How do you climb by yourself... SAFELY???

Brent Barghahn from Avant Climbing shows us his favorite Top Rope Solo systems and why he chose the devices he did. We include many break tests so we don't have to wonder when a micro traxion vs a ropeman desheath a rope and if backups knots work.

This video is showing how Brent does it and is only intended for you to understand what you are looking at when you go with someone who knows what they are doing. PLEASE DON'T TOP ROPE SOLO TO LEARN CLIMBING BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIND A CLIMBING PARTNER. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW.

00:00:00. What is TRS
00:04:36 TRS Set up theory
00:10:24 TRS Set up real example
00:15:42 Emphasizing risks
00:19:55 What devices does Brent like
00:23:46 Back up knots are a myth
00:25:29 Other devices people use
00:37:13 HOW brent uses his favorite devices
00:42:26 Brent TRS a 5.13d
00:49:38 Transitioning Mid Pitch
00:54:54 What about the GriGri?
00:59:05 Two rope systems
01:00:33 Funny ending

[CloveHitchCory]

I once TRS a 5.9 and when I got to the middle ledge I realized to my horror that both of my devices were unlocked. The sound of both micro trax clicking shut made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. From now on, I always weight my devices before climbing a route. Always triple check your systems folks.

[sahntahdemon]

Been TR soloing since shortly after I began climbing 12 years ago due to my love of solitude in the mountains as well as lack of partners. This channel is a treasure for folks hoping to get into it, as is this gentleman who started AVANT climbing. Ive seen so many sketchy practices of rope soloists out there. Hoping this video gets a million views.

[richardf]

As an Arborist I really enjoy learning about all the Knowledge You Rock Climbers Have!

[thomasgaenzle]

Thanks for the great video.
When I project I usually use a two strand setup. One strand with the Micro
Trax and the second strand pre-rigged with a Grigri. When holding the Micro Trax
up with the bungee cord there is no interference between the two strands.
When climbing up I pull the slack out on the "Grigri" strand from time to time and tie a
slip knot below. When on the crux (or at the section I want to project) I don't care about the slack on the Grigri side anymore....
Whith this setup I can rapiddly change between climbing and rappelling. For rapelling just
clip an ascender to the second strand and pull on it, weight the Grigri, disengage the Micro Trax,
unclip the ascender and go down a few meters. When start climbing again just engage the Micro Trax again and go on climbing.
I tend to see converting between climbing and rapelling as the biggest danger.
I try to avoid this as much as possible. However, I only use one Micro Trax on the first rope. I consider the second strand with the Grigri as redundancy.

[mtmcclos]

This is probably the best video out there on TRS! I really wish I had this as a resource two years ago when I was learning how to do it!

Excited to see the LRS version. Thanks for putting so much time into these.

[YannCamusBlissClimbing]

OMG 1h long! Will watch 100% soon! Well done guys!

[nickhenscheid]

That slipknot trick for re-fixing is genius, wish I had known that years ago. In fact, I wish this video had existed when I learned TRS back in 2020! Great work fellas.

[HenriqueM]

Best tutorial/video about TRS available. Although I do exactly as they do, it's very nice to have no doubts now.

[reneeschke]

TAZ Lov2 as Primary and RollNLock as Backup is by far the best combo. And I’ve literally tried them all.

Yes, the Lov2 is expensive and yes it has a hard to find sweatspot for lowering. But you CAN lower with it without any change to the system at all and it still glides up the rope just like a Micro Trax.

The RollNLock is the perfect backup for it, because you don’t have to remove it for lowering. The cam can be disengaged TEMPORARILY with just 2 fingers while lowering with the other hand on the Lov2. If something were to happen, the RnL immediately grabs once you let the 2 fingers go. Try doing that with a Micro Trax; I got my finger caught in the teeth and it hurt my finger pretty badly. Pretty much impossible with the RnL.

The RnL can’t be disengaged by the Lov2 pressing on it if it were to fail.

Lov2 needs roughly 20cm pivot to engage, which I find really good as it gives you some leeway when you messed up a move and need to „downclimb“ ever so slightly. Also Lov2 can be pushed down with one hand easily if you have to downclimb more than that. The RnL can also be easily disengaged and pushed down with one hand.

So again: With this combo you set it up on the ground, then free climb 5 meters, lower, climb again, lower, climb again, so on and so forth, WITHOUT any change to the system.

I don’t even bring a GriGri anymore when I go TRS as I can rap on the Lov2 just as fine.

I appreciate the video and learned quite a few nifty details. Still, I am surprised how rarely the Lov2 is mentioned in TRS videos.

