How to fix a line

I have a question about fixing a line. I am planning a photography shoot a couple pitches up a route and plan to climb the route first and fix a line on the top of pitch three. Then I can rap down and ascend/descend as needed. My question is how do you guys fix your lines? My first thought was just to tie a figure eight on a bight and locker that to the bolt or cordalette. my only thought with that is that there is no redundancy. So for the pros out there how do you fix your lines?

Cody

Pretty much nailed it. You could go with a figure 9 so it's a little easier to untie. Other option is the "bunny ears" figure eight that connects to 2 separate points.

There's no redundancy when you tie in to a rope with a single knot, why would there need to be redundancy when the knot is on the other end of the rope?

Bowline or retraced figure 8 - saves you a biner (actually two if you wanted to back that biner up, if you think friction my unlock it).

Rope is generally one of the few areas in which we don't have the luxury of redundancy. Climbing on doubles/twins is the exception.

But ropes are generally the strongest single link in the chain, so we're pretty much good with that.

Harness is another non-redundant link in the chain, but is built to be bombproof. It's up to us to watch the condition of all of our gear, but if they're in good shape, the rope and harness are ok w/o redundancy.

Sadly the weakest link in the climbing chain is also non-redundant. That's why a solid partner will back up your brain by checking your tie-in, harness, etc...

Bring a second rope if you want redundancy and need 60m or half your rope for redundancy and 30m. Only warranted if you think there may be sharp edges or something to wear on your rope when jugging up (being your dynamic lead line, it could 'saw' a bit).

Hmmm while safe these suggestions will likely result in a knot that is totally impossible to untie. 2 bolts = clove on bolt you will weight, then a figure-8 on the other one. Clove unties easily, still "redundant" i.e. both bolts in play.

Fixing a line? Depends on the scenario...

-Two solid bolts: Bowline on a bight (or Super-8).
-Gear anchor with pre-rigged master point: locker with figure-8 on a bight.
-Gear anchor without pre-rigged MP: F8OAB on point #1, long-loop directional-8 cloved to #2 and #3.
-BFT/BFR: wrap and tie off with bowline and stopper.

The key to this kind of stuff is to have plenty of tools in the mental tool box so you can choose between two, three, four (or more) ways of doing the same thing.

Ben Sachs wrote:Hmmm while safe these suggestions will likely result in a knot that is totally impossible to untie. 2 bolts = clove on bolt you will weight, then a figure-8 on the other one. Clove unties easily, still "redundant" i.e. both bolts in play.

I disagree. In my experience a figure 8 on a fixed rope (or your harness) can easily be untied, even after multiple hard falls. It might be more difficult to untie if it's wet or very cold outside, but I guess I just don't really get the argument for using a different knot than you're used to because it's easier to untie. Also, a clove can be a real bear to get undone after heavy loading.

Your setup would be redundant but why not at least try to equalize the bolts?

To the OP: Since it sounds like you will be moving around quite a bit on the rope, I recommend rope redundancy. You can clip into the backup strand periodically to save you from the very low (depending on terrain) chance that your main line saws through.

What is going on below the top anchor? Is the rope going over any edges that could be cutting into the rope as you jug? If so I would want the rope anchored into solid pieces or bolts close below the rub points, with a little slack between so the rope isn't rubbing up and down on the edges as you jug. The sub anchor points will also reduce the bouncing while you jug, making it easier. I would also use a static rope if you have one.

I like to do butterflys on th first knot(closest to weight) and all the moddle knots with a clove hitch on the end(farthest from weight). mark hudon has some pics here!:

hudonpanos.com/Wall-Tips/An…

with only 2 bolts though... I like to bunny ear thing with double figure eight!

With two bolts you're still better off with a butterfly on the first bolt and a butterfly on the second extended to equalize. If you're freaked on the butterfly, you can back the first one up with a figure 8 which will never see tension so untying isn't an issue. This is essentially what you'll find on Hudon's anchor page (minus the figure 8 backup which is unnecessary)

I bigwall solo a lot and this is my goto fixed line anchor that I rap back to the belay then release the haul bags onto. Has never been an issue untying or holding in 50+ pitches this year.

I prefer the Bowline on a bight for 2 bolt anchors, it's quick and easy to tie and all you need gear wise is 2 biners.

If you're fixing to a gear anchor or a master point of some sort, a figure 8 on a bight is ok, if you think that you'll be really bouncing on the rope a lot or something, a bowline on a bight is easy to untie.

Having the rope running over an edge is a very legitimate concern, either pad your edges well, or re-anchor the rope once you're over the edge.

I usually fix the rope to an equalized point on the anchor. Tie a clove hitch (it is easy to untie but if your concerned you can us two carabiners at the point you use the clove hitch. This will make it easy to untie regardless of how much you weigh the knot) to equalized point backed up using an over hand or figure eight above the equalized point on the anchor. You can adjust the clove hitch so that the backup is taunt to the equalized point without actually weighting the overhand/figure eight. I think this is an easy way to fix a line which uses a knot that is relatively easy to untie.