Top Rope Solo / TR Solo 

Glad you like them! Stay safe!!

Thank you! Have fun, be safe, and have great adventures!!

Thanks! I've learned a lot myself from people's responses. And, I like to read comments too!

Thank you! I realize there are a few mistakes but hopefully it helps me and the community learn and grow from them. I appreciate your encouragement!!

It's a lot of fun. :) Hope you enjoy it and be safe.

Thank you!

Thanks for watching!

Thank you, have fun and be safe!!

Thanks, I hope to in the spring. Best wishes!

Check out Andy Kirkpatrick and Steph Davis' webpages. As well as the association of solo alpinist.

you all prolly dont care but does anyone know of a method to log back into an instagram account..? I was stupid lost the account password. I appreciate any help you can offer me!

@Milo Reginald Instablaster =)

@Houston Bodie I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site thru google and im waiting for the hacking stuff atm. Takes a while so I will reply here later with my results.

Hey thanks, Dan, good pointers!

Do you climb at Jackson Falls too?!! It's so beautiful!

USMC471, thanks, I'm glad your enjoying my videos. About your question, what I did was to put the ATC on the free rope and then pull out the slack untill the ATC was engaged tighter than the ascender. Then with my left hand, I disengaged the cam on the ascender and held it open while I rappelled down. Hopefully that makes sense. I use a chest harness/sling now so my set up is slightly different. Instead of rappeling I'll often down-climb and inch-worm my ascenders down with me.

My pleasure!

Just in case you haven't learned from somewhere yet - for climbing you should always use a dynamic rope. It stretches when you fall to absorb the impact. Falling on a static rope is dangerous because it puts a lot of force on the climber and gets shock loaded after a fall. A static rope is fine to use for things like rappelling. For brands, anything you find from a big outdoor retailer like Backcountry or REI will be high quality and safe to use. Diameter isn't too crucial as long as it's in the range your belay device/ascender can be used with. 9.8 or 10mm is probably about the middle of normal climbing rope diameters.

Thanks, Dirk, go after your dreams and don't let age stop you!! :)

Thank you and great questions. I use the secondary ascender as redundancy. It's not necessary, but it's nice to have there just in case the primary device fails somehow - peace of mind more than anything. I think it's recommended that one device is at chest harness level and the other is at the belay loop because ascenders aren't meant to take shock force. Using an ascender to help lock the position of gear (so as to not accidentally let go and have it all tumble back down to the bottom) is a good idea, especially if there is a lot of gear to haul and/or it's a long way. It might be worth setting up like a big wall gear haul on an anchor with a pulley so you would have better body positioning. All the best.

Zach Christensen, that's correct, they are intended for static ropes. in this video, I was using a dynamic rope. I put a good deal of weight on the bottom of the rope to pre-stretch it. I've also used static ropes, and prefer it, because you don't sink at all (by stretching) when you weight the rope. Good comment, thx!

it's not marketed as the camp lift now (camp lift exist for decades), it's just a rip off, camp lift is still produce in italy by the way

Great question. What I've done in the past is to set up my ATC on the loose, unused side of the rope and attach it to my harness above the ascenders. (so on my belay loop it would go atc, ascender 1, ascender 2) Then, take up slack on the ATC until the rope is tight. Then, use your feet to push you up at the same time as taking in an arm of slack from the ATC. This causes your weight to transfer from the ascender to the ATC. At this point some people would remove the ascender, I don't do this however. I just hold the cam open with my left hand while my right hand lowers me via ATC. By keeping the ascenders attached, it's faster and safer because the ascender will engage if you go to fast/let go of the rappel rope. Hopefully this helps.

Great, thanks for your reply, makes sense and seems to be a good way to go about it.

