Jeff Deutsch

Choosing a climbing technique or piece of climbing gear often involves analyzing the tradeoffs between different options. This web page is my attempt to identify tradeoffs and the factors which influence the selection of one option over another. It is not meant to be instructional, it is simply a guide to help climbers already experienced in both options make the best decision.

While I rarely link to external web pages (too much of a hassle to keep the links current), Geir Hundal's Myth Buster page is too good to pass up. Lots of good information here.

When a leader belays the second up a pitch there are essentially two belay options: Belay off the harness or belay off the anchor. Belaying off the harness will almost always involve redirecting through the anchor so if the second falls, the belayer is pulled up not down. Belaying off the anchor is done with a device like the Petzl Reverso or Black Diamond ATC Guide which is capable of autolocking in the event the second falls.

Advantages of belaying off the anchor:
1) Hands free
2) Belay two seconds at the same time
3) No need to escape the belay to haul
4) More comfortable if the second is hanging for an extended time

Advantages of belaying off the harness:
1) Easy to lower
2) Easy to give bodyweight assist
3) Faster belay changeovers when swinging leads
4) Requires only one locking carabiner
5) Usually easier to take up rope

In my opinion, a leader should always carry a device which is capable of belaying in either mode. My default decision is to belay off the anchor because that tends to be more comfortable and I like to have my hands free to take pictures. However, when moving fast and swinging leads, belaying off the harness can save at least a few minutes over the course of a day.

It is also possible to belay off the anchor using a munter hitch. This twists the rope and is not hands free. I reserve the munter hitch belay for emergencies or for that rare occasion when I'm deliberately climbing without a belay device (for example, a long day of scrambling with one short belayed section).

A good basic climbing rope is a single rope, 9mm to 10.5mm in diameter, 60m long (maybe 70m) with a change in weave pattern to help identify the middle. A rope like this is designed to be used by itself. Half ropes are the same length, but thinner (around 8mm) and are designed to be used in pairs using double rope technique (and hence half ropes are often called "double ropes" or just "doubles"). When leading on half ropes, only clip one rope to each piece of protection. Clipping both ropes increases the impact force on the protection (by about √2). Only ropes rated for use as twins can be clipped together to a single piece of protection. Even when ropes are rated for use as both doubles and twins, they should only be used in one mode or the other during a pitch. Changing between double rope technique and twin rope technique mid pitch can cause serious rope-on-rope abrasion if you fall.

Most rock climbers will be well served by purchasing a single rope to use as their primary rope for toproping and cragging. But most rock climbers will also want to own a pair of doubles to use on routes which require >30m rappels, or wander, or are particularly remote or committing. If a route has >30m rappels, doubles are superior to climbing on a single rope and trailing another single rope just for the rappel (though in defense of this method, it is the second who is inconvenienced by the trailed rope, not the leader). Doubles are also superior to the other typical option, using a single rope and skinny (4mm to 6mm) pull line. This has the advantage of being cheap and light and not requiring that you learn how to climb on double ropes, but:
   The pull line tends to tangle
   The single strand rappel is an atypical and more complicated configuration and therefore climbers are more likely to make a mistake (e.g. rappel fatality on Royal Arches in May, 2010).
   You can't lead on the pull line to free a stuck rope. This is really critical and is the reason I never ever would use a pull line.
I could see using a pull line in the situation where the vast majority of my climbing and rappelling are on a single rope, and I'm really counting ounces.

Q: Can I just use one half rope?
A: Unless the rope is also rated to be used as a single, the manufacturer does not recommend using the rope that way.
Q: Yeah, but in a fall, only one of the half ropes actually catches the fall. So clearly they are strong enough to be used by themselves.
A: The manufacturer does not recommend using the rope that way.
Q: But you could. Right?
A: The manufacturer does not recommend using the rope that way.
Q: You just said that the reason you hate pull lines is that you can't lead on them to free a stuck rappel rope. Which implies that you would lead on one half rope to free a stuck rappel rope!
A: The manufacturer does not recommend using the rope that way.
Q: You climbed in a party of three on a single half rope when you climbed Trap Dike!
A: The manufacturer does not recommend using the rope that way.
Q: Fine. Forget it.

