ALPINE "SCORCHIO" SOLOING TIPS.

            "Anyone who has never made a mistake,has never tried anything new."
                                                                                           (Albert Einstein.)


I have certainly made my share of mistakes whilst solo-climbing and am always trying something new. None of which did me much good this year on Eiger,it was just too damn hot. A lot of things did go right however, so here are a few of them that might be of some use to others.
My style of soloing involves overnighting on my bergs so I am dependant on ice and snow for my water supply as I can never carry enough. For rehydration on route I use the Platypus bladder system (or similar) with drinking tube,but I try

Drink tube and sponge stowed in helmet.

 

to save as much as possible by useing the plastic syphon tube and soak-sponge I keep in my helmet. In alpine summers there are always "sip wells" of fresh ice water forming in rock or snow hollows during the heat of the day, that can be sucked up or soaked up by a thirsty climber. An astonishing amount of water can be obtained by simply pressing a 5"x3" piece of plastic sponge against a damp rock or melting ice formation whilst on the move.

 

Nearly two mouthfuls of fresh water from a 5"x3" rectangle of sponge.

 

This may not be the sweetest of alpine waters but it will keep you going and top up your fluid balance, so long as you are sensible and dont drink from obviously contaminated sources.

The Jetboil stove, and those like it, are the soloists saviour when it comes to melting your water from high icefields. Where possible I prefer to gather snow or pound up ice for water a short distance from my bivvy to limit contamination. I use a Hammer-Axe for this and collect the mush in a "Drybag" I have used to carry gear up in (just turn inside-out to carry the ice) or a thick plastic shopping bag. I never trust the "Piezo-Igniters" completely and so always carry

 

Ice collecting and boiling gear.

 

a secondary ignition source (see pic). As i almost never bivvy above 3500mtrs the melting point of ice in my Jetboil is not a problem to ascertain. It usually takes between 9 and 10mins to melt ice from a crushed-fragmented state to a boiling state at 2000 to 3000mtrs of altitude.

Method:- Put an inch of meltwater first in the Jetboil before adding crushed ice or snow. Anchor the stove or suspend (as in pic) as it becomes dangerously unstable and top-heavy if you do not! As you can see in the pic, I used a simple 5" S/Steel Jubilee Clip to hold a metre long loop of flexible brass "Picture Frame wire".Using this I can hang on an anchor or wrap it securely round a tentpole or rock so it does not fall over and cause injury. Light the stove and keep the gas setting turned down low, place the rubber top on loosely. Don't be in a hurry, for if you turn the gas up, all that will happen is that you will evaporate more than you melt. Melted this way, a full Jetboil of ice will produce sufficient boiling water to reach the stoves "safety mark line" which equals two large brew mugs, or one large dehydrated ration pack and one small hot drink.

 

Boiling water to "safety line"inside Jetboil.

 

If you're feeling daring you can add more ice or snow at this point but it will cost you more gas and boiling time.

To this end it's always good to have a rough idea how long your gas "cartridges" will last in order to provide you with enough hot water for your expedition needs.

 

C100/97gm.(left) C250/220gm.(right)

 

The two sizes of cartridge I carry are depicted above.Three years ago I burned both sizes till empty on a Primus Alpine Stove at sea level, on a medium flame setting to see how long they would last.The C100 lasted over one and a half hours, and the C250 lasted an astonishing four hours. I have never yet run out of gas with my Jetboil, which is far more efficient than my old Primus Alpine Stove. How much gas you take in lieu of water depends on how much you want to eat and drink, so its up to you. Do the math!!

 

Yum!

 

On the subject of dehydrated rations, I recently switched to the "Mountain House" brand having tried them on the recommendation of a soloist friend.They are quite superb and remind me of the LRRP rations we were issued in the Royal Australian Army. I used the "Big Pack" version mainly because I can never finish them in one sitting. So I reseal the pack and reheat with hot water for breakfast the next morning before I set off for the summit. It's also a good idea to keep the empty pack (after a rinse) as it can be used as a pot to cook up Porridge Oat flakes, simply by adding hot water and resealing for a few minutes. Porridge Oats are the best survival energy food on the planet! I'll do drinks another time, but generally i take "Ice Tea" granules (drunk cold or hot). Ovo-Sport Blocks (Ovaltine solidified), Coffee granules, Haribo Sweets (can be chewed or diluted as a fruit drink). Also a plastic container of sugar to give it all extra kick!

