Strategy for backing up a Grigri while lead soloing?
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I recently aid-soloed a pitch using an unmodified Grigri for a belay device. This was the first time I soloed with a mechanical belay; my prior efforts involved sliding a clove hitch on a locker. |
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For a backup, I tie knots as well. But I'll tie in every 20 feet or so, saving a lot of time. I realize that this decreases my margin of safety should the grigri fail, but the knot will hold, and seeing as it's being used as a 'fail-safe' type of backup, I'm okay with the increased fall distance. If the grigri fails I'll definitely injure myself. But, I won't die. And yes, a backup is necessary. There's a great post from Piton Pete about this from a while back. He had a good story in there about a friend who would've died without a backup. |
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Hi Shawn. |
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great topic... i use the piss out of my gri for aid solo bolting work etc... let me gather my thoughts, and like Josh said we could get together and talk it out. Shawn Mitchell wrote:congestion to the already crowded cluster of metal and nylon at my waist.ha! simplified cluster |
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I'll use a short sling to attach the backup locker to the belay loop. |
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I find a single loop backup works well and keeps cluster to a minimum. The main factor on if your grigri self feeds is the diameter of the rope and the weight on either side of the device. So at the start of a pitch have a small loop going to your backup knot ( I tie a clove on a big locker attached to my donut). Towards the end of a pitch you will need a much bigger loop to offset the pull of the fixed side of the rope on your device. |
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i've been doing a bit of solo leading for easy free climbing. i used a grigri a couple times and didn't like having to pull the rope through before i moved. i tried rigging it up with a chest harness and took a much longer fall than i expected so immediately retired that system. |
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awskitc wrote: Should i just bite the bullet and get a silent partner? Does anybody use the silent partner for ice?My answer is yes...there is nothing better on the market for free climbing(solo)....well on lead. Others may differ on that. As far as Ice...it's not reccomend. It's not really reccomended for climbing when its super cold either. Frost has apparently kept the device from working correctly. There are some posts about this online...I'm just to lazy to look them up. josh |
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Thanks all for comments so far. I'm reading and absorbing. May have some practical follow up questions if we get a lull in this Minnesota winter. |
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I use Ernies method of tying my backup knots (~20ft) on a 1 ft sling girthed to my belay loop. It cuts down on the cluster fuckage at the harness. awskitc wrote:i still havent figured out the best system to prevent the rope from self feeding, just haven't tried all the different ways yet. if somebody has tested these systems, the klemheist, the rubber band/shoelace, etc. which works best? one more question, actually two. Should i just bite the bullet and get a silent partner? Does anybody use the silent partner for ice?Klemheists and rubber bands both work great for rebelay. The advantage of klemheists is that they can also be used to rebelay the rope below edges when jugging. The disadvantage is the fear that you've just added scary friction to the system in case of a fall. I prefer the rubber bands. |
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I've been doing a bit of roped solo work on ice this winter myself. Over the years I've used everything from a Petzl Shunt, to the Solo Aid; clove hitches and Gri Gri included. I gave the solo aid right back to the guy I borrowed it from when my back-up caught me in a 20 footer that should have been a perfect catch for the device. |
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i can't add much to this discussion since there are so many good points already mentioned. |
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Shawn, |
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Heh. That's ambitious unless I get a LOT faster. But I am thinking something grade V or even just IV this summer. Maybe in the Valley or Zion, or maybe Dunn Westbay on the Diamond. Burr. |
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Hey Shawn, cool you're getting psyched on walling, if you want to get out for some aid practice on a chilly day sometime, let me know. |
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i didn't back up the grigri when i started doing this but then i went 8 or 10 feet farther than i expected when i fell on it. luckily i was able to grab the brake rope. i'm not sure if the device just caught or if it only stopped because i grabbed the rope, but since then i've used back up knots. |
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also consider the biner that is attaching your gri to the belay loop... sometimes i use a beefy quicklink instead of a carabiner, so it has less chance of cross loading. mostly if i am free climbing, but not when i am aiding. |
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I've been using the Soloist for years for solo free climbing the last couple for aid. It typically feeds well with the exception for some roof / bulge moves which isn't a problem with aid but a bummer when free climbing. This device won't catch a head first fall so like others I tie back up knots every 10-20 feet. However when top stepping I tend to tie off more due to the leverage and the potential for rocketing off. |
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any suggestions for a method or device to lead solo on ice? my concern with the systems i've used to lead solo on rock are that most will not catch a head first fall. (the silent partner will catch a head first fall right???) i've never taken a lead fall on ice but it seems much more likely you would end up upside down than on rock and the silent partner is not suggested for freezing conditions. |
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just got back from j-tree ....4 days of rope soloing. onsighted illusion dweller . it was awesome as far as adventure goes but a little lonely. i used a gri gri inverted with a small attached loop on a shoulder sling. when the gri gri is inverted it auto feeds as you lead with little trouble. as far as the back up goes, i stopped using one a while ago cause it just got in the way and whenever i fell the gri gri always worked. i do however keep the gri gri feeding well by keeping the weight of the rope off of it by looping my slack(15-25')through a mini traxion. it pulls super easy and the only problem with this is if you are not careful with the order you can end up cross clipping and sort of z-clipping yourself, in which case you have to downclimb or take the scary fall. i guess the thinner the rope the easier the gri gri feeds. Craig luebben showed me the mini traxion reverse loop suspension technique and it has helped me push myself ten times more than the old overhand loop backup. whats also nice about the mini trax is if you are doing multipitch it really comes in handy when you lower off after fixing your line and follow back up,,,its faster. i did grand giraffe the other day onsight in a couple hours....good route. |
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Sorry to revive an old thread, but does anyone have more information about the mini traxion reverse loop suspension technique? |