Tips and tricks
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Here's the place to share with the climbing community all of the tips and tricks you use to make your climbing experience a bit more enjoyable. Please share anything that you think could be of use to a fellow climber. |
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When using a cordelette in a trad anchor, clove hitch it to one of your pieces of gear, near the knot. This will keep the knot from sliding down to the masterpoint area when you go to "equalize" everything. |
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When loading packs at the truck, place the beer in your partner's pack. |
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When climbing at an area with Chipmonks that get into your pack/food, use a protein powder container as a lunch container. Leave it outside your pack and the pack open so they don't chew up your pack. |
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Carrying H2O: instead of doing a crappy tape job on your water bottle make a prucell prusik with a small cord. |
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Ryan Nevius wrote:When using a cordelette in a trad anchor, clove hitch it to one of your pieces of gear, near the knot. This will keep the knot from sliding down to the masterpoint area when you go to "equalize" everything.wow. such a simple idea but very usefull. I'm going to start doing this. No more knot bugging the crap out of me. thanks for the tip |
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Rob Dillon wrote:When loading packs at the truck, place the beer in your partner's pack.If you find beer in your pack that you didn't put there, drink it all before your partner can. |
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If you're in bear country, always carry a knife for your partner's leg. |
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Jake Jones wrote:When you're setting up a rappel, put the backup hitch on first so that the hitch takes the weight of the rope. This will enable you to pull some slack through and easily feed your bight(s) of rope into your device with two hands- not having to struggle with the weight of the rope. Seems basic, but I've seen a hell of a lot of people fight with trying to feed the weight of 2 60m ropes into their belay device. Especially if they're wet.I've done this a time or two, but if I'm not using a hitch/backup, I usually just pull up a few feet and hold it against the rock with my foot if I'm on a ledge, otherwise, the battle ensues. |
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Have the ends of your cord and webbing cut and melted at an angle instead of straight across. Makes it much easier to thread when tying knots. |
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Here's a cold-weather tip for keeping your fingers warm. It's called the Funky Penguin (tm).
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Always pay the trick a tip. Just rude not to. |
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-An idea from user hikingdrew that I've used: rack DMM Torque Nuts from the top loop to eliminate clanging while on the harness. Alternatively, extend the sling, and then clip the short sling. |
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only climb at crags where you can immediately update your 8a.nu status |
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WDW4 wrote:-If you can alternate leads on multipitch routes, use the rope in the anchor. If you can't, stick with the cordalette or double length sling.I have all but eliminated slings from my mulitpitch anchors, especially when they are bolted. A little planning when the second arrives can make it easy for one person to lead every pitch and get off of the anchor easily. An extra minute or two spent on rope management at the anchors is always worthwhile. Since belay stances are sometimes crowded or uncomfortable, I often find it helpful if the leader stops after placing one or two pieces (terrain permitting) so that the belayer can fine-tune their position and get comfortable. |
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Ryan Nevius wrote:Know how to rappel with a carabiner brake, in the event that a rappel device is dropped.It's much easier to just use a munter hitch. Completely safe, and a lot harder to mess up. |
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Jake Jones wrote:When bailing or being lowered off of one piece, say like a 1-bolt anchor, tie a friction hitch around the belayer's side of the rope, and use a locker to connect it to your belay loop. If the top piece fails, the piece below you that you have not yet cleaned will catch you via the backup hitch. This can also be accomplished with and auto-assist device like a GriGri. This is really just an extra precaution, more than a trick/tip, but I employ it when I'm in this situation. It would suck to complete the route and then crater while you're being lowered- unlikely as that may be.This seems both pointlessly fussy and needlessly dangerous. If the top piece fails *and* you're being lowered, then you just take the fall: now there's no risk of melting through a sling or damaging your rope's sheath because you couldn't trust your belayer not to drop you. A lot of these are useful tips, but this one is predicated on doing something really stupid to begin with, namely letting somebody you don't trust belay you. |
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Daniel vH wrote: It's much easier to just use a munter hitch. Completely safe, and a lot harder to mess up.Yep, also an option. But the carabiner brake is less likely to twist the heck out of your rope, in my experience. To each, his/her own. |
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Brian Scoggins wrote: This seems both pointlessly fussy and needlessly dangerous. If the top piece fails *and* you're being lowered, then you just take the fall: now there's no risk of melting through a sling or damaging your rope's sheath because you couldn't trust your belayer not to drop you. A lot of these are useful tips, but this one is predicated on doing something really stupid to begin with, namely letting somebody you don't trust belay you.You're missing the point. This is common practice. See Petzl's diagram here: Technique for lowering off of a single, fixed protection point (image from Petzl) |