On the subject of summer bivvying, I'm assuming that you have a good alpine sleeping bag. I can recommend the "Trek-Mates" bivvy bag for summer use.

 

Trek Mates bivvy bag.

 

This should keep the worst of the anabatic night winds, snow and showers from wrecking your nights sleep. It's waterproof, breathable, and weighs ounces. I pulled it up to about knee height over my PHD-Sleeping bag before I drifted off and only needed to raise it over my shoulders at 4am on Eiger when the wind got too cold. It would also make a great emergency bothy-bag. Great value!

Finally on the subject of personal alpine obligations and insurance:- Over and above my personal "Legal Waiver" form for rescue,(see two blogs back)

 

Emergency cards.

 

I carry three cards on my person whilst climbing, the first being my BMC-Card which can notify my club "ABMSAC" if I am killed or injured. The second is the "Austrian Alpine Club-UK" Card which provides basic emergency rescue insurance and repatriation insurance to UK from anywhere on the planet for only £33 per annum as well as being a great club to belong to. And finally my "EHIC" (European Health Insurance Card) which covers me for medical treatment (even in Switzerland) throughout the EU and backs up my personal medical insurance.

These cards are available to all EU citizens,and I had handed mine to a Dutch friend in Eigernordwand Campsite and was bragging about how useful they were. He looked at it closely and wryly told me it had expired the previous year! I phoned Peggy in UK and she renewed it immediately on the UK-Government website in under ten minutes, which saved me from looking a total dickhead, to only "feeling" like one!

If you live in the EU and don't have this card? Go straight to your country's government website only as this card is Free! Do not go to advertised commercial sites offering you this card, it's a con-job to extort money from you.

I'll blog again soon with more stuff!

 

Good climbing.

 

Rob

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FRYING SOLO ON WEST FLANK EIGER.

I arrived at the grandly named "Eigernordwand Campsite" just outside Grund at about 4pm. It was seriously hot and I was a melting blob, having carried both my sack and kitbag a kilometre uphill from Grund railway station. Peggy and I had been to Kandersteg two weeks previously and I had planned to bag two routes on Eiger in that time, doing a solo variant of Lauper from the Austrian route and a freeclimb, with buddy Boris Krielen, of West Flank. The west route incorporating a photoshoot for both of us, one photographing the other in solo mode, as it's impossible to get good pics of yourself actually "doing things" with a camera at arms length.The weather screwed us however, so here I was, back alone for some more masochism on the old beast.

Eiger august 2012 (no icefields you notice?)

 

I soon got my tiny binliner tent set up and had to go to Grindelwald to buy Jetboil gas on the morrow. The Nordwand and summit icefields had almost completely vanished due to the heat. At 4pm it resembled the grey dry skin of an elephant with great black tear streaks down its face. I located some gas at "Intersport" in Grindelwald next day and bought some Leckerli and small Emmental sausages as wet-rations to complement my Mountain House dehydrated rat-packs.

 

The Binliner.-My tiny one man tent.(One body and a sack only)

 

The "Intersport" salesman was also a local guide, and we bemoaned the horrible mountain conditions of this regular 3yr dry cycle in the Berner Oberland. Back at the campsite I met up with a lone Dutch climber/mountain biker by the name of Michaelle, who was great company and great conversation during my stay. He was also a solo climber so we had a lot in common. As the saying goes, "It's a small world" and especially for ex-SASR soldiers, for a few days after returning from my climb I met "Arthur" formerly of B-Troop Brit-SASR who was on a sponsored climb (also of West Flank) to raise money for the "clock fund", (the regiment's memorial in Hereford). I do hope he had better fortune than I did. I could not see West Flank from the site but had a bloody good idea it would be dangerously dry, judging by the north wall's condition.

 

Thirsty mitteleggiers scurrying to station Eigergletscher.

 

This was not good for me as I had to climb to my high bivvy at 3250metres lugging gear, food and water enough for two days' stay. The plan was to dump all the heavy stuff at the bivvy, then go light to the summit early next morning, getting as many Nordwand photos and summit pics as I could. I was then to descend with the option of another night if needed to complete the shoot. Rather than lug loads of water I was taking extra Jetboil gas to melt ice I knew to usually be around this bivvy, having stayed there before in august some years previously.

