Best anchoring practices for traverses

What is the word on the Best practice for building a anchor to protect a traverse if the protection in the traverse is marginal. It would seem that directing your load toward the last placement would be the answer... however let’s say that placement was in marginal ice or something along those lines... then would the best anchor to Protect it be something like a vertically stacked anchor that could transition the load from the intended horizontal load to vertical while still sharing the load

 Thanks have a Great day and GOD Bless,

Colin McCurdy 

In the beginning was The WORD and The WORD was with GOD and The WORD was GOD

Another scenario would be something like this your partner wants to rope up for something like the knife edge on capitol peak... so you bring a rope, couple slings and some passive protection just for that section... when you get there you don’t have anything appropriate for the last portion of the traverse... what does your anchor look like...

Hebrews 4:11-13

It'll mostly downwards pull if the gear rips. Just use solid pieces and join em together, or don't fall, or go to the aid section they like to jerk off about marginal gear and shenanigans. 

What, praying it holds doesn't seem to work for you?

In the ridge line equation it’d be a horizontal load until the last piece then it’d be vertical load if loaded... if the anchor was built for either it’d only load one piece of the anchor in the other situation with a traditional masterppoint... the mentality of just don’t fall defeats the purpose of using a rope... having a offset belay is relatively common... probably be wise to be taking these things into consideration and if you haven’t then you probably should if your building belays

In the case of marginal ice I would think that you’d build your anchor for a direct load on your last placement, if it does rip the load will still initially be horizontally and the process will soften the load on the anchor... at least that how I see it today 

There should be some kind of way to combat these forms from getting too grungy and market driven...

Have a Good night and GOD Bless,

The Colin McCurdy

If you are so concerned that all the gear on the pitch is going to rip and none of your individual placements in your anchor can take the impact of the fall either you fucked up way before deciding what knot to connect them with.

It isn’t crazy to protect both sideways and straight down.   It also isn’t crazy to reconfigure the anchor once the second arrives.

I'd build a normal anchor (3 piece) equalized and protecting the downward pull, put my body weight on it to keep things snug and then place one good piece protecting the sideways pull and snug it to the masterpoint.  

Your anchor should be same as always - able to take a load in any direction.

Thanks!

I Believe this is The Way

Have a Good day and GOD Bless,

Colin McCurdy 

Romans 10:9

I'm glad the community was able to help you figure that out for yourself. 

Matthew 7:7 

Colin McCurdy wrote:

Thanks!

I Believe this is The Way

Have a Good day and GOD Bless,

Colin McCurdy 

Romans 10:9

Just belay from the harness. Especially if the anchor is not the best.

Ephesians 6:5

Colin McCurdy wrote:

Thanks!

I Believe this is The Way

Have a Good day and GOD Bless,

Colin McCurdy 

Romans 10:9

It's going to be a hard time to give a good belay - particularly on a delicate traverse for the pictured setup. You won't have enough throw on your belay motions to take in slack efficiently. Not to mention that if the cam on the micro traction engages, you now have a situation where you could have real difficulty releasing the micro traction if the second falls. Not a great idea. 

As with many things, it depends. When belaying a traverse, you definitely need to make sure that your anchor is resistant to loads from various angles. If your pieces are good and multi-directional, then just belay off the anchor as usual. It's also important that the piece of gear on the left side of the pictured traverse is super bomber to prevent an unforeseen swing lower down on the pitch. You also need to treat the follower like a leader and perhaps coach them to remove pieces after they've passed them vs. as soon as they can reach it. This will lessen their potential swing dramatically. 

If you need to add another piece like the bag in the photo, it would be better to clip it to the master point or to the backside of your clove hitch. That's another thing- in the real world, the belayer will be clipped to the anchor adding some ballast to the situation.  

Colin McCurdy wrote:

I hope I have understood what you are asking. First of all, you need a good anchor. Don't make your follower follow on bad protection which only leads to a poor anchor and a belayer uncertain of how he should belay. If you lead, then keep going and find a good anchor or stop before your protection runs out so that you have better options.
Anyway, if your follower is coming from the left traversing towards the anchor, then it's best if you can get your masterpoint anchor fixed. To fix it down, place some good protection below it in opposition. Once the masterpoint is fixed, you can either belay off the anchor or off you harness. In most parts of the alps the belayer would belay the follower off the anchor with a munter/Italian hitch because it is multi-directional AND gives a dynamic catch which may save marginal protection. A hitch is not self locking though, obviously. You can make it self locking, like this, but at the cost of making lowering complicated. If you want to use an ATC instead of a hitch and belay off the anchor, then don't attach it in guide mode, set it up something like this and take care to add and understand the redirect carabiner's function. The brake side re-direct carabiner must be shorter/higher. It means the brake strand will be forced into the slot during a fall. If you can't fix the anchor with a opposing piece, the just get well below the anchor, make yourself ballast and belay off you harness re-directing through your masterpoint.

 

Thinking/worrying about anchors is a drag; don't do it.  

This was actually intended for something else... however I’ll share it here, we’re talking about Saving Lives... my Life was Saved

when I talk to junior highers about masculinity it’s not about who can be the crudest or the most disrespectful... although at that point in my Life I probably did subconsciously have thecorrelated...

Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the Heart... from within...

the Inner man... the Substance of a Person... ones Character... It’s Important 

Personally I used to have all kinds of bitterness, lies, profanity, hatred, malice, darkness pouring out of me, you probably wouldn’t believe it and I couldn’t even see it... it was all I knew... then something happened...

Titus 3:3-5

Have a Good night and GOD Bless,

Colin McCurdy 

There is a Better way

The only Way JESUS

1 Corinthians 1:21

What are the best verses for anchoring practices?

Colin McCurdy wrote:

This was actually intended for something else...

If by ‘this,’ you mean this thread, I’m not sure I believe you.  It looks like you finish every one of your posts with a some kind of bible verse or reference in hopes that someone else brings it up and gives you an opportunity to proselytize.  It’s at best a little odd (if I’m wrong and you’re not actually trying to use a climbing forum as a pulpit) and at worst super cringy. (if you are)

Colin,

I am not trying to be mean. Based on this and your other anchor thread, I think you should take an anchor class with a guide. You can bring your  unique perspective on anchors and belaying, and ask these questions in real time. I think an Internet forum is a hard place to work this out.

Mods censoring my post, which was a direct quote from the Bible, and removing my post stating the difference between old testament and new testament quotes, but leaving the Bible verses listing and direct biblical quotes in OP's and other's posts. Hypocrisy much?

John 3:20