Metolius PAS question #2

Hi folks, 

I have another Metolius PAS question: 

Do you think a sensible way to rack the PAS is to pass it between your legs and clip it to the back of your harness?

Ha....just kidding...maybe!  Could I be that guy at the crag?  

So, in all seriousness, I use sometimes use a Metolius PAS in a variety of ways (anchor attachment, rap extension, part of an anchor, and so on). 

What I find consistently spooky is clipping to an anchor, locking the biner, and then deciding I want to be a little shorter/longer, and re-opening the biner to change the length. 

There are two components to this which are potential safety issues: 1) the opening/closing of the biner, and the weirdness of the multiple loops gathered together at the biner, making it somewhat hard to see exactly what is clipped/not clipped.  

Mitigation strategies? (Apart from, of course, using the rope, a connect adjust, swing, and so on). 

B

You could use 2 carabiners -- one on each loop, then you'd always have 1 clipped in and closed.  Or have a separate back-up tether like a sling (with its own biner).  But normally I would just use the rope w/ clove hitch.

If you've got two bolts, just clip a quickdraw on the second bolt and choose the loop to get your desired length. All your weight will be on the quickdraw. That way you don't have to touch the locked biner. (This is a kind of a banshee belay, so there's a potential to shockload the system so only use bomber bolts).

If you're on a quad or trad anchor, just do the same thing but to the shelf or masterpoint, instead.

OR just substitute the qd with another locker.

Question: are you clipping all the loops of the PAS with the locker to the anchor (similar to how this guy racks it:

I'm not really sure if this answers your question or not. 

Just don’t worry about it, unless it’s a hanging belay. There’s a huge difference between gear right in front of you that you are manipulating vs gear left unattended. You unlock the biner and you should be keeping an eye on it, making sure the loops don’t come off, not moving around and getting distracted, adjust it, then you lock it again. If I was sharing the belay I’d say hold on I’m going to adjust my tether because a partner moving around or distracting you makes it way more likely to cause an issue.  

But yeah. Use the rope and you just slide the rope thru the clove hitch without ever unlocking.