Resources to learn more rope work/ anchor building?

new trad climber who wants to learn about the more situational techniques. I know basic anchor building using a sling but have essentially zero knowledge of using a cordelette or using slings in less than normal situations (2 bolt anchor)

Thanks in advance!

Falcon “AMGA Single Pitch Manual” is pretty good. 

Check out beta climbers on YouTube. He's got a very helpful anchor building video with many different situations, gear/bolt placements.

not MP

The How To Rock Climb book is a good reference for this and other aspects of climbing (e.g. movement skills). Asking $5.

There are a ton of great videos on YouTube. Here's one that I like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SkCojauHto&list=PLTqo6AotdVlbFmwhvqX2w4hJUJ0gg7oEG&index=2

Roddy McCalley posts a ton of great, succinct videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ57PT8-pm0&list=PLeXpACI96ZAq2PVBAQsblrD0ic67cjxjp

On Instagram - @Daleremsberg posts lots of anchor building examples. 

The John Long & Bob Gaines "Climbing Anchors" is superb. 

+1 to @daleremsberg. Add in @alpinetothemax and @amga1979 accounts too. 

Question: Are you looking to climb trad or climb trad anchors? If so, that's entirely separate field of anchor-building. The Donahue & Lubben book as well as the Long & Gaines books would be tops for this. (I own both, they're complementary).

Also, once you know basic ideas, terms, and keywords-- spend some time on youtube finding and watching instructional videos. Lots of great stuff out there.

If you're a basic sports climber, then the only other cordellete use I can think of is self-rescue. Youtube would be a good place to look up instructionals.

In addition to these book resources, it could be good to take a class or two from some local AMGA certified guides! 

For anything I have had a simple question on vdiff has covered it at least to some extent. It's usually my first stop at this point. If they haven't covered it I will google it, but that has only happened to me once so far.

For anything extensive (learning rescue, glacier travel, ect) I would recommend reading up on the basics and then taking a course with a guide. For simpler things (gear placements, TR soloing, ect) I will usually read the above resources and then get a buddy to help/learn with me. 

If you can, go climbing with someone with more experience and have them walk you through each anchor setup they make. Books and videos are a great place to begin but situational experience will connect the dots from the page to reality

James Jen wrote:

Question: Are you looking to climb trad or climb trad anchors? If so, that's entirely separate field of anchor-building. The Donahue & Lubben book as well as the Long & Gaines books would be tops for this. (I own both, they're complementary).

Also, once you know basic ideas, terms, and keywords-- spend some time on youtube finding and watching instructional videos. Lots of great stuff out there.

If you're a basic sports climber, then the only other cordellete use I can think of is self-rescue. Youtube would be a good place to look up instructionals.

Yes I’m a somewhat seasoned sport climber (2.5 years ish) but I am new to trad climbing and am interested in the more complex situations.

Dyrt King wrote:

Yes I’m a somewhat seasoned sport climber (2.5 years ish) but I am new to trad climbing and am interested in the more complex situations.

Ah-- in that case, a part of a anchor building is being able to place and assess trad pro.

Those books would be great starting points for getting the ideas and fundamentals of anchor building, and also being able to assess cam and nut placements (they have lots of pictures).

Watching and re-watching youtube clips helped a lot. Here are sample clips from four channels I like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvwPjAjrmA4&ab_channel=VIDEORACLES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-pLP9dRWPc&ab_channel=OutdoorResearch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dx2w358rWY&ab_channel=SIET%2CSchoolforInternationalExpeditionTraining
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT8fGR7qxeg&ab_channel=ClimbingTechTips

(Those channels have other great videos, you'd have to look around. I particularly love the videos of the first and last link).

And practice, practice, practice! Trad anchors can be weird, hard, and creative to build. Their geometry can differ and the trad pro they demand can differ. At least at first, I'd climb with someone experienced to get the quick sanity-check before trusting your life to an anchor. (All new trad leaders have this experience, when they weigh their first anchor, the thought, "Is this anchor fail and will I die a horrible death?" inevitably spring to mind)

I’ve always liked https://www.multipitchclimbing.com

If it's in your budget, hiring a guide for a day and focusing on gear placement and anchor building would be the fastest way to learn. It's an elitist notion to say "bahh I'm too experienced to hire a guide." Sometimes it's better to invest in great education instead of figuring it out on your own. Especially when you're playing a high-consequence game like rock climbing. Read all the literature you can, go bounce test gear at ground level, then get out with a guide or experienced friend to put it to practice. Have fun!

Cody Bradford is worth a follow:

https://instagram.com/thecodybradford

I picked up "Traditional Lead Climbing:  Surviving the Learning Years" (Heidi Pesterfield) some time ago when I was learning to lead trad. I thought it was pretty good and have been surprised it is not mentioned more often among trad climbers. It certainly isn't exhaustive and shouldn't be your only resource, but it gives a great overview of the most important things you need to know.

Jonathan S wrote:

I picked up "Traditional Lead Climbing:  Surviving the Learning Years" (Heidi Pesterfield) some time ago when I was learning to lead trad. I thought it was pretty good and have been surprised it is not mentioned more often among trad climbers. It certainly isn't exhaustive and shouldn't be your only resource, but it gives a great overview of the most important things you need to know.

It also has hilarious illustrations from Tami Knight.

I really appreciated a few videos by JB Mountain Skills youtube channel. For a period during the pandemic, he did videos inside his home setting up anchors. Videos are relatively succinct, nice conversational style, goes over pros and cons, and bigger picture concepts. Examples: