Self Belaying???

[CollinWoods]

The last time I was at Exit 38 I saw a guy self belaying himself leading on a sport rout… He wasn’t using any fancy self belay device or anything… He would somehow tie himself into quick draws as he would place them. I sort of have the idea but am not really sure how. Does anyone know how to do this or know any sites that would explain? I’ve googled it but nothing really came up.

[rocky_joe]

Roped Soloing it's called. It's actually pretty straight forward. Set an anchor at the base of the climb, and fix the line. Using an autolocking belay device (grigri, cinch, yoyo, etc.) attach the line to harness as if to belay a leader, instead the line that would normally go to the climb should now go to the anchor. Climb and clip giving yourself slack as needed. There are devices made for roped soloing, but it can be done with an autolocking device, or even a clove, so why drop the extra penny?

[Baltoro]

He wasn't self belaying, he was ensuring his chiropractor could still afford the boat he wanted despite the downturn in the economy.

 

Tying yourself off to draws on bolts, then leading above them and falling on that bolt will result in Factor 2 type falls everytime. You're essentially shortening the rope everytime you reach a bolt.

 

If you climb 5 feet above the bolt and fall you will fall 10 feet with 5 feet of rope. This will hurt a lot. Considering most bolts aren't five feet apart, you could take a 20ft. fall onto 10ft. of rope. This will hurt even more.

 

This is stupid and is not "self-belaying".

 

Spend the money and time to learn how to do it right. Don't spend it on chiropractor co-pays.

[mattp]

Baltoro is right, that this is not the "preferred" way to self belay. However, depending on what the climber was actually doing it may have been a "secure" way to do so.

 

I've done some solo climbing where I simply clipped into each piece with a figure eight and, on a remote mountain wall covered with lichen, I took comfort in the fact that I had multiple anchors and fat rope and simple mechanics.

 

There are devices made for this purpose that would undoubtedly do a better job if employed correctly and if the set up was undertaken with proper care. The crude system with clipping into every piece with a static or relative static cord may or may not be entirely stupid.

[CollinWoods]

Thanks Rocky, Baltoro and Matt. I will look more into some less "chiropractic" ways.. Matt are you still still interested in those trips to Exit 38 or Index?

[penoyar]

I'm not sure how popular rope soloing is at 38, but it may have been me you saw doing it. I haven't been up there since last summer. If it was me, I was in fact attaching the lead rope into some bolts, but in a way that's somewhat less gnarly than the factor two falls described above. To avoid any "I read it on the internet then tried it outside and woke up at Harborview" situations, I'll just say I use 24" loops of 4mm cord every few bolts to keep the lead rope from sagging while simultaneously allowing up to 4' of rope stretch in the event of a fall. Me trying to describe any more would probably just confuse both of us. You don't have to sacrifice quick, soft catches just because you're soloing; be sure whatever system you decide on is capable of that. Happy studying!

[CollinWoods]

Hey thanks alot penoyar. Ill have to try and see if i cant get that down or at least look more into it. I saw the climber last month on Substation Wall with his 2 dogs.

[denalidave]

There are quite a few threads on the topic of rope soloing here and on other forums. I did my first few rope solo pitches a few months ago and found it was not rocket science but still a bit challenging figuring out a system that works well. I ended up borrowing a silent partner (thanks BillCoe) but I never truly trusted the thing. Just like any new belay partner, I was always wondering if the thing would actually catch me in a fall. (Although it seemed to work in some testing scenarios). I just did easy pitches that I have free soloed many times and found I was much more gripped doing the rope solo vs just free soloing it. Below is a link to one of the threads. Joseph H does a ton of rope soloing and would probably be very helpful if you wanted more info on the subject... I think I like his set up with the Eldridge Eddy belay device, which is very similar to a GriGri. I'm looking forward to getting my set-up dialed in this summer.

 

Rope Solo Thread

 

 

 

[RickG]

I've been using the Soloist for years and routinely rope solo at the Exit's, as well as many other area's, sport or trad. The mechanics of the Soloist are simple and it's easy to see that it will lock up and catch a fall unless you flip upside down. If that is a possibility it's easy to back up the Soloist. Also it self feeds, although sometimes with significant rope drag(newer the rope the better). And it won't break the bank like the Silent Partner. When I'm rope soloing a sport route I usually use the first bolt for the anchor, unless there is a handy tree nearby. Then I clove hitch the rope to the second bolt/QDraw to be sure that the anchor biner is in the up position. So in effect I have two anchors. And yes, I am aware of the high fall factor. That being said you can usually plan on climbing below your limit, but it is a way to make easier climbs exciting again! I say go for it! But not bolt by bolt.

Edited March 15, 2009 by RickG