Lead rope solo method, as safe as it gets

Gerke Hoekstra is very experienced in lead rope solo climbing and tope rope solo climbing. I've been using these techniques and I love the freedom it gives me: I can work out the beta of a hard sport climbing route or climb laps on an easy route by myself and work on endurance.

Gerke shows is preferred method using a petzl grigri, petzl asap and petzl microtraxion, but he also shows a cheaper system using only the petzl grigri and backup knots.
Disclaimer: rope solo is dangerous, and none of these devices are designed for it! One thing that isn't discussed is the factor 2 fall which can occur in multipitch climbing. A factor 2 fall can result in a force of 6kN and is VERY dangerous. Best thing to do is to avoid factor 2 falls. Risk management is something you should be able to do when multipitch climbing.

Other resources:

Petzl:

And other channels such as @HardIsEasy @WideBoyz @Pete_Whittaker and @HowNOT2 @YannCamusBlissClimbing

Huge thanks to Gerke Hoekstra! And if you live in Holland, check out the climbing wall in Spaarnwoude!

Timestamps:
0:00 Rope solo to climb alone
0:14 Introduction to rope solo
0:52 Why rope solo
1:15 Rope solo basics
2:06 Necessary skills
3:00 Main equipment
4:20 Backup device
5:42 Other equipment
6:44 Lead rope solo technique
9:20 Cache loop & rope management
10:12 Lead rope solo with knots
12:00 Tope rope solo
13:01 Climbers with families

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Cognitive psychologist and passionate rock climber. My goal for 2022 is to overcome some health issues and go from climbing 7a to climbing an 8a :)

My plan to reach 8a consists of a mental, tactical and and a physical phase. Every 2 weeks, I will evaluate my progress and check if I'm still adhering to my core values: health, virtue, resourcefulness, transparency, and growth. Progressing towards 8a must not be detrimental to my long-term health, or any of the other core values.

For information about falling safely while bouldering go to:

Music by Fesliyan studios & Ben Sound
#rockclimbing #climbing #bouldering

[kj]

I'm not a rock climber but I am a cell tower climber and certified rigger. The equipment and techniques shown in the video are essentially exactly the same as what is covered in the tower climbing certification course. Rock climbing is literally as foreign to me as the bottom of the sea is to a cloud, but it is cool watching this video and seeing the same equipment I use every day. I have the utmost respect for anyone that rock climbs regardless of what type or style of climbing you do. It takes a special type of person to do one of the most physically demanding and all-around toughest things any person can do just for the fun and adventure of it.

[JohanMood]

One crucial detail you left out is in case of a head down fall the grigri WILL NOT LOCK(!) making that third han that much more important, and the chest harness made out of sling should never cross your neck.

[Jay-kkdv]

People in industry have rope solod forever, it's perfectly safe with the right equipment and knowledge! Thanks for sharing!

[ianmcnulty]

Nice systems, and very clear, well-presented video. Just to point out (Whittaker method): you could secure the micro-traxion to your belay loop, pre-tie backup knots in the spare rope behind the trax as blockers in case the belay device fails, then untie them as you climb. Overhands or slip knots can be untied one-handed. No need for an ASAP and less faff than multiple pre-tied cache loops this way. The knots+trax will save you even if the belay device totally fails.

[Gauthierbrad]

It’s pretty crazy, I’ve been climbing for a little while now (all by myself) and only from what I figured out on YouTube. This is the exact set up that I use that I developed on my own just using a bunch of different gear and coming to the determination of what is the most safe set up to climb alone.

[marenb]

For your second method, if you use clove hitches instead of overhand knots, it will be incredibly easy to undo knots one handed; you just unclip it and it's gone.

