Quickdraw Cleaning Question

To whom it may concern,
I’ve been climbing in the gym for a couple of years now and my parents are finally chill enough to let me climb outdoors. At the gym, I never had to worry about cleaning the draws off the wall, but now I do. If I am unable to send a route, how do I clean the draws without leaving one remaining on the wall? Should I just take a bunch of controlled falls, down climb, or do something else? Thanks!
- Jeremy

Bail biner

One option is to use a stick clip to get past the part you can't climb, go up to the anchors and lower and clean as you normally would. Another option is to bring some cheap/old carabiners to leave on your high bolt and lower off. If you are nervous about lowering off a single bolt, tie a prussik to the rope that is going down toward your belayer (not up toward the anchor) clip it to your belay loop and slide it down as you lower and clean.

I should have also said that if you can downclimb that is a viable solution and a good thing to practice if you are interested in getting into trad climbing eventually.

Bail biner or quicklink works well but don't forget to just ask somebody that can climb it and retrieve it, especially if someone else is already going to climb it. I help people retrieve their gear/setup TR once a month at least. 

You may be able to pull on a draw to get past a crux move / sequence.  I've been surprised how many times that's worked.

To the young climber willing to "down-whip" a route, please join my climbing crew. You can have all my draws. 

If you bail off something, make it a biner, not a quicklink.

Jeremy, study "bailing upward." Basically stick clipping, cheater draw use, and french free techniques to get you past hard sections. And, yes, always carry a biner or draw you're willing to leave behind as a last resort.

Get lowered and let your partner have a go - and you rest and try again.

Thanks so much everyone for the tips! I’m ready to send now.

If you're newer to climbing, having a "bail biner" is definitely the best advice.  As you get more experienced, more options will open up to you.  If you climb long enough and get strong enough, you will probably develop a net gain of bail biners.  Have fun and be safe out there.

Please don't "down whip" any routes.  Think about the beating that puts on your rope.  Then compare the cost of ropes v cheap carabiners.

Sometimes you can climb an easy route next to the route you’re stuck on and swing over and grab your draw.

Also second that quick links are lame, just leave a bail biner.

Marc H wrote:
Please don't "down whip" any routes.  Think about the beating that puts on your rope.  Then compare the cost of ropes v cheap carabiners.

So 5 or 6 or 8 falls will ruin your rope???

Greg D wrote:

So 5 or 6 or 8 falls will ruin your rope???

That's not at all what I said.  I know you're quite an experienced climber.  Don't you think that puts an unnecessary amount of damage on your rope, when the alternative could be leaving a $5 or $7 biner?

Marc H wrote:

That's not at all what I said.  I know you're quite an experienced climber.  Don't you think that puts an unnecessary amount of damage on your rope, when the alternative could be leaving a $5 or $7 biner?

Don't you think most people bailing have probably already taken a half-dozen falls TRYING to get up? I sure hope they have. Otherwise, why are you bailing?

Marc H wrote:

That's not at all what I said.  I know you're quite an experienced climber.  Don't you think that puts an unnecessary amount of damage on your rope, when the alternative could be leaving a $5 or $7 biner?

That's a still pretty expensive bail. If you don't want to leave a biner worth that much, you could take one and scratch it up a bunch and bang it against some rocks so it's only worth like $1 or $2.

If you're new to climbing outside, and are unfamiliar with cleaning draws, go with a better & more experienced climber than you.  They can help in a multitude of ways.
Technique, SAFETY, great belay when you're trying something you may have to bail on.  Then they can help retrieve gear.

If you're new to outside, you shouldn't be the most responsible member in the group.

Marc H wrote:

That's not at all what I said.  I know you're quite an experienced climber.  Don't you think that puts an unnecessary amount of damage on your rope, when the alternative could be leaving a $5 or $7 biner?

No, that sounds like a normal rope usage for any sport climber, I put hundreds of falls on a rope before retiring it, and it is always retired due to sheath damage not associated with falling.

Andy Eiter wrote:

That's a still pretty expensive bail. If you don't want to leave a biner worth that much, you could take one and scratch it up a bunch and bang it against some rocks so it's only worth like $1 or $2.

Everyone knows that the more worn a climber's gear is the more experienced they are, so doing that might also make them able to send the pitch.

Ways to get gear down:

1) Downclimb each bolt
2) Stick Clip down (Lower to previous bolt, go in straight, clean above bolt with stick clip)
3) Stick Clip up to chains or past crux
4) Leave bail carabiner (quicklinks are cheaper but as EVERYONE has stated, are F***ing annoying for the next climber and can be difficult to take off) and lower to clean
5) Leave draw and lower to clean
6) Down whip each bolt