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multipitch sport climb

Original Post
Arik Wallace · · Green Bay, WI · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 30

I plan on doing a new multipitch sport climb coming up in a few months and will be leading all the pitches. No trad. gear will be brought up. This climb can be done in about 16 pitches but most people run out the rope and it can be done in far fewer. So to my question. After I lead a pitch would it make more sense to climb past the belay station and clip the first bolt of the following pitch right away and then be lowered back to the belay station and belay the second up after setting up a solid anchor from the bolts. Or should I just stop at the belay spot, belay the second, and when I start leading again put a Quickdraw in at that anchor. My idea is by clipping that first bolt of the following pitches I'm mitigating any chance of a factor 2 fall/ falling below my belayer much more than by just putting a draw in right at the anchor. Thanks.

Simon W · · Nowhere Land · Joined May 2013 · Points: 55
Arik wrote:I plan on doing a new multipitch sport climb coming up in a few months and will be leading all the pitches. No trad. gear will be brought up. This climb can be done in about 16 pitches but most people run out the rope and it can be done in far fewer. So to my question. After I lead a pitch would it make more sense to climb past the belay station and clip the first bolt of the following pitch right away and then be lowered back to the belay station and belay the second up after setting up a solid anchor from the bolts. Or should I just stop at the belay spot, belay the second, and when I start leading again put a Quickdraw in at that anchor. My idea is by clipping that first bolt of the following pitches I'm mitigating any chance of a factor 2 fall/ falling below my belayer much more than by just putting a draw in right at the anchor. Thanks.
It shouldn't be necessary to do that unless the moves getting to that first bolt are really heinous / sketchy (Skheinous.) If not, then clipping something to the anchor when starting the pitch should suffice. Falling is still not recommended as you would be under your belayer, even if the rope is redirected from their belay loop.

Keep in mind, if it was truly skheinous and you felt the need to clip that first bolt on the next pitch, you might be quite a ways from your belayer and have a hard time asking them to "watch me bruh!" Most sane routes aren't bolted this way, but some routes are ... insane!
Arik Wallace · · Green Bay, WI · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 30

Yeah I'm in the same mindset. Probably overthinking this a bit too much. But that probably isn't a bad thing. This route is a few grades lower than what I tend to climb anyway. Just curious with bolted multipitches how many people, if any, use that technique.

BigB · · Red Rock, NV · Joined Feb 2015 · Points: 340

Just curious...what climb your doing that is 16 pitches of sport bolts?!?
That sounds fun!
Personally I wish there were ALOT more multi's that were bolted sport for peeps to use as a stepping stone between single pitch sport and multi pitch trad. That way they/you can learn rope management, belay stance management' & efficiency and other skills that can make the transition smoother. Plus they're FUN :)!

Jim Titt · · Germany · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 490

I´ve bolted a few of these in Europe, 16 pitches as a sport route is about 200 bolts so maybe 30 kg of junk to drag up the cliff and probably 3 days work, and a thousand bucks or so. I´ll call you for contributions next time:-)

Arik Wallace · · Green Bay, WI · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 30

The route is Royal Flush on Mount Royal in Frisco, CO. Parts of it are just 3rd class hiking. I guess it can be done in 20 pitches. But most people tend to do it in about 8. Still a cool 1500ft Multipitch sport climb though.

aikibujin · · Castle Rock, CO · Joined Oct 2014 · Points: 300

Hey man, did I run into you at Mense's Prow on Friday? We were the only other party there (with the big fluffy dog). I'm planning on doing Royal Flush this year as well, in fact I was hoping to do it Memorial Day weekend but obviously that didn't work out.

Donovan Allen · · Soft Lake City · Joined May 2012 · Points: 356

Yo. Royal flush is a breeze. Just set up anchors. I always do it in 7-8 pitches. You can literally run up the first 900'. Just be prepared to make on 5.9/10 move on the head wall. Also my first time doing it I brought two cams with me. Totally unnecessary weight. Just bring lots of runners to reduce drag.

