Monday, March 18, 2024

"It's dead Jim."

They can't resist the refrigerator. It is spalling or crushing the rock beneath it. It now overhangs by more than a foot when it used to be flush with the surface beneath.
The little tree that is desperately trying to hang on is pretty marginal.
The flying secondary anchor is pretty desperate.
There is enough black rope, no need for the second rope, carabiner and unstable clove hitch
One carabiner and thin non-climbing rope don't make an ideal anchor.
This anchor tree above Kindergarten died during the winter.
 

Friday, February 23, 2024

One anchor got someone hurt.

The flying directional is brutal on the tree and usually creates anchors with over 90 degree angles.
That's the climbing rope running over lots of sharp edges.
ONE carabiner.
This one caused an injury. The anchors were ten feet apart, at a 90 degree angle. Note the use of the loose rock.
The tree is just too small.
 

Friday, January 26, 2024

The thought process its elusive.

Learn to tie off a bowline. Carabiners have been known to disappear at Carderock and Great Falls. 
Perfect for tripping hikers.
That's a single carabiner at the climbing rope.
That's not redundant, and thin webbing on the rock is what you call suboptimal.
This is called a "Yard Sale", lay everything out and clip it together.
A lot of thought went into this, not good thought, but a lot. Some of the hardware are Quicklinks, not carabiners, so no gate.

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Scourge of the crags.

Tiny tree, single bowline, no stopper knot, boat rope, good thing the other anchor was OK.


 Hammock, chairs, the psychotic dog tied to the tree and boom box were removed.

Sunday, November 19, 2023

Beautiful day, ugly anchors.


Skinny alpine runners, single carabiners, this accessory cord.



Why would you use only one trunk of the tree?
 

Sunday, November 12, 2023

They said it was their first time climbing outside.

They had rope to spare but added the runner, carabiner and clove hitch, all potential points of failure.


 Brand new static line in need of a bigger anchor. They survived their first trip outside.

Monday, November 6, 2023

Death warrant?

Buy enough rope. Adding slings and carabiners introduces points of failure. Anchoring high in the tree increases leverage. A clove hitch isn't the best top rope anchor.

This is the anchor for Ronnie's Leap. Orange paint usually means cutting down the tree, or did they mean just cut one dead limb? The tree is fine and losing it would greatly complicate anchors on these popular climbs.


Get a real anchor, webbing way up on the trees is sketchy and hard on the trees.

One piece of webbing and the climbing rope is dragging over the top of the cliff.