what are your preferred methods on extending rope on master point from anchor?

(Apology in advance for my crappy sketch :) )

Method 1: A Munter hitch on MP, slowly lowering yourself down to ledge while holding on the free strain (even better, putting a friction hitch on the free strain and tied it into you incase you let go of the free strain)

Method 2: A Clove hitch on MP but with a pre calculated length of rope that will get to you the ledge. Either friction hitch or rappel down on the 2 strains of rope

Method 3: A clove hitch on your belay loop, keep re-adjusting the length when you walk over the ledge.

I usually go with Method 2. Mentally I feel safer since there is very very tiny chance that one rope get cut and I still have another rope.

What is your thought? or do you have other methods?

I do 2, and i usually just walk to the edge or downclimb. I haven't tried 1 or 2. One doesn't sound ideal because I think you would still want to be on belay, i like the efficiency of allowing your partner to get ready for the pitch. 3 I haven't tried but I usually only bring one locker to anchor myself and it sounds like you would need two for that. 

Patrick Normile wrote:

I do 2, and i usually just walk to the edge or downclimb. I haven't tried 1 or 2. One doesn't sound ideal because I think you would still want to be on belay, i like the efficiency of allowing your partner to get ready for the pitch. 3 I haven't tried but I usually only bring one locker to anchor myself and it sounds like you would need two for that. 

Same here. I usually use method 2, and just walk/down climb to the edge. If the down climb is risky/steep,  I just put myself on my belay device.

You don't need to be on your partner belay for the method 1, but you probably should put yourself on belay in case you let go of the free strain.

Method 3 is very interesting, and something I just saw someone did it, which is pretty cool. Although you do need 2 lockers. 

I usually clip the masterpoint with a locker or double biners walk or lower myself to desired location while still on belay and tie a clove to my harness on the other side of the rope from my tie in so there are two strands going up to the MP.

Victor Creazzi wrote:

I usually clip the masterpoint with a locker or double biners walk or lower myself to desired location while still on belay and tie a clove to my harness on the other side of the rope from my tie in so there are two strands going up to the MP.

My technique is similar but rather than clove hitch to the harness I take the double strands and tie a an overhand on a bight about two feet (within arms reach) from my harness thus creating a new master point. 

• I usually do #1 and then, once in position near the edge, make a master point as described by Tim From Maine. Once your partner arrives, you can sort of belay both of you back up to the anchor on the Munter you tied there.
  
  
• EDIT:  I forgot to mention I don’t call off belay until I have tied the master point knot. 

Tim FromMaine wrote:

My technique is similar but rather than clove hitch to the harness I take the double strands and tie a an overhand on a bight about two feet (within arms reach) from my harness thus creating a new master point. 

I often tie a butterfly in each strand near my body to create another MP if I think escaping the system is a remote possibility. An overhand  would accomplish the same thing more simply and I may adopt that.

Tim FromMaine wrote:

My technique is similar but rather than clove hitch to the harness I take the double strands and tie a an overhand on a bight about two feet (within arms reach) from my harness thus creating a new master point. 

That's my set-up of choice as well.

The advantage to method one is once you have your second attached to the extended masterpoint you both can self belay to the original anchor on the munter, here's a great video from Ryan Tilly talking through a few options.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBerkDcO5ag

With any of these methods (and most things in life) there's a tradeoff of safety vs time/efficiency. If its a big comfy flat ledge I'm generally going with method 2

What Daniel said.  Munter at anchor.  Rap yourself to edge. Tie knot in both strands for MP.  Belay from MP where you can see second.  When second arrives, use munter to belay both climbers simultaneously to anchor (clip second to MP, both climbers pull on brake strand to ascend).

I just belay from the anchor. Have yet to find a situation where I need to extend myself to the edge.

Victor Creazzi wrote:

I usually clip the masterpoint with a locker or double biners walk or lower myself to desired location while still on belay and tie a clove to my harness on the other side of the rope from my tie in so there are two strands going up to the MP.

That's what I would usually do, afterall you have a belayer and as the saying goes 'you don't keep a dog and bark'  

#1 and just tie a BHK masterpoint once you figure out where you want your masterpoint to be (like timfrommaine said).  Also, if the terrain is flat, I won’t even use a munter.  I’ll just clip the rope into a locker and walk to wherever I want the masterpoint to be while of course being mindful to not throw myself off the cliff.  I also don’t call ‘off-belay’ until the masterpoint is tied and the belay device is clipped to it

#justusetherope

It amazes me how much people overthink simple stuff.

I think that most of the time, with an extended anchor, the belayer is better off sitting on the edge.  Standing with a long tether introduces pendulum instability in the stance, and the belayer can be pulled over if the load comes from just a slightly unanticipated direction.  In these situations, I mostly sit and belay from the rope tie-in loop (not the harness belay loop), with the anchor strand taut enough that all belay loads go straight to the anchor.  As for knots, I don't do any of methods 1-3. I tie a small overhand loop just behind my tie-in knot, clip a locker to that, and install a munter on that locker, and use that to "rappel" to the edge. Once situated, I just mule off the munter. If I want to stand and do a guide plaquette belay, I'll tie the overhand loop a bit farther from my tie-in knot and then it becomes the power point.

A lot of the time, the belay stance is a big ledge and the munter rappel isn't necessary. Then I just clip the anchor and walk to the edge, holding the free rope, get situated, and then use the overhand loop as before but clove to it once I'm in position. I prefer to have all knots in reach from the belay position, so absolutely never do method 2, which is the least efficient in any case.

In the methods I described, you could dispense with the overhand loop and clip to the tie-in loop, but doing that significantly complicates belay escape, should the need arise.

#2 is what I usually do, then tie a masterpoint in the followers rope to belay from.

I have done a combo of #2 and #3 a few times when I wasn't entirely sure of the exact length that would be good enough and comfortable enough and didn't want to faff around with going back and forth to the anchor to adjust. Sometimes for guiding belayed rappels, sometimes when its just a long distance to the rounded edge and difficult to eyeball well and I want to try to reduce rope drag a bunch.