Rope soloing setups

iceman777 wrote:Hey just solo , I think your talking about the USHBA titanium russian ascender ? Could be wrong though ?.... bout the size of a gri gri only fatter . Only moving part is the cam . If it is glad yours works smooth on ice climbs , the one I have is sitting in the gear bin with the other misfit toys . And Alex seriously a clove hitch ?! If you can fiddle around with a clove hitch on WI 5 man you don't need a self belay device .

Nope, I checked, mine is a Yates Rocker. Use it with a dual gate lock 'biner. Has always run clean and trouble free.

I use Ushba. It's pretty sweet and feeds well.
I back it up with gri gri, setting tr solo on 2nd line. Usually tie a figure 8 on a bite and either double one rope or use two ropes depending on how tall is the climb. I extend gri gri on a sling to avoid cluster.

I still have Cinch for sale if anybody interested. $50 plus shipping.

Just Solo wrote: Nope, I checked, mine is a Yates Rocker. Use it with a dual gate lock 'biner. Has always run clean and trouble free.

Hey Just Solo, have you tried using the Yates Rocker for leading?

Mr. Wonderful wrote: Hey Just Solo, have you tried using the Yates Rocker for leading?

Do you mean lead solo? No. I don't do that, don't really have a need. Too much work, and I have a couple of regular partners as well. The way the Rocker works, might work for leading but I personally wouldn't do it. Even with the Rocker, using it TR soloing only adds a slim margin of safety. Let's just put it this way, I have not tested it and hope I never do.

neve wrote:I still have Cinch for sale if anybody interested. $50 plus shipping.

Malcolm was pretty adamant about not using the Cinch for roped soloing.

Mr. Wonderful wrote: Hey Just Solo, have you tried using the Yates Rocker for leading?

It wouldn't be an obvious choice for leading, TR sure.

Mr. Wonderful wrote: Hey Just Solo, have you tried using the Yates Rocker for leading?

That wouldn't be an obvious choice for leading.

Click to the articles behind these various photos - lots of different ideas and approaches

Glad to hear you can google.

Not much to it. Set a bomb anchor, tie the rope to it, add a screamer loop if desired, thread the grigri and attach it with a CE-rated mallion rapide, and start aiding. Not much to diagram.

This was more for free lead rope soloing, but it shows the basics:

Roped Solo Free Climbing - The essence of self-reliance, one path among many

Well, that article details what I do and it talks about backup knots and the fact I don't use them for free lead rope soloing, but do for aid soloing. When aid soloing I just use another locker and clove a loop occasionally. I suppose you could get one of the posh harnesses with two belay loops to make it easier, otherwise I just clip the backup one through the harness loops with the gate down and out.

For the I don't know how many years I used a grigri, at the beginning of pitches I'd just throw out whatever slack through the device that I thought I'd need to get to the next clip if there weren't rest or if there was I'd throw slack out of the bag and then pull it through with one hand typically. Further up the pitch it just starts to run, further still you need to re-belay somehow to keep the rope from running through. Basically just maintain a loop of slack from the backpack that hangs below the device so you're not fighting getting out of the bag. If you run out of that slack loop the tension from the bag will lock the device.

On aid it shouldn't be much problem to throw some slack each move as part of the cycle. Free on lead with the Eddy it's just not a problem of any kind with the right rope pairing.

I used to use the GoLite backpack modded with slings, but for quite a few years I've used an extensively modded Metolius Porta-Cord pack. Looked at a Mountain Hardware pack the other day while xmas shopping that looked like it would work as well.

I also use the backpack with an A5 rope bag/bucket that I stack the rope into and then put the A5 (ebay occasionally) in the backpack.

I mean you have to find the right rope pairing for the device that fits your needs. I pair the Eddy with Maxim Glider 9.9 and find that about optimal. I used to use the Metolius / Tendon 9.8 and those worked well too. I'm on about my seventh or eighth Glider 9.9 at this point.

The old A5 rope bags were basically like the Metolius Dirtbag II only with the tarp cut down to a narrow V-panel and sewn to the opposite side of the zipper. By that I mean you want the the top of the bag to expand about six inches once the zipper is down. I'll post a video of how I do the stacking in the next couple of days when I'm not so busy.

Video of the rig would be pretty helpful! Thank you.

Nobody mentioned a Stitch plate neither the Clove Hitch as fall stopping devises.   "Climbing Big Walls", 1990, Mike Strassman is a good start.  It descrives the methods just as the Soloist and Solo-aid came into the market.  Nobody is manufacturing these two as of 2017.  Blame it on judicial litigation posibilities and total lack of obtainable lawsuit Insurance under any terms

People have mentioned and used stitch plates / ATCs. I considered it, but could never quite manage any faith in it so stuck with the whole knots-in-the-rope thing until grigris were available. Never cared for the Soloist or Solo-aid either or any system that required a chest harness which I can't stand, but that's just me.

supertramp wrote: Video of the rig would be pretty helpful! Thank you.

Well, never got un-busy. Still need to have someone shoot one of me doing it, but then I'm usually alone when I do it...

I use a soloist and put screamers on the first two screws when leading ice.  I've never had any issues with the setup.  Never taken an ice whipper either though.

Just use the Petzl diagrams and go out and TR solo some grade 2/3 ice to get your system dialed in. I do it occasionally, probably more so on mixed routes, but only when its not freezing ass cold. Make sure you file off the stop tab on your microtraxion and use a backup device and/or knots. Again, the Petzyl diagrams are the way to go. Also, beware of wet and icy ropes. I like to use a big fat dry rope for this. 

TR solo on a fixed line for training.

I agree if your good enough to want to rope solo lead steep ice then just solo, it'll be safer.