Hi Hugo, thanks for writing. To your first question, you don't really "fall" on a tr solo set up. Your ascenders should always stay at hip level and chest level. I no longer have my back up device below the primary; I keep it up above it with a chest sling. You can see some of my other videos on how I do that. So when you fall it's like sitting back on the rope. It's not shock-loaded. I weigh 130lbs so the 220lbs is plenty of strength. I'm not super technical about that kind of thing though so maybe someone else could answer that question better. About your second question - how to overcome fear. That feeling of terrifying exposure can creep up on anybody. Usually for me it's triggered by my peripheral vision (if there's a drop off or shear face just out of my field of vision). The way I handle it is to do a safety check scan (my knot, my harness, my gear), take a deep breath, and tell myself I'm safe and then keep climbing. I don't feel exposure when I'm tr soloing usually because I'm so connected to the ropes and ascenders and gear. But I do feel it when I'm leading sometimes, usually because I'm facing a long fall if I mess up. In that case I evaluate honestly whether or not I can get to and stick the next clip. If I can, I commit and go for it. If not, I'll take and rest for a minute. Sometimes just sitting up at the top and being present in the moment, breathing, and noticing specific things helps a lot. Notice the beauty of the view or the detail (like sand grains or color variations) in the rock in front of your face. Hopefully this helps. Mostly though always see through a safety lenses. If you're legitimately not safe, then, back off; there's nothing wrong with that. If you are safe and it's just in your mind, breath and choose to take another step. Best wishes!

@@lisahisownfamily wow! Thank you for your time and great advice...I will definitely take all of that into consideration.

Victor Santos, the one I am using is a random copy of the CAMP ascender. I didn't realize that at the time I bought it. I would use the CAMP ascender though. It is a great little lightweight device.

The CAMP lift is the original. It's a certified device and the SOB is a Chinese knock off. The other device Lisa is using(the purple one) is a knock off of the ISC rocker. Sorry Lisa I forgot to mention both those devices are not rated for use on dynamic line. Something to consider.

I'm glad you liked it! Best wishes.

Hi, thanks for posting. Right, the back-up didn't really do anything in this set up. I planning to to try use a device on each side of the rope with two double figure eights at the top next time. I don't like toothed devices for the very reason you mentioned, that's why these are flat camming devices. They also shouldn't be shock loaded. Thanks again. Safe climbing!

I just thought the same. 2 "fall arresters" in same rope is no good. And there is no reason to not use the other rope tail (you called rappel rope). I also stay away from toothed fall arresters. Thanks a lot for sharing! Have fun.

I've use a rather similar setup sometimes. My backup device is something like mini traction (not micro, which can be locked in open position by some rubbing against the wall). It is toothed, but you're falling with minimal slack which does not tear up the rope.

Hi @hoggif, I just realize I missunderstood the fall arrester device. I was thinking in a system with slack which is the typical backup in a rope access scenario. In a minimal slack rope a toothed cam device should be safe bet and I use it myself. Sorry for the mess.

I consider "minimal slack" case when you have the rope with low slack, not like with lead climbing where one takes large falls in some cases. In top roping the backup device is not below your knees ever and the rope has no large free loops usually. Toothed backup also works if you fall upside down. Usual fall arrest devices like you're using (or something like shunt) does nothing when falling head first. That's one reason why I like to use two different technologies, if one has a limitation the other does not have same limitation. Also similar user error is less likely to occur.

I personally like having different kinds of devices to back each other up, so that whatever condition caused the primary to fail doesn't do the same to the secondary. (Although I've never had a failure.) I don't use this set up much anymore. I prefer to use the grigri on one side and keep it loose (not weighted at the bottom) and the CAMP ascender on the other side that's fixed (weighted at the bottom.) As for the microtrax, I haven't used it personally, but I have heard good things about it. I don't really use ascenders with teeth - the idea of piercing my rope bugs me, lol. But pinch ascenders can potentially cut the rope so it's kind of a pick you poison type thing. Either way be sure your set-up does not allow you to take a dynamic fall and use a chest harness for your primary (unlike what I did in this video). Best wishes!!

@@lisahisownfamily Thanks for getting back to me so quick! That's interesting, doesn't the gri gri get kind of annoying because of how it holds the rope? The lov2 seems like the perfect solution to that, but its just so expensive :/ As for the different kinds of devices, that's definitely been a concern of mine as I do more research and talk to more people, I'm leaning towards getting a ropeman 1 or two and use that as a backup, or modify a jumar and then maybe use the other microtrax on a second line for extra redundancy. Kinda wish I only bought one. I found that SOB ascender that you used in previous videos on ebay for around $20, but it looks really sketchy, but maybe could work as a backup? Do you still trust it? As for chest harness I was just gonna use a sling, until I can justify buying one. I am also gonna try out all these setups in a controlled environment for a while before I take it on the rocks. Waiting for the weather to get nice anyway.

