Strong Anchors

I did a post on instagram asking about what everyone thought the most important attribute of anchor building was. I used the acronyms EARNEST and SERENE for some examples. So lets look at EARNEST and see what each letter stands for and also why it is important or not.

Equalized

We have now started to move away from the term equalized and more towards distribution of forces as we have found equalization to be fairly unachievable even in lab settings. “Equalized” can still work in theory as we work to see pieces getting similar amounts of force when pieces or of similar integrity. Distribution of force looks more to ways to project the most force on what the anchor builder deems to be the stronger pieces.

Angle

We all know smaller angles put less force on pieces of protection and wider angles create large “vector” forces. Of course we might choose a large angle in some cases to get a master point in a specific place when we only have a few choices in what protection we can use. I am thinking of a single pitch scenario where two trees are close to an edge but not directly over the climb. If the trees are well rooted and quite large it would be hard to imagine a force in climbing that could pull the trees out of the ground even if the angle of the legs was approaching 180°. I would likely be more worried about my attachment points…

Redundant

This has been an interesting attribute that I have seen many folks talk about in the #anchoroftheday posts. It seems redundancy ranks way up there for many climbers in anchor building even though we use many things that are not redundant. For instance climbers will go buy a 8.8mm single rope and whip on it repeatedly but question a two cam anchor in bomber granite. I feel we need to start re-adjusting our thought process here. When we take a leader fall we (usually) fall on a single piece of protection. This should be a greater amount of force than anything we put on the anchor. Sure we could take a factor two fall onto an anchor, but does more pieces make you feel better? Or do stronger pieces make you feel better? For me it is the latter.

Another note with redundancy. When we are always building 3 or maybe even 4 piece anchors we now have possibly 8 pieces of gear in anchors alone. This makes us have to carry more gear. Which of course is a bit heavier. This can slow us down or even make us need to place more gear because the likelihood of falling is greater. So over redundancy could actually get us into problems.

Here a single horn is used for a 5.4 pitch of rock climbing.

Redundancy can cover up mistakes. So really this is where the importance comes into play. For beginning trad climbers it is a good idea to place at least 3 pieces. With training and experience you will start to see nuances of when you can for go the extra piece and thus your climbing can stay at the same level of security but gain efficiency.

Non-Extending

We don’t like anchors to extend if we have a failure in the system because it means a shock load or high amount of force on another piece. This is true but physics still applies here. So a load will accelerate at 9m/s^2. But the load can only travel and accelerate as long as the material in the anchor before the force hits the next piece of the anchor. Think about a quad, maybe a foot? So if our pieces are strong, extension is not really an issue in the first place, but can stop the domino effect if something wasn’t recognized.

Strong

Here we are. In my opinion the greatest attribute to anchors. Of course the question is how strong do they need to be. This is where the variability comes in. What about a seated hip belay? Is that strong? Depends on the force you are going to put on it? What about a huge well rooted tree? What about a single bolt or single cam; and remember we take huge whippers on these all the time. If something is unequivocally strong, we don’t need the be so caught up in trying to achieve other attributes of anchor building.

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We take leader falls on single pieces of gear all the time, and they hold!

Now where can this go wrong?

What if that one bolt you clipped to was not placed well and you did not notice? What if the tree was de-carpeting off of the ledge and it was to dark to see it? What if that boulder was only being held up by a pebble underneath? So really human error is why we might need to use some of the other anchor building theories to keep us safe but in general, when something is strong enough, well it is strong enough.

Timely

This attribute is one that always makes me compromise on strength. I could take longer to build a stronger anchor, but do i need it? And two, is it worth the time. In a single pitch setting where I can pull my rope and go home time doesn’t matter outside of how much climbing you want to get in that day. However, in the big mountains or on multi-pitch climbs looking around for that 3rd piece of pro for your anchor could be the time savings you needed to be off the top before that thunderstorm. So here I compromise. But I do this with years of playing around in single pitch terrain and smaller multi-pitch climbs perfecting my anchor building craft.

So lets make strong anchors! And if we feel we need to add another piece; well we should. But remember you may be costing yourself valuable time that could cause an issue down the road.

Tag me on instagram and hashtag #karstenanchoroftheday to get featured!

Beginning Trad Rack: What to buy!

Here is the long awaited update to one of my older blogs on buying and building a trad rack.

Are you a beginning climber trying to put together a trad climbing rack?

Climbers are asking all the time what pieces of trad gear should I purchase first? Most new climbers are not looking to go out and break the bank on a full trad rack and want to know what pieces make the most sense to buy first. So here are some of my suggestions on what you might want to purchase first as well as some reasons behind it and thing to think about.

