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Tips and tricks

WDW4 Weatherford · · Houston · Joined Feb 2012 · Points: 176
Peter Franzen wrote: I have all but eliminated slings from my mulitpitch anchors, especially when they are bolted. A little planning when the second arrives can make it easy for one person to lead every pitch and get off of the anchor easily. An extra minute or two spent on rope management at the anchors is always worthwhile. Since belay stances are sometimes crowded or uncomfortable, I often find it helpful if the leader stops after placing one or two pieces (terrain permitting) so that the belayer can fine-tune their position and get comfortable.
Peter,
Could you elaborate on how one might 1)use the rope in the anchor 2)when not switching leads on a multipitch route 3) when there are not bolts at the anchor EDIT: or even when there are.

If you were not suggesting that scenario is easy/effective, my apologies for misunderstanding.

EDIT to clarify: The only way I've thought of in the past to accomplish the objective above involves both partners connecting oneself to the anchor via personal sling, untying from the climbing rope, and tying in to the opposite end. Never used it cause it seems less easy/effective than just using a cordalette/sling.
Alan Doak · · boulder, co · Joined Oct 2007 · Points: 120

For cold days, or that first pitch in rmnp, I put a chemical hand warmer in my chalk bag.

When rapping with an atc, I like to use 2 biners instead of 1 for the extra friction and added control. Especially if I'm rapping with a pig or down a multi pitch cliff.

Joshua Reinig · · Lone Pine Ca. · Joined Sep 2013 · Points: 18,210

When working your wet winter/spring projects, tampons work amazing to soak up extra seepage on those crucial holds!
Be sure to pack out what you packed in.
Most sport hangers work perfect as bottle openers!
A # 4-6 BD stopper can be used to uncork a bottle of wine!

Jason Todd · · Cody, WY · Joined Apr 2012 · Points: 1,114

Use a #1 stopper to help keep from burning your fingers.

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Sdm1568 · · Ca · Joined Aug 2012 · Points: 80

^^^^ brilliant!

John Byrnes · · Fort Collins, CO · Joined Dec 2007 · Points: 392
Daniel vH wrote:It's much easier to just use a munter hitch. Completely safe, and a lot harder to mess up.
Ryan Nevius wrote: Yep, also an option. But the carabiner brake is less likely to twist the heck out of your rope, in my experience.
Ryan, get it right! The Munter will twist the Living Fuck (tm) out of your rope. Use it if you want to get your rope stuck on every pull so that you have to go back up (in the dark) and free it.

The biner-rig has advantages over any ATC-type device. Such as having much more mass and surface area so it doesn't get so hot. It feeds very smoothly, doesn't twist the rope, and the friction can be adjusted for skinny ropes or high-loads by adding another brake-biner.
WDW4 Weatherford · · Houston · Joined Feb 2012 · Points: 176
Joshua Reinig wrote:A # 4-6 BD stopper can be used to uncork a bottle of wine!
Demonstration please.
Peter Franzen · · Phoenix, AZ · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 3,730

This may be well-known to some, but it is a great tip for people who have trouble keeping warm at night:

Heat up a liter of water to near-boiling and pour it into a Nalgene bottle, and then toss that sucker in your sleeping bag. It will stay warm for hours and it is a great way to keep your feet nice and toasty when it's cold.

Tyson Anderson · · SLC, UT · Joined May 2007 · Points: 126

When trying to speed up a crowded rap station you can use a stone knot to secure each side of the rope for a single strand rap. canyoneeringusa.com/techtip…

With a stone knot set up you can either have two people rap at the same time or at least have the next person set up to rap while the other finishes. The last person down removes the stone knot and raps double stranded.

It's really only useful when there are 4 or more people waiting to rap but sometimes you can run into those situations where multiple parties converge on a rap station and decide to work together for efficiency.

Joshua Reinig · · Lone Pine Ca. · Joined Sep 2013 · Points: 18,210

WDW4
40 mins ago
Joshua Reinig wrote:
A # 4-6 BD stopper can be used to uncork a bottle of wine!

Demonstration please.
Step 1, push cork into bottle.
Step 2, holding cable place stopper into opening of bottle.
Step 3, allow cork to float above stopper and pull.
Tip. Easier to pull out cork if tapered side is against glass while pulling.

Joshua Reinig · · Lone Pine Ca. · Joined Sep 2013 · Points: 18,210
Jason Todd wrote:Use a #1 stopper to help keep from burning your fingers.
A # 9 BD stopper also works great to blaze from directly!
A #9 also works great to blaze from directly if you forgot the bong at home!
Mr Eeeeezy · · The Corner Office · Joined Feb 2010 · Points: 30
Joshua Reinig wrote:WDW4 40 mins ago Joshua Reinig wrote: A # 4-6 BD stopper can be used to uncork a bottle of wine! Demonstration please. Step 1, push cork into bottle. Step 2, holding cable place stopper into opening of bottle. Step 3, allow cork to float above stopper and pull. Tip. Easier to pull out cork if tapered side is against glass while pulling.
Alternatively, you can open it with a shoe using the hydraulics of the wine in the bottle:

Grab a bottle of wine, remove the foil covering, then take off your shoe. Place the bottom of the bottle securely within the shoe and make sure it’s a tight fit — if it’s not you might need to borrow the shoe of a friend with slightly smaller feet.

