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Any firsthand accidents from solo-aiding with a GriGri?

Original Post
Bob Dobalina · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2009 · Points: 140

I have taken a recent interest in solo aid climbing. It seems to be the only discipline of climbing (besides free-soloing) that I have not experienced yet and it intrigues me.
With all of the self-belay options out there (clove hitches, grigri, silent partner, soloist, etc,..) I have done extensive research to find a consensus, but no, there is still NO CONSENSUS on which option is the best/safest option at this point.
So far, I've been using an unmodified grigri and I fully understand the pros and cons of it's design.

But here's the thing... I keep hearing secondhand stories and "yer gonna die!" warnings of something catching the handle in a fall which would cause you to slide down the rope all the way to your backup knot.
So what I'm asking is do any of YOU guys/gals have any firsthand stories of this actually happening? Everyone seems to know of someone who knows someone that has had this happened to them but they seem to be nothing but legend really.

After decades of climbers solo aiding with grigris and there still seems to be very little evidence of credible failures in real-world scenarios.

Anyone? Anyone?...

Daniel Winder · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2009 · Points: 101

Not aid soloing, but top-rope soloing with a Gri. Took a fall, hand bumped the cam open, whizzed 15 feet down to my backup knot. I'm very careful now to keep my hands away from the device if I fall. With aid climbing there might be a cluster of things that could interfere with the cam, but tie backups frequently (no reason not to) and you'll be fine. Personally, I use a silent partner, it's caught multiple whips no problem.

Ryan Strickland · · Idyllwild, CA · Joined Oct 2010 · Points: 127

I tried it once with an unmodified GriGri. It mostly sucked. The feeding was terrible. I'm much faster with clove hitches or my Silent Partner. The SP ain't all that great either because it's so bulky. Maybe the modified GriGri is significantly better, but it isn't worth it to me to find out.

I seem to remember reading a trip report where the GriGri didn't catch a fall, but the backup knot did. It was a while ago and I don't remember much more about it.

For what it's worth, if you are not worried about falling, I'd just stick with clove hitches. I'm fastest with those, but I pay out lots of slack... The Silent Partner has caught me on a couple of big falls. It gives a nice soft catch.

So yeah, I have no answer to your question... but aid soloing rocks!

teece303 · · Highlands Ranch, CO · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 596

I doubt he was aiding, but nicelegs was standing at the base of a route he climbed when told me the story of the nasty fall he took with his modified grigri solo setup. Said grigri was in hand.

eli poss · · Durango, CO · Joined May 2014 · Points: 525

i don't have experience but if your only worry is the handle catching on something, buy an eddy, which will lock if you pull back on it too much. i am interested to hear about what is best because i would like to get into, at some point, solo aid

Scott O · · Anchorage · Joined Mar 2010 · Points: 70

Have done it. Not too awkward to feed and handle. Didn't fall. Plenty of stuff to catch the lever or twist the device awkwardly. Use backup knots.

Bob Dobalina · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2009 · Points: 140
Scott O wrote:Have done it. Not too awkward to feed and handle. Didn't fall. Plenty of stuff to catch the lever or twist the device awkwardly. Use backup knots.
I have done it too (a lot). And you're right, it's not that bad to feed and handle.
I've never had it fail (yet) either.
I'm aware of all of the potential things that could go wrong.
I do use backup knots.
Again, I know all of this already...

But the whole point of my post was to hear from you guys about your personal experience with this system actually failing in the field.

Soooo.... does anyone else have any firsthand horror stories for me?
20 kN · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2009 · Points: 1,346

Ammon M. took a massive whip last year when a hook he was standing on popped and held the cam open on the GriGri.

Moof · · Portland, OR · Joined Dec 2007 · Points: 25

No failures, but I've taken a ~40 footer onto my gri-gri while solo aiding.

In general you have to watch the back feeding, so plan on rubber bands or Kleimheist. If you aren't doing the whole slippery knot nonsense you can easily rig the bag to catch you to have a softer catch (really properly dock the pig, and tie in a screamer with a butterfly).

I use a steel quick link to attach the gri-gri, at least use something like a Belay Master locker, or Black Diamond's abomination to keep the gri-gri from cross loading your locker in a nasty fall.

IrishJane · · Ireland->Golden->Chamonix->… · Joined Jun 2008 · Points: 400

Yup, maybe 50 pitches with it.

I use a steel mallion rated to like a bazillion kn.
Watch for back feeding.
Give yourself a big loop of slack for free climbing, it won't feed at all on its own.
For the old grigri the cheapest Mammut climbing wall ropes (10.2, blue, can't remember the name) feed really nicely balanced between too catchy and too slippy. They're also built like tanks and I've yet to put any sheath damage on one on a wall - seriously, they still look like new at the top.