 

Lower rock bands above station.

 

The West Flank route is very long and I simply would not be capable of carrying sufficient water alone, to do what I needed to do.Twenty years ago I would not have cared but at 65yrs old I am no longer so keen on survival situations. I am content just to have a good time and get back down alive where possible. I took the train to Eigergletscher Station on Sunday 19th August at 0900hrs, and was amazed at how few were aboard. Due to the recession everybody is feeling the pinch, I guess. I had a laugh with Peter the ticket collector, who knew me from numerous previous visits and was convinced I was out of my mind climbing this thing yet again. As I left the platform and the flank came into view I knew I had big problems. The upper and lower glaciers had receded and there was no sign of usable ice below the 125mtrs remaining of the summit icefield. I thought, "Oh screw it!" and began the long climb up the lower rock band, my head thumping in the heat, following a lone lightly clad Parachutist Base Jumper heading for the Mushroom.

 

Rottstock-2662mtrs.(On descent)

 

I toiled up the high moraine, passing Rotstock-2662mtrs on my left, and bee-lined for the Barrington Couloir to ascend by the normal  route - then saw the massive bergschrund which made access to the route impossible. I doubled back to the left, attempting to follow the parachutist up a much steeper and more direct route, hoping to intersect the Barrington further up. This route just got steeper and steeper till I was climbing at around HVS with moves of 4c, fine for the dude in the climb-shoes but not for a loner lugging a whopping great sack. A shower of stones from above hit my hands and helmet and I almost fell. I realised I was being very stupid following this guy, so I cut to the right along a thin slabby step gradually edging over to the normal route. There was nothing now but the odd hand smear to keep me on this near vertical section, and twice more I was almost dragged off by the weight of my sack. I was climbing with a Blade-Piton in my teeth, desperate to find the tiniest crack to pound it into for a little protection, but I could find not one single placement.

 

How i look is about how i felt at this stage on route!

 

After three hours of this lunatic nonsense the camber eased and I found safe ground at my planned biv 3300mtrs. I dumped my sack and hunted in all directions for a patch of ice. Seeing nothing, I scrambled up past the Mushroom, then to the right of the notch till I could see almost all the route to the summit icefield, but it was as barren and dry as a witch's tit! At this point, being low on water and no resupply, I knew it was stupid to continue. It was late in the day and I was just too slow and tired to make the summit in one push, so I sat down to just enjoy the view over a well-earned coffee before descending. Three lots of Bergfuhrers and their clients arrived in quick succession. They were so dehydrated they drank two Jetboils of coffee - almost my entire water supply.

 

Rehydrated guests continuing descent.

 

One who I knew from a previous year confirmed there was no water-ice at all on the west flank. I let them go ahead to avoid stonefall. Also, I was in no hurry and thought I might overnight above Rotstock where I knew there was some water. I had made the right move, because the guys below me were stumbling and slipping like drunks with exhaustion, and there were some eye-watering falls on the lower glacier which had turned to soft sorbet in the evening sun.I pitched my camp further below and watched them descend to the station from my perch. Brewing up more coffee from a meltwater spring, I could hear more climbers descending above me. A monstrous guy stumbled up to my proffered scalding mug of coffee, thanked me in what I thought was Russian, and downed it it one huge gulp! He was very tall, built like a tank, and covered in grey limestone dust and abrasions.He wore a leather bush hat, ankle -high street boots with a fashionable elastic strap, shorts, t-shirt, and a thirty-litre sack with poles. "I have climbed the Mittelleggi ridge alone and with no rope!" he boomed. From the direction he had come and the state he was in, I had no reason other than to believe him. Besides which, he looked big and tough enough to have strangled a few bears on the way! "My two friends follow behind!" he said, and with a polite "Thank you" lumbered off downhill to his camp above the station.

 

My overnight bivvy.

 

I made some more drinks for his friends who were far better equipped but almost too tired to speak, and they too made their way down a short time later. I collected more water and settled down for the night. Though I had not summitted this trip, the Eiger now belonged to me until morning. I love these summer night bivvys and would come here just to do them alone or perhaps share the wonder with others. A squadron of Alpendohle (Choughs) joined me for dinner. They had some porridge oats whilst I tucked into a Mountain House spag-bol dehydrated meal (very nice it was too!). I was philosophical about not summitting as there was little I could do about it. If I screw up and miss my berg through incompetence I rage inwardly for months, so this was something of a relief. Examining the positives, I reflected that the Ibuprofen I had used on ascent had a very beneficial effect on my infernal tendency to AMS, and I had zero symptoms at all this trip.

