Lowering off of bolts vs anchor - beginner question.

I just took a sport lead climbing class at the gym and am excited to get outdoors with my wife. She's recovering from an injury so it'll just be me climbing for awhile and her belaying. The routes I've been looking at for sport climbing have bolts at the top and, I assume, chain. What's the proper way to lower when I'm done with a route so that I don't leave any gear? If there's a chain and a ring then I would run the rope through the rings and have her lower me, right? And if there's no rings, just run the rope through a chain link? If there's no chain, or it's in bad condition, then I'm donating a biner to the mountain? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzmbTHe_ql0

Jimmy Tee wrote:

And if there's no rings, just run the rope through a chain link? If there's no chain, or it's in bad condition, then I'm donating a biner to the mountain? 

yes. 2, in fact.

Hey Jimmy, check out this video for the AMGA advised technique go how to clean a top rope anchor.  

As for coming across a top rope anchor without chains/rings/mussies/etc, that typically happens when you can pull over the anchor and walk off the top of the route, at least in well developed areas.  If I am going to an area where I know the development is kind of rough, I will usually carry a few quicklinks and leave them behind on the anchor.

Chris C wrote:

If I am going to an area where I know the development is kind of rough, I will usually carry a few quicklinks and leave them behind on the anchor.

OP, carrying quick links for the unexpected anchor without them is fine. But do not put them on a bolt mid route if you have to bail. It sucks for the next person. If you have to bail, you’re donating a biner to the next guy who comes along and climbs it. 

Thanks all. I've watched tons of videos on creating anchors but missed that one on cleaning. 

Some areas frown on lowering, or top roping off of the anchor rings. To minimizes wear to the hardware you should rig a rappel.

Victor Creazzi wrote:

Some areas frown on lowering, or top roping off of the anchor rings. To minimizes wear to the hardware you should rig a rappel.

In the context of single pitch climbing with fixed anchors the general recommendation is to use your own gear for top roping, and then lower off the fixed gear. This discussion, at least in the US, is pretty much over.

Elsewhere I know of places like northern Argentina where the cost of fixed hardware is prohibitive, so folks rappel. Those are specific places though, not the norm.

Which crag are you thinking of hitting up?

Victor Creazzi wrote:

Some areas frown on lowering

Some areas should get over it. Toproping through rings is one thing, but there's close to no reason to be setting up rappels on sport routes.

To clarify, I'm not talking about top roping off the anchor chains. I'll set up an anchor. I'm asking about cleaning the route when done. 

dino74 wrote:

Which crag are you thinking of hitting up?

Around Denver. 

Don Frijoles wrote:

Those areas stopped frowning around 2005 or so.

Some areas still frown.  Like Newfoundland, Canada.

You can always do what I saw some guy do a few months ago. He didn't seem to understand the concept of making or cleaning an anchor, so he literally "downfell" the route from bolt to bolt, downclimbing from the lowest one. Lots of lower jaws seemed pretty heavy that afternoon, lol.

David Gibbs wrote:

Some areas still frown.  Like Newfoundland, Canada.

Goddamn Newfies can get over it

The lowering vs rappelling really depends on the nature of the anchor setup, anchor position, and rock type.  Most people in my area (Black Hills Needles) rappel from most routes because lowering will chew up your rope. New people to the area often damage their ropes because they are habitually used to lowering off.  Sometimes rappelling is the way.  It's good to know when to do what.  Some areas like Red Rock, NV also have permanent rope ruts wore into the rock from the constant lowering.  

Adam Pequette wrote:

The lowering vs rappelling really depends on the nature of the anchor setup, anchor position, and rock type.  Most people in my area (Black Hills Needles) rappel from most routes because lowering will chew up your rope. New people to the area often damage their ropes because they are habitually used to lowering off.  Sometimes rappelling is the way.  It's good to know when to do what.  Some areas like Red Rock, NV also have permanent rope ruts wore into the rock from the constant lowering.  

Seems like those routes might benefit from a lower anchor if they are intended as single pitch climbs.

Connor Dobson wrote:

Seems like those routes might benefit from a lower anchor if they are intended as single pitch climbs.

I guess it depends on your value of topping out and sitting on top of spires.  In that scenario does one really want the anchor 8 feet from the summit to reduce rope drag?  Some climbing areas aren't composed of cliffs.  Some have the luxury of summits with 360 degrees views.

Adam Pequette wrote:

I guess it depends on your value of topping out and sitting sitting on top of spires.  In that scenario does one really want the anchor 8 feet from the summit to reduce rope drag?

Fair enough but I think topping out a spire isn't necessarily a normal single pitch climb. I'd totally rap off of that. 

I think single pitch sport climbing in sandstone areas where the anchor is placed so that someone lowering will wear grooves is just lazy development. As one typically lowers anyway if multiple people are trying it or if it is getting top roped...

Connor Dobson wrote:

Fair enough but I think topping out a spire isn't necessarily a normal single pitch climb. I'd totally rap off of that. 

I think single pitch sport climbing in sandstone areas where the anchor is placed so that someone lowering will wear grooves is just lazy development. As one typically lowers anyway if multiple people are trying it or if it is getting top roped...

My whole point is that it's good for a beginner to know when to do what.  There are sport places in Big Thompson Canyon, Colorado like The Monestary where I wouldn't recommend lowering.  Clear Creek in Colorado?  Lower away.  Joshua Tree, CA?  Choose wisely.

Jimmy Tee wrote:

Around Denver. 

Cool then you can certainly lower and it is extremely unlikely there won’t be something at the top to lower from- typically mussys but maybe two rings. 

Ashley Harper wrote:

Cool then you can certainly lower and it is extremely unlikely there won’t be something at the top to lower from- typically mussys but maybe two rings. 

I checked out Eleven Mile Canyon this weekend. From what I could see just looking up from the ground, it looked like some of the routes only had 2 bolts without any chain or rings at the top. I might not have been seeing the actual tops of the routes. If there are only bolts, what are my options? 

Donate a quick link?

Run the rope through both bolt loops and rappel down? Those bolts seem awfully sharp for running my rope directly through them but with rappelling there isn't too much movement across the bolts.