowline, 174-175 double fisherman’s bend, 181 downclimbing, 113 dry treatment, 21 dyneema, 58-60 dynos, 143 edging, 139-140 equalizing anchors, 76-82 equipment, 14-25 etiquette, 9 extendable quickdraws, 61-62 extending anchors, 82-88 extending belay device, 121 extending gear, 63-64

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face climbing, 136-148 fall factors, 11, 68 figure-8 knot, 167-170 finding a partner, 9 finger cracks, 154-156 fireman’s belay, 120 first trad lead, 12-13 fist cracks, 158 fixed gear, 65 flakes, 54 footwork, 138-141 forces on gear, 67-70 French prusik, 182 gaston, 144 gear sling, 24 girth hitch, 55, 64, 114, 176 gloves, 153 guide mode, 99-102 half ropes, 19, 70-73 hand cracks, 156-158 handholds, 141-142 harness, 23 heavy climbers, 67, 104 heel hooking, 140 helmets, 21-22 hexes, 17, 40-43 kN ratings, 67-70 knots, 164-183 alpine butterfly, 179-180 autoblock (French) prusik, 182 clovehitch, 54, 183 double bowline, 174-175 double fisherman’s bend, 181 figure-8, 167-170 girth hitch, 55, 64, 114, 176 mule-overhand, 170-172 overhand, 78, 115, 173-174 slip, 178 water (tape), 177

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lark’s foot, see girth hitch liebacking, 154 looking after your gear, 24-25 loose rock, 66-67 mantling, 145 maximum impact force, 20 micro gear, 69 middle markers, 20 mule-overhand knot, 170-172 multidirectional gear, 65 multi-pitch, 124-135 nut tool, 18 nuts, 17, 35-40 nylon, 58-60 offset cams, 33 off-widths, 159-161 open grip, 142 overhand knot, 78, 115, 173-174 overhanging routes, 148 palming, 144 personal anchor system (PAS), 89 pinches, 142 pockets, 142 protecting the climb, 26-73 prusik, 23, 182 quickdraws, 23, 61-62 rappelling, see abseiling redirected belay, 98 retreating, 122 rock quality, 66-67 rope loop, 103 ropes, 18-21 route finding, 12 runout routes, 104

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shock loading, 81 shoes, 22, 152 sidepull, 143 single ropes, 18 six point rule, 77 slab climbing, 146 slings, 17, 53-64 slip knot, 178 smearing, 139 soft catches, 105 squeeze chimneys, 161 stacking ropes, 102, 131 static falls, 60 static ropes, 18 stemming, 144 strop bend, 53, 176 tape knot, 177 tarps, 24 teams of three, 132-134 technique, 136-163 threads, 38, 56 thumb cams, 155 thumb stacks, 155 toe hooking, 140 top-rope, 92-94 top shelf, 88-89 traversing, 71 tree anchors, 86 tricams, 18, 44-47 twin ropes, 19 underclings, 144 used gear, 25 v-angle, 53, 56, 79-80 vertical rock, 147 walking off, 112 water knot, 177

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