 

 

 

All my kit had worked fine, I had carried no surplus gear and had made mostly sound decisions, and so had no rod to beat myself with. I had known it would be hot, but nobody had realised to what extent it would affect the icefields. I have successfully summitted on this mountain six times since 2002, by six different routes, and had never encountered summer conditions as extreme as these. At eight pm the sun set over the far mountains, and the local mosquitoes (being Swiss!) very courteously ceased to trouble me and instantly vanished for the night. Alpendohle Squadron-633 flew away into the encroaching dark, back to their bases. And I lay back to admire a Sistine-chapel roof of glorious shooting stars and revolving constellations, listening in awe to the rumbling breath of the mountain until I slept.

Descending next morning, I passed the happy giant in his tent near the station. He was awake and seemed recovered so I congratulated him and learned that he and his friends were from the Czech Republic. They breed them tough and pleasantly crazy in Czech land!

Before the train I stopped for a huge breakfast at Bahnhof Restaurant Eigergletscher. It was the best breakfast I had ever tasted, not because I had just been climbing mountains, but simply because they make the best breakfast you will ever taste! I think I might return and do the Mittellegigrat again soon, just for the hell of it, and for another very fine breakfast.

 

 

Good climbing,

 

 

Rob

 

 

 

 

 

 

ALTITUDE SICKNESS. OLD PILL-NEW HOPE!

As a sufferer myself this is a subject close to my heart,and i am allways on the hunt for new studies and treatments.I did a blog on this in March-2011 talking about pre-climbing blood tests and the use of Aspirin as an anti-clotting agent,you may want to check it out before reading further?

Medic on Mt,Rainier.

I allways considered Altitude Sickness a syndrome rather than a single illness with a single cause,as there are too many contributing procceses going on anatomicaly in each individual case.This of course is a deductive matter for research scientists rather than old bush medics like me.My interest is not so much the cause,as being able to interdict the symptoms before they begin to take their toll.Its unlikely that any concrete cure will be found in the near future as most research in this field is carried out by drug companies out for profit,and the altitude illness market is just too small to justify intense study.So we are pretty much left with the blunder-factor where a researcher may accidently hit on a cure as a by-product of a sexier study.

Ibuprofen Meltlet Anti-inflamatory Tabs.

Last week a facebook friend posted two realy interesting articles on the use of simple (over the counter) Anti-Inflamatories that just might be useful in this interdiction process.They came from TIME magazine and ABC-NEWS articles,and these two links should carry you through if i havent bollocksed up the process as i normally do!

The meat and potatoes is that common anti-inflammatories like "Ibuprofen" taken as a 600mg prophylactic dose can interdict the most critical part of the illness, "brain swelling" which is that phase of altitude sickness where the real damage begins.

It is brain swelling that causes you to feel nauseous, dizzy, depressed and lethargic. The more serious symptoms quickly follow. Ibuprofen can ease (and possibly prevent) these symptoms by reducing inflammation of the brain's surface layer and of the fluid sac which protects it, much in the same way that it reduces swelling in a bruise or a sprained ankle. This is truly remarkable stuff, and I will be using it in the Swiss Alps in July.

Like most sufferers I take "Acetazolamide", which has a load of side-effects, not the least of which is marathon-pissing-at-altitude, an effect which can cause dehydration and actually contribute to altitude sickness. Anything that gets me off that is more than welcome in my med kit! Oral anti-inflammatories are not without their own hazards, however, and are notoriously hard on the stomach and intestines. So if you have any gut or circulatory problems, be sure to see your pharmacist and/or doctor before even considering taking them. I strongly advise you to read and take the time to understand the linked study by Dr Grant Lipman. The guy is also a mountaineer, so he has a personal as well as professional interest in getting his research right.

Topical application.

 I had a "light bulb" moment after reading all this stuff, and it occurred to me that "patches" would be a huge improvement over taking this medication orally in a mountain environment. But I can't find any anti-inflammatory patches anywhere on the world wide web, so must assume that they don't exist as yet? If anybody can find some, please email me with the details, I would be most grateful.

