solo aid protection
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I am entering the wonderful and scary world of aid climbing and seeking some advice. what do you use for your fall protection when solo aid climbing. I know some people use a grigri, some use a girth hitch, some use a solo aider. I heard some of these solo aid fall protection does not work when you flip upside down. can you post what you use and why you like to use it. thanks |
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This question has been addressed several times at rockclimging.com. Try a search there. Its not the fastest, but i have used a clove hitch for years and it has held falls, long and short, in the winter and summer. Whatever you use tie a backup knot. I keep two extra lockers on my harness for this. I tie an eight-on-a-bight, clip it to second beaner, unclip first figure eight and move on. I generally give myself 20-30' between my clove hitch and backup, unless there is a ankle breaking ledge nearby. |
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I use a silent partner. It is heavy, awkward and sometimes a pain. But, it works every time and when you step out of your aiders to bust 20 feet of 5.6 you don't have to think about it. |
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For aid solo/speed solo I use a grigri with a clove backup. It is not as safe as the Silent Partner(IMHO), but it is less bulky and easier to transition to rap/clean mode. Plus when aiding you can always throw in another clove if the next piece is sketch...If you have to bust out some free moves just feed yourself out a couple of loops and go. |
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One way of using a grigri |
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I've just gone with a clove; bad, Mark, bad bad. I would look for vertical lines with fixed gear or a good continuous straight-up crack, 5.11-12 makes for good aid sometimes, N Table has some good workable lines with anchors also to work on hauling. |
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I own a Silent Partner but usually leave it in my pack when I leave the ground. I just haven't gotten a system down that works well for me. Mostly for the fact that I don't climb with a rope bucket (which rumor has as being the best for SP's). That said, I aid and rope solo using 2 clove hitches. I find I climb about 2 letter grades lower than if I had a partner belaying, as the extra time to change knots can be a real pain, but have never had any problems with it. |
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I use a Gri-gri on an auto locking biner. I added a keeper cord to it, and i use a rubber band (the kind they use in the grocery store on broccoli works best) to keep the Gri gri at the proper end of the biner. This seems to prevent cross loading. |
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I was feeding out slack through my clove when the piece popped, and when the rope came tight it pinched off the end of my finger and broke my thumb in the bargain. |
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Rob Dillon wrote:I was feeding out slack through my clove when the piece popped, and when the rope came tight it pinched off the end of my finger and broke my thumb in the bargain. Now I use a grigri.Rob, I apologize for how this comes across, by why were you using only one clove hitch? Sorry to hear that you have had such an experience. |
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I have used every method in the book and the soloist is the best. |
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Mike, |
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I prefer the Silent Partner. |
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Soloist!!! just back it up with a figure eight every ten or twenty feet, just like any other device you always back it up. |
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Hmmm. Varied opinions. This is what I've always heard, about the various devices. |