TRing from anchor bolts (Cat's Eye Face, Horsetooth Res.)
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I'm posting in the Colorado forum because this is an anchor question specific to the southern bolts of the Cat's Eye Face at Rotary Park. But I also have some general questions about top rope anchors, spurred but the recent thread "Extending a top rope anchor?". So even if you don't know the place I'm talking about, feel free to comment. |
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To start, that roof can generate a pretty big swing. When set up the way you described (with the rope getting stuck in the crack, and only extending a little below the lip from the bolts)it is easy to put quick wear on the rope. I actually core shot my first rope TRing some friends on that exact climb. You can try to extend the rope a bit further (I would suggest longer, more abrasion resistant, nylon slings that do not quite go below the roof, after all the fun part is pulling that corner) This will reduce some drag and wear, but I would avoid extending thin cord below the roof as that can also be rubbed and break with the swing. I suggest the longer, equalized slings, and you make sure the belayer is standing far enough away from the wall to keep their rope out of the crack, but not far enough that a fall would pull them off their feet. You can also consider buying a short fat TRing rope for climbs up by the reservoir, to help spare your new rope, learn how to belay your climber from the top of the cliff (this can reduce wear, but would be hard on this climb from those bolts) or invest is these rei.com/product/719270/spir…, or just use an old shirt or something to protect the rope. |
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...and yes... you want to avoid running the rope over the rock whenever possible. It would be ideal to extend your master point below the roof in this case... but you need to weigh where you want to master point to be. |
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Eric, thank you. Sounds like a little bit of everything would help in this situation. Given the layout of the bolts up top, do you think it would be poor form to utilize one bolt from each pair at the top and move the master point that way? It seems like that coupled with a longer webbing sling (I assume just buying the right webbing and using a water knot would work?) could eliminate my problem and the longer sling would avoid too wide of an angle between the anchor points. Is it common for both sets of bolts to be used by two different climbing g teams at once? If so, I think I might upset some people doing what I suggested. |
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Those bolts are ancient, the rings are welded aren't they? |
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Thanks John. Helpful as always. |
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Just FYI, webbing is not very abrasion resistant compared to cord. Buy some 7-8mm static cord for setting topropes where the anchor sling will be rubbing over an edge. |
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I use the next set of "bolts"/pipes/wtf-they-are-to re-direct a 48" sling equalized between the two main anchorpieces above the Cat's Eye fissure. This kept it outta the crack for me. |