Preview Copy: The Trad Climber's Guide To Problem Solving

The Trad Climber's Guide
To Problem Solving
Preview Copy
First Edition November 2018

Contents
6 Accident Prevention
12 Advanced Anchor
Building
36 Abseiling
68 Lead Skills
103 Self-Rescue
162 Essential Knots
VDiff > Trad Climber’s Guide To Problem Solving - Preview Copy - Get The Full Version Here
Self-Rescue – Introduction
Having a good knowledge of self-rescue rope solo to an injured leader if you have
skills is essential for any climber. The more no gear to make an upwards pulling
effectively you are able to improve a poor anchor.
situation (e.g; if you are able to escape the
belay and descend with an injured partner You will often have to use your creativity to
to the ground, instead of waiting in the find a solution that works for your particular
middle of the crag for assistance), the less situation.
risk is required of rescuers and the quicker
you and your partner will receive help. Make a solid plan before attempting any
kind of self-rescue and consider the
Your self-rescue skills should be additional risk it puts on you and your
accompanied by a solid understanding of climbing partners.
first aid (not covered in this manual). We
recommend attending a wilderness first aid In general, if you can't solve your problem
course to brush up on your skills. by escaping the belay and setting up a
tandem abseil for you and the injured
If you are capable of rescuing yourselves, climber, it is unlikely that you'll be able to
you may not need to call for outside help at effect a safe rescue.
all, if that is even an option. Depending on
the weather and your position, a rescue In this case, you should consider calling for
may not be possible. Many remote areas help or leaving the situation (if possible)
do not even have a rescue service and going for help yourself. However,
available. leaving an injured partner alone adds a
whole other set of problems to the
The self-rescue techniques described in equation.
this manual are merely guidelines. Many of
the techniques simply will not work in the If it’s possible to call for help (either using a
pickle you actually find yourself in. phone or shouting to nearby climbers for
assistance), this is usually by far the best
For example; you cannot safely descend if thing you can do if you are not confident
there is nowhere to make a reliable anchor. solving the problem with your current set of
You cannot safely escape the belay and skills.
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Escaping the Belay
The belay escape is a technique whereby - If your partner needs hauling through a
the belayer frees themselves from the crux while following
responsibilities of belaying. This - If you need to descend to your partner to
fundamental skill is necessary for many give immediate first aid
rescue situations. - If your partner falls and is injured while
leading
Situations when you may need to escape - If you need to detach yourself from the
the belay include: rope to get outside help
The Belay Escape – How it Works

Any safe version of the belay escape The full belay escape system is described
involves the same four checkpoints: in this chapter. Depending on the situation,
- Get hands-free you may not need to complete all of the
- Transfer climber’s weight to anchor steps (e.g: the process is much simpler if
- Transfer climber’s belay to anchor your partner is able to un-weight the rope).
- Remove all excess prusiks, carabiners However, it’s important to know the
and knots complete system before taking shortcuts.
The belayer can detach from the rope Three different methods are described.
completely if needed. The end result is a These cover belaying:
system which can be released under load 1) From your harness (anchor is within
and can be used again as a belay. reach)
Returning to belay mode is often needed 2) From your harness (anchor is out of
once a rescue has begun. reach)
3) Directly from the anchor (e.g: using
guide mode)
The Belay Escape – First Considerations
Before starting a belay escape, make sure
it is the best course of action for the
situation. Maybe a much simpler option
exists, such as lowering your partner to a
ledge, or getting them to prusik up.
Depending on the direction of loading and

your course of action after escaping the
belay, you may need to make your anchor
stronger. Some rescue techniques (such as
hauling) exert high forces on the anchor.
Beefing up the anchor is straightforward if

you are belaying a second and there are
protection points available within reach.
With some creative sling craft and fine
tuning, you may be able to equalize a few
extra pieces to the belay.
If you are belaying a leader on a multi-

