The art of anchoring in the alpine environment
Overall speed is usually a critical factor in increasing safety margins in the mountains. We cannot typically speed-up our climbing pace to a great extent but we can increase our speed in setting-up adequate anchors. A quick anchor will get your partner on belay faster and, if built correctly, will be easy and speedy for to later dismantle. This article will look at some ways of speeding up the anchor building process.
Traversing the "Broadway" ledge system on the east face of Longs Peak, RMNP
The standard 3-pc. anchor tied together with a cordalette is our most common rock climbing anchor. The convenience of having a “master point” and being able to quickly “pre-equalize” with a cord is helpful but this common technique has some disadvantages in the alpine realm. Long cordalettes are heavier than shorter slings and often not necessary for building rock anchors.
What are the alternatives for anchor building? Standard materials such as sewn 12” and 24” nylon runners are more versatile, lighter and easier to carry. It takes a bit more creativity to rig equalized anchors with just these materials but the results can be very satisfying. Using locking carabiners as master points and knowing that the sewn slings on cams are full-strength and can be used as multi-directional attachment points help simplify this process.
In the above anchor, the green sling above is looped over a solid horn. This sling comes down perfectly to a point where it can be equalized with the sewn sling on a solid .5 camalot. A locker on the end of the camalot makes for a great tie-in point and I’ve stacked my Reverso on top of my tie-in locker to keep the system running smooth. My partner's locker will clip directly next to mine into the end of the camalot sling. The other carabiner’s hanging from the camalot are holding my pack while I belay.
In this anchor, I have used a 24” sewn nylon runner to build my initial 2-pc. anchor which is tied off with an overhand on a bight. The orange tcu on the bottom is clipped into the upper end of this bight so that all three pieces are being equally weighted. Although there is an angle between the two cams, even at 90 degrees the vector forces are negligible. The green bight makes for an easy master-point and I have the option of removing the orange tcu before I lead the next pitch to maximize my gear. I feel totally comfortable having my partners on a ledge on a two-piece anchor.
If I’m concerned about a fall near the anchor, I can always place my first piece of protection 3-6' above the anchor to eliminate the potential for factor-2 forces. For more information on anchoring, read alpine anchors part 2
(This article was originally published in the American Mountain Guide's Association "Mountain Bulletin")
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