building anchors faster

climber pat wrote: Personally, I always look for a secondary crack for at least one piece of the anchor so the anchor is also crack system redundant too.

This is a good point to keep in mind. On a less traveled alpine route two weeks ago I led up the first pitch a full 60m to what looked like a good hand crack, no other decent options around. Didn't sound hollow, decently parallel. Plugged in a #2, but above it got wider, we had no bigger gear. Far up the crack it went back down to rattley fingers. Went up and plugged in a .5. Tied the two pieces with the rope and put on body weight. Heard a crack. The .5 had just split the face out at the upper portion of the crack. I quickly pulled that piece, left the #2 as my last piece and called out to my partner to simul.

In another 30 feet I eventually finagled a decent anchor at a better stance. I used two separate cracks for that anchor!

If it seems like your initial plan isn't working or the gear is too tricky don't put the blinders on, there's probably another options.

Cords are nice for slinging big trees, horns and boulders. Titan cord is light, I carry it for alpine and use it for about 25% of my anchors.

^^ Yeah, seems like pulling the rope up should come at the end, since things can be misconstrued by the second, especially in windy situations.

David Coley wrote:1. video yourself

or..... If you're feeling REALLY brave: Video yourself and post it for the mp community to critique. Being totally serious here. It's very possible you may be spending way more time on things that have quicker solutions or performing unnecessary steps, etc..

Iow, it may have less to do with your final product and more to do with how you're getting there.

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion wrote:Speed is safety. If my anchor takes 90 seconds and holds 14kn (the typical strength of a well placed cam) and yours takes 10 minutes to assemble and 4 to disassemble, and holds 35kn, who is actually safer by pitch 11?

I totally agree with you regarding speed but consistently building bomber anchors does not take more time. For example, my partner and I were able to get up the red dihedral on the Incredible Hulk in <6 hrs. The delay was due to my flailing on the 10b pitch in the thin air not because of the time it takes to build an anchor that could withstand a factor 2 fall. Also, once you start using cordelette, it saves you a ton of time especially when something happens (i.e. A stuck rope, bailing, or not feeling up to swinging the next lead, or having to perform a rescue on the party below you).

I understand that everyone has their systems and that for the most part they are safe. However, understanding the limitations of each is vital as you will always need to reach into that bag of knowledge to adapt to new situations. I feel using cordelette is quick, safe, and adaptable.

Once that route becomes Sunspot Dihedral or Venturi Effect, you'll see that extra time on pitches as well as extra gear bulk becomes more problematic.

Just because you can climb Red Dihedral with a cinder block hanging from your harness doesn't mean it's best practice.

Brian L. wrote: Here's the "best" write up on a point system I've seen: blog.alpineinstitute.com/20…

How many points for this hand: ♠ A K 6 3 ♥ Q 10 5 2 ♦ 7 3 ♣ J 8 7?

Should I bid three cams or four nuts?

Jokes aside, 12 points are achieved with four pieces that one only trusts to hold a three-foot fall; or with three solid pieces. I'm not convinced.

At least 2 ball nuts, a hex, and a link cam, I'd say.