sport climbing anchors.

So I have posted this question before in another forum and did not get the answer I was looking for. When climbing sport routes and the descriptions says bolted anchors I am assuming this is just bolts and hangers. Most of the areas I climb have either chains or rings at the top for the anchor. When the route only has bolts and hangers for the anchor do I need to plan on leaving some gear behind or can I thread directly through the anchor hangers? I have been told that there is a difference in the hangers but I'm not sure what to look for.

Jon - Typically, unless the route tops out and you can/should walk off, if it specifies bolted anchors they are meant to rappel from and equipped with rings, chains, etc. There are hangers, such as the Metolius Rap Hanger or Cold Shuts which are meant to be rappelled on without chains or rings. In the event you need to rap a two bolt anchor without any rap hardware, you should be prepared to add your own, such as leaving carabiner or quick-link on each hanger.

Jon,

The there are just bolts and hangers, you should add, at least, a carabiner to each hanger. You don't want to thread your rope directly through a hanger. If you do, it's unlikely that you'll be able to pull it down.

The exception to this rule is if the hangers are either ring hangers or Metolius Rap anchors.

Fixe Ring Hanger

Metolius Rap Hanger

Best yet, if you encounter a route with bolt-hanger anchors you can do a public service by replacing them with rap anchors or, attach a quick-link to them.

Quick Link

You'll see a lot of trad climbers carrying a quick-link on the back of their harness to leave if they have to bail. They are cheap and easy to carry. You should have a few of them in your sport climbing kit.

Climb safe,
Mal

Thanks Larry so if I find no chains or rings and I'm not sure about the hanger I guess the best thing is just leave a quick draw or carabiner behind? Thanks again

Thanks Malcom

Jon, "bolted anchor" in the context of a sport route usually means there are rings, clippies, fixed biners or some such. Their absence would mean somebody stole or otherwise removed them. If that has happened, yeah, you will probably have to leave a few biners. Threading your rope directly through the hangers is not a great idea. You probably wont die if you did that and rapped off carefully, but it is very hard on your rope, so potentially more expensive than leaving leaver biners.

Metolius used to make some rap hangers that basically looked like big, really heavy regular hangers. The metal is about 1/4" thick. You might still run into them occasionally. They were designed for rapping directly off them, then pulling your rope. I wouldn't lower directly off them. They are much better than regular hangers, but they are still a little rough on the rope.

Edit- 3 answers in the time I took to post. The only thing I would add is if you are doing a public service and adding quicklinks to bare bolt anchors, use good ones and you should have two links on each hanger so the rope runs correctly and doesn't get twisted to hell.

Thanks. That must be what I'm seeing because a few routes I have been on lately have been missing the rings and chains. Better off to ask than make a mistake. Thanks guys be safe

Good point. I will stick to picking up trash for my public service work. Not confident enough yet to possibly mess someone else up in the future

IMO if you stick to 3/8" quicklinks or bigger with a high working load stamp, you can't go too wrong. I prefer 1/2". If buying quicklinks made and tested specifically for climbing anchors, you can go down to 5/16, but I prefer the larger ones to give a lot of overkill and since the bigger ones are nicer on your rope and have more room for clipping in.

If you're just doing single pitch sport climbing, you can very much expect that bolted anchors will be meant to rap off of. If they're not, it probably mean that there's a different way you're expected to get down. In any event, it's good to know this stuff and be prepared to disassemble on of your draws and leave two biners behind if you have to.

A typical mid-route bolt hanger has sharp square edges and is pretty thin. It's fine for a carabiner, but would shred your rope if you threaded it thru it. You want to make sure the bolts/chains/rings/shuts/mussy hooks etc are smooth and rounded, as well as thick and safe, before you rap on them.

Cold Shuts

The anchor for "Olas Negras" used to consist of closed "cold shuts".

The anchor your worried about getting to:
1st pitch SS anchors. ~25m rap to ground. Could use some sealant to prevent water entry / freeze. Also, if anyone's so kind, please upgrade to rap ring hangers if I don't get to it soon enough. Please don't nab biners/rap rings. Keep it nice and easy for all to use.

Chain Anchors
The "Long" chains at the anchor!

Mussy Hook Anchors
Mussy Hook Close Up - Note the gate clearance above the rope. No rubbing here.

Worn Out rap ring
This is why you use your own anchors for top roping! Also a good reminder to rotate rap rings.

Larry, I am pretty sure the old idea of putting sealent under the hanger etc. in an attempt to keep water out was found to actually be a bad idea. I did that on my first few bolted routes almost 20 years ago then learned better.

M Sprague wrote:Larry, I am pretty sure the old idea of putting sealent under the hanger etc. in an attempt to keep water out was found to actually be a bad idea. I did that on my first few bolted routes almost 20 years ago then learned better.

Yeah, i didn't add those pictures, i just pulled up a few others had posted, the captions aren't mine.

Ah. I see now. Somebody already commented about sealant under the original picture.

M Sprague wrote: The only thing I would add is if you are doing a public service and adding quicklinks to bare bolt anchors, use good ones and you should have two links on each hanger so the rope runs correctly and doesn't get twisted to hell.

YES!

Edit to add:
Hanger to quicklink to biner is another option. No untieing and threading the rope.
When multiple people are climbing the same route, only the last person should clip the anchor system. All climbers before the last in the group should use their own gear to slow the wearing process of the leaver biners.

youtube.com/watch?v=vU34LsJ…

THIS IS HOW WE DO IT DANANANANA

So yeah.

two options when done cleaning;

1. lower off fixed anchor (like the above video)
2. rap off fixed anchor (like the video below)

youtu.be/O839UtW2g0g

there is a never ending debate about which option is better. i prefer option 2 and always rap off because lowering off does wear the fixed hardware faster plus i also like to stay sharp on my rap skills.

lowering off may be preferred for climbers who don't have solid rap skills. some areas are known for either rapping after cleaning or lowering after cleaning.