[AmirNickname]

Huge thanks to Gerke for sharing his methods! Over the last weeks I've climbed several kilometers up and down a top rope (solo) to work on my aerobic endurance. My goal is to reach 8a and as a boulderer I really need more capacity! What are your goals, and could rope solo help you get there?
** UPDATE! **

In the video, the ASAP is not used as a backup and therefore takes the whole impact of the fall. Despite that, we can learn a lot from this video. The main takeaways for me:
- Prevent cross-loading of the carabiner that is attached to the Gri Gri (or use a steel maillon). If the grigri slips, the ASAP will tuck on the rope and activate the break on the Gri Gri. However, if the carabiner that holds the Gri Gri breaks, the leftover forces of the fall must be caught by the ASAP alone. Prevent this scenario at all costs!
- When climbing multi-pitch, make sure you prevent a Factor 2 fall! This is always important, as a Factor 2 fall can cause equipment to fail. In the video Yann made, we can clearly see how a Factor 2 fall can make the Petzl ASAP cut the rope. 

This is a strong reminder of the disclaimer in the video: none of these devices are designed for rope solo. So use them at your own risk, and only do so after having learned about the equipment and having made your own risk assessment. 👍

[Mdjagg]

The Trango Vergo is a must have device for any system you use. The design allows you to attach it to a taught rope, so you can put it on the rope after a fall, above your main device, .so you can easily lower off a route, without having to go through 3 or 4 steps of unweighting the system to attach a rappel device.

[ProDMiner]

TYSM for this, tried to figure this out 5 years ago, and did not feel safe. stopped climbing since that time., and about to start back up again moving to utah in two months :P . gonna use this setup thanks!!

[tylerjbellows]

This is a great self rescue skill to have as well! I'll practice this technique. Thanks!
I do the same top rope method with the Jumar as well, but with a smooth cam device called the Ushba. Doesn't shred the rope when I fall.

[kubawydra]

In 5:30 you say that lead fall would result in much lower force, but bear in mind that the video shows fall with the belayer. Fall when you staticly fixed rope to the anchor would result in much more force because the system is much more static. In my opinion it could easily surpass 4 kN of force.

[davemacleod]

Excellent clip...safe as long as you know your systems...the colour of the rope blends a wee bit into the rock and would be better with a stronger colour...maybe take a fall so we can see how the Gregory blocks the fall...good work!

[YannCamusBlissClimbing]

Hi Amir! I must say that this video was published a year ago and Gerke Hoekstra used this for more time. You got something there. A new system was born! I have experience with the original ASAP (a rather bad experience, I don't recommend it. You recognize it from a big black plastic part.). But recently tested the new ASAP. If you stay with ropes above 9.5mm and fall factors at a maximum of 1 it should all be allright. I recommend you add the fall factor recommendation. The ASAP system is probably not for multi-pitch (except if doing a bomber plus-clip / clipping the first protection of the next pitch before you clean the current pitch). Note that I have not experimented much with it yet. But plan to! Does it all make sense?

[autistike]

Great video but I think one critical thing has been missed. Above the second or third clip the weight of the rope will begin to pull any additional slack down towards the anchor where it will pile up and extend the length of your fall, potentially causing you to deck from any height. The rubber band mentioned is one way to prevent this but it is also possible to tie a slip knot one handed at each clip (very quick and easy with practice) and then pull it out when you reach the next clip. This simply prevents slack from sliding thru the draws and keeps the anchor under tension. Proper rope management will also alleviate this but I've found on some climbs it simply becomes too heavy to clip the rope overhead without utilizing this technique anyways.

[joehallk]

Great video, great insight and ideas and even better at dealing with the negative comments. Very well done 👍

I've never tried lead soloing, only top rope soloing but I was really impressed with the creative use of the ASAP, I haven't seen it used like that (even on YouTube) before.

[josemanuelramirez]

Great video Amir, thank you for all you have showed us!!!

[KarlLew]

Yes, I rope soloed. But life is better with friends.

[devkkev]

really awesome video, very well explained.. also the channel is just crazy nice, full with information and a real charismatic person who delivers, presents his knowledge with certainty and humor.
thank you therefore (is that right, my grammar and vocabulary is not the best, sry)?
keep up the mindboggling nice work and stay safe as always!
keep "rock"ing 😜😅

[gryphon]

What an awesome man made real rock wall!

[markus]

ENGLISH TIP: Every time he says he's "using nuts" for this or that, he just means "knots". There are no nuts used in the making of this video. PS: Took me a while to figure out why they're using the art piece climbing wall to demonstrate. At first I thought it was because it was so cool; then I realized: Holland is flat as a pancake. All of it, apparently.