Simulrappeling -- two climbers rappelling at the same time, counterbalancing each other, each on one strand of the rope -- generally has no advantage except for being faster than rappelling serially. In a decade of climbing I had practiced it a few times, and only ever done it once outdoors when racing the setting sun down a cliff. Then a bunch of us went to Potrero Chico to climb one winter break. Climbs in Potrero are long and almost all are descended by rappelling. We all decided to simulrappel whenever possible to save time. On a 12 pitch climb, simulrappelling could easily save an hour of descent time. That meant an extra hour we had to play cards at La Posada. We brought the habit back to Cornell and now a large portion of the rock staff will choose to simulrappel when possible.

The thing to realize about simulrappelling is that it adds an element of risk. Your rappel safety is now dependent on your partner, and you potentially double the force on the rappel anchor. It also adds an element of safety since it is faster and thus aids in getting off the mountain earlier in the day. My inclination these days is to always simulrappel if the following two conditions are met:

In that case, I'll simulrappel. More than ever, it is important that both partners use autoblocks and that both ends of the rope are securely knotted. Be aware that you will have less friction when rappelling on a single strand, especially if you are on a half rope. A second carabiner in parallel with the usual one in the belay device will add substantial friction. It is also critical that you and your partner check the entire system before committing to it, and before going off rappel. We treat it just like going on belay and going off belay.

By the way, with a party of three (and all experienced climbers), the first two down should simulrappel with the third already hooked into the rope at the anchor. This isolates the simulrappellers' strands and allows for two climbers to work at the more time consuming task of clearing tangles and routing the ropes to the next rappel station. The third can be isolated from the weighted rope by tying an eight on a bight just below the rappel device and clipping that back to the anchor (before the first two climbers depart obviously, and this does an even better job of isolating the two simulrappellers' strands). In any party where one or more of the rappellers is not experienced, stacking the rappel and having the most experienced climber go first is the preferred solution (and if you don't know how to do that, I'm not going to try to teach you here).

Simulclimbing is a technique to move very quickly along easy terrain. Neither climber is belayed, they are attached to opposite ends of the rope and climb at the same pace with a few pieces of protection on the rope between them. Simulclimbing is most useful in the following situations:

Simulclimbing is less useful on harder terrain even when that terrain is well within both climber's ability level. For example, two 5.10 leaders trying to simul 5.7 terrain might find that it is quicker to pitch out the climbing. A 5.10 leader simulclimbing on 5.7 terrain will likely place gear fairly often and may run out of gear after climbing just 100m. A 5.10 climber seconding 5.7 terrain would be able to sprint up it on toprope, but would climb very cautiously when simulclimbing because the consequences of a fall are so severe.

Some climbers prefer to have a one way ratchet between the leader and follower so the leader is not pulled off if the follower falls. This can be done with a tiblock, ropeman, prussik tended by a magic circle, or some similar method. I do not like doing this for the following reasons:

The one exception would be a long section of very easy terrain with a short step of more difficult terrain in the middle. Rather than belay after the difficult terrain, the leader could place a ratchet which would catch a second who falls in the difficult section.

Cordelette/Webolette: Still my favorite choice for equalizing a three piece gear anchor. Yes, I know it doesn't equalize perfectly, but I find it fast and reliable. I make my own webolettes... 13' of 9/16" tubular webbing with an overhand on a bight tied at each end. Cheap, durable, lightweight, and can be used doubled or single strand. Yes, when used as a single strand the middle piece theoretically gets twice as much force as the other two, but the cordelette/webolette doesn't equalize worth a darn anyhow.

Pre-tied Quad: An awesome choice for bolted anchors. Note the "pre-tied" part. If you arrive at a bolted anchor and don't already have the quad tied, then don't bother. Use something faster.

Equalette: Don't like them. The power point is a sliding X, so it tightens around carabiners making it hard to add and remove connections. Also, for three and four piece anchors, you have to tie clove hitches which eliminate the perfect equalization that the equalette is supposed to provide. That said, they are good for toprope anchors, especially if you happen to have the equalette already tied.

The Rope: You should always be able to use the rope to build an anchor in an emergency. Also a great solution at the top of a cliff where the belay anchor is a tree far back from the edge.

The second edition of Climbing Anchors by John Long and Bob Gaines goes into much more detail on this topic.

When trad climbing, most protection you place gets clipped with a draw. The standard trad draw is a 24" sewn sling which is racked tripled with two carabiners. After clipping the draw to the protection, it is possible to extend the draw from its tripled length of 8" to its full length of 24". Should you do this?

Personally, I always extend draws on nuts and tricams, except when they are protecting a specific move and extending the draw would cause me to hit a ledge if I blow the move. My default with cams is to not extend the draw, but I always check to see if the cam is likely to walk or if rope drag will become a problem. In those cases, I extend the draw. Finally, it is perfectly acceptable to clip the rope directly to the sling of a cam, especially if the route is straight and the cam will not tend to walk.

