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Topic Date User

Comments sought on natural anchor design 31-Jul-2012 At 2:04:08 PM pmonks

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On 31/07/2012 muki wrote:
>bad habits need breaking pete, you should never allow this to happen using
>a solo top rope system for a variety of very good reasons.

Who said anything about these falls occurring while top rope soloing? All I'm pointing out is that I have experienced bigger falls while top roping (traditionally, as it turns out) than I might have expected when I started out.

Ultimately climbing isn't a game of absolutes or simple single-factor failures. It's about a whole slew of semi-dependent variables that (if enough of them line up the wrong way) mean you're facing a one way trip to the morgue. As a first year apprentice on the top rope soloing path, this is part of the reason I'm going to the lengths I am - two ropes down the cliff, highly redundant anchors (more bomber than I'd bother with when traditionally top roping), doubled locking carabiners, testing the setup before leaving the ground, carrying sufficient gear to anchor myself to the cliff halfway up if needed etc. etc. blah blah ad nauseam. It's all about making the safety envelope is big as possible (leveraging my existing climbing experience) while I'm learning the specifics of top rope soloing.

However your continued insistence that a static rope used for top roping is just as safe as a dynamic rope is flat out bullshit. Static systems reduce the safety envelope to the point that they constitute a risk I wouldn't accept (for any type of climbing, let alone top rope soloing). Given that newcomers to the sport do frequent this site, I feel compelled to warn others about that risk too.