How I Rope Solo. Everything You Need to Know!!

All your questions you asked me about rope soloing, answered!
Please note this is my opinion and my methods, these are not necessarily the safest, most efficient or best practice methods. Don't copy me or think what i'm saying is text book, it's not. Do your research and select your own methods to fit with the risk you are willing to take and the style you are climbing in. Be safe out there.

0:00 How to start rope soloing?
1:12 Are the falls different?
1:47 Setting up a rope solo belay?
3:53 How did I learn?
4:28 Cost of a rope solo set up?
4:51 Best/Safest solo devices?
5:27 Newer solo devices?
6:11 second choice solo device?
6:31 Pro's and Con's of devices?
8:31 How to set up an anchor?
9:55 What to use if no Silent Partner?
10:12 Silent Partner VS Gri Gri?
10:55 Anchor orientation?
11:07 Security rope soloing
13:52 Ripping pieces when rope soloing?
13:58 Most dangerous aspect?
14:26 Worst mistake story
16:00 Free trial to Skillshare
17:29 Do I bring aid gear?
17:32 Common mistakes?
18:14 Repeats of El Cap rope solo?
18:20 How to have a good time?
18:39 Traversing whilst rope soloing?
20:33 Managing back feeding?
21:44 Back up knots?
23:42 Traxion?
23:54 easier to make friends or rope solo?
24:00 multipitch sequence?
25:29 setting up anchor on bolted route?
25:38 Length and diameter of rope?
25:53 Fast and light?
26:02 Continuous loop system?

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All your questions you asked me about rope soloing, answered!
Please note this is my opinion and my methods, these are not necessarily the safest, most efficient or best practice methods. Don't copy me or think what i'm saying is text book, it's not. Do your research and select your own methods to fit with the risk you are willing to take and the style you are climbing in. Be safe out there.

0:00 How to start rope soloing?
1:12 Are the falls different?
1:47 Setting up a rope solo belay?
3:53 How did I learn?
4:28 Cost of a rope solo set up?
4:51 Best/Safest solo devices?
5:27 Newer solo devices?
6:11 second choice solo device?
6:31 Pro's and Con's of devices?
8:31 How to set up an anchor?
9:55 What to use if no Silent Partner?
10:12 Silent Partner VS Gri Gri?
10:55 Anchor orientation?
11:07 Security rope soloing
13:52 Ripping pieces when rope soloing?
13:58 Most dangerous aspect?
14:26 Worst mistake story
16:00 Free trial to Skillshare
17:29 Do I bring aid gear?
17:32 Common mistakes?
18:14 Repeats of El Cap rope solo?
18:20 How to have a good time?
18:39 Traversing whilst rope soloing?
20:33 Managing back feeding?
21:44 Back up knots?
23:42 Traxion?
23:54 easier to make friends or rope solo?
24:00 multipitch sequence?
25:29 setting up anchor on bolted route?
25:38 Length and diameter of rope?
25:53 Fast and light?
26:02 Continuous loop system?

[KD_cycling]

Hot tip: If you need to cut a rope without a knife. Take a boot lace or a bit of prusik cord, load the rope, wrap the cord around the rope and saw back and forth. Nylon on nylon. Cuts spookily fast!

[rookiemoves]

“A right frickin plonker.” never change Pete

[nudevaulter]

You may not see this, but massive thanks. I started climbing summer of 2020 at age of 48 and started rope soloing basically immediately. I've had no one teaching, just internet and experimentation. My early efforts were terribly bad, but on low grade climbing. I lead rope solo from sport routes up to multi-pitch trad and can do so just below my climbing limit, 5.11, if I deem the setting safe. I feel your advice is spot on, most important is to develop your own system. I gained a couple more ideas from your video to try for making my own rope soloing safer and more efficient. I use a Gri-Gri with rope in backpack. Thanks so much for sharing your experience and insights. If you ever find yourself lost in North Carolina, USA, you must check out the Linville Gorge.

