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Beginners question.

Original Post
Lassi Nokelainen · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2019 · Points: 0

Hey

I have practiced bouldering and (modest) free climbing for a few years. Recently I discovered an amazing gorge near my hometown that has dozens of ~10meter (30ft?) high potential routes.
Since said walls are too big to freeclimb (I dont want to be paralysed), I would need a safety rope of somekind. My plan is to attach a rope on the top of the route, buy a harness and run the rope through a "one-way brake (?)". 
The problem is that I have no knowledge about climbing with ropes and harnesses, and I cant find any information about solo climbing with a single rope (it seems to be either 1000$ gear or freeclimb).
Can someone please tell me what the "brake (I dont know the correct word)" is called? And could I climb with it solo (climbing little bit, then tightening the loose rope through break and repeat)?

Apologies for my bad english, I am not a native speaker.

FrankPS · · Atascadero, CA · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 276

Seek proper instruction before you attempt to solo a route. Hire a guide, find some experienced climbers, but don't just go out and wing it. Some people might tell you that's how they learned, but you have a better chance of living if you get properly trained.

Learn roped climbing from experienced climbers BEFORE you attempt to solo a route with a rope.

Marc801 C · · Sandy, Utah · Joined Feb 2014 · Points: 65

Sorry. At this point you have far too little knowledge to even ask this on the internet. It’s like asking what you need to do to drive a car without ever having driven before.
Get live instruction. 

Jonathan Greever · · Fenton, MO · Joined Mar 2017 · Points: 472

At the risk of this being a troll...here is some advice. Marc is correct. I have soloed for years and it takes a ton of knowledge and safety understanding. I have no less than 13 of these different devices. So....go rope climb w others who know and work into over time. Then you will love it. Try it now and u prob wont survive. 

Cosmiccragsman AKA Dwain · · Las Vegas, Nevada and Apple… · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 146

#YGD

Keith Wood · · Elko, NV · Joined May 2019 · Points: 480

You will do no such thing, young man!

Marc801 C · · Sandy, Utah · Joined Feb 2014 · Points: 65
Cpn Dunsel wrote: Masterful.

Kids, pay attention.  This is how you troll.

The automatic "must be a troll"  response. 

No, that isn't how you troll - the responses have been reasonable.

"...a troll is a person who starts quarrels or upsets people on the Internet to distract and sow discord by posting inflammatory and digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community ... with the intent of provoking readers into displaying emotional responses..."
Lassi Nokelainen · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2019 · Points: 0

Not a troll, not interested in rope climbing, I am not going to take "live lessons", but I want a backup rope to climb a certain route so I dont kill myself. I can easily freeclimb these routes, but as a paramedic, I have seen what falling into rocks can do to a body.
This is exactly the picture I got from everywhere else about climbers... you have to be master of knots and invest thousands of dollars or  completely freeclimb.
All I wanted to know is that what kind of gear do I need for the simple backup rope.

FrankPS · · Atascadero, CA · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 276
Lassi Nokelainen wrote: Not a troll, not interested in rope climbing, I am not going to take "live lessons", but I want a backup rope to climb a certain route so I dont kill myself. I can easily freeclimb these routes, but as a paramedic, I have seen what falling into rocks can do to a body.
This is exactly the picture I got from everywhere else about climbers... you have to be master of knots and invest thousands of dollars or  completely freeclimb.
All I wanted to know is that what kind of gear do I need for the simple backup rope.

You're not interested in roped climbing, but you are going to use a rope.

You're not interested in live lessons, but you want them over the Internet.

Did you learn to be a paramedic over the Internet?

"a master of knots and invest thousands of dollars" is pure hyperbole.
Marc801 C · · Sandy, Utah · Joined Feb 2014 · Points: 65
Lassi Nokelainen wrote: I can easily freeclimb these routes...
You're not using the correct definition of "free climbing" - you're talking about "free soloing".
mat · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2011 · Points: 4

I think Lassi is asking about "Top Rope Soloing"

There is a surprising amount of information here:
https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/To-read-for-self-belaying?ActivityName=Rock-climbing
You can keep clicking "Next" near the bottom of the page for what seems like a good number of pages about various setups and concerns.