David Gibbs · · Ottawa, ON · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 2
Bryan Manning wrote:Just curious...what climb your doing that is 16 pitches of sport bolts?!?
There are all sorts of multi-pitch sport routes at El Potrero Chico, in Mexico.
Arik Wallace · · Green Bay, WI · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 30
aikibujin wrote:Hey man, did I run into you at Mense's Prow on Friday? We were the only other party there (with the big fluffy dog). I'm planning on doing Royal Flush this year as well, in fact I was hoping to do it Memorial Day weekend but obviously that didn't work out.
Yeah that was me! Let me know when your thinking about doing Royal Flush and maybe we could all climb together.
aikibujin · · Castle Rock, CO · Joined Oct 2014 · Points: 300
Arik wrote: Yeah that was me! Let me know when your thinking about doing Royal Flush and maybe we could all climb together.
I want to do it as soon as the route is snow-free. Do you know what the current condition is up there? The last MP comment on Royal Flush was from April, and we have gotten tons of rain and snow since then.
Donovan Allen · · Soft Lake City · Joined May 2012 · Points: 356

North facing. Aka covered in snow/water/goats knocking rocks down.

Em Cos · · Boulder, CO · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 5

You shouldn't need to break that up into anything close to 16 pitches. Also the hardest move is maybe 5.10, and if you're comfortable at that grade the majority of the climb is going to feel very mellow. I wouldn't worry about performing any shenanigans to protect against factor 2 falls. In most cases if you fall before the first bolt you're going to end up on the ledge next to your belayer. I think the entry here on MP has some good notes on lengths of pitches so you can figure out what to link together, and some of the "pitches" are more like strolls along a trail to the next actual climbing. Have fun!

Donovan Allen · · Soft Lake City · Joined May 2012 · Points: 356

^+1 8 pitches max

Arik Wallace · · Green Bay, WI · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 30

Awesome. Thanks for all the info. Yeah as soon as it clears up a bit I'm hoping to get on it.

aikibujin · · Castle Rock, CO · Joined Oct 2014 · Points: 300

My partner and I ended up doing this last Friday. It was kind of spur of the moment decision, as the weather forecast was looking pretty badd for Frisco (60% chance of thunderstorm after 11 am). But the forecast for Clear Creek on Friday was even worse, so we decided to forgo Clear Creek and just give Royal Flush a shot and bail if it rained. It started drizzling very lightly when we were at the belay for “pitch 7” and we almost bailed, but since it was still early we decided to waited 15 minutes and the drizzle stopped. This went on a couple of times throughout the day, but we lucked out and the thunderstorm never materialized.

In terms of condition, the entire route is totally free from snow. There are patches of snow on the talus field and the descent trail, but they will not interfere with the climbing. If you want to link pitches (and you certainly should), I highly recommend a pair of walkie-talkies. All the pitches before the Headwall are pretty mellow and you’re often belaying on big ledges on a slab (almost feel like you’re standing on the ground), so it’s actually pretty hard to get a FF2 fall. The Headwall is steeper, but still off-vertical. I don’t feel like there is one particular crux move on the 5.9 pitch, but rather a few balancy sections that require a bit of thinking. The Gunks roof is turned on jugs, if you find the right holds it is definitely a 5.8. I didn’t see anyone mention this, but I think getting started from the “Yosemite Ledge” belay on pitch 17 is a little tricky. Finally, if you don’t care for signing the ammo box register, I would recommend climb pass the bolted anchor at the end of pitch 18 to a ledge with a big pine tree. Sling the pine tree as anchor to bring your second up. Between the top of pitch 18 and the pine tree is really class 3, but a slip there would be bad. From the pine tree to the summit is pretty safe scrambling.

Have fun! It’s a nice little outing.

David Coley · · UK · Joined Oct 2013 · Points: 70
Arik wrote:Just curious with bolted multipitches how many people, if any, use that technique.
It tends to be done on hard steep stuff, where the climber might well fall. On a slab although a FF2 is not the best idea, the forces are lower as the climber will roll down the slope. On the steep stuff the forces can be high (based on experience). It also gives the team the message that speed is the aim.
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Sport Climbing
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