how to shorten cordelette for small anchor

I recently had to set up a bolted TR anchor (2 bolts several inches apart on the face) with a 20-ft cord. Given that it was a short climb and face anchor, the anchor had to be pretty short... like 2-draws short.
I shortened the cord by tying knots in it to isolate a short loop, so it was safe but not pretty, with a big loop hanging down and not bearing weight.

Is there some simple way to shorten the cord temporarily for such cases without cutting it?

Tie a quad. It'll be a bit longer than 2 draws, but prettier than what you describe.

summitpost.org/quad-anchor/…

For a 2-bolt anchor, a quad system is often the best way to make use of a cordelette:

blog.alpineinstitute.com/20…

Sergey Shelukhin wrote:I recently had to set up a bolted TR anchor (2 bolts several inches apart on the face) with a 20-ft cord. Given that it was a short climb and face anchor, the anchor had to be pretty short... like 2-draws short. I shortened the cord by tying knots in it to isolate a short loop, so it was safe but not pretty, with a big loop hanging down and not bearing weight. Is there some simple way to shorten the cord temporarily for such cases without cutting it?

This is a pretty basic question. It sounds like you need to vastly broaden your skills this question. That said it sounds like you've already answered your own question.

Better yet learn how to use the climbing rope to build an anchor. Two carbiners and you have your anchor any length your wish. Alternatively one 120cm sling...

Keep it in a loop and double it over to get the length you want. Clip one side to one anchor and the other side to the other anchor. Pull the top and bottom down together and tie a masterpoint as normal.

You can also leave the cord open and tie the tails back into the master knot after making the anchor the length you need.

Two simple solutions:

1. Double up the loop and proceed as normal. Half as long.

2. Keep adding wraps to masterpoint i.e. figure 9.

Why even bother with cord when it's that small? Double shoulder length slings with a figure 8 on a bight will work perfectly in this case. Or just two quickdraws as if it's sports route.

To be honest, I'm surprise to see people still use quads.

Yeah, why don't you just carry a double-length runner or have a couple of draws with you, if you are going to toprope?

Using the rope as an anchor isn't practical if you're doing a "slingshot" belay; i.e., belaying from the ground.

For bolted anchors I leave the cord on my harness and build an anchor with the rope. It's much faster.

Clove in to one bolt at a length that feels comfortable. Then clove into the other bolt with the loose end of the rope, leaving enough excess rope between the cloves to tie a figure eight. Tie a figure eight and use that equalized point to bring up your second. If you want to be equalized yourself off both bolts you can clove the loose end of the rope back into your harness (I don't do this...don't tell my mom).

Edit: oops I saw the word cordelette and assumed this was for multi-pitch climbing. If you're just setting up a toprope then use quickdraws. Keep it simple.

Tyson Anderson wrote:For bolted anchors I leave the cord on my harness and build an anchor with the rope. It's much faster. Clove in to one bolt at a length that feels comfortable. Then clove into the other bolt with the loose end of the rope, leaving enough excess rope between the cloves to tie a figure eight. Tie a figure eight and use that equalized point to bring up your second. If you want to be equalized yourself off both bolts you can clove the loose end of the rope back into your harness (I don't do this...don't tell my mom).

That's what I do if I swap leads, but this configuration is a little pain in the ass for block leading.

Given the OP is doing a TR anchor, two quickdraws would've been sufficient.

FYI- no such thing as an "AMGA approved" technique
While the Tyson's techniques can work they're probably not what the OP is looking for, nor would they have much application in guiding contexts.

While we're on the subject here is a nice video that touches on some of the previous comments.

outdoorresearch.com/blog/st…

There are certainly many different ways and variations, all with their own pros/and cons, but this is a nice introduction.

I'm not a cordelette fan myself, but I think the best implementation is not to knot the cord into a loop at all and not to tie small loops in the ends either. The following video shows how to do it

youtube.com/watch?v=qF4A85C… for how this is done.

Among other things, totally solves the adjustment problem raised by the OP.

K.I.S.S

For two closely spaced bolts for top-roping single pitch routes:
2 quickdraws
or
one 120 cm sling with an overhand on it
or
cordelette that's been doubled over multiple times.

I personally prefer #2. Keep it simple, don't worry about the quad and use the correct length sling for the application. It's clear that the people chiming in with learning to build the anchor with the rope didn't actually read your post.

on more video

outdoorresearch.com/blog/st…

rgold wrote:I'm not a cordelette fan myself, but I think the best implementation is not to knot the cord into a loop at all and not to tie small loops in the ends either. The following video shows how to do it youtube.com/watch?v=qF4A85C… for how this is done. Among other things, totally solves the adjustment problem raised by the OP.

Damn... how have I missed that?

Interesting that he says to keep cord untied, then when anchor is complete he ties the ends together.

Then when he breaks down anchor he unites it once again; two additional steps that are not necessary. One could use this idea even with a tied loop cordalette or a cordalette with "eyes" on the end (I.e. Rabbit runner) just follow the video and isolate the knot or eyes outside of the master point.

The biggest advantage to using "no knots" in your cordalette is that there is no slippage or stretch in the knot arm when a load falls on the cordalette, effectively changing the length of one of the arms and disrupting any equalization you might have obtained in the anchor.

Sergey Shelukhin wrote:I shortened the cord by tying knots in it to isolate a short loop, so it was safe but not pretty, with a big loop hanging down and not bearing weight.

Sounds perfect.

More options here:
people.bath.ac.uk/dac33/hig…

Easy to tie and untie, no extra knots

KISS a fuzzy beah

;)

I'm basically reviving an old thread for no reason at all, but wanted to say thank you Bearbreeder. The OP is exactly the question I had & BB's response exactly the answer I was looking for.

My problem is while I often plan for choosing another material to build the anchor out of, sometimes (especially onsighting) the lead doesn't go as planned and I'll find myself with nothing but my extra long cordellete. Now since we're TR'ing, using the rope isn't an option, since I gave up my shoulder and 2Xshoulder runners on the lead that's not an option, and this seems like a great answer for when the BFK (big fucking knot) is still too lengthy when using your 20' cordellette.

Only thing I could add, when you (effectively) sling through the right bolt in your picture, would it be best to clove those ends for No-Extension, or is the thought that basically your master point knot is taking care of that anyway and cloving the one bolt would only make equalization harder?

Anyway thanks again for the great insight.

EDIT:

And I'll even add more, basically this whole problem arises from the fact that I never untie my cordellette, ever, not since I bought the cord in '12. Should I periodically chop 6" off the ends and reform my double fisherman's so that bit of cord near the knot isn't getting worked so much...??

It doesnt matter if u clove it

True equalization is a myth anyways ... And the knot at the masterpoint, the joining knot and the doubled strand will mess up any equalization calculations anyways

As long as the knot still looks good theres no need to retie the double fishies

;)