You can also do a search on google or even on Mountain Project using the phrase "top rope solo setup" or even just "top rope solo".  There are a variety of different progress capture systems out there.  It will be up to you to decide what you are comfortable with.

As people have mentioned up thread, some in person instruction might be very helpful for learning some basic systems.  You might check if there is a local indoor climbing gym or club near you that can help.

Regards,

Benjamin Chapman · · Small Town, USA · Joined Jan 2007 · Points: 18,818

Lassi...while I appreciate your passion, the previous posters have made very valid points regarding your safety and that you not attempt to execute your plan to climb these routes solo without prior instruction. I, personally, learned the ropes by reading, observing, and trial and error, but wouldn't recommend it. Try looking through a copy of Freedom of the Hills.

Kief Manning · · Elgin, AZ · Joined Dec 2017 · Points: 0

I would like to reiterate what was already said. YOU GONNA DIE! Just you tube it. Make sure you use two capture devices. Separated so the don’t bind and fail. And make sure you study hard before attempting and protect your rope so you ain’t sawing over an edge. Good luck and be safe. I am not condoning your behavior. But I would recommend posting for an experienced partner on the partners forum. If you found a cool unknown crag someone may be willing to go along with you and show you the “ropes”. Shameful pun intended

Mark Griffin · · Boulder, CO · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 95

Lassi,

The haters are right, top rope soloing can go wrong in many ways even for an expert. But to answer your question, there are many different types of devices people use for roped solo climbing such as the Soloist, and Microtraxion. They all have pros and cons. Some are safer than others. You should start with learning how to build safe top anchors and how to protect yourself while accessing the tops of the routes you intend to climb.  The petzl website is indeed a good resource.

One of the biggest hazards with solo climbing is that there is no one else around to make sure you're being safe and not forgetting things. I would echo what everyone else has said to seek professional instruction from a qualified person.

june m · · elmore, vt · Joined Jun 2011 · Points: 110

Nobody  ever taught me how to top rope  solo.  Been doing it for  years , still alive,The petzel  micro  ascender has a picture on it showing how to set it up.  Besides that you need a harness, a climbing rope,   not a clothesline   or boat  rope. since  its a short  climb, you might be able to find  a rope that someone  has damaged one end .  And a locking  biner.  A climbing   biner not a hardware  store  biner. Its really not rocket science,   chose a solid tree.  Tie  the rope to it, follow thru figure 8 is one of many options.  Double  check everything.  Have  fun

Dan Gozdz · · Louisville, CO · Joined Jun 2015 · Points: 1
Lassi Nokelainen wrote: Hey

I have practiced bouldering and (modest) free climbing for a few years. Recently I discovered an amazing gorge near my hometown that has dozens of ~10meter (30ft?) high potential routes.
Since said walls are too big to freeclimb (I dont want to be paralysed), I would need a safety rope of somekind. My plan is to attach a rope on the top of the route, buy a harness and run the rope through a "one-way brake (?)".
The problem is that I have no knowledge about climbing with ropes and harnesses, and I cant find any information about solo climbing with a single rope (it seems to be either 1000$ gear or freeclimb).
Can someone please tell me what the "brake (I dont know the correct word)" is called? And could I climb with it solo (climbing little bit, then tightening the loose rope through break and repeat)?

What you're describing is called top-rope soloing, often abbreviated as TR soloing. This is NOT something that most new people learn how to do as it requires being very sure of your systems. No one can double check you and you don't have anyone that can provide first aid or call for help. Do so at your own risk.