@@PowerrPundit I still use the SOB, but yeah it's origin is sketchy. When I replace it, it will be with the CAMP ascender. I haven't used the lov2 but I'd like to! I'm use to the grigri but it has it's annoying aspects, lol. This set up is better than self belay because there's less slack to take up, but it still has to be pulled out manually.

Thanks! I do things a little different now, as suggested by viewers as well. I keep the second device on a chest harness and use a static rope. Best wishes.

That's an idea I hadn't considered. I've used fifi hooks in the context of indoor route setting, but I haven't used one in outdoor climbing. I think the anchor you are referring to is the weighted rope with my backpack. I can't quite envision how a fifi hook would replace that, because I would need it to come free when I'm at the top but stay secured while I'm climbing. I'd love to hear more about what you mean. Thanks for writing.

@@lisahisownfamily , well ive seen videos where they used the fifi hook on a back back as their wieght for the rope, they adjust it so the pack is off the ground, then when they get to the top of the route, tjey lower the pack the foot or 2 its off the ground , as their weighted rope, then give the rope slack, and the fifi hook comes undone when the pack touches the ground .

@@DudeHammer that sounds like a pretty cool system. I'll look into it! Thanks for sharing!!

@@lisahisownfamily , i fiund the video on you tube i was referring to, it is, " Ropesolo climbing-top rope, by ripperkon , could you take a look at this video, and then let me know if what i was saying is right or would work for what you was doing ? thanks :), love the bideos, wanting to start learning and applying some of these technics myself.

Thanks for watching!

You're right. I don't use this setup myself anymore. The second device goes above the primary on a chest harness.

Lisa Luedtke I’m just trying to find inspiration to renew my setup, and this is far from the worst i have seen here on youtube.

@@asmundgytil8181 thanks. Yeah, like has been stated many times here already, I don't use this system anymore and there are mistakes in this video. But, I left it up because I think it adds to the community and mistakes are often a great learning tool. Some of my other videos are better. Please be safe and do your own research about how you will set up your system. Petzl has some really good material too. Best wishes!

CAMP ascender, and I don't recommend the purple one.

My system of choice is the grigri and CAMP ascender.

I used both ends for redundancy (one device on each strand). They need to be fixed lines to use the ascenders. I didn't use the bowline because I'm a sport climber and prefer using the double figure eight. I hope that helps.

@@lisahisownfamily yes thank you!

It is a chinese knock off of the CAMP ascender. I didn't know that at the time. Next time I buy one, it will be CAMP one. Here's a link to one on amazon www.amazon.com/Camp-USA-Lift-Ascender-Size/dp/B000CC59FC/ref=sr_1_2?crid=MEFU7T3BLUGP&dchild=1&keywords=camp+ascender&qid=1587786361&sprefix=camp+asc%2Caps%2C184&sr=8-2

Yes, that's how I started TR soloing actually. However, I don't prefer it because the rope doesn't slide through the grigri. The climber has to stop every other step to pull out slack. It's a laborious process that chops up the flow of the climb. A one-way ascender device works much better because it slides happily with the climber as he or she climbs and locks as soon as the rope is weighted, right where it's at. Good question.

Lisa is that two individual topes?

Grant Edens, while I was clipped into the webbing anchors on the tree, I retrieved my gear that was clipped into the chains. Then I walked away from the edge and retrieved all of the other gear. Good question, thx!

Grant Edens, the quickdraws that were along the route, I collected after I pass them when they were at knee level.

Mainly it was cost. When I bought that gear I was low on funds. It's worth it to buy the more expensive, higher quality controlled gear though. I would not recommend the knockoff versions.

@@lisahisownfamily awesome, thanks for the tips!

Thank you for taking the time to post this. This is great information and good links. After having climbed with the Xinda, I didn't like it and don't plan on using it again, except for perhaps hauling gear.

