How To Build And Equalise A Trad Climbing Anchor | Climbing Daily Ep.1174

During the recent Arc'teryx Big Mountain Weekend we had a masterclass from Mountain Guide Adrian Nelhams on anchor building. On todays show we look at the specifics of building an anchor and how to equalise it using the rope.

How To Build And Equalise A Trad Climbing Anchor | Climbing Daily Ep.1174

[DaveSearle]

Lots of people are ready to dismiss this way of doing it and I'd like to add some defence to this method.

1. This method is great in CERTAIN situations (not all), for example when belaying from marginal gear or in poor rock like we often have in the uk especially in winter climbing.
2. This method of tying in can actually be faster than equalising and tying on with slings if the gear is spaced out and you are swing leading.
3. Tying in with the rope is much more dynamic which is always better for the belay. Tying is with a sling and belaying of a guide plate is simply much less dynamic, putting more stress on the belay.
4. It uses less slings so they can be used for runners on the pitches or you can carry less of them.
5. Yes it is more difficult to escape the system however there is a way to do it you just need someone to show you how it is done. ;-)
6. There is also a easy way to set up a haul with this system to, again you just need to know it.
7. Two well placed large wires in good solid rock should be plenty for any belay situation, but obviously more is better.
8. Belaying directly off the waist rather than in "guide mode" is more dynamic and puts less stress on the anchor, again better when using wires/cams/pitions/natural rock spikes to belay.

Learn something from it or dismiss it, as you want. However don't disregard it as unsafe practice! British Mountain guides are part of the IFMGA just as the french, american, german, swiss etc are. We test and improve the way we do things constantly and this method has stood the test of time and works well in a lot of trad climbing situations.
Have Fun!

[Andy-lqzw]

I watch this over and over again. It's so well presented and articulated, it's like being out on the crag with him. Thanks for showing this 🗻👍

[chrisjokinen]

I always see a lot of negative comments for this anchor. The smart Trad climber should be happy to add another technique to his arsenal. Are all the naysayers so arrogant as to believe to believe their current preferred method is the only way? The best way? That they know everything about Trad climbing? I have been climbing Trad for 14 years; I constantly study, not just new things, but also the basics I learnt on day 1. Always keep learning, it will keep you breathing one day.

[Kitsune-Moriko]

The way I do it is this:
1. If I'm close the the wall I use an equalised sling with 2-3 anchors.
2. If I'm far from the wall I use the rope and tie-in in the same way.
3. I don't have a belay device capable of guide mode, so I never belay like that from the anchor.
4. 80% of the time I just use 2 anchors and have never had a major issue after 14 years of alpine, ice and trad climbing. But if I feel one of them is not solid, I place a third.
Great vid thanks :)

[JorgsTube]

Cool stuff, as a saffer we got all our techniques from the poms, from milky tea to abbing off a tuft of grass. Two pieces are plenty my bru! Liked the vid, technique worked fine for many a climb. Having moved to Europe,  I now drink coffee off course. I still use a similar technique using the main rope on all my trad and sport climbs, except I equalise between the two pieces and use this as a master point from which to belay the second using e.g. an ATC Guide, so I can have my coffee whilst I'm at it. On bomber pro, I'll simply join the pieces. I am tied to the lower pro myself (longer or shorter depending on the stance), backed up to the higher one. Once brought up, I transfer the second onto my harness as they lead on (there's a quick, safe technique for this). Before unclipping from the stance they clip the higher anchor to avoid the dreaded factor 2 fall. Advantages: rope management is a breeze, I can have a sandwich while bringing up my partner and I can get out the system if need be. Disadvantages: you are not always 100% equalised, so use with discretion.Thanks for the vid, enough typing, I'm heading for the hills!

[robinw]

nice video! very helpful. his instructions were very clear!

[John-eqcu]

very well produced, thank you very much.

[bluejuice]

Awesome English trad toolboxes! "Protect thine anchor first" methodology. I learnt this way when I was 12. I still go back to this technique with the rope because you never know ... mostly I do a lot of guiding and tend to lead climbs a lot so I do rely heavily on US methods of building equalised anchors for clients to safely belay from. You just have to take some factors into account and rate your prefered anchoring method with abbreviations such as S.E.R.E.N.E. or what ever works best for you.

[Lindixpod]

one of very rare videos where climber is attached/secured to the anchor whole time. Thanks.

[HPAYNE]

I love how all the keyboard warriors are bashing someones techniques that teaches IFMGA qualified guides . Maybe if you all got off your arses and did some leading you would understand this is common practice and part of a system of techniques used in different situations. Using the rope to create the anchor may use alot of rope and might be a bit of a faff but its common practice and it has its place . Aswell as only using 2 pieces of gear for the anchor itself, if those pieces are 10/10 bomber placements and im climbing a V Diff with someone that will cruise a 6c sport route why would i worry ?

Might be different to what you use or have been taught but knowing as many rope tricks as possible will only make you a more effective climber .

[Ammoniummetavanadate]

This is very different than the way we do it in north america.