First and foremost: You need a plan for what to do when you can't talk to your partner. And you need to make that plan before you start climbing. Seriously. Sounds obvious, right? But you would be surprised...

Option #1: Rope Tugs -- Whenever I pose the "no voice communication" conundrum to my students, one of the first things they come up with is to use a series of rope tugs to communicate information. This logical solution is used by many climbers and is certainly viable. Personally, I hate using rope tugs. First of all, if the leader makes three quick moves, do they get taken off belay? That would suck. Or I should say, that did suck... when it happened to a friend of mine. Also, if you are out of voice communication range, you might be a long way from your partner and around two corners and a roof. Rope drag is going to interfere with your tugs and make them harder to interpret.

Option #2: Radios -- The other solution often proposed by students is to carry radios. I have carried radios a handful of times when climbing, almost always to speak with other teams, not my own partners. Exactly once we carried radios to talk to each other. That was on Lost Arrow Spire when we figured that Yosemite Falls thundering nearby would make voice communications difficult. The radios worked fine in that instance. But if you are planning to always use radios, then you have to carry them every time you climb. And spare batteries. And be sure not to drop them. And better have a backup plan in case the radio fails or is ruined by rain. Did you know radios are expensive and fairly heavy? And if you use them in Yosemite, you will learn the thoughts of every single 11-year-old in Curry Village ("Mom and Dad said you have to come back NOW because we are going tubing!" "I want pizza first!" "You are so lame!").

Option #3: Whistles -- I suppose this might work. The sound from a good rescue whistle carries further than the loudest yell. Thankfully, it hasn't caught on at any cliffs where I climb. That would be obscenely annoying. And what happens when two parties nearby are using whistles? Maybe you could come up with a sequence of blasts that creates a binary code for public key encryption. Then you would know if it was your partner going off belay or the guy next to you. Just remember to establish in advance whether your code is little-endian or big-endian.

Option #4: No Communication, You Are Always On Belay -- Since I haven't really presented a good option yet, and since #4 is the last option, let's hope it is a good one. Oh joy! It is! What I do 99% of the time when I'm unable to establish voice communications is... nothing. The rule is simply that there is never slack at either end of the rope. So as a second I just keep belaying until I reach the end of the rope. As a leader, I take up the rope through the belay device. Yes, this is slightly annoying, but it really isn't that big a deal. Chances are you don't have much rope to pull up if you are out of voice communication range. So as a second, the moment I've belayed to the end of the rope, I know that I'm good to start climbing. One enhancement to this protocol is for the second to wait a minute before climbing. This gives the leader a chance to put the rope through the belay device if they failed to follow the protocol and took up rope without putting it through the device. It also makes sure the leader is aware that they are 60m (or whatever) out from the belay. This is useful because the one failure mode of this protocol is that it is possible for the two climbers to be simulclimbing. A competent leader should be aware when they have climbed a full rope length, and the minute wait for slack makes it all the more obvious.

Note that I only use this protocol when there is no voice communication. An interesting complication occurs when only one partner can hear the other. This protocol works in that case (think about it), especially if both partners always yell all their belay commands, even if they haven't heard a response. Problems could arise if the second hears BELAY OFF, but the leader never hears the second reply or yell THAT'S ME. In this case the leader assumes no voice communication and the second assumes there is voice communication. So when the rope comes tight to the second, they will be on belay, but might not start climbing until they hear ON BELAY from the leader.

And, yes, you can modify the protocol so that the leader takes up the rope without putting it through the belay device. I did hundreds of pitches with a partner where we used this modification. It works fine. It is obvious to the leader when the rope is tight on the second, and it only takes a moment to put it through the belay device... the second will not have had a chance to disconnect from the anchor. This modification does introduce a possible failure mode (the second disconnecting and falling before being put on belay), but the big drawback is that it makes inexperienced seconds less comfortable. I prefer to tell someone, "if we can't talk, you'll be on belay, guaranteed."

Tip: If you can't communicate with your partner, maybe you just aren't trying hard enough. Get near the edge, bounce your voice off a nearby cliff, and YELL MUCH LOUDER. This is 5.12 yelling, not 5.5 yelling. You'd be surprised how loud you can yell if you really try.

P.S. If we are rappelling... and I go first... and you can't hear me yell "off rappel"... and the rope is slack... you can come down. Yeah, it needs to be said.