Clipping to locker for lower

[ckowrun]

So I just read a ridiculous post on RC.com about clipping to a figure8 with a locker for climbing. So silly it must be a troll. But it got me thinking...

When cleaning the anchors on a route with fat rap hangers, I usually feed a bight through the hangers, tie a figure8, clip that to my harness, untie my original rethreaded figure8, and lower. This is a really dumb question so spray away, but what's your opinion, one locker good enough? Is there a better technique (besides rapping, which is a waste of time on sport routes imho...)?

 

 

linkinator

[Cobra_Commander]

they're called rap hangers for a reason. rap off them.

 

and it's perfectly fine to tr with a biner clipped to an 8 if off-axis loading is prevented. but it's not that much more time just to tie in direct.

[gosolo]

I do what you describe sometimes. as CC said, many believe that rapping is the best eiquite to save wear on the anchors....

 

Also, I have tied in this way with another biner (one locker and one regular) while leading in blocks on very long routes in order to save time swiching rope ends. I took a 30 footer on that setup. Safety nazis will tell you that aint good, but then again, there are probably some things they aint going to do because it is not the safest, mountaineers approved method....

[catbirdseat]

I do what you describe sometimes. as CC said, many believe that rapping is the best eiquite to save wear on the anchors....

 

Also, I have tied in this way with another biner (one locker and one regular) while leading in blocks on very long routes in order to save time swiching rope ends...

Since you brought it up, could you comment on the benefits of leading in blocks, and when it is most appropriate?

[gosolo]

diverging from the OP, but....

 

I have only done this on three climbs, those were climbs that were going to take everything I had to succeed and where climbing effeciently was key. The Nose in a Day was one of those. The thought process is that leader leads and fixes rope. Second jugs like hell. After juggin a long pitch at hyper speed (well, trying hard anyway) the second is better off resting. Since the leader has rested, he is most ready to jump on the next pitch. Obviously at changeovers the second will switch with leader. The tie in technique is used instead of re-stacking the rope and fiddling with knots. This helps because on a climb like the Nose with 25 pitches (wi a 60meter rope)you reduce the time spent on belays. If you reduce your time at each belay by 5 minutes that adds up to 125 minutes. Obviously this is only one way to skin the cat. Guys that short fix everything may not have to do this but those guys have to haul the rack up when the second gets to the belay. On a climb like the Nose where most of it goes free or french free, my personal taste is to climb through and not stop in a free section and haul the rack wi a tag line; however, there appears to be considerable speed with that technique as well. Different strokes for different folks.

 

I have also done this on a long free route in the Black Cyn. On that route the second freeed the pitch, but since there was some consecutive 5.11 crack climbing, we felt that blocks would allow the leader to rest before launching out onto another strenuous pitch. It was most convenient to give my pardner the harder pitches on his block too. The trick here is to round up a pardner that likes to go for it and you dont share the topo. That way you assign his blocks for him. This technique can work really well.