ways to climb bolt ladder

Hey,

I'm looking at doing the Pioneer Route while at Smith Rock in a couple weeks. The route is pretty easy, but one pitch has a bolt ladder. Is it necessary to use aiders? What are some recommend ways for doing bolt ladders?

Thanks

It's pretty easy if you think about it.

I used aiders for the bolt ladder but I'm lazy. Most people simply yard on the draws on the way up.

Have fun. It's a cool route.

On lead, pulling on draws works pretty well, there are actually some pretty good feet for the first 3/4 of the bolt ladder. You can always go in direct if needed to give to take a break...

Towards the top it gets a little steeper, and starts to traverse to the right. IMO, that is where you would want some ladders, or two double length slings knotted in the middle if you don't. doing the same following works too, but there are definitely more traditional means of getting your way up that thing.

The only time I watched someone jug a separate fixed line, and clean the other line as they went looked painfully slow, and he seemed to swear a lot.

Be sure to do 'Monkey Off My Back' after the bolt ladder.

Have fun!

Bolts make great feet.

You want aiders. If you don't need them? It ain't aid,

An easy way to climb bolt ladders, without aiders, is to use the rope. Clip a draw to the bolt above you, clip the rope to the draw, and pull yourself up. Have your partner take and repeat as needed. it's fast too!

josh

A pair of shoulder length slings work fine. Pull on draws and use foot holds and/or stand in the slings if you need to. You can even knot them in the middle to give you a higher foot. I would not carry aiders for one pitch.

A friend convinced me it wasn't that hard to just clip draws and pull on them. Take a tether and clip in to rest if need be.

That route would be perfect for it.

It works, and, I'm not that strong...(and, talk about saving time!).

hint ... bring a few NYLON slings ... the thin dyneema ones can be a biatch to stand in

;)

Don't forget to leave a quickdraw/'biner on all of the bolts as you get towards the end of that pitch. The first time I climbed it I sort of hosed my partner since he had to deal with the traverse into the cave without having the rope run through all of the bolts.

It's a fun easy aid pitch, but it's much, much faster if both people can pull on quickdraws the entire way.

Bring a long sling and if you can't reach the next bolt, clip the sling step into it and reach up.

I yarded on the draws. My second had a tougher time as he had to clean.

Great route.

Use a couple 60cm slings and tie a knot in the middle in case you need the extra height. Realistically you only need 10 draws for that route, just leave one every 3 bolts. Anchor the rope at the top and have the second jumar the rope.

Reviving this topic to see if there are any new ways since 2013 given there would be new ideas/developments since then. 

I have done the grand wall, but would like to do it again 7 years later (and weaker!). I remember the bolt ladder being a source of bicep and hand cramping. Same thing happened to me on parallel passages. Looking for what other people do when they're 99% free climbing, so not using aiders (or maybe it'd be worth it to find a light weight dyneema aider??). Not looking for speediest way, but a balance of speed and efficiency. I found one video, which I'll post, but I'm sure there's a wide breadth of knowledge out there.

Steps and gear used would be helpful. I don't have a connect adjust or fifi hook, but would have plenty of time to get stuff like that if it's part of your steps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xowHoQuHiOc&t=281s

Thank you,

Improvised aiders really help. I use a girth hitch on the carabiner instead of a knot. The positioning of the bar-tacks matter; I prefer to use it to open the upper step since the bottom step can always be opened manually.

You tape the gate on a carabiner open to make an improvised fifi hook if you want. Quickdraws can work as well.

Learning how to stand with your hips above the bolt can be useful if you're on the shorter side.