GriGri II for Top Rope Soloing

I've TR soloed with my Grigri2 on a 10.2 Supersafe with a backpack to feed and alpine butterflies on the backup strand. I have never TR soloed with any other device, but I find that the device locks quickly, feeds well on my fat rope, and no chest harness was necessary. I have not seen anyone with a modified Grigri2 for lead solo, and would like to get into it myself. Has anyone modified their Grigri2, and if so, can you upload a picture?

I've used my GriGri II for Top Rope soloing, and found that it works great.

My setup involves running the rope freely through the master point, tying in to my harness, and running the other end through the GriGri. Every few feet pull out the slack, and if you have a free hand, tie any stopper knot (I find that an alpine butterfly and an overhand on a bight are the easiest to tie one handed) as a failsafe in case the device fails for any reason.

It's kind of a pain feeding slack through, so if you use that setup I wouldn't recommend using it to climb at your limit. I've used mine to run laps on moderates on days that I can't find a belayer, and it's been more than satisfying. Hope this helps.

Clay Zamperini wrote: It's kind of a pain feeding slack through

Ty Harlacker wrote: Did they change the design on the new one so you can't modify it?

I've used a GGII for TR soloing, it works about as well as the original one. Which is to say, it works well for some things, and not for others.

It's great for working short sections of a hard climb, on which you'll often have to lower.

It's bad for cruising long pitches, since it's a pain to feed. A minitrax feeds super well, but of course you have to re-rig another device to lower.

On a similar note, I learned a new super-simple trick for backing up my mini-trax the other day:

Take a standard sized steel quicklink, and a short sling (I use a half-length one, you could also use 6mm cord or similar).

Put the minitrax on the rope as normal, girth-hitch the sling to your belay loop, and attach the QL to the sling and the rope. Then tie knots as you climb.

Even if you're whole mini-trax and biner explode, the QL will still catch on the nearest knot and save you from the big plunge.

Agreed. I've never tried falling on my back-up system, and I hope to keep it that way. But quicklinks are super burly, and that knot is NOT gonna fit through it! I just can't imagine it failing.

You can also clip a biner through the loop of your backup knots to eliminate any possibility of the knot coming undone.

Obviously there are a ton of systems that provide ease of use and redundancy. The QL system is cheap, light, and only requires you to buy one device (which is also useful as a hauler).

I also like to use a steel biner on my minitrax or grigri, which further reduces the chances you'll every have to test the quicklink backup.

-Scott

i don't really think there is an ideal/bombproof single setup. there have been "occurences" with the mini-traxions, ask johnL for details. bsmoot or mark nelson will probably point out some unnerving history of the ushba. sometimes knots fit through smaller gaps than thought possible (ie recent rappel accident in either zion or yosemite). i personally know 3 people who have had accidents occur when a grigri didn't lock up. etc.

i've used pretty much every device for rope soloing and the system that i have finally settled on is a standard petzl ascender on one rope, and a series of overhand knots on another rope. i use a runner on my harness to clip these overhands as i go up.

i think scott's backup idea under a mini traxion is probably pretty good also. basically, if you can combine 2 methods (assuming one of the methods doesn't sever your only rope....), then that is about as good as you're going to get.

Not sure if this is news (or if anyone cares) but the mini traxion is no longer endorsed by Petzl for use as a self-belay device:

"Petzl has studied the current usage of the MINI TRAXION as a self-belay device on a fixed rope. Serious accidents and many handling errors have been reported.

The risk of using the device with the cam held open is significant, as well as the possibility of accidental opening of the cam when climbing.
Consequently, Petzl no longer authorizes the use of the MINI TRAXION for self-belay, even when combined with a backup ascender."

petzl.com/en/outdoor/self-b…

Maybe it's just that so many people use the mini trax that it was just a matter of time before it started looking risky? Dunno, but the regular old ascenders are still approved for solo TRing.

I thought it curious that on none of the three pages Petzl has about self-belaying could I find a single mention of back-up knots.

petzl.com/en/outdoor/self-b…

Chris D wrote:Not sure if this is news (or if anyone cares)

Not sure if this is news (or if anyone cares) but the mini traxion is no longer endorsed by Petzl for use as a self-belay device: "Petzl has studied the current usage of the MINI TRAXION as a self-belay device on a fixed rope. Serious accidents and many handling errors have been reported. The risk of using the device with the cam held open is significant, as well as the possibility of accidental opening of the cam when climbing. Consequently, Petzl no longer authorizes the use of the MINI TRAXION for self-belay, even when combined with a backup ascender." petzl.com/en/outdoor/self-b… Maybe it's just that so many people use the mini trax that it was just a matter of time before it started looking risky? Dunno, but the regular old ascenders are still approved for solo TRing. I thought it curious that on none of the three pages Petzl has about self-belaying could I find a single mention of back-up knots. petzl.com/en/outdoor/self-b…

Seems to me Petzl is just in CYA mode. I use a double stack Mini Trax and the setup works awesomely. I was pondering today dropping two lines from the same anchor and using one mini-trax on each. I'd need to do something like the quick-link backup on each one, but I'd have two totally redundant and separate (except they are on the same anchor) rope systems.

The mini-trax has never mis-fed or "disengaged itself". Maybe I just haven't used them enough...

Scott Bennett wrote:Agreed. I've never tried falling on my back-up system, and I hope to keep it that way. But quicklinks are super burly, and that knot is NOT gonna fit through it! I just can't imagine it failing.