Keeping the bottle firmly in the shoe, find a very solid, vertical surface. We're climbers, this should not be a problem.

Carefully and precisely slam the heel of your shoe-bottle repeatedly against the solid surface. Use two hands to keep the bottle securely inside the shoe at all times. As you repeat the striking action, the top of the cork will gradually push its way out.

Keep pounding away with the shoe-bottle until you can see enough of the cork poking out of the top to get a grip of it. The harder you slam the bottle, the faster the cork will come out. Once there’s enough cork visible to get some purchase on, remove it with your hand or your teeth.

Keeps your nuts dry....
Peter Franzen · · Phoenix, AZ · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 3,730

I think I'll stick to bringing screw-top wine bottles to the crag rather than bashing corked bottles on rocks.

doligo · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2008 · Points: 269
Peter Franzen wrote:I think I'll stick to bringing screw-top wine bottles to the crag rather than bashing corked bottles on rocks.
or boxed wine - lighter and compact-able container once wine is gone. Also, when inflated, the plastic container makes a great pillow.
Petsfed 00 · · Snohomish, WA · Joined Mar 2002 · Points: 989
Jake Jones wrote: This has nothing to do with not trusting your belayer, melting through a sling, or "just taking the fall". I don't think you're understanding the scenario. Also, I mentioned that a device can be used in lieu of a backup hitch constructed of nylon. It is a useful tip. Please consider the scenario, and perhaps you'll see your error. You're being lowered off one piece at the top. You've cleaned everything off the top half of the route on the way down. If the top piece blows, your advice is to "just take the fall". That sir, will put you injured or dead on the deck. Think about it. I also mentioned that it's unlikely that a single piece (mainly a bolt- there are plenty of one-bolt anchors out there) will fail, but not taking it into consideration and not preparing for it at all is a bit negligent from my perspective. YMMV.
With the diagram, that makes a lot more sense. I was imagining a person lowering off a two bolt anchor and doing this, and it struck me as really dumb.

I would still say that its really only useful in a scenario where you are unable to get a good, multi-point anchor in for descending otherwise. Also, the friction knot used has to be of a sort that tightens easily under load (or you're keeping it so tight on the belay side that you're basically down jugging the rope). If a person is doing this every time they lower off a sport route with good bolts at the top, they need to spend some quality time thinking about their paralyzing risk aversion and their total lack of understanding of the implicit redundancy of the system.
William Sonoma · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 3,550

Doligo says: or boxed wine - lighter and compact-able container once wine is gone. Also, when inflated, the plastic container makes a great pillow.

+1 - makes a nice floaty for river crossings also.

Ryan Nevius · · Perchtoldsdorf, AT · Joined Dec 2010 · Points: 1,832
Brian Scoggins wrote: With the diagram, that makes a lot more sense. I was imagining a person lowering off a two bolt anchor and doing this, and it struck me as really dumb. I would still say that its really only useful in a scenario where you are unable to get a good, multi-point anchor in for descending otherwise. Also, the friction knot used has to be of a sort that tightens easily under load (or you're keeping it so tight on the belay side that you're basically down jugging the rope). If a person is doing this every time they lower off a sport route with good bolts at the top, they need to spend some quality time thinking about their paralyzing risk aversion and their total lack of understanding of the implicit redundancy of the system.
Are you sure you're understanding this scenario? Of course the friction hitch tightens under load...that's the point of it. Of course it would only be used when bailing (being lowered) off of a single point. Nobody ever suggested that this is being used as a regular lower-off method.
Ryan Nevius · · Perchtoldsdorf, AT · Joined Dec 2010 · Points: 1,832

A tip for the "I have to lead it for it to count, but I may as well stick clip first bolt of the route you just climbed" crowd:

When you are being lowered off of a sport climb, unclip the second (and maybe third) bolt from the ground. When you pull the rope, it will remain clipped into the first draw on the route. No need to re-stick-clip!

Ryan Nevius · · Perchtoldsdorf, AT · Joined Dec 2010 · Points: 1,832

Tired of having to flake your rope every time you take it out of a backpack coil? Do you prefer a "double-strand" butterfly coil anyways, because you'd rather backpack the rope with two strands instead of slinging a single strand diagonally across yourself? You can have the best of both worlds by doing a single-strand butterfly coil, but starting a little differently.

Take one end of your rope and pull out a few arm-lengths. From here, do a single-strand butterfly coil (in your hand or over your shoulders), like usual. When you reach a point that is a few arm-lengths from the other end, grab both free strands and wrap them, etc. like you would for a normal double-strand coil. The advantage? You get to backpack the rope with a strand for each shoulder, and it's ready to go as soon as you take the coil off your back.

Joshua1979 · · Colorado Springs, CO · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 15

Technique wise it helps me conserve quite a bit of energy when i remember to initiate movement from my feet/toes whenever possible (even on easier terrain). simple in theory but i often find myself starting a pull from my fingers/hands and then wonder why i don't have any juice left to pull the crux moves. Much easier to propel an object further that is already in motion.

tip for sweaty hands... apply antiperspirant (i use certain dri) to hands the night before climbing.

good thread..

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

General Climbing
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