All round a great video, very thorough and some good advice. Can't fault the instructor at all, but for anyone watching this video today you should be aware the advice/best practice for cleaning anchors has changed. It is highly recommended to lower off (on belay) than rappel. Everything said about not wearing out the fixed hardware still stands, but there's a difference between working a top rope all day long and just lowering off once at the end of the day. Rappelling is more dangerous and error prone. Besides, the "fixed" hardware can be replaced. The bolts can't (well, they can...) but the chains are easy to swap out. One lower off a day isn't going to wear the chains down very quickly.
lmao I was thinking the exact same thing when he was talking about how being in the desert made the rope more abrasive like, "maybe keep better care of ur rope so it doesn't get covered in wet sand in the first place"
And as others have said; I’ve watched quite a few vids on this subject and read all the comments, and this is the most logically sound vid on safely repelling on RU-vid.
Free add on tip check the bolts tightness with your fingers before you TR on them or rap off them. They shouldn't be loose but occasionally are and since it takes about 2 seconds that is what I consider the top of my system when I am double checking everything. Great video, even without my over analyzing of bolt safety.
Great video, only thing I noticed, when he cleans the anchor he is relying completely on the backup prusik to break his rappel. I like to stay clipped on the wall until I'm completely ready to start my rappel.
I feel like the only big thing that's missing from this video is that you should weight test your anchor system before going off Belay to make sure everything is solid.
This is really an outstanding vid. The only question I have - realizing it's an instruction demo where a Quad step-up disclaimer may have been made about the carabiners used for the demo - why lockers are not used to secure the Quad.
Funny- never knew this video was posted until a client sent me the link today :) I just answered the same question above with an almost identical answer. Nice job!
great video, one question hope someone could help me with. In the video, the main attachment point to the harness is the webbing with an overhand knot, with 1 inch tumbler webbing, how strong is that particular point?
The rappel carabiner is attached to the webbing on both sides of that overhand knot and the webbing is attached to my harness via a girth hitch. The webbing is rated at 22kn but the overhand will weaken that slightly. Still more strength than you would ever generate while rappelling. I do inspect and replace these slings more often than any of my other gear because they are a single point of attachment for myself and my clients lives.
Great video! Very thorough and much better than most of the how-to's on RU-vid currently. The only question I'm left with at the end is: What was the reasoning behind clipping your double-length sling into just one leg of the quad vs. the lower masterpoint? I assume its because the system is technically still redundant i.e. if the left bolt fails you're still on the right bolt, but with lots of extension in the system. But wouldn't it be better to anchor yourself to the masterpoint to minimize extension if one bolt fails? Although I do realize this would place you a bit further down and maybe too low to comfortably thread the rope through. To stay higher on the system and closer to the anchor, I suppose you could have also clipped both legs of the quad above the limiter knots instead of just one. Why not do that also? Not criticizing your technique just wondering the reasoning behind it, thanks!
i think because it’s a double length. if you were using a 60cm sling, you could clip the master and be just as close to the bolts as he is with this setup.
you are right, if left bolt fail i worry about the capacity of the static sling to resist to that fall, probably ok but use of a sling must normally be done without any potential big shock. Personally I tends to double my self with the addition of a quickdraw clipped in the middle section of my lanyard to the other bolt or very close. Very good video in general, just don t like the application of the rappel without extension, at least he show well the potential problem.
love it, just on the last one, why not put the belayer system most far from the bucle? like that no risk that the prussik knot go to the belayer system
At 4:00 in the case of an anchor made up of two draws, you say you need a draw on each bolt because they are separate draws. But wouldn’t it still be redundant to use a single draw attached at the end of both draws?
@11:37 top left of the screen, after the girl messes with the green shirt, it turns into a sideways portrait of a weird face! Also great climbing info, thank you
Is there another knot you could use in the nylon sling that would have the same redundancy but be easier to untie after being loaded? Like an alpine butterfly knot? This would use more material and take more skill to tie, I know. But if there’s a similar knot for webbing that doesn’t cinch as much under load, it might be worth considering?
Don't think they understood your question. A good way is to use a double locking quickdraw from your belt to belay device, and then a prussic from the biner in your harness to the rope underneath the belay device. This prevents the prussic from coming in contact with the bottom of the belay device and being ineffective. Also eliminates the sling altogether. No knocks. And faster.
Lyric Derbin very nice:) I like. You could still use the longer sling to build and clean your gear, but use the QD with a double lock as your rappel extension.
Ski. Play. Live. TV But that is an interesting thought on building an anchor. Does sound like you would be adding complexity to you setup and routine. More shit to F up. I probably would want to use that either, but it might be worth knowing how to do it. Another tool in your box and all.
I really like the clarity of the video, but starting at 5:20 Doug is not redundant. He is connected to the anchor with a single loop. Is there a way to avoid this single point of failure?
Question - at 4:00, you mentioned that if the anchor was set up with two quickdraws, you’ll then need to clip your double length sling into both chains. Why can’t you just clip into both draws? And with the chains being about 5 inches apart, how would you clip into both chains with a single sling? Thanks.
Yes agree, as he made clear though if you have a serious problem like a rock knocking you out, it's better to have the safety prussik/autoblock in place. Better than nothing for sure. It doesn't mean you can stop for a picnic, but as he said if you have to stop, you can tie in a 'catastrophe knot' to stop the rappel temporarily. The problem is if you look at the statistics, a lot of accidents at top grades of climbing are during the rappel down. So it was a good spot you're definitely not crazy, what is crazy is having all that bolted kit and double safe set up, then relying only on one sweaty hand for your entire descent! There are a lot of rappel/abseil vids on here, I think this is a really good one. Safe climbing buddy.
I'm confused when you say, "I will never trust my life to a piece of gear I don't own, like a bolt" But, by clipping into your anchor, which is attached to the bolts, aren't you still trusting your life to the bolts? And by top roping on that quad, aren't you still trusting those bolts with your life? AND by rapping off the bolts, aren't you still trusting the bolts?
@@tylernguyen7891 By being on the quad, he's attached to both bolts. He's basically saying he wouldn't trust his life to a SINGLE piece of equipment he doesn't own. He's using 2.
The AMGA does not officially recommend one method over another. They generally advocate to pick the most appropriate method given the individual circumstances. More importantly to completely understand any system/method/item you use and also their modes of failure
Climbing, like skiing, has it's own language but once you get involved in the sport you easily figure it out. Too bad when they ask you to put languages on your resume you can't add "climbing". lol
Unless I'm missing something the carabiners holding the rope on the quad are clipped to all four strands - instead of two - totally wrong and unsafe - WTF?
Dave Owen it looks like the first one is clipped to two strands and the second is clipped to the other two strands, which would make it redundant. hard to tell without a closer look but that’s how i’ve always used quad anchors.
Accepted best practice is to have two opposite and opposed lockers for your masterpoint(where the rope runs through) but lockers are not necessary where your anchor attaches to the bolt hangers as long as there is no potential for something(mainly rock) to push the gate open. Those carabiners really don't move much where the masterpoint is subject to movement and potential for the rope to unscrew the gate.