The next best thing, of course, would be a standard gel, even though this is a topical application it is eventually absorbed through the tissues and into the bloodstream with exactly the same effect, even though much diluted. So I am taking some of this to Switzerland to give it a try out in tandem with the pills.  Should be interesting!

Good climbing.

Rob.

SOLO EMERGENCY ACTIONS.(Lost Crampon Procedure)

Ive thought about it a lot over the years so maybe thats why it hasnt happened to me yet? I should imagine few things could be more terrifying than being halfway up a verglassed Schreckhorn,and looking down to see your right crampon bouncing and skittering out into space below?!

If you dont want to lose them,attatch a loop of shockcord

to the crampon which fits round the lower leg.Works for me!

Most accidents can be prepared for but some are so serious and imediate there is no time to muck about thinking what to do,one simply "must know and act"! These situations can be called "Instant Actions",where you follow a set drill to get you out of trouble fast!

A lost crampon on an icy climb is about as serious as it gets,and quite a few climbers have died due to this accident,but there is a lot you can do to help yourself if you stay cool and follow the drill.

Chicken Chain rig (See blog list-Chicken Chains and Prusiks).

INSTANT ACTION-(1),MAKE YOURSELF SAFE. Get out of the fall-line,bang in an anchor of any kind and clip in with your Chicken Chain.Assess your situation.

                          (2),DISASSEMBLE. Remove your other crampon (making sure not to drop it!) and disassemble into two sections.Remove the bar or fold away.

Parts and Repair Kit.

                          (3),MAKE TWO INSTEP CRAMPONS.(Or one forfoot and one instep) Using Cable Ties and/or Rape Tape and Cordage turn the one crampon into two as per diagrams below,or flatten out crampon-lugs with an ice hammer or rock to make two Instep Crampons.The Cable-Ties in the pics are a bit short for this job,30cm Ties would be better! Instep Crampons go back 4000yrs in Swiss Alpine history,they are very efficient and many examples can be seen in village Heimatt Museums.

Grivel Spider.A modern Instep Crampon based on an ancient principle.

                         (4),FASTEN SECURELY.Using simple tie system as in pics that locks the crampon to the instep of the foot,you can back this up with rape-tape or whatever cord you have.(tape is best!)

Instep Improvisation.

(No way am i covering my boots with tape,so this pic will have to do you!)

The idea being,that once it is fastened securely to the foot.It stays on until you are safely off the mountain!

                         (5),ALTERNATIVES.You can use the forefoot crampon section as it is,and secure that if you so wish? Allso backing up with tape or cord.

Forefoot Cable Tie sytem.

                         (6),TEST AND DESCEND.Once the whole assembly is fastened and you are satisfied.Test on some nearby ice to ensure it is secure,and until you are confident to descend.DO NOT continue the climb on this arrangement unless there is NO OTHER safe allternative!

I took the term- "Instant Actions" from the Royal Australian Army manual for the FN,7.62cal-Self Loading Rifle,the weapon i first trained with when i joined up about a thousand years ago! The Instant Actions were those drills carried out under fire when you or the weapon fucked up (ie;Action on-Empty magazine or round stuck in the chamber).I thought it very appropriate for solo-mountain emergencies,as in both battle and ascent if you screw-up you may well die! So clear unambiguous procedures are essential to get you out of trouble.

Good climbing,

Rob

SOLOING PLANS AND PRECAUTIONS.

I must apologise to regular readers of this blog for not posting anything since last christmas.Theres no real excuse for this,other than my state of sulky malaise over not being able to escape for my winter climbing.But time marches on and now i find myself in training again and psyching-up for my annual solo battle with the Eiger in july.

Yeah i know,July is a sucky month for anything on Eiger these days and i have known this since i started this project in 2003,but its all the time i have and beggars cant be choosers.

My original goal was to solo-summit by all four ridges on this berg,so when i got through with that it seemed like a realy good idea to do the same on all four faces(or faces and flanks if you wanna get picky about it),following the less demanding of the most frequented routes.Now i have only the Nordwand,Heckmair route and East Flank,Lauper routes to complete and then i can finally put the old monster to bed having "capped the pyramid" so to speak!These will be the toughest of the lot for my meager skills,even if i manage to get a weather window and good conditions,which is highly unlikely.

Anywhoo,however things pan-out on these last climbs i hope to get the West Flank,Barrington route in again with my buddy Boris Krielen of "ICE-X".

