Fixed Point Anchor Built From Rope

I just read a DAV publication that discusses belaying the leader from a fixed point anchor constructed from the climbing rope, two bolts, and some carabiners. I understand building the anchor using the rope has both advantages (minimal gear required and dynamic behavior) and disadvantages (difficulty to escape the belay or lead in blocks), I also recognize that fixed point anchors are not suitable in all scenarios (e.g. trad anchors) and also do not equalize loads (by deliberate design).

Do others have any thoughts on a fixed point anchor built using the rope? When appropriate, it sounds like a great choice. Is there something I am not considering?

Swapping leads with bolted belay this is my preferred method:

{someone else's picture}

Arrive at belay:
Clove into one bolt, pull up a hank, clove into other.
"Off Belay".
Alpine butterfly (easier to adjust) or fig 8 on bight between to create master point.
Adjust for convenience.
Install belay device #1.
Pull up slack.
Load belay device.
"On Belay".

{less than a minute, unless your gassed, puking, etc.}

When second arrives:
Second clips into master point. (may be eliminated if on ledge or good stance)
BFK on brake strand (add a biner for safety in bight).
"Off Belay".
Load belay device #2 (that second brought up) onto harness for lead belay.
"On Belay".
Undo BFK.
Undo belay device #1 (hand off to new leader)
New leader unclips from master point and blasts off.

Other than escaping the belay, which is likely going to be somewhat of a cluster anyway. I can't think of a good reason to use more for swapping leads on bolted anchor climbs.

Hey man, what you're talking about is reihenschaltung belay, or what some people call a banshee belay. It's hands down the quickest to build, and has plenty of advantages. To be used mainly with bolts, pitons, or ice belays.

To address your question about belaying the leader directly from the anchor using a munter or a tube device - this is the standard practice for multipitch alpine in Germany/Austria. Advantages are if the leader takes a factor 2, it is caught on the anchor instead of your harness. Moreover, if the leader takes a big whipper higher up, the belayer isn't yanked off his stance/slammed into the wall, which could otherwise result in the belayer losing control of the rope.

Having done both, coming from the American system and now living in Europe,it is best to have both in your tool box, as each system has advantages mainly depending on what the belay stance/ledge looks like. If the leader might take a whipper, I prefer the chariot belay if possible.

There were a number of studies done in the EU and US about this.

hope that answers your question.

cheers

To the poster above and anyone else not sure what OP is talking about, check out pg. 9 and 15 of this German Alpine Club (DAV) booklet

alpenverein.de/chameleon/pu…

^^^^^^^ Sweet illustrations in that link!

word. also might want to check out this link for some more descriptions of building anchors from the rope and belaying a leader from the anchor

multipitchclimbing.com/

I want to thank everyone who posted for the great discussion and comments. The responses have been consistent with my understanding of these techniques, which is reassuring to me, and I hope they have been useful for others as well.

Jason Todd wrote:Swapping leads with bolted belay this is my preferred method: {someone else's picture} Arrive at belay: Clove into one bolt, pull up a hank, clove into other. "Off Belay". Alpine butterfly (easier to adjust) or fig 8 on bight between to create master point. Adjust for convenience. Install belay device #1. Pull up slack. Load belay device. "On Belay". {less than a minute, unless your gassed, puking, etc.} When second arrives: Second clips into master point. (may be eliminated if on ledge or good stance) BFK on brake strand (add a biner for safety in bight). "Off Belay". Load belay device #2 (that second brought up) onto harness for lead belay. "On Belay". Undo BFK. Undo belay device #1 (hand off to new leader) New leader unclips from master point and blasts off. Other than escaping the belay, which is likely going to be somewhat of a cluster anyway. I can't think of a good reason to use more for swapping leads on bolted anchor climbs.

Hi Jason,

Thank you for sharing this information. It is very helpful and a great approach.

For the sake of thread clarity, I just want to comment that while the approach you described is great (nothing wrong with it), it is not precisely belaying the leader from a fixed point (i.e. direct off the anchor). The ACMG posted a video about fixed point anchors for a leader belay, which I linked below. The DAV seems to recommend a fixed point belay constructed rom the rope in a variety of situations (but not all). Several years ago, Jason Martin of the AAI and AMGA posted some comments concluding that, based on initial testing, the fixed point approach is useful but not a panacea.

Thanks again to everyone who posted!

Fixed-point Belay Video

I understand the benefits of belaying off the anchor but I'm not quite convinced that the reduced motion between a fixed point belay and belaying of the masterpoint is worth its drawbacks. It puts more force on a single point which, combined with the not-the-greatest judgement of the average climber and a severe fall force, doesn't look too good. This is even more of an issue with fixed pro in softish sandstone as the force erodes the rock over time. Given the higher forces, I would probably opt to build with the rope if a fixed point belay was used. Just clove into 1 bolt for your tether and tie an alpine butterfly for the 2nd bolt and the belay

I have belayed off the anchor using both fixed point and a masterpoint; catching a lead fall off the masterpoint is pretty darn easy, and the fixed point is slightly easier. If the belayer needs to rely on a fixed point belay rather than the standard belay off the anchor, perhaps they should consider working on their belay skills a bit before entering a multi-pitch environment.

I understand that this method is most commonly used by guides and that clients aren't always as experienced as guides would like. That being said, if the client can't handle belaying from a munter off the masterpoint, I doubt (s)he can handle belaying from a munter off a fixed point.

Bit closer link to possibly the most comprehensive set of photos of belays on the web:

people.bath.ac.uk/dac33/hig…

pizza.eater wrote: To the poster above and anyone else not sure what OP is talking about, check out pg. 9 and 15 of this German Alpine Club (DAV) booklet alpenverein.de/chameleon/pu…

That link didn't work for me but this did dav-wiesbaden.info/wp-conte…