From what I have seen, use, and have been taught, we use three point anchors on gear unless both pieces are super bomber or are bolts. Generally, we also bring up the second directly off the anchor and not off the harness which changes the setup quite a lot.

Still cloves into the pieces, but brought together to a master point where the device is placed.

I do like this style, it seems to use less rope and it faster to setup, but I don't see how you can make this style of anchor self equalizing or easily escape it if something goes wrong.

[simonandrewsphotography]

This was how I was taught years ago, but these days typically only will use it mountaineering. It's a fast, efficient method to extend the anchor to the edge from far back, so great on ledgy multi-pitches. 2 piece anchors are out of fashion, but when the weather turns and speed is a a factor of safety, techniques like this might help you get up and off faster.



A modification is to use the 2 carabiners as a shelf. Once the anchor is set and connected to your belay loop, add clove hitches to the gear ends. Connect your PAS to the 2 carabiners (they become the shelf) and unclip them from your belay loop. You never leave the system, but are not no longer directly involved in the falling forces. You can either use the 2 carabiners as the master point, or add a third to join them into a single point (or just use one HMS in the first place). You have the option of adding a sliding X if you feel self equalization is required.



This could be built with as little as 2 bits of gear and 3 locking biners (2 D, 1 HMS). A useful technique to keep in mind when you've finished a long pitch and run out of other gear/slings to build your anchor, or dropped your cordelette swapping leads etc.


If I have 2 bomber pieces in and 10 feet of dynamic doubled rope connecting me to them, there a large factor of safety. But if you want more anchor points you can add an independent anchor, like a 2 (or 3 or 4) point quad, that joins the system at the master point. If you ever need 6 pieces at your anchor, that's some shitty rock! Good luck. lol.

[tomhoppe]

I liked your video but I’m curious as to why you attached your belay device to the fig 8 knot loop on your harness, I’m just curious because wouldn’t that mean that if the climber were to fall you wouldn’t be able escape from the system? If you tied another fig 8 knot as an isolation and clipped it to your harness before you made the system you could then belay off that loop instead and if the climber were to fall you wouldn’t be stuck tied into the system, and it wouldn’t use much more rope if that was a concern.

[Naafun]

What a great trainer! Thanks for the vid 🤙

[yu-juisu]

Is there any reason using the rope loop that attached to the harness as the master's point? A slightly modification will make escaping the system much easier, e.g. tie another loop and attach it to the harness with a carabiner, and use this separated loop to belay. One can easily escape from the system.

[TheScottttttt]

Hi Adrian thanks for the video! Most people are taking issue with using the rope in the anchor which has it's pros and cons as you acknowledged but I have a different question.

If your second leads the next pitch and takes a big fall after already placing a piece or two with these two nuts (or any passive gear) as your only anchor points they may pull out because of the upward pull introduced if you the belayer get pulled above the pieces. That will leave the leader's one or two pieces placed as the only points of attachment for both of you to the wall, and they are less likely to be as solid as anchor pieces you've had more time and possibly a ledge to place at.


Is there any reason you don't mention this or opt for one of those strategies? Most multipitch trad anchor instructional videos seem not to acknowledge that risk but maybe there is a reason.

[danesmith]

Great video and some ideal tips and tricks.

My only big issue is the anchor is not easily escaped by the belayer as you are tied in. It's much more practical to build the system then clip in, not be a part of the system.

[tonygonzalez]

I'm curious isn't the vector angle more than 60 degrees? Is that what we always try to accomplish? Just asking not criticism

[ilyakravchuk]

I don't quite understand where a second should clip into when they arrive. Walk to the pieces while still being on a belay, clip into one of those and wait until you adjust the whole thing again to be close to the rock and clip into your rope loop???

[logiconabstractions]

A number of comments are rather critical of this - I suspect people from North America, where this approach isn't too common. I would invite those who feel inclined to dismiss this approach to try to find reasons/situation where you actually would be better off (or have no choices) with his approach. Let's see:

- For some reason (accident, dropped stuff etc.) you are midway up a multipitch and all you have to build anchors are a couple biners, nuts/cams & the the rope. You may have dropped stuff, or it stayed with the 2nd at the last transition or whatever. You would certainly be glad to be able to build an anchor with just the rope then. On top of that, you would certainly be glad you practiced it in a relatively safe/controlled climb rather than with a couple more pitches to go, then a few rappels to get back down & the sun quickly fading below the horizon....
- Marginal gear/placements/rock at the anchor. It seems to be that having the belayer directly in the system, with significant length of dynamic rope included & clove hitches (which are going to slip/shift somewhat and thus take force out of any dynamic load) is a pretty good thing to do in that circumstance.
- Widely spaced placements - let's say you're at the belay ledge, and you have very few placements options that are somewhat far appart. If you're going to use cords, then you may not have much choice to have a dangerously wide angle built into the anchor. Chances are using rope you can always extend the anchor more and thus make the angle less of a problem.

Will I start doing that every pitch? Certainly not, but I think I will definitely try it out to get the hang of it. Mostly for the reasons mentioned above - when poop hits the fan hard, the more tools you have at your disposal, the better are your odds....