Most Efficient Way to Climb in a 3 Person Group

Going to the Gunks this week with two other people - making a group of three. I've done some 3 person teams climbing in the past brought my seconds up on two separate ropes, but I SWEAR that one time while climbing in Boulder Canyon...I saw a group of three climbing with one rope and they were cruising. Is that possible - if so please direct me towards some literature or share your own ideas. Thanks, Greg

The leader can fix a second rope and the second can start climbing it on a mini traxion while the leader belays the third person. This is the fastest that I've climbed in a party of three.

Keep the chit chat to a minimum, make sure you are ready to climb when it is time by having your shoes on and then make sure everyone tries to climb fast. Even a day of single pitch sport climbing will mean more climbing if everyone is on the program. I am not shy and have been know to say "talk and tie your shoes or don't talk" to partners. Jbak has a line like this, "quit yakking and start attacking". If everyone is on the same page about picking up the pace you can be off long routes before dark or get two or three more pitches in a day. If you only have weekends that is more bang for the buck and those extra pitches will make you a better climber.

If you have two ropes on multi-pitch then check out the reverso or ATC guide and learn to use it with 2 independent ropes in self-braking mode prior to going up with 2 other people. en.petzl.com/petzl/SportPro…
This seems good only if you are on ground they are comfortable on. Stagger each climber. I prefer the ATC-guide. I have done the single rope with two climbers spaced. The disadvantage is if one comes off the other is likely to fall too. Again, best if they are comfortable on the terrain.

Keep the belay as un-clustered as possible. And take your time as long as your moving fast.

Greg I promise I will climb fast, and I'm sorry you couldn't come out tonight, it was a blast. Cassey was wondering where you were. I can't wait to climb harder than you at the Gunks!

I climb with three's often and its a lot of fun. It takes some organization and some effort on everyone's part, though. It works best when there is only one leader. More than one leader is fine, it just takes a bit more rope management. First, I usually use two single ropes. Double ropes would be great but I don't own them. Second, I use a BD ATC Guide (Petzel Reverso works just as well). The leader leads on one rope while trailing the other. If the route is not direct, clip both ropes into your lead gear. This is to protect both followers when the routes wanders or traverses. Then, belay both followers at the same time using the auto block mode on your belay device. Since it locks automatically, you can pull in slack on one rope, then let go and pull slack in on the other rope. Fat, stiff, dry ropes can be a lot of work here especially if the followers are moving fast. Have the faster follower clean the gear. This keeps the team as a whole moving faster. At the belays everyone should have a job. This is key to move just as fast as two's. When the first follower gets to the belay he can re-rack or take over the belay depending on who is leading the next pitch. If you are organized you may be able to have the next leader on belay before the second follower reaches the belay. If there is only one leader treat both ropes as one as you pile it up. Then, flip the whole stack as one to start each new pitch. If there is more than one leader, it can get a little more complicated. So I'm not going to get into here. Keep it simple, keep it clean and keep everyone doing something and you will move fast and if you are with cute girls, the crowded belays can be fun too!

I agree with everything Greg D posted.

A slightly less speedy technique is for the second to clean the pitch and trail the rope for the third who can climb pretty fast without worrying about cleaning. At the belay, after the leader belays the second, the second belays the third while the leader re-racks and gets ready to go. This is obviously not as fast as simul climbing for the second and third but is is fairly fast once you get the hang and everybody knows their job.

Others have the technical advise, which I couldn't provide, especially with just the one rope.

If you will be here over this coming weekend, which is Memorial Day, know that it WILL be busy. The forecast is looking fine, which is going to only add to the problem.... So do consider that your speed will be affected by circumstances other than your team's set up.

Hopefully you have some familiarity with the Gunks and that will help you greatly, in finding the routes and stuff. If not, maybe make speed/route-ticking not be so much of a priority, and at least move it down below 'having fun.'

That said - if there is a "must do" 3 Star classic route(under 5.9, that is) you want, get there early. Though there aren't a huge number of crack 'o dawn climbers at the Gunks, if you think you can hit High E, Gelsa, Madame G's, etc., at 9:30am on a weekend(especially holiday), you will be behind at least one other team.

Be willing to climb other routes nearby if you find a team ahead of you on a route you wanted. Instead of running to your "second choice" classic which is a 5-10 minute walk away....where you will likely get the same situation.

Using only one rope will slow you down on rapelling. Someone else can give better beta on this, but at some parts of the cliff, a single rope will require 3 raps to get to the ground(I think High E would be that situation). Somewhere I read that the BOLTED rap stations can get you to the ground with a single rap on two ropes tied together....I do not know if that is accurate, so please don't take it as fact.

Some of the rap stations will be a clusterF. There will be other teams, some with 3 climbers, some with newbies or scaredy-cats, and guides with who knows how many people. They will NOT feel any sense of urgency.....and some will become testy very quickly if you make any attempt to...ummmm, suggest they get a move on. Others here may be able to tell which raps tend to have that scenario and alternatives nearby to use.

Fastest on Multi-pitch:

Leader leads, second follows trailing a rope and cleaning gear. Second fixes rope. Third rope solos while second is belaying leader on next pitch (use device of your choice). Using this technique, three can climb as fast as two.

If nobody can handle rope soling, then my preference is just to climb more slowly with conventional practice of belaying third up before the leader casts off on the next pitch. It doesn't take THAT much longer. I've never been a fan of simul belays of second and third, although I've done it before.