Don't leave your stuff at the top.

 It was pretty cold yesterday, so these guys figured they could live their stuff at the anchor. As I was leaving a big pad posse arrived. Maybe they would like hundreds of dollars worth of cams, other hardware, and pricey packs. The Tupperware seemed to have boring healthy stuff, no dope.

Some classics.

 

Too small a tree, and that isn't what they mean by redundant

Too high.

Too small.

Busy weekend, minimal outrage.

 

Flying single strand webbing anchors.

He knew he was being jerk, and did it anyway. That's more of a thing now, thanks gyms.

Yard sale.

A yard sale is when you dump everything out of your pack, clip it together. and call it an anchor. This one includes thin cord and webbing that can be cut on the rock. 

Is that rock big enough?

A dead stump and a tree with most of the roots exposed.

If you're smart, you don't touch the "refrigerator" because it is way undercut, barely balancing. The wrap around the rock seems to have no knot.

Look up "overhand loop knot", practice it and use it.

 

Mystery knots.

 

This appears to be a tautline hitch, which you might use to tie down a tent, not a mission critical climbing anchor.

I have no clue what this is, with the tension wraps it probably won't fail. The knot is grinding up against the rock and the tree is a joke.

Not all clove hitches are equal.

A clove hitch is not stable, this one is poised to loosen. This anchor has two unnecessary points of failure, the carabiner and 7MM cord. A bowline around the tree would be as adjustable, way stronger and safer. 

 

Is your kid hanging off one of these anchors?

 

TWO anchors off a small tree that is barely hanging on by its exposed roots.

Too short an anchor so they connected ropes together. Note the backup for the unstable clove hitch. Why use it in the first place? Someone suggested talking to instructors. In front of their clients? I doin't think they would appreciate that.

Don't buy stuff on Amazon.

To teach a climbing class at Carderock these days, first, you build a tower.

He started to rappel, then told his partner, "Make sure those gates are locked." If you bought a real rope you could tie a knot. That eyelet has a STEEL liner

This whioe mess depends on one wire gate carabiner.

 

Missed by THAT much.

 

Yes, that's the climbing rope dragging over ten feet of rock. They knew the runner sleeve trick, but they got it a TINY bit wrong by putting them on the active climbing rope.

There's a bowline in there somewhere.

This guy had lots of extra rope, but went with an additional carabiner and runner.

This is called a "yard sale" where you lay everything out and clip it together.

More hiker traps.

Anchoring in another time zone.

The worst thing here is the rope dragging over rocks. Note the PAS sitting on the ground, good thing that was left out.

High anchors, thin cord, no idea which anchor is really working.

Hiker strangulation device.

A profound mess.

Way too small tree.

The whole mess.

Another too small tree with flying non-backup.

 

First it was a movie, now it's a disease.

Nice big tree, not so nice thin alpine runner and carabiner, when there was lots of rope left. Making the rope secure against creep might require an overhand loop knot.

 These guys are simultaneously rope soloing, each using one gri-gri, best practice is two devises. If the guy on top slips, he takes out the man below. On an overhang, the gri-gri may not catch at all

From mediocre to miracle.

Part 1: A skinny tree with single strand webbing wrapped high, secured with a single carabiner. It was an attempt at a frictionless anchor but poorly executed.

Part 2: The patriotic theme continues with a single strand of red webbing coming in at a 90 degree angle from another tree, completed by the white rope.

The blue webbing goes to only one carabiner which it is side loading. The white rope goes only to the second carabiner.The red webbing appears to go to only the first carabiner. The climbing rope has a twist right at the anchor, and is grinding over a rock edge. To my knowledge, no climbers were harmed by this anchor, a true miracle.

Apparently, physics is a mystery, leverage isn't a concept.

Too small tree, botched tensionless anchor and a single wire gate carabiner is mission critical.

An experienced climber rigged this. Those are overhand loop knots connected with a single carabiner. The '"tree on stilts" is clinging to a ledge with precious little soil left. This is the only anchor.

Refreshingly simple stupidity, there's enough rope to tie a completely adjustable bowline around that tree, eliminating a sling, carabiner, and insecure clove hitch.

 

Don't leave your stuff at the top of the crag.

All this gear laying around is a temptation. It may feel like a wilderness but you're only a mile from the beltway.

 

All minds are not equal.

This guy really doesn't like the "Refrigerator" block because it is way overhung on the other side. He chooses to loop a sling over a slippery edge. If it comes off, it jerks on the Refrigerator with real force. It's still summer, don't leave your gear up top to tempt juvenile delinquents.

The anchor is way too high on a too small tree. He tied a perfectly adjustable bowline, but added a figure 8, carabiner and clove hitch. Where did he epidemic of clove hitches come from?

 

Belt and suspenders, but...

Bowline tied with a bight, nice tie-off knot, so the carabiner is overkill, waiting to be stolen. Yes, that's a thing, though more at Great Falls.

But the tree is majorly hollow.

 

Everything is a choice.

First, the tree is a bad choice, it is standing on exposed roots. Second, there is plenty of rope, no need for the sling and carabiners, potential points of failure. Third, the sling isn't around both trunks, he could have done a girth hitch to lengthen the runner, and get it lower on the tree.

 

Tempting carabiners.

Tensionless anchors, but way high on the tree.

Its mate is better but the pricey, black anodized, locking carabiner must cost at least $30 for the pair. Stuff does disappear from anchors, it isn't common, but it happens. Tying off the loose end with a knot ids safer and less tempting.

 

Is your crack too shallow?

 

Single strand webbing isn't a great idea.

Neither is hardware in friable rock.

A closer look reveals more problems.The top cam is tilted, barely in contact with the rock. The crack is too shallow for the cam, it is hanging on by the thinnest of margins.

Same problem with the tricamand the sling is twisted, much easier to pull out.

If you're going to have an anchor it should be an anchor, not a joke.