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A quick, safe way to clean bolted anchors
Cleaning Sport Anchors
Illustration by Chris Philpot
One of the best parts about sport climbing is its utter simplicity: Clip some bolts as you climb, and—well, that’s pretty much it. The most complicated part is cleaning the anchors; in other words, threading your rope through the rings or chains at the top so you can lower down, grab your draws, and not leave any gear behind. This procedure is potentially dangerous because you may have to untie from your harness and retie after threading—and mistakes happen. We learned the following technique from Rick Vance, technical information manager at Petzl, and we like it because it’s simple, clean, quick, and your partner never takes you off belay. You’ll need two quickdraws and one extra locking carabiner.
When you get to the top, clip one quickdraw to each bolt or ring/chain, with the bottom biner gates facing in opposite directions. Clip your rope into the right-hand draw, and clip the left draw directly into your belay loop. (You may have to pull up on one of the draws to get your body close enough to the anchors.) Slowly sit back in your harness; the left draw should support all of your weight. Find a comfortable position to work on the anchor. (Fig. 1)
Have your partner keep you on belay throughout the process. Ask for some slack and pull a long bight of the rope that runs between your tie-in knot and the right-hand quickdraw, keeping the rope clipped through that draw. Tie an overhand or figure eight on the bight, and clip that knot back to your belay loop with a locking biner. (Fig. 2) Ask your belayer to take in any slack, but not so much that it pulls you up into the anchor. Now, as long as your belayer keeps you on, the knot clipped to your belay loop acts as a backup to the draw you’re clipped directly into.
Untie your tie-in knot (usually the figure eight follow-through) completely. Thread the end of the rope through the bottom of both chains or rings (the specifics will depend on each anchor’s setup and wear), then retie your figure eight follow-through on the tie-in points on your harness. Double check that the rope runs smoothly through both pieces of the anchor and that your knot is tied correctly and dressed properly. (Fig. 3)
Unclip the locking biner from your belay loop and untie the knot it was clipped to. Recheck that the rope is running through both pieces of the anchor and that your tie-in knot is correct and dressed. Have your belayer take in slack until you can pull up toward the anchor and test the system by weighting the rope without unclipping from the draw.
Once you’re 100 percent sure that you’re good to go, remind your belayer again to “take,” remove both draws, and clip them to your harness. Because you’re fully weighting the rope, the draws should be easy to unclip. Now you’re ready to be lowered and get your gear!
Note: Lowering off the anchors is a common practice, but keep in mind that the friction from dirty ropes wears anchors very quickly, especially in high-traffic areas. Always check the anchors for excess wear before you lower off, and consider rappelling instead of lowering to preserve the anchors and your rope.
Comments
Food for though: If you have someone who is concerned about re-tying a figure 8 at the top of a route without someone to double check, then they should not be expected to rappel in the first place. And I agree, rappel whenever possible, lowering is the exception.
TSwitz - 12/06/2012 4:27:39I agree with the consensus here that lowering off is the exception to the rule (on steep routes at well-maintained climbing destinations where lowering off is specifically expected) rather than the standard. Lowering is usually NOT ok and I am very disappointed that climbing mag would publish otherwise.
James - 12/04/2012 12:01:42When cleaning please rap whenever possible. I climb at The New regularly, and lowering is Not the accepted or preferred method as Bob states above. In fact, the guide book specifically asks you not to lower from the anchors! Lowering from the anchors lazy and wears out the anchors prematurely, creating dangerous situations for other climbers!
James - 12/02/2012 5:45:06Rapping vs. Lowering off is a very region specific thing. At my local crag there are anchors with "Pig tail" Lower offs which are specifically there for you to lower off of. The European climbers(one italian, one german) and a South african climber i climb with also regularly lower off routes like they are used to. On the other hand rapping seems like the ethic at almost all American crags. My only concern with this method is the retying of the figure 8. Not sure if I'm just paranoid, but retying in while at the anchors without anyone to double check seems like it could be a place where mistakes happen.
Danger - 12/01/2012 7:31:08I'm with Richard. There are signs up at places like Muir in the Red asking you not to lower off the anchors. It's bad form and impolite to those that periodically have to replace the gear.
Brian - 11/29/2012 8:13:25I think it depends on the anchors/bolts that are in place. In the US I've found particularly at the Red that rapping off is the done thing to ensure the life of the bolt and the rope. The bolts at anchors in the UK/France however tend to be smoother and rounded or chains are in place that will allow a lower off. At times this can be much safer for the cleaning climber as they are never off belay. I take the point that lowering will always wear down the bolts no matter what they are made off although the norm definitely depends on which side of the pond you are on. I am in no means an expert but I have climbed a reasonable amount in different parts of the world and found very different approaches to this topic. Here are a couple of geeky bolt articles from the BMC that kind of demonstrate the point for those that are so inclined! http://www.thebmc.co.uk/spot-a-bad-bolt http://www.thebmc.co.uk/bmcNews/media/u_content/File/equipment_advice/bolt_funds/Users_guideLR.pdf
Doug Rowlands - 11/21/2012 9:33:24Lowering is not always bad form. Generally accepted and preferred method for steep routes at places like the red river gorge or new river gorge. For the record.
bob - 11/20/2012 12:33:42Absolutely ! Never lower off the anchors. bad form, sign of a newbie and a dweeb.
Paul - 11/19/2012 2:03:15I agree with Richard, and would like to add, that if you can find a down-climb or preferably a walk-off, do THAT. Whatever is simplest & safest. I must also say that the procedure outlined in the illustration here, looks adequate. Fairly safe.
Ben - 11/17/2012 10:31:03Interesting that you say "consider rapping". It is very bad form not to rap. Lowering always wears the anchors significantly and unnecessarily. You are wasting resources and potentially putting future climbers in jeopardy by not rapping. I was taught, and still believe, one should ALWAYS rap when you can, and you almost always can, and save the anchors!!
Richard Dingman - 11/16/2012 10:13:42