The simplest method would be to tie a UIAA climbing rated rope around a tree with a retraced figure 8 knot around the tree. On your climbing harness you'd have a climbing rated locking carabiner with a clove hitch that you would tighten as you climb. I would NOT recommend this as it is entirely manual, you may not find a good spot to pull rope through the knot, and if you fall with your fingers in a bad spot you may lose them. Using a gri-gri on the rope and a second locker with a clove hitch below it would be almost as inexpensive but far easier to manage. A dedicated TR solo setup wouldn't be much more though. A Petzl Micro Traxion and another ascender like the Petzl Microcender with lockers will feed much better than the gri-gri.
Lassi Nokelainen · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2019 · Points: 0

Thank you all for your help (even those who were hostile for some reason). I cannot reply to everyone individually because of post-limitations. I actually got advice offline from a climber, he suggested that I buy "Petzl Shunt-device". So I´m off to do some climbing, before the winter comes.

PS: Someone replied that I should not seek advice here, because english is not my native language. Is my english actually hard to understand or was he just a grammar-nazi?

Thanks again!

june m · · elmore, vt · Joined Jun 2011 · Points: 110

Don't take it personally there's just a lot of people on this site who are not kind. you are being smart  wanting to use a rope to protect yourself if you're going to be up higher than you can safely land on the ground. 

Harumpfster Boondoggle · · Between yesterday and today. · Joined Apr 2018 · Points: 148
Lassi Nokelainen wrote: Not a troll, not interested in rope climbing, I am not going to take "live lessons", but I want a backup rope to climb a certain route so I dont kill myself. I can easily freeclimb these routes, but as a paramedic, I have seen what falling into rocks can do to a body.
This is exactly the picture I got from everywhere else about climbers... you have to be master of knots and invest thousands of dollars or  completely freeclimb.
All I wanted to know is that what kind of gear do I need for the simple backup rope.

You're gonna die.

Marc801 C · · Sandy, Utah · Joined Feb 2014 · Points: 65
Lassi Nokelainen wrote: PS: Someone replied that I should not seek advice here, because english is not my native language. Is my english actually hard to understand or was he just a grammar-nazi?

i just rescanned the thread. I did not see a response like that. The only comment on your language was from the guy who thinks your post is a troll.

Rokjox Teleski · · Boise, ID · Joined Sep 2015 · Points: 15

You are absolutely misunderstanding the posters.  They aint hostile, they are more experienced than you, and  they have a much higher situational awareness than you are showing.   And they are tryiing to keep just one more dead wanna be climber out of the cemetery for a few more weeks.

You clearly dont understand that the equipment you want to buy is not dead easy to use without killing yourself.  Everything you buy will say "climbing is a dangerous activity and we take NO responsibility as to how you use our stuff".   There are a TON of places you can injure, maim or kill yourself, and as you will be soloing in an area with presumably little used routes, you are going to be alone.  You screw up and nobody is gonna be there to pull your ass down off the wall.  Stop arterial bleeding, set fractures, get help or guide rescuers back to your injury site.  And you know how that goes, you are an EMT?   Creating the anchors that you will be using is itself no dead obvious skillset, especially with the new gizmos that LOOK solid as hell but often have a required level of knowledge to use safely.

Your English seems fine, although how well you understand is invisible to me.

But sure as shit, You Are Gonna Die.  

Its not that big a deal to get some friends who can keep you going for a few weeks until you begin to get all the experience and the skills to do what you want to safely.

You may think you are going to be OK, but a HELL of a lot of our best guys have died, after years and decades of experience, doing just the kind of supposedly simple things you are claiming you want to do.   IF you get some things wrong, you dont get an opportunity to fix the fuckup.  You get hurt.  Or die.  ANd we aint even talking about objective hazards like loose rock, sandy placements or sharp edges.  Falling rock is completely unpredictable and KILLS.

What IS your problem?  You ARE wanting to learn to climb, thats what you are asking about -- no doubt about it.  We DO have a way of doing that, with highly technical and elaborate techniques that we have all together developed and spread through our communities that are designed to be learned rapidly and keep the partners alive.  

And one of the most important techniques is the buddy system we use:  belayer and belayed.   Dont go solo, until you have learned all you can from a good committed and experienced partner.

Dood, ther are a lot of things you are just not allowed to go out and start doing without any training.

Climbing isnt one of them, (Yet) but that doesnt mean what you want to do is smart.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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