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General Climbing Discussion

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Multiptich anchor question 1-Oct-2010 At 2:08:06 PM gordoste

Message

On 1/10/2010 mikllaw wrote:
>I think the best thing is to have a lot of different options for doing
>the boring bits (setting up anchors, tying in, swapping leads etc)
>-slings coredellette, or rope
>-belaying off sticht plate, Munter, waist
>-swing leads or block lead
>-Climb past the belay and put in good gear to avoid the factor 2, then
>drop back down and belay
>
>understand the important bits:-
>-stay safe, avoid factor 2 falls, keep the rope untangled (more important
>in wind, on hanging, and on small belays)
>

Absolutely agree. You might do something in a particular way most of the time but you need sufficient understanding and awareness to know when to deviate from your normal practice... like Mikl said if you can't find good gear at the belay then try climbing a bit higher.

My MO is to use a cordelette and alternate leads. I usually attach the belay device directly to the anchor and sit myself right next to the anchor to make belaying easy. Since I have an auto-blocking device I can shift the remaining gear from my harness to the anchor and tidy up the rope whenever the second stops to clean gear. (seriously if you are a trad climber and don't currently use an autoblocking device, buy one next time you need to replace your belay device, you'll never look back). But I do sometimes incorporate the rope into the belay if a piece is a long way up, or if I forgot my cordelette. And I do sometimes lead two pitches in a row if my partner chickens out of a pitch :)

Learn and try both, then decide for yourself.