Portaledge Set Up

Hey guys,

Just bought a ledge at its matching fly (Cliff Cabana). I am looking for détails about how people are anchoring these and can't really find anything.

I own a couple of book and frustratingly none of them (Freedom of the hill etc..) are giving details about setting a camp on a wall. I would like to get some drawings or pictures. If you guys have references they are also welcome.

It is not a matter of safety I am going to build bombprrof anchors if can't find anything. It would just be really appreciate and would probably save me time and effort.

Cheers,

Jerome

Hey Jerome, I delt with the same issue after getting mine. It took two people to set it up the first time and I almost swore the thing off! After playing with it and sequentially figuring some things out, here's what I found that helped me:
1- sand lightly the tubes and wax them
2 -start with the fabric ends not connected and loose.
3- pull the wall side together and move the fabric down to the end with the closed tube caps. leave the air side undone and put the tube in the end. this is literally the crux for me and took a long time to get it down.
4- connect the airside
5- connect the tube with the quickshot side. LEAVE the flooring undone and connect the spreader bar. Again crux two initially for me. finally connect the flooring and tighten everything up.
Other things I found were to make sure its not twisting when setting it up, you need to keep things pretty square. Just keep trying. Hope this makes sense, I'm only a 1/2 cup of coffee in this morning so..... basically this thing is a monster at first but now I can get it set up solo in 5 min or less. Practice!!!!

Joe

Jérome, je t’envoie du monde pour t'aider!

Thanks for your reply, but my question is more on the way you're anchoring than how to assemble it. Sorry for the confusion.

I have seen picture with rope going from the main anchor point (of the ledge) to an Anchor on the wall then to a another anchors with gear hanging from the same rope system. Do you fully rely on the build in anchors point of the ledge when on it or you keep a connection with an external anchors....

Ask Mark!
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The many clip in loops on the ledge are not full strength.  You should always be backed up by tying or clipping into a full strength anchor external to the ledge using a rope.

Jerome St-Michel wrote: I have seen picture with rope going from the main anchor point (of the ledge) to an Anchor on the wall then to a another anchors with gear hanging from the same rope system.

Pretty much nailed it.  Bomber anchor, master point, clip the ledge in.  You should (ideally) be tethered separately, like normal.

You're overthinking it, just go outside and mess around with the ledge.  It will make sense.  It's nice to have a wide anchor so you can clip the bags in horizontal to you for easy access. 

 Hudon's beta mentioned above ^ is also pretty good if you need more.

Attach a Yates Daisy to the main hanging point. That way, you can raise or lower it to be in a better spot on the rock and in relation to your haul bags. I like mine about 12 to 18" below the bottom of the bags (I'm not too tall). That way, I can stand on the ledge and get into the haul bags.

As for anchoring it, why not one bolt off to the side? Of course, that bolt is tied into the rest of the anchor. What's the big deal? You, your partner, sleeping gear, some food, water, how much can possibly be hanging on the ledge, 500 pounds total? Do you understand Kn ratings? Can you figure out how much weight even the smallest carabiner will hold? How weak is the weakest bolt hanger out there? How shitty can the shittest modern 3/8" bolt be and still be in use at an anchor? 

And even after that, even at my low level of safety, I'm tied in when I'm on my ledge, if you are smart and not totally out to lunch, what is the worst thing that can happen if the bolt or biner breaks? 

People need to get real and stop being afraid of their gear. Understand how strong your gear is, how much weight it can hold and how much weight you can possibly put on it in the given situation. Clip the ledge to a bolt, back it up to the rest of the anchor, tie yourself in to another part of the anchor and forget about it!

No big deal! It doesn't require anything complicated!

Attach is directly to a single bolt whenever possible.  That will reduce the amount the ledge moves which will reduce wear and tear and increase comfort for you.  Of course, your harness will be attached to a well equalized point.

Eric D wrote:

.  Of course, your harness will be attached to a well equalized point.

"well equalized". Why?

You're on your ledge, well below the anchor and for some stupid reason you fall out of the ledge. Maybe you've tied in with 5 feel of slack. How much force can you possibly put on the anchor? Now, of course, if you are on the Sea of Dreams, where the anchors are complicated and require years of experience to build, sure, equalized. But 98% of you are never going to climb The Sea and your anchors will be 3' modern 3/8" bolts worth about 10,000 pounds each.

How much force can such a fall possibly put on the anchor? Stop being afraid of your gear.  

It's up to you.  If you want to anchor your harness to a single cam or bolt, go ahead.  Or if you don't want an equalized point that is fine.  Every wall anchor has an equalized master point so why not use it.

I didn't realize anchors came equipped with Master Points these days. 

Three bolts, fthree knots, hang your ledge on one end and the bags on the other. Done deal, fast, easy and safe. 

That's not what I said.  Reread my post if you didn't understand the first time.  

Eric D wrote:

It's up to you.  If you want to anchor your harness to a single cam or bolt, go ahead.  Or if you don't want an equalized point that is fine.  Every wall anchor has an equalized master point so why not use it.

Every wall anchor has an equalized master point....

I'm quoting you. 

Mark - Take a look at your post.  You said you didn't realize anchors came equipped with master points.  Show me where I said that to be the case.