[Friendfox]

"has your gear failed in a fall?" pete's like "nope, my placements are always bomber" 🤣💪🏻

[marioschatzlmair]

Inspiring words of Adam at the end... What a wise man 😄👍
Thx for this video, really informative🙏🍀👌
All the best from austria

[jdmuzzer]

Personal take on fixing back feeding, find you can either tie a munter hitch into the gear or a splitknot that rests on the carabiner on a piece of gear, can be on a locker to avoid any weird unclipping. Both can be tied one hand, if you fall on the slipknot it will pop and you fall on your whole length of rope, and for the munter it will add some friction enough to avoid backfeeding and will also feed if you fall on it. If you place a piece of gear and tie it off then fall on it from above, you are taking a factor 2 fall, making it much more likely to rip so find munter/slipknot a good alternative.

[terraflow__bryanburdo]

I have put up hundreds routes solo for many decades (mostly from the top for sport routes up to 20 pitches) and can reiterate that any lateral travel is huge problem....pulling off loose rock with the rope (almost lost an arm and a head from rockfall on separate occasions). Sideways falls, even on slabs can be deceptively dangerous, as you found on Watkins.

[dstrob]

Thumbs up for all effort in timestamps! great informative video

[xcskier]

The making friends or rope soloing bit got me because it's so true. Also, if you haven't already, give the Taz Lov3 a try. I find it works surprisingly well for soloing (much better than a grigri) and there's little to no resistance feeding rope through it.

[The.Real.Indiana]

2nd time watching this (reviewing for use on future goals) which led me to watching your solo Freerider in a day video for the 4th time. Gonna attempt NIAD this weekend for the first time (with a partner) as a birthday treat. You're an amazing athlete. Thanks for the inspiration, man... you make me want to quit my job and sell my house.

[jhealy]

Pete, good video. Glad to see you reiterating people shouldn't try to copy what anyone else does but rather strive to understand the various options and sort out a system that works for them. Also good you emphasize it's a learning curve like any other in sorting out your own system and working it relentlessly until you have it down to the point where the climbing is back to being the focus and not operating 'the system'. And last, that 'safety' doesn't come from a device, system or backup knots - it comes from you having the requisite skills, experience and judgment to make yourself 'safe'. Again, good video.

[Benijermin]

Haven't even started watching this yet, but I am excited for this. 26 minute video that probably answers all my rope solo questions! Yay!

EDIT: Just finished watching the whole thing. Lots of good info here, thanks Pete! Favourite bit was you telling people that your climbing ability is your first point of safety. I think people either forget or underestimate that! I would also add in people's realistic assessment of their own climbing ability is essential for climbing to be safe too.

[Skyeward]

Just a note about the Grigri Plus: its doesn’t feed any easier in lead mode than the Grigri 2. When I got it I hoped it would as you described: easier to feed rope in the lead mode. However this is not the case. The lead mode makes it exactly like a grigri 2, where as the Top Rope mode makes the cam more grabby, and less easy for slack to feed through. So don’t bother upgrade to grigri plus if you want easier feeding. The TR is nice tho when belay off an anchor from above (on a multi pitch for ex) cuase the rope won’t creep back through as easily

[Mrjzne]

A new Wide Boyz video on a Sunday is even better than a Sunday roast dinner

[MrSilencetreatment]

4:50 I use the soloist and it is great. Two attachment points. The only down point is that you need an extra strap as a chest harness to attach it safely and that if you fall head on first it does not stop the fall, so that is why you should always make loops on the feeding rope in case that happens.

[renderyours]

In regards to the GriGri, you 100% need to buy rope sized around using it. Find a thickness that feeds consistently and grabs only when you're comfortable.
I'm a bit of a puss and run a 10.5 in my GriGri3 and it has never dropped me :)

[natem]

Very informative and well edited, thank you.

[robertpearson]

Interesting take on back up knots, followed wisely by a disclaimer. Inspires me to dig out my Silent Partner from the gear stash of yesteryear.

[pablocastro]

Thanks for that! Best rope solo video ever!