directional anchor where there is only a
single piece holding an upwards pull
(example shown), you will need to add gear
or build a new anchor before escaping the
belay.
This is very difficult (or impossible) if the As a last resort, you might be able to rope
leader has the whole rack with them. solo (see page 147) or prusik (see
However, you may be able to adjust the page 152) a short distance to retrieve gear
existing anchor pieces and cordelette to for backing up the anchor.
hold an upwards pull. Make sure the
anchor still protects you from a fall while
you are adjusting pieces.
The Belay Escape – When Belaying from your Harness
(Anchor within Reach)
Step 1
Get hands-free by tying off your belay
device with a mule-overhand (see
page 185).
Rope To
Climber
Spare
Rope
Step 2
Tie a prusik hitch on the weighted rope If you don’t have a long cordelette, you
with a long cordelette. Make sure the could use a short prusik cord attached to a
double fisherman’s bend which joins the double-length sling.
cord is close to the prusik hitch.
Step 3 Step 4
Clip a screwgate to the master point of the Tie a munter hitch with the cordelette to
anchor. the screwgate. Flip the munter so it’s in the
lowering position and pull all the slack
through.
Step 5 Step 6
Tie a mule-overhand backup in the Slide the prusik along the rope towards the
cordelette. climber to take up any remaining slack in
the cordelette.
Step 7
Carefully release your tied-off belay device Keep hold of the brake rope for the next 3
and let a small amount of slack through so steps.
the climber’s weight is transferred onto the
cordelette.
Step 8
Attach a screwgate (yellow carabiner in Pull most of the excess rope through so
this diagram) to the master point and tie a there is just enough slack to remove your
munter hitch on it with the brake rope. belay device.
Step 9 Step 10
Keeping hold of the munter’s brake strand, Pull the extra slack through the munter
remove your belay device. hitch and flip it so it’s in the lowering
position. Finish the munter with a mule
hitch and an overhand backup.
Step 11 Step 12
Release the mule-overhand from the Once the weight is fully on the rope,
cordelette and use the munter to transfer remove the cordelette completely. You
the climber’s weight from the cordelette to have now escaped the belay and can
the rope. move on to the next step of your rescue.
Note
The same steps can be followed to escape
the system if you are belaying from your
harness and using a re-directional through
the anchor.
The Belay Escape – When Belaying from your Harness
(Anchor out of Reach)
This method is great if you are far from the The description below assumes that the
anchor and/or do not have a long belayer is tied in to the end of the rope and
cordelette available. then attached to the anchor with a
clovehitch or figure-8 on a bight.
Step 1
Get hands-free by tying off your belay
device with a mule-overhand.
Rope To
Climber
Spare
Rope
Step 2
Fasten a prusik on the weighted rope as
shown and attach a screwgate to it.
Step 3 Step 4
Reach back to your tie-in at the anchor and Tie a munter-mule-overhand on the
grab the free end of your tie-in. If you can’t screwgate with this part of the rope.
reach, run through the rope stack until you
get to it.
Step 5 Step 6
Slide the prusik down the rope towards the Transfer the weight onto the prusik by
climber to take out excess slack. releasing your tied-off belay device. Be
prepared for a bit of rope stretch before the
prusik takes the weight.
Keep hold of the brake rope for the next 3

steps.
Step 7
Move back to the anchor and tie a munter
hitch to it with the brake strand of rope.
Step 8 Step 9
Remove your belay device. Bring in the excess slack and finish the
munter with a mule-overhand.
Step 10 Step 11
Release the mule-overhand from the rope Once the weight has been transferred, you
which is attached to the prusik. can remove the prusik and the munter
hitch.
Use the munter to transfer the climber’s
weight from the prusik to the munter-mule-
overhand on the anchor.
The Belay Escape – When Belaying Directly from the
Anchor
When belaying directly from the anchor hands-free – a light hand must be kept on
with a self-blocking belay device (such as the brake strand while belaying. Therefore,
an ATC in guide mode) or an assisted the only step remaining is to back up the
braking belay device (such as a GriGri), device.
you have already escaped the belay.
Simply tie-off the device with a mule-
These belay methods are not completely overhand as shown below.
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Learn How To: Further Information:

- Use a variety of self-rescue techniques * 213 pages.
- Build self-equalizing anchors with minimal * 400+ full-colour illustrations and photos.
gear * Step-by-step climbing techniques
- Abseil without a belay device explained in a beginner friendly way.
- Abseil with damaged ropes * Easy to print or view on your phone.
- Descend from bad anchors * New for November 2018.
- Negotiate loose rock
- Use basic aid techniques
- Simul-climb safely
- Prevent accidents from occurring in the
first place
Plus much more.

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The Trad Climber's Guide

First Edition November 2018

162 Essential Knots

The Belay Escape – How it Works

Depending on the direction of loading and

Beefing up the anchor is straightforward if

If you are belaying a leader on a multi-

Keep hold of the brake rope for the next 3

Learn How To: Further Information:

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