Question from a Newbie: Reimer's Ranch

My three friends & I have very little experience outdoors, but are all climbing 5.10+ in the gym and have all taken the lead class. We are planning on going to Reimer's Ranch this weekend, but weren't able to find anyone with lots of experience to be our leader. So, we're planning on going, and staying super-simple - climbing 5.6 to 5.8 to start with & then proceeding to 5.9 if we're feeling confident in our leading abilities. We'll likely let our strongest climber lead and then setup a top rope for the rest of us. Heck, we may even do some mock leading, but

Anyway, I've been outdoors twice: Lake Louise (AB, Canada - with a very experienced friend) and Red Rock (2 days of an AAI guided trip), so I've seen how things are supposed to happen, but I haven't necessarily done much on my own.

Anyway, when we were talking about setting up a top rope, I asked, "Who's going to clean the anchor?" I got puzzled looks & had to explain what I meant. The others in the group have been there before & responded, "I think the unofficial standard at Reimer's is just use the two anchors bolts at the top." They mentioned that there are two oval biners on chains that they use.

Is this right? Do people really top rope off of the permanent hardware at Reimer's?

Hang two draws, run rope through the draws to top rope. Then when you're done you will have to clean the anchor. Climb up, clip yourself to anchor. Untie the rope, feed it through the chains and then rappel down. Typically you don't want to lower or top rope through chains.

Reimer's is mostly set up for sport climbs. There are fixed anchors.

You can set up a top rope climb on pretty much anything, but understand that you need to be aware of what you are doing. You use your own gear.

"My three friends & I have very little experience outdoors..." - Dan Parisian

"...so I've seen how things are supposed to happen, but I haven't necessarily done much on my own." - Dan Parisian

"Anyway, when we were talking about setting up a top rope, I asked, "Who's going to clean the anchor?" I got puzzled looks & had to explain what I meant." - Dan Parisian

My suggestion would be to have someone that has been there and has experience, maybe a guide even, to go with you. I would be more than happy to go with you, but for the next three weeks Im out of town.

You say you are looking for a leader... I suggest this if you have money to throw at the problem:
rock-about.com/locations/re…

This sounds a lot like my first day of outdoor climbing, which was also at Riemers. Set your sights low, and go where there are others (Dead Cats). As with all other places, TR through your own gear and know how to clean (practicing on the ground) before you show up. I for one believe that lowering through fixed gear is ok, especially on steep or wandering lines where it is inefficient or even dangerous to clean on rap. Of course, local ethics rein supreme, but it is not at all uncommon to see people lowered after cleaning in most sport venues (Reimers included). That said, pony up some quicklinks or leaver biners to contribute to the cause. Anyway, do your homework, stay well within your abilities, and use lots of communication and you'll be fine.

Well, I got a reply back from the Reimer's Ranch Facebook owner & he/she said that they do lower AND TR from the anchors there.

"...the routes are on the short side compared to climbing areas out of state, so the heat from the rope does not result in the fast sawing seen elsewhere. The most trafficked 5.8 (Scott's Pelotas) took quite a few years to see grooves cutting almost half way in. That's about the point where CTM replaces the anchors."

My life just got a LOT simpler! I'm still glad a spent a few hours studying how to clean an anchor, but at least now I don't have as high of a chance of dying this weekend! :-)

Top roping on the anchors is the standard at Reimer's.

However, know that not all routes out there have sport clips at the top, particularly the "beginner" walls. Serpent's Wall and Zoe's wall are mostly 5.6-5.8 climbs, and they just have chains at the top, no clips.

You really need to know how to tie in direct and clean before climbing outside. What if you get to the top and it's not a snap gate?

The common system is 2 slings girth hitched or lockered to your belay loop with lockers on the other end.

Once you go in direct on the anchors, getting on rappel is simple, but lots of people screw this up (usually miscommunication with the belayer or threading the rope wrong or not tying knots in the end of the rope, etc...)

It's just a skill you need to be familiar with and proficient with before you get on real rock. Even better is to have someone there to watch and make sure you don't fuck it up.

Well, we had a blast this weekend! We did about 10 routes - all leading for the first time outdoors (and all being very vocal when we saw someone doing something wrong). We never got above 5.8, but that was more than enough for us.

On the first few climbs, we were on routes with sport anchors & we used those. After that, I convinced everyone that we needed to learn to setup a top rope and learn how to clean the anchors. We walked through it on the ground & then practiced on the most stable ledge we could find (20' up on Zoe's wall). We actually had every single person setup a top rope & then clean it all on the same climb. Each of us probably set a top rope & cleaned the anchors 4-5 times (on various climbs). By the end of the day, the mechanics of clipping bolts and dealing with the anchors were getting fairly comfortable and we were pushing ourselves to actually climb.

Next trip (2 weeks?), we need to practice rappelling instead of lowering off of the chains, since that's another skill we need to be comfortable with.

Did I mention we had an AMAZING time? Yeah, we may be gumbies, but damn, that was so fun!

I really appreciate the replies on this thread and am thankful for such a good community.

Dan Parisian wrote:Well, we had a blast this weekend! We did about 10 routes - all leading for the first time outdoors (and all being very vocal when we saw someone doing something wrong). We never got above 5.8, but that was more than enough for us. On the first few climbs, we were on routes with sport anchors & we used those. After that, I convinced everyone that we needed to learn to setup a top rope and learn how to clean the anchors. We walked through it on the ground & then practiced on the most stable ledge we could find (20' up on Zoe's wall). We actually had every single person setup a top rope & then clean it all on the same climb. Each of us probably set a top rope & cleaned the anchors 4-5 times (on various climbs). By the end of the day, the mechanics of clipping bolts and dealing with the anchors were getting fairly comfortable and we were pushing ourselves to actually climb. Next trip (2 weeks?), we need to practice rappelling instead of lowering off of the chains, since that's another skill we need to be comfortable with. Did I mention we had an AMAZING time? Yeah, we may be gumbies, but damn, that was so fun! I really appreciate the replies on this thread and am thankful for such a good community.