Beginner top rope gear

Hi folks. I'd like to start gathering the necessary equipment to set up my own top rope anchor on some easier climbs locally. Trees and sturdy objects are abundant, Nothing too extreme or tall. Recommendations on rope length, sling lengths, carabiners, etc... for a versatile setup would be appreciated. Could possibly be used for Ice as well.

What would you bring with you?

Thanks!

Get a 60 meter 10.2mm rope, any brand other than Petzl. Get a fair number of locking carabiners...any brand will do. Perhaps Black Diamond Rocklocks. Add in a 7mm cordalette (just ask the guys at the shop, they will know what you mean) and a few slings (60cm and 120cm). If your anchors are further back from the edge, get a length of webbing or static rope (maybe 50 feet). You should be able to get everything you need (other than harness, belay device, chalkbag and shoes) for around $200, maybe $250. You could certainly get by on less than what I described but with the above you will be ready for most situations.

When you get ready to progress a little more and need to add in redirects, get a few Black Diamond Camalots in sizes .5 - 2. Don't mess around with these yet until you have a better idea how things work.

First purchase I'd make is a helmet, in anticipation of some of the responses your post is going to attract...

Seriously,if you're asking a question this basic, what you need to do is hook up with some knowledgeable people who can show you. A guide would be great, or get on the partner finder and, well, find some partners.

Top roping actually carries with it a huge responsibility, particularly if you're taking out non-climbers who put their lives in your hands with no understanding of what's at stake. If you don't know what gear you need to me that carries with it a strong implication that you don't know how to correctly use the gear once you buy it.

We fairly recently had a young woman die here after a very short fall resulting from total failure of a top rope anchor. Please get somebody to show you how it's done several times or more prior to setting an anchor yourself.

Optimistic wrote:First purchase I'd make is a helmet, in anticipation of some of the responses your post is going to attract... Seriously,if you're asking a question this basic, what you need to do is hook up with some knowledgeable people who can show you. A guide would be great, or get on the partner finder and, well, find some partners. Top roping actually carries with it a huge responsibility, particularly if you're taking out non-climbers who put their lives in your hands with no understanding of what's at stake. If you don't know what gear you need to me that carries with it a strong implication that you don't know how to correctly use the gear once you buy it. We fairly recently had a young woman die here after a very short fall resulting from total failure of a top rope anchor. Please get somebody to show you how it's done several times or more prior to setting an anchor yourself.

+1

It's kind of, if you have to ask, you probably shouldn't be doing it yet.

That being said, there is a lot (a lot) of information out there for you to start reading so you don't feel as intimidated when you ask for questions. Someone is way more likely to give you a useful answer if you ask something like "When do I need to use static rope or webbing to offset my anchor" as opposed to "How do I do everything."

If you're serious, John Long's book "Climbing Anchors" is a really solid reference, although it's not aimed so much at setting up top rope anchors. The internet has a lot of information out there. Read up some, then ask some people some questions or hire a guide for a day. If you have specific questions you're more likely to get better answers.

ethanfromwildohio wrote:That being said, there is a lot (a lot) of information out there for you to start reading so you don't feel as intimidated when you ask for questions. Someone is way more likely to give you a useful answer if you ask something like "When do I need to use static rope or webbing to offset my anchor" as opposed to "How do I do everything." If you're serious, John Long's book "Climbing Anchors" is a really solid reference, although it's not aimed so much at setting up top rope anchors. The internet has a lot of information out there. Read up some, then ask some people some questions or hire a guide for a day. If you have specific questions you're more likely to get better answers.

+1 for Climbing Anchors.

There are some parts of it that go a little overboard on details, but Long does a great job of instilling the skepticism that is essential to staying alive out on the cliffs.

I was expecting the "you're not experienced enough to do this" type posts. I apologize for being naive. I do own a helmet, belay device, harness etc... for climbing in a gym. Just haven't wondered to the great outdoors yet aside for bouldering and some steep scrambles on hikes.

It's interesting how much our pioneering/adventurous instincts have faded with time. No one just goes and does it anymore. Gotta google it to death, hire a guide, take a class, do this, do that. At one point in history didn't this all start somewhere with a guy who wanted to climb a rock?

Oh well... If I could delete this thread I would. I apologize for offending everyone.

I know everyone likes to be "if you have to ask, you don't know enough." However, having been in a position a couple of years ago when I had been climbing a few times and it was time to get some gear I'll assume you have the details you need for setting up a proper anchor (you will certainly learn new and better ways later, but a basic understanding of anchoring to solid objects with redundant and equalized anchor points sill suffice).