[jeremiahjahn]

As someone who almost only does TRS. The Taz Lov is worth it, no question. Always have an ascender on you for self rescue or just when your two devices get jammed together and you need to unweight them. I honestly prefer two slings in X on my chest to a neck bungee, so you can lean back on the capture device when resting. And finally to avoid feeling the weight that you've added to the bottom, set it on the ground, don't hang it way up high. It'll lift up and pull through if it needs to, and only as much as it needs to. Protip, a scuba weight in a harness bag works great. Nice vid. Would like to see more of the Sterling 10mm Safety Pro breaking at some point. Curious how strong that nylon core it has is.

[joshsactiveadventures]

This is a great video! One setup that's nice with the Grigri is to do a 2 rope TRS - one is a self-feeding progress capture like a Microtraxion, and the other is a Grigri you pull slack through, with less need to tie backup knots than just the Grigri by itself. I climb short routes so I find it more helpful to do setups with an easy transition to descent.

[NotEnoughKit]

Thanks for putting out this great video!

I personally like to use a chest ascender for the top device. I use a short open sling girth hitched to the belay loop and quicklink attaching that to the chest ascender to give further vertical separation, then a homebrew knockoff of the Petzl Torse to keep it high and upright. I can't accidentally drop it. Its easy to pop it on and off one handed. I usually use a Roll n Lock or Microtraxion for the bottom device. With the vertical separation its pretty smooth to pop the GriGri on below everything, take off the Roll n Lock or Microtraxion, take up slack and hang on the GriGri, then pop the rope out of the chest ascender... I have been trying out the Camp Turbochest recently but can't really notice much of a difference over the Petzl Croll S that I was using before.

I just got a Taz Lov 3 so I'll be playing around with using it as the 2nd device... it is kinda huge and heavy. I think that for me, it may not be the savior that many seem to claim it is.

Its hard to cover all bases, but when I'm teaching friends how to TR solo, something I put more emphasis on (beyond what you covered very well in the vid) is being ready to get out of a jam. Have some extra gear with you and know how to use it should you drop a device. IE double length sling to make friction hitch + footloop or quick 3:1 MA (or other) system, know how to build and use a carabiner brake to rappel or a rap on a munter hitch if you drop your GriGri, practice transitioning to ascending and descending if you find yourself completely free hanging, know what to do if you are free hanging and drop your foot loop, etc...

TR solo with friends is tons of fun. Very little down time with belaying. Easy to get a lot of pitches. Very fun to do variations of a pitch climbing more to the left or right than you would usually be constrained due to bolt placement or availability of gear, etc...

[TimberTrainer]

Great explanations of not a tutorial. I have done some solo top roping with tree gear. Starting at the top, I repel down and place protection on the rope. At the bottom, I coil excess rope for weight. The main difference in my system is the devices. I climb with a Lov2, Rope Runner, or Hitch Hiker instead of two cams. This allows ascending and descending in one device.
I'm excited to see more of this content.

[NatDak]

Loved it guys! best video yet on TRS. I top rope solo a lot on a Croll and a Spoc. Thank you for teaching this knot that is easy to pop out. I always use rope protectors and Im happy with it. 1, 2m protectors with velcro cover everything, you can take them off by pulling it down against the Croll. I dont carry an ascender for transitioning like you did. Your method looks safer, but I use a technique to jam the rope in my feet to be able to stand up and unweight the Croll which I can then remove quickly and easily and sit back on the Grigri. The Croll doesnt require you to remove the carabiner either. To project some moves I use this pre-cross foot technique to stand on the rope and release each device one at a time and gradually slide them down the rope.

[deanhart]

Well done!

Nice to see folks talking about how your counterweight pulls on your body when traversing or even on overhanging climbing without a back clip. And super nice to have someone talk about your counterweight resting on the ground or a ledge and introducing slack into the system. And most importantly, the danger of slack in the system.

TRS is a broad topic with many solutions in many different situations, you’ll probably get another thousand comments out of this one!

Thanks guys

[lucerup]

Really great video, one of your best. Beginner climber here, intrigued by TRS and LRS. You broke it down really simply here, no assumptions or gatekeeping, and really appreciate the serious approach to safety.

[widditinnit]

Thank you so much for this! By far the best explanation online for TRS, and THANK YOU FOR TESTING EVERYTHING!!! We appreciate it so much as a community!

[flegoff]

Great video, very constructive and helpful. Better than a Netflix series. Thx for the tips and explanations on things to watch for. You guys rock, keep it up!

[B.Ps]

I’ve been reluctant to get into TRS for a while but this video has finally convinced me to get after it. Such a great analysis. I will be buying a neck lanyard as a thank you for imparting this knowledge!!

[Mt-oglr]

The best video to TRS! Thanx a lot! I wish i‘ve seen it yesrs ago.
I forgot once to lock the Micro-Traxion. Its possible to modify it to not being kept open.
Great work!!