Now for the horror story:
Fell out of that extremely awkward pitch below Grey Ledges last year, right at the top of the stupid wide section. As it was a horrible offwidth/flare/chimney I was not so much falling as sliding down the chute slightly too fast to catch myself. Not sure whether some of the cluster held the handle open or whether I wasn't falling fast enough but I slid all the way to the backup knot. Got some nice bruises from a 30ft chimney fall wearing a full aid rack.

Brasky · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 0

I used a gri gri exclusively for awhile, doing solo lead, top rope, etc,
Then realized one day after zipping 25ft to my stopper know that if you don't load the gri gri smoothly or keep a hand on the brake rope the cam doesn't engage. Try this experiment, tie your rope to a tree and hook your gri gri to it and your harness and slowly walk back wards without a brake hand, the rope feeds smoothly through the device.

logan johnson · · West Copper, Co · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 315

I have slid to the backup knot. Rope looped around the handle and prevented it from catching. Biggest lesson for me is to keep it clean, meaning practice good rope and gear management. I was futzing with my gear sling when I slipped and I think my rope was caught on a cam which then looped onto the handle.

20 kN · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2009 · Points: 1,346
Moof wrote:No failures, but I've taken a ~40 footer onto my gri-gri while solo aiding. In general you have to watch the back feeding, so plan on rubber bands or Kleimheist. If you aren't doing the whole slippery knot nonsense you can easily rig the bag to catch you to have a softer catch (really properly dock the pig, and tie in a screamer with a butterfly). I use a steel quick link to attach the gri-gri, at least use something like a Belay Master locker, or Black Diamond's abomination to keep the gri-gri from cross loading your locker in a nasty fall.
Now that you mention it, I seem to recall reading about a Belay Master carabiner failure that was used with a GriGri while soloing. I dont remember the details, just that the Belay Master broke. I would go with a quicklink.
slim · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2004 · Points: 1,103

a very good friend of mine fell several times on the same hook move aid soloing with a grigri, no problems. fell one more time, it didn't lock up, and suffered a pretty bad ground fall.

George Bracksieck · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2008 · Points: 3,393
20 kN wrote: Now that you mention it, I seem to recall reading about a Belay Master carabiner failure that was used with a GriGri while soloing. I dont remember the details, just that the Belay Master broke. I would go with a quicklink.
Quicklinks can get crossloaded, too. I've done it simply by climbing past draws that are affixed to bolts by using quicklinks.

Even when loaded along its major axis, a thick, heavy quicklink isn't very strong. A half-inch-thick quicklink weighs a whopping 7.5 oz and is rated at only 12 kN (3,300 lbs) along its major axis. The thinner, lighter quicklinks that most climbers use are weaker yet.

Edit: A closer look at this standard oval-shaped half-inch-thick quicklink revealed that it's stamped, "12N SWI 3300 LBS." It doesn't say "12kN...."
IrishJane · · Ireland->Golden->Chamonix->… · Joined Jun 2008 · Points: 400

I'll be reunited with my soloing mallion this weekend and will report exact specs, but pretty sure it's in the range of 60kn major and 30kn minor.

Ryan Strickland · · Idyllwild, CA · Joined Oct 2010 · Points: 127
Irish-Jane wrote:I'll be reunited with my soloing mallion this weekend and will report exact specs, but pretty sure it's in the range of 60kn major and 30kn minor.
You wrote one of my favorite TR's on Supertopo!

For those who haven't read it, you should get on it! I found it really inspiring for wall soloing. She pushes through some tough times and succeeds on Lurking Fear!
Moof · · Portland, OR · Joined Dec 2007 · Points: 25
George Bracksieck wrote: Quicklinks can get crossloaded, too. I've done it simply by climbing past draws that are affixed to bolts by using quicklinks. Even when loaded along its major axis, a thick, heavy quicklink isn't very strong. A half-inch-thick quicklink weighs a whopping 7.5 oz and is rated at only 12 kN (3,300 lbs) along its major axis. The thinner, lighter quicklinks that most climbers use are weaker yet. Edit: A closer look at this standard oval-shaped half-inch-thick quicklink revealed that it's stamped, "12N SWI 3300 LBS." It doesn't say "12kN...."
I think you are comparing working load limit of the quick link to breaking strength of a biner. Depending on the intended use there is often a 5x or higher safety factor for the working load limit.
Alan Doak · · boulder, co · Joined Oct 2007 · Points: 120

IMHO, the stopper knot/loop serves 3 purposes:

1) reduce the weight of the tail, so that the slack that you feed yourself doesn't suck back into the device.

2) it's also a loop that I clip into short with a seperate biner, so in case the gri-gri cross loads the belay biner, causing the biner to explode (or, something, I dunno), I've got a backup.

3) if the gri-gri doesn't catch, because it's a slow fall or whatever, the knot will jam the device.

With only 10', or so, of loop in the backup knot, my risk of a major failure is a bit limited. FWIW, I use this technique for block climbing, while I'm climbing until the second can put me back on belay.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Big Wall and Aid Climbing
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