Eiger from Kleine Scheidegge.

This route is allways good to warm up on and will enable me to get a good look at the Nordwand all the way up to the summit.

It dawned on me last month that i turn 65yrs in June this year,you kinda lose track of time when your not thinking about it!? Ive never worried about my age i only ever worried about my fitness and looks.Colour me shallow if you like,but i never ever planned on actually getting old,and my increasingly infrequent glances at that "picture of Dorian Grey" known as a mirror,are an annoying reminder that this entropic process is happening to beautiful me! That and the fact that this year (due solely to my age i might add) my bloody BMC-Alpine & Ski Insurance is gonna go up by fifty per-cent for christsake!?? What can these grabbing buggers be thinking of?

Ive allways accepted the fact that as a soloist,sooner or later its all gonna go tits-up and i will end up injured or dead,it comes with the territory.No matter how careful you are,how many good precautions you take its eventually going to happen,time and the fickleness of chance get us all in the finish.

Being a very vain person my biggest worry has never been "when" it will happen,but rather "not" looking like too much of a complete wanker when it eventually does! So heres a couple of tips i want to share with fellow soloists which have served me well,and i hope will help you too.

Soloist Legal Waiver Form.

Ive used this style of form for as long as i can remenber to cover myself whilst climbing,and so far nobody has ever had to follow it up. I think its the responsible thing to do if your climbing alone,for yourself and others who may feel obliged to risk their arses in horrible conditions in order to save yours. I fill one in before each climb to give in a sealed envelope to my host or the local authourities,marked with my name and "Open in X-days if i do not return to collect!"

It is self explanatory and should cover required on your death or dissapearance.You dont need to use my format you can use your own, in as much or as little detail required to do the job.

The second tip is if your soloing high-alpine and moveing hut to hut,allways have your Huttenwarte(hut warden) ring ahead for you to your  next hut.Giving your Route,Time of Departure,Planned Climbs/Excursions off Route,and your ETA(estimated time of arrival).Allways carry a means of signaling by day and night,an emergency bivvy,phone with emergency numbers logged in,and extra rations and water just in case.

I will pull my finger out and try to get some more blogs of interest out before Eiger in July.

Good climbing,

Rob



Nick Livesey Mountain Images - On location in the Welland Valley

Fred Beckey at Index

Good old Fred Becky! What a guy! Hope i am around and doing bergs at his age?

Good climbing,

Rob

SOLO SELF BELAY-STARFISH ANCHORS & ROPE LOOPS.

Setting up an anchor system when climbing alone leaves little room for error.If you are self-belaying you must have a quick,simple,and efficient system of rigging multi-directional anchors,that will work equally well on singles,doubles,or rope loops.For this purpose i use two variations of the Starfish Anchor System.The first employs six points of anchor,two cordellettes,six extender tapes,two maillons,a belaymaster-krab,and a shockcord loop with toggle adjustment.

Starfish system.

When put together,this forms a portable centre section of a multi-directional anchor,linked to the anchor placements by threaded cordellettes.The first Starfish is rigged into the primary anchor at the start of a self-belayed climb,the second Starfish is carried on the climbers harness to be rigged as the first belay point at the end of the first pitch.The climber can then descend in abseil to clean the first pitch and then re-ascend to the belay point to continue his climb through the second pitch,whilst protected in both directions.

Make safe with Chicken-Chain.

To rig the Starfish first make yourself safe with a "Chicken Chain"(See previous blogs)clipped into your upper anchor points.Then place all six points of the anchor system and afix Krabs,making each as bombproof as possible.Then hold the Starfish central to the anchors,and thread the cordellette through the tape loops to the farthest anchor point.

Thread the cordellette.

Once secured,draw the cordellette outwards between the tapes and clove-hitch twice to each krab to form each anchor point.Repeat the process around all six anchor points.

Threading completed on the "mother of all anchors".

It may be that fewer anchor points are available at a belay point.Or you may consider that one bomber anchor above and below the Starfish will do the job?Its all a matter of availability,judgement,and choice,and is entirely up to the climber.Just make what you have as bombproof as possible.The more anchors there are however,the safer the system is in enabling redundency within the process.Once the anchors are completed the cordellettes can be tightened with the clove-hitches.And finally the Starfish can be tightened further by the toggle on the shockcord,drawing the entire system and anchors towards the centre Belaymaster-Krab.

