Climbing anchors field guide PDF
Preview Climbing anchors field guide
H o w t o C l i m b® S e r i eS Climbing Anchors Field Guide Second Edition John long and bob Gaines FFAALLCCOONNGGUUIIDDEESS® An imprint of Rowman & Littlefield Falcon, FalconGuides, Outfit Your Mind, and How to Climb are registered trademarks of Rowman & Littlefield. Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK Copyright © 2007, 2014 by John Long and Bob Gaines All photos by Bob Gaines unless otherwise credited Illustrations © Mike Clelland All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including informa- tion storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. Portions of this book were previously published in Climbing Anchors by John Long (FalconGuides, 2006, and Chockstone Press, Inc., 1993), More Climbing Anchors by John Long and Bob Gaines (Chockstone Press, Inc., reprinted by FalconGuides, 1996), How to Rock Climb by John Long (FalconGuides, 2003), Climbing Anchors, 2nd Edition, by John Long and Bob Gaines (FalconGuides, 2013), Climbing Anchors Field Guide by John Long and Bob Gaines (Falcon- Guides, 2007), Toproping by Bob Gaines (FalconGuides, 2012), and Rappelling by Bob Gaines (FalconGuides, 2013). British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Information available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available ISBN 978-0-7627-8208-6 (paperback) The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sci- ences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/ NISO Z39.48-1992. Warning: Climbing is a dangerous sport. You can be seriously injured or die. Read the fol- lowing before you use this book. This is an instruction book about rock climbing, a sport that is inherently dangerous. Do not depend solely on information from this book for your personal safety. Your climbing safety depends on your own judgment based on competent instruction, experience, and a realistic assess- ment of your climbing ability. There is no substitution for personal instruction in rock climbing, and climbing instruction is widely avail- able. You should engage an instructor or guide to learn climbing safety techniques. If you misinterpret a concept expressed in this book, you may be killed or seriously injured as a result of the misunderstanding. Therefore, the information provided in this book should be used only to supplement competent personal instruction from a climbing instructor or guide. Even after you are proficient in climbing safely, occasional use of a climbing guide is a safe way to raise your climbing standard and learn advanced techniques. There are no warranties, either expressed or implied, that this instruction book contains accurate and reliable information. There are no warranties as to fitness for a particular purpose or that this book is merchantable. Your use of this book indicates your assumption of the risk of death or serious injury as a result of climbing’s risks and is an acknowledgment of your own sole responsibility for your safety in climbing or in training for climbing. The authors and Rowman & Littlefield assume no liability for accidents happening to, or injuries sustained by, readers who engage in the activities described in this book. Contents Introduction .............................................................................vii Simple Anchors Chapter 1. Natural Anchors ................................................1 Chapter 2. Chocks.................................................................14 Nuts .....................................................................................14 Oppositional Nuts ..........................................................26 Micro-Nuts ........................................................................28 Hexes ..................................................................................33 Tricams ...............................................................................36 Big Bros ..............................................................................38 Chapter 3. Spring-Loaded Camming Devices .......39 Chapter 4. Bolts. .....................................................................60 Chapter 5. Fall Forces .........................................................71 Chapter 6. Judging the Direction of Pull ..................75 Chapter 7. Knots for Anchoring .....................................79 Anchor Systems Chapter 8. Belay Anchors..................................................89 SRENE Anchors ................................................92 Cordelettes. ..........................................................95 The Sliding X ..................................................105 The Equalette ...................................................112 The Quad .........................................................116 Composite Anchors: Cordelette, Sliding X, and Equalette .............................119 Upward Oppositional Anchors .........................120 Belay Methods ...................................................122 Chapter 9. Toprope Anchors ..........................................130 Chapter 10. The Joshua Tree System ........................137 Chapter 11. Rappel Anchors ..........................................149 C ontents v About the Authors John Long is the author of twenty-five books, with over one million copies in print. He is the principal author of the How to g n Climb® series. His short-form Lo n literary stories have been widely oh anthologized and translated into of J y many languages. John won the es t 2006 Literary Award for excel- ur o c lence in alpine literature from the American Alpine Club. Bob Gaines is an AMGA Certi- fied Rock Instructor who has been teaching rock climbing since 1983. He is the owner/ director of Vertical Adventures Climbing School, based at Joshua Tree National Park, California. e n He has trained US Military Spe- KLi y cial Forces, including the elite t at P US Navy SEAL Team 6. Bob has also worked extensively as a climbing stunt coordinator on over forty television commercials. He was the chief safety officer for the movie Cliffhanger and doubled for Captain Kirk when Kirk free soloed El Capitan in Star Trek V. Bob is also the author of Rappelling, Toproping, Best Climbs Joshua Tree National Park, and Best Climbs Tahquitz and Sui- cide Rocks, and the coauthor of Rock Climbing: The AMGA Single Pitch Manual, which is the textbook for the AMGA’s Single Pitch Instructor Course. Introduction Climbing Anchors Field Guide is a companion guide to the much larger Climbing Anchors. Many readers would study anchor fundamentals in the large book (or prior anchor manuals), but when they ventured onto the rock and had to work strictly from memory, they sometimes struggled to remember the details. What’s more, toting Climbing Anchors to the cliffside was nei- ther practical nor desired. So take this book instead. That’s what it was made for. Remember: Basic Anchor-Building Facts • “Perfect” rarely exists in real world climbing anchors. • No single rigging technique will work in every situation. • Trad climbers must efficiently improvise on a handful of anchor-building techniques. • The ability to improvise requires a thorough understanding of basic principles. • Climbing anchors always involve compro- mises—the trick is to understand what you should and should not compromise at a given place on the rock. vii The fine points of the systems remain works-in- progress as new materials, equipment, and refinements are introduced into the field and marketplace. Never- theless, the material in this edition represents the com- bined, cutting-edge knowledge of both professional guides and leading climbers worldwide. viii Introduction C h a p t e r O n e Natural Anchors Natural Anchors Are: • Anything the environment provides—trees, blocks, horns of rock, etc. • Often more secure than gear-built anchors. • Typically easy and fast to arrange. • Multidirectional (can be loaded from any direction). • By and large environmentally friendly. When Anchoring to a Tree . . . • Make sure it is alive. • Strive for a minimum diameter of 12 inches. • Tie it off as low as possible to reduce leverage. 1
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