Analyse This Anchor

Currently as a beginner climber I am looking to improve my knowledge on anchor building.

Recently some friends posted a photo of an anchor they used at the top of a sport route. I looked at it, analysed it, and noticed a few things I would have done differently. Without sharing my thoughts, What do you think? What would you change?

Not Mine - What you think?

Oppose the gates on the rope end of the draws and untwist the draws.

You should post your thoughts on the anchor.

For a sport climbing toprope, that is fine in my book.

Textbook? Absolutely not.

Good enough for a few laps? Yes, but I'd try to avoid the twist in the dogbone.

Gates should be opposed, draws untwisted, hanger side carabiners should be hanging neatly and not have the nose levered against the rock.

The gates would be opposed if the draws were untwisted

What every one else said, and if either of the anchor bolts have anything that gives me pause, I'll leave the last bolt clipped as well providing it doesn't get in the way.

Nick Sweeney wrote:For a sport climbing toprope, that is fine in my book. Textbook? Absolutely not. Good enough for a few laps? Yes, but I'd try to avoid the twist in the dogbone.

Yer gonna die! No seriously, you're going to die if you think that is ok.

My analysis; y'all have waay too much time on your hands.

Maybe this is because I am overly safety conscious but I usually throw a locker on one of the draws. Especially if the anchor is out of sight or funky in some way.

When I was new to climbing, I had a rope unclip itself from one of the draws and we couldn't tell until someone reached the anchor. Basically the rope had twisted but the twist was out of sight, when unweighted it went to twist back, laid across the gate, was weighted and unclipped. This is exactly why they should be opposite and opposed.

If I can see the anchor I usually forego the locker but I feel it is worth mentioning to beginners. That being said, cleanly hanging, opposite and opposed draws is pretty standard practice.

100% agreed, Nick.

As people have said the biners should be opposed, but I'm going to add in one more. Without seeing it straight on it looks like the draws are over the desired 45 degree angle. If an anchor point is close or over 45 degrees you can either extend the anchor (longer draws) or build a different type of anchor like the one I attached. Does it take longer? You bet! But, well worth the time. Notice the opposed biners that are locking too.

Proper anchor

Ideal anchor!

Everyone else has said the important things... Read John Long's How to Rock Climb. It's got a great anchors section, and he's an OG.

Edit: My photo (actually a screen grab) is a joke. Do not build an anchor like that. The only critical thing wrong with your photo is that the rope-end gates are not opposed. I also like to have the bolt-end gates facing away from the rock so they can't be levered open.

Holy crap! Are you hauling a Chevy up?!

Two O&O draws off of two good bolts is the standard, and I'd be pissed if I climbed up to something so simple done so wrong.
That said, if I'm going to be using "two bolt" anchors all day I just use a Quad anchor. Cheap to make (4 lockers and 20' of cord) and leave tied, or just use your cordelette with 4 lockers off the rack and untie at the end of the day. It also doubles as a personal anchor for cleaning which can help eliminate clutter on the harness, especially at the tie in points, and at the anchors. It can also help organize things at two bolt multi pitch anchors. I don't usually use it with gear anchors, but it can be a viable option in some situations.
I know I'll probably get flamed for suggesting it, but it has worked out well for me. If you're dealing with two bolt anchors often it's definitely a good tool to have.
-Mackley

I dunno, that 12-point anchor is all attached to the same block... might not be safe!

Thank for the replies that confirmed some of my same thoughts. Personally I am a fan of using lockers and a sling. My biggest concern was with how the gates were not opposed and how the twist in the QDs seem to be placing stress into how the QD attach to the Hangers.

Great Video as well. really enjoyed that.

IMHO the twists are the #1 thing- why?, because there is at least the POTENTIAL to flip around the biner on the bolt and it COULD then detach. (someone mentioned this)

#2 is that the rope biners, again IMHO, should be lockers. End-of-case, no "Maybe". One exception is....

If EACH draw has TWO biners and THEIR gates are opposed.

Now...for some thought. Virtually everyone commented "that the gates should be opposed". I am not sure! Once the twists are corrected, IF I had no locking biners, and IF I had no other biners to double-up each "rope-end biner", THEN I would not necessarily oppose the "singleton" biners (i.e the set-up as shown) but rather I would set both biners with the gate OUT and opening UP. Gate OUT so the force of a fall would not press the gate into the rock and open it; Gate opening UP so as to minimize the (slight) chance of the rope jumping out when/if something opens the gate (opening is on top). In other words, I wouldn't consciously set one of the "rope biners" so that the gate is towards the rock.

BTW...note the biner in the right-hand bolt, it is set this way and clearly could be pressed into the OPEN-GATE position, so #3 that I would do is flip this biner so gate is away from the rock.

Much of the above becomes difficult if using quick draws, which is why it's better to use just biners and a long sling... as others have pointed out.

The biners are clipped to the hangers the wrong way so as to force the nose into the rock which can drastically reduce the strength of the biner, the dogbones are twisted to crap and both gates are facing out. I wouldn't flip out over it, but I would mention that it's not ideal and explain the proper way to do it.

As it is, for the purpose it's being used for, I would say "adequate, but not great." Running through a TR like that, you've got a pretty consistent load and direction of force, so it's highly unlikely that either biner would unclip. That right biner running across the rock is disconcerting, but that's mainly due to the rock angle and the twist.

What concerns me is how the hell he managed to twist those two anchor biners so significantly. My best guess is that he back clipped one (or both) of them. THAT is of bigger concern, because he either A) didn't notice, or B) thought it was ok. Neither scenario is great.

NickO wrote:Maybe this is because I am overly safety conscious but I usually throw a locker on one of the draws. Especially if the anchor is out of sight or funky in some way. When I was new to climbing, I had a rope unclip itself from one of the draws and we couldn't tell until someone reached the anchor. Basically the rope had twisted but the twist was out of sight, when unweighted it went to twist back, laid across the gate, was weighted and unclipped. .

Interesting. I am very curious about how/if this could actually happen. Are you sure the draws were fully clipped properly? This seems like a more likely culprit (particularly from a new climber) than the situation you described (which I am having a very hard time envisioning).

last winter there was an accident where the climber built and anchor at the edge of the climb, went over the edge and expected to be lowered

while there were other mistakes made ... one of the factors was not using lockers when setting up anchors below you (over an edge) and then going over the edge

when going over an edge theres a decent chance that biners and slings will jiggle and tangle ... also complex anchoring systems in this case are dangerous (he used 2 sliding Xs i believe) as theres more to tangle and its harder to inspect

the guy tumbled down the slab and burned through his hands and broke a few things .... fortunately the pack on his back saved him from more serious injuries

another case involves anchor bolts that are above the edge on a bit of a reverse slope ... in this case the climber use 2 quickdraws ... however the constant loading and unloading of the draws shifted one of em out of the bolt ... fortunately a soloist spotted this issue when he was topping out and sat on the other draw to prevent it from coming out (rope was under tension at the time with someone on it)

if the draws are uneven the twising and perhaps pushing against the rock can result in one of the draws unclipping from the rope as well

basically two draws are generally acceptable on "sport style" climbs where the draws are hanging freely and even ... when uneven, or the bolts are flat/reverse slope (squamish slab tops), or you are going over the edge ... use lockers at the bolt side at minimum ... and try your best to even out the length (slings can create a masterpoint)

the mantra that two draws are ALWAYS ok is a relic of folks setting up anchors from BELOW when leading up on sport climbs ... it does not accommodate the variety of anchor placements which in many cases are uneven or poorly placed

;)