Tighten shockcord toggle.

The second Starfish is carried on the harness to be used at the next belay point where the process is repeated.

Second Starfish.

The second Starfish variation is depicted below and is constructed by using long codellettes with a central shockcord and toggle system,this type has been dealt with in previous blogs and is very efficient but slow to construct and not so versatile as the above.

Starfish System.(first iteration)

The biggest advantage of using these adjustable tension systems over and above the multi-directional function,is their use where anchors are in loose cracks or in areas where they may detach or fall out,compromising anchor point integrity.I have found a central drawstring shockcord very usefull for this purpose over the years.It allso saves a huge amount of time when building anchors,but requires some practice to perfect.

One of my Rope Loop systems.

As i have stated before,the loop system of solo-climbing serves little purpose over a single,or double rope system on a self-belay anchor.The two known functional advantages are,that it enables the rope to be retrieved if the climber wishes to abandon placed gear in order to continue an ascent,and secondly to retrieve a climbing rope whilst abseiling on a descent.The depicted rope is a Mammut-50metre-9mil,marked every 25metres with Beal Rope Marker to keep track of length during ascent.The blue rope that completes the loop is a static Mammut-50metre-6mil that serves for retrieval.The Maillons and Tapes at the ropes ends allow the ropes to be retrieved on ascent from anchors and protection if required.The loop remains the same for abseil descents with only the Tapes and Maillons removed.

For alpine use i employ an identical but lighter system using 8mil x 50metres Dynamic on a 6mil Static.

A final word:-Practice rigging anchors as often as possible its easy to get out of the habit and still think your hot-stuff.And practice "One handed" Clove-Hitches,it saves many minutes of rigging time when building soloist anchors.

Good climbing,

Rob.

SOLO SELF BELAY WITH REVERSO & EDELRID EDDY.

 Its been a while since my last post.I havent been particularly busy,i simply had very little of interest to blog about is all.
I do read other peoples blogs however and i am including two of particular interest in todays offering.The first is by Andrew Young of New Zealand which demonstrates an interesting solo climbing technique with the Petzl Reverso.This article can allso be found on Andy Kirkpatricks blog.I have not tried this method and thus cannot vouch for it,but it looks promising and may be worth a tryout on your local tame climbing wall.

Picture by Andrew Young www.mountainz.co.nz

The second is by an American friend who wrote a great blog on soloing with the Edelrid Eddy a few years ago.This technique is very similar to my own with the same device except that it pertains to crag use rather than alpine use.I have used this technique to good effect on British crags and can recomend it.

Picture by healyje www.rockclimbing.com

Whatever new self-belay means you decide to adopt,try it out with a belayer in controlled conditions first.This way you can confidently put it through any situation you think you may encounter on the hill,without to much fear of breaking your neck in the process.

Edelrid Eddy (nomenclature general)

The Edelrid Eddy is by far one of the safest and easiest belay devices that one can use to adapt to soloing.Its certainly not the cheapest or the lightest (lighter than a Silent Partner though!) but of all devices on the European market its the only one you can ascend and abseil with without making any structural modifications.It has a very positive locking system (unlike the sprung cam on a Gri Gri)utilising a spring bearing,and even has a failsafe on the belay lever which automaticly locks off the rope if you overcompensate whilst abseiling.I wont bother you to much with the nomenclature you can read it and decide for yourselves.It can take rope dimensions from 11mm down to 8mm which is very usefull to soloists who wish to save more weight (and who doesnt?) on alpine routes.My way of rigging it is straightforward enough with the rope feed running over the shoulder and through a Krab,thence to the device.The rope itself can be draped full length over the shoulder or (as i prefer) stored in a lightweight ropebag in the top of the sack.

Rope Feed (Edelrid Eddy)

I attach a large Oval-Krab through a D-Ring Maillon on my harness with the krab passing through both the maillon and the Belay-Loop.The reason i do this is that having fall-tested this system many times, i find the device brakes in a much more positive manner if it does not have to deal with harness-stretch during a fall.I then Larks-Foot a loop of shock cord over the krab,which is then worn around the neck.This pulls the whole arrangement to mid-chest height allowing a good free feed for the rope, and allso giving the device some torque latitude to brake effectively on awkward falls.

Clipping the Live Rope into protection.