I think the first response from ClimbingOn is pretty solid. Hold off on buying tons of gear. I think everyone that gets psyched on climbing goes and buys a bunch of stuff they think they'll need, and it ends up just sitting there. 2-4 locking carabiners 3-4 nylon slings, 20 ft. of 7mm cord and a 9.8+mm rope should give you what you need to set up an anchor. (I love DMM shadows, but any decent locking biner will work)

Remember secure your anchor to more than one object, or if it's a single large tree you can simply sling it twice and connect with a master point. The point is, don't every count on one single connection to be strong enough. Weird things happen and you want to make sure you don't die. Figure 8 on a bight if you're using cord should be your go to anchor knot.

As with others I recommend getting a book on building anchors, John Long's book is great as are a couple of others.

Be safe, ALWAYS communicate your intentions CLEARLY with the belayer before you leave the ground, never get too cool or comfortable that you don't check each other's knot and belay device and locker. Have fun.

Dave Dillon wrote:I was expecting the "you're not experienced enough to do this" type posts. I apologize for being naive. I do own a helmet, belay device, harness etc... for climbing in a gym. Just haven't wondered to the great outdoors yet aside for bouldering and some steep scrambles on hikes. It's interesting how much our pioneering/adventurous instincts have faded with time. No one just goes and does it anymore. Gotta google it to death, hire a guide, take a class, do this, do that. At one point in history didn't this all start somewhere with a guy who wanted to climb a rock? Oh well... If I could delete this thread I would. I apologize for offending everyone.

Definitely no offense taken or intended... Just want you to be reasonably safe and not kill anybody else.

I did it the "go it alone" way for a year or two (age 13-14 or so) and am pretty amazed that I survived. For what it's worth, while I had a few interesting adventures, I also wasted a HUGE amount of time (decades, we're talking) by not surrounding myself with as many strong and experienced climbers as I possibly could. And many (all?) of the old school hard men and women all the way back to the dawn of this sport had mentors that showed them the way forward. Nothing at all wrong with learning from others. Wish I'd done a whole lot more of it...

Dave Dillon wrote: It's interesting how much our pioneering/adventurous instincts have faded with time. No one just goes and does it anymore. Gotta google it to death, hire a guide, take a class, do this, do that. At one point in history didn't this all start somewhere with a guy who wanted to climb a rock?

EXACTLY !!!!
So why did you post this again?

If you think you know what you're doing, go do it. Plenty of people died or came pretty close (or just wasted a lot of time) and it helps to learn from their lessons, but I think the reason you get these answers is you're asking pretty basic questions, which makes people think you aren't going to think about it enough before you try it. Most people would rather encourage you to be cautious than buy some gear and go be adventurous if they think they're gonna read about you, or worse, someone you're belaying, in an annual report on accidents in rock climbing.

The first reply you got was the gear you need, but it's easier to just tell you to be careful and get a more thorough answer from someone or somewhere than giving you the complete answer you might need.

not going to go in to great detail but pick up one of these books and read it, under stand it, practice it in a controlled environment.

amazon.com/dp/0762745045/re…

amazon.com/dp/1594850062/re…

and those are just two book you can use that have alot of knowledge to hep you get started.

do some reading, watch some youtube videos, buy some gear, practice making anchors on the ground and test them.

and most importantly have fun

rocknice2 wrote: EXACTLY !!!! So why did you post this again?

touche!

Dave Dillon wrote:It's interesting how much our pioneering/adventurous instincts have faded with time. No one just goes and does it anymore. Gotta google it to death, hire a guide, take a class, do this, do that. At one point in history didn't this all start somewhere with a guy who wanted to climb a rock?

Yet it seems that now we have climbers cratering and being dropped, getting seriously injured and killed far more frequently. One of the most depressing things I ever saw on a forum was a couple of years ago when someone started a thread (think it was on RC.com) asking people how many times they had been dropped and/or hit the ground, with the OP saying three! Back in the 70's if someone was dropped it was pretty big news and if it happened more than once in a 5 year period, that was *a lot*.

Hi Dave,

We DO live in modern times with modern gear so why be all nostalgic about the old pioneers?

Anyhow, people here have good advice for you. There is a lot more to building RELIABLE toprope anchors than you might think and learning properly and practicing a lot will just make things a lot safer. Let's be honest we are talking about doing something here that can easily get people killed. It's important to understand the types of rope to use and the types of anchors you can build with certain gear etc. There are other things as well, like how to properly handle yourself on top of a cliff as you are setting up a toprope. Anchor position to avoid rope drag and other things are things you have to learn as well...

If you don't want to hire a guide or pay for a class at least find someone experienced who can mentor you a bit - I promise there's more to consider and learn than you think...