Minimalist (cheapest) Rack:

Cams:

BD C4 #1 to #3

BD Z4 #0.2 to #0.75

One set of nuts (skip the micros) so Wild Country Superlight offset #3 to #9

One set of Camp Tricam Evo’s Black through Purple

Show are the UL #1-3 and not the C4 #1-3

Standard Rack:

Cams:

BD C4 #1 to #3 Doubles #1 to #3

BD Z4 #0.1 to #0.75 Doubles #0.2 to#0.75

Set of Nuts Wild Country Superlight offset #1 to #10

Set of Tricam Evo’s Black through Purple

Shown are the UL #1-3 and not the C4 #1-3

High-End Standard Rack:

Cams:

BD UL #1 to #4   Doubles #1 to #3

BD C4 #5

BD Z4 #0.0-#0.75 Doubles of #0.1-#0.75

Set of Nuts Wild Country Superlight offset #1 to #13

Set of Tricam Evo’s Black through Blue

From here you can expand into all kinds of specialized protection like big bros, offsets, and many other size specific and placement specific protection based on your goals for climbing. I have found that the high-end standard rack will get you through most destinations in the US. Newer leaders might want triples in mid size cams (#0.4-#1) to feel comfortable on multi-pitch climbs where they are building anchors whereas seasoned leaders might feel quite comfortable with a more minimalist rack. When you are climbing at your limit you might also want to have a few more pieces on hand as you will probably want more gear to feel comfortable.

Some of my reasons for these racks:

C4 vs X4 (older) vs Z4

If you look at head width on the X4 compared to the C4 there is almost one cam lobe difference. This means the X4 will fit in smaller placements. However the X4 in the bigger sizes can get floppy making it hard to place and even harder to remove. I really see this start at the 0.5 (purple) and up. So the larger pieces could be good for aid climbing but not so much free climbing. The newer Z4 has taken care of this with the Chinese hadcuff style stem. It becomes ridged when you place or take them out. They are also a tiny bit smaller than the X4 making them even more valuable and now I prefer these in the .5 and .75 sizes. It should be noted that Black Diamond has figured out how to keep a similar amount of surface area on all 3 styles of cams so there is little compromise to the placements.

BD Z4, X4, and UL in the #0.75 size. Smaller head width helps with placements.

UL vs C4

The Ultra light cam is amazingly light but this comes at a bit of a cost in dollars, strength, and durability. So first thing first; I do not recommend getting the UL in the 0.4 and 0.5. For one the weight savings is so minimal (around the weight of a locking carrabiner for both), and secondly the stem cap is so large in these two pieces that when overcamed they are very likely to become stuck. The weight savings in the 1-4 is definitely worth it in my opinion.

The UL has a dyneema sling that will not wear as well as the nylon on the C4s. I tend to replace my dyneema slings about every 7 to 12 months depending on use. I have some nylon that is almost 5 years old on my rack and still has some life in it. So if you are replacing cams every year or two, the ULs could be worth it except the price tag is quite high for this technology. My suggestion is to start with the big ones as they will save you the most weight, and if you feel the need or win the lottery buy some smaller ones. #1-3 should save you an entire cams weight.

The C4s have been redesigned and have some weight reduction from the older models. This might help in the decision to just but these for your first rack and then start adding in the ultra lights when you can.

C3s…

The C3 is no longer to be had. You can still find some used on eBay and I do still have some as they are a great cam. The C3s really shine when the placements are small. Here is a review and video of them preforming: https://www.karstendelap.com/blog/black-diamond-c3s?rq=C3

The Z4 has now filled the gap of the C3 and added in the 0 again. there is no 00 or 000 zero however so maybe BD has something in the pipeline.

Nuts or Stoppers:

As for nuts I have found the Wild Country Superlight offsets to work about the best especially for the weight. They place well but like any nut that has a ton of bevel it will be harder to remove. Many guides and professionals will use BD nuts as they tend to be a little more finicky to place but are easier to remove. So pick your poison there.

Tricams:

As many of you know I am not a big fan of Tricams. They are hard to place, hard to get out, and well; I like to climb fast. They do have their place though. They can be a cheaper bail piece, they can double as nuts, and they are great for anchors with a good stance to help save your cams for the leader. The Tricam Evos have a beveled side so they are worth the money as it gives you an entire extra placement per piece.

These are suggestions based on what I have found works best for myself and my clients over the years. I tend to use top of the line protection in my climbing because I like to be able to look down at that last piece that is keeping me off the deck and not have to think about when I purchased it, if that was the piece I bootied, or if it was a cheap cam that I thought my fill in my rack. I also think Black Diamond cams tend to feel better to place, have a great camming range, and plenty of holding power. I also have found the Elderid Nineteen G rack pack to be an awesome carabiner. Some of my partners find them a bit small especially with gloves; but they sure are light!

Please weigh in with your comments, and let me know what you think!