Protecting top rope drag

Hi All,

Here's a situation I've run into and wondering if you have any suggestions - I'm at a crag with some friends that aren't strong enough to lead a specific route, so one of us will lead it and set it up as a top rope climb clipping into fixed sport anchors at the top of the route. However, somewhere on the climb there's a 'lip' to the route that causes the top rope setup to drag on the rock, causing wear on the rope that I'm not happy about.

Other than the obvious answer of "Hey, don't set up a top rope there", is there any gear that can be used to help protect the rope (like a pad or something) on that lip?

I've made a crude picture of what I'm trying to describe... note that the picture shows it to be much more drastic than what really happens, but you get the point. I'm also not an artist by any means :)

if the lip on the route is too far down to make extending the anchors possible ... then theres simply no way to avoid it

for cracks you can sometimes use a redirect or place a large nut for the rope to not go into the crack at the lip (very bad friction) but for sport you dont have that option

when TRing the belayer should stand decently farther back (anchor if needed) so that the angle on one side of the rope is lessened ... also they should stand to the side so that the strands arent catching on top of each other

but at the end of the day thats why you use cheap 10mm+ ropes for TRing ... not the $$$$ thin ones

;)

You can have the same problem with TR only climbs. Traditionally you could use padding of some sort to cover the edge to protect the rope. Make shift things out of a jacket or more purpose built ones out of carpet or something. Relatively easy to do if the edge is near the top and you can access the top easily. Often times you will want to anchor the pad so there aren't random objects falling out of the sky. If the context allows you could redirect the strand between the belayer and anchor off to the side. There usually is more tension on that strand then the strand between climber and anchor.

Here's some options.

The edge is only a problem when the rope is moving. The rope moves when you take in, lower, or when it stretches when someone falls off. It is only really a problem when the rope is moving AND is weighted.

1. use a static rope, tougher and doesn't stretch so much when the climber falls.
2. use a separate rope to rap back down (the lowering will be where most of the wear happens) - you can leave them clipped to the climbing rope as a backup
3. belay from the top and don't lower them - only one strand of the rope gets worn.
4. tape the edge
5. move anchor over the edge by using a Pex Hill set up.
6. place a piece at the edge to top rope from, but backed up to the main anchors.
7. use a solo top rope rig so the rope never moves.
8. use an old rope.

That should be more than enough options. Have fun.

You could have a bit of fabric/cardboard/pack attached to a second line, anchored at the top, such that the fabric covers the edge. The rope runs over the fabric instead of the rock, and the fabric stays in place because it is on a second line.

A fairly common practice for caving situations. You can rig up a bit of canvas or an extra rope bag, attach to a small line or 2nd rope that's fixed back to the anchor such that it covers this problem spot. You could go further, set up the adjacent route, if one exist, and use as a redirect. 2nd Rope threads from the prime anchor, pad, redirect anchor, and back to the ground. So when the TRing climber reaches the bulge, a 2nd groundsman pulls the 2nd cord to clear the pad and 2nd cord. After topping out, the climber resets the pad as he lowers. Is what I would do.

David Coley wrote:4. tape the edge

David Coley wrote:3. belay from the top and don't lower them - only one strand of the rope gets worn.

Sweet -- Thanks for all of the suggestions!!

Tape on the edge is a great idea, this is a good thread :)

bearbreeder wrote:if the lip on the route is too far down to make extending the anchors possible ... then theres simply no way to avoid it for cracks you can sometimes use a redirect or place a large nut for the rope to not go into the crack at the lip (very bad friction) but for sport you dont have that option when TRing the belayer should stand decently farther back (anchor if needed) so that the angle on one side of the rope is lessened ... also they should stand to the side so that the strands arent catching on top of each other but at the end of the day thats why you use cheap 10mm+ ropes for TRing ... not the $$$$ thin ones ;)

I like the tape suggestion too. You could tape a flapper pad on it too in case a pad would cover any important holds.

Seems like a lot of effort for 8-10 face moves to a slab.

Where is this pile?

Use somethin like this....
spirolls.com

I hope your not running the rope through fixed anchors when building your top rope. 4 lockers and a double length sling, or two quick draws honestly, to build your own anchor for top-roping is a bare-minimum must.

GRAIN TAMER

"This is a must have item in every topropers arsenal"

fishproducts.com/catalog/ru…
^^ Look for it at the bottom of the page.

--edit--
For something like this to work in the situation the OP described, the GT needs to be attached to a separate cord and draped over the rough edge where it can wrap one or both strands of the rope.

Russ' Grain Tamer™ ™ ™ looks like a great solution to this common toprope problem.