If you want affordable, certified gear made in the US look at Climbtech. They mostly service the rope access industry and have next to no advertising budget which saves alot of money. I picked up their handled ascenders for like $46 a pop (they are local to me so I didn't even have to pay shipping). Even Chris Mcnamara agrees that are darn near on par with the Petzls (they are almost the exact same design as the Grivels just without the built in belay plate). Climbtech also sells chest ascenders which are really good for top rope solo. Would probably go well with your SOB as long as you can make an improvised chest harness.

I think extending the top progress capture device is a safer method. Cool systems! Thanks for sharing

Right, lol.

Do you mean using a chest harness? Or using a different device, like a Petzl Ascension? I've heard that the higher you keep an ascender device the better.

So what he's saying is that because your secondary device is below your primary if your primary fails it will push against the secondary down the rope basically making the secondary device useless in the way you have it set up. What you want to do is either move your secondary device above the primary device whilst keeping it attached to your harness in the same way. This will mean that if the primary fails it won't be able to touch the secondary and it will fully lock onto the rope keeping you safe. Alternatively my personal preference would be to have one device on each rope so that they don't rely on each other at all. My only other comment is that at the top of the climb where you've got your rope tied in you should use 2 figure of eights on bites. so rope comes bottom to top tied into Anchor using figure eight... at the top you will then have a bit of dead rope why are you tye another figure of eight on the bite for the rope going back down. This ensures that both lines running down the face are independent as the system you currently use if the loop of the figure eight was to fail your whole system fails. Using the system I just explained using two independent systems on 2 ropes keeps the. Both fully independent. Sorry if this took a while to explain but other than that simple but difficult to explain concept it's a pretty awesome video. Also I'm not a keyboard commando I'm a climber myself so I'd hope someone would critique my system if necessary too if it was to keep me safe. Safe climbing!!

Thanks! I hadn't thought about putting 2 figure eights up top, but I like that a lot better. I was concerned about putting one device on each side of the rope, because I wanted to be able to rappel back down again and the weight at the bottom makes rappelling near impossible. But I think I can over come that by leaving the back-up side looser before the weight engages or using a second rope all together. When I was researching how to do tr soloing, there were only a handful of video showing how to do it and a lot of them were trad - gear and skills I don't have. I'm also a climber and learn better by watching rather than reading, so I'm sure there are a lot of things that could be improved about what I did on this video. I appreciate you input and advice!

Thanks :)

Fair points, thanks.

Thanks, yeah, that's good advice. I now know the blue device is a knockoff of the camp lift ascender. I love it and when I replace it, it will be with the camp version.

thanks, keep climbing!

Yes, sandstone. Lots of sloppy ledges and no feet.

I just bought a new petzl shunt and I'm looking forward to making a video using it. :)

Thanks for your comments.

Got to love how people will tell you all that you are doing wrong. But no one will take the time to make a video and show "their" right way. Maybe it's because they don't want to be drug across the coals the way they did you.

thx, yeah, I'm not an expert in this field - just a climber. It's good to get the feedback though. I'm self-taught. I feel each time I can improve the system and keep making things better.

That tree is used daily.

yeah this dude is definitely on a street corner outside an REI hectoring people about microfractures The setup is fine, the devices are a little janky but you've already addressed that. That tree is totally fine too, dude would have a heart attack seeing someone rap off a snow bollard

Thanks, it was my first video. Lots of things wrong with it, lol. :)

Fair enough. Most folks don't and just lean over and grab the chains, very little weight is actually on the tree.

Mekhanic1 that tree will be sturdy enough for our kids and Likely grandkids too! Super solid anchor especially just as a safety to get to rap anchor.

Everybody an there mother uses that tree. I agree it's not the biggest, but neither is this cliff side.

Hey John, thanks for bringing this up. I've been mentored or self-taught in my climbing knowledge. My crags have always been single pitch sport climbing, usually pretty short, as well. The issue of screw up or down was never a thing that had ever come up until I started getting comments on my videos. I apologize for doing it wrong in a public venue, as you say I should be more careful. My mentors actually cleaned anchors with quickdraws clipped directly into the chain (nothing locked), so I am always seeking to learn, grow, and improve upon what I know. Thanks for posting.