I only use a thin shockcord which will break rather than strangle me in a fall.Used this way i find the Eddy functions better and is easier to operate than when krabbed directly to the harness.It allso makes coming off rope to rig for abseiled protection-retrieval easier and less confusing when one gets tired high on a difficult climb.If your uncomfortable with neck-cords its a simple matter to rig a "Shock cord Baudrier" to slip over the shoulders.The function of the device is as for the Troll-Rocker on ascent (see Troll blog) with the rope clipped into placed protection as it feeds through the device.Have fun!

Good climbing,

Rob

SOLO SELF-BELAY ON PETZL-SHUNT.

The Petzl Shunt is arguably one of the best solo fall-arrest devices on the market,if you can figure out how to rig it properly that is!?
It can be a confusing piece of kit as it was originally designed as a kind of prusik-brake for abseiling(something its not very good at!).Then it was touted as a fall-arrest device(many IRATA instructors still swear by it),and allso as a mechanical-prusik for rope ascents.

The Petzl Shunt.

 Its no small wonder therefore that climbers either love it,or hate it! I fall into the former category.
If you Google up "roped soloing" you will find loads of climbers on Youtube using it in strange and mysterious ways to climb fixed-rope routes on crags all over the planet.Allso if you Google up "Shunt Fall-Tests" you will likewise find some great corporate videos of it being tested to destruction.There are lots of these so i wont bother linking any.But its a great idea to check them out if you realy want to know how tough the Shunt realy is!?
Getting it to run hands-free for solo-mountaineering is not easy,but once understood it gives you a simple,versatile device for self-belay on both "Single and Double" rope systems.No other device available on the climbers market today does this!

Picture (1)-Solo Rope Drag.

I chose to present this technique using the "Solo Rope Drag" (as against carrying the ropes) and incorporating a shoulder-harness configuration to show its dynamics and versatility to best effect.It can be far more simply used with a bungee neck-sling or a "Baudrier" chest harness setup on a single-rope or rope-loop system.I hope that the pics will help you formulate your own innovations in using this device solo,and hands-free.
Like all the other self-belay inovations i present in these blogs,the Shunt has a smooth friction-cam,rather than teeth that can cause damage to a rope in a fall.The most damage you will incur to your rope in a factor-2 on Shunt is a little welding or scorching to the mantle on one side! The Shunt is unique in that it allso takes Double as well as Single rope systems from 8mm to 11mm diameter.
You can allso feed the Shunt from a sack or shoulder-slung rope bag,or have the climbing rope trailing over the shoulder to the ground or hanging as in "Big wall aid-climbing",should you wish to climb without an encumbering rope-coil on your body.
Picture(1)-Shows double ropes trailing in Solo Rope Drag fashion on an Alpine style ascent.I am not a big fan of this due to potential snagging or rope damage,but it is a good workable technique to cut down body weight on long alpine soloes.

Rope-Drag body rig(Right side).

(Thats not my belly!Its Paramo-Torres.)

Note that the trailing ropes run through Krabs on the back of the harness to minimise leg tangles.

Pic(2)-Full chest rig.

Picture(2)-Shows the full chest rig.The secret to keeping the Shunt running freely,is to mount it on a fixed plastic backing plate that tilts the tongue of the device away from the chest by about 2-inches(any closer and it will lock onto the ropes or cause tiresome friction drag on the climber).When i first figured this out i used a "Costa-Coffee" cup lid with a hole punched through it to get the right angle!(see pic).Ive since made a great workable locking-plate out of tough plastic pipe and will put it up in a later blog!Note the rope-ends clove-hitched to a harness belay-krab!?

Starfish Anchor system.

(My new design-More on this later!)

This keeps both ropes in perfect position to instantly attach to a Starfish Multi-directional Anchor system.One can use fast "Locked Clove Hitches" for this which is far less time consuming and complicated that Figure-8s,and they are equally secure.(If you cant find them in the Knot-Books?Gimme an email!)

Learn the "One handed Clove Hitch",and practice!

The Clove Hitch is the "most" useful knot in climbing,and every climber should be able to do them in their sleep! It takes very little time to learn and leaves you with your other three limbs as "three points of contact" for maximum balance and safety!

Clipping protection.

Picture(3)-Shows clipping protection on ascent after anchor has been placed,and is exactly the same as for the Troll-Rocker(see blog archive).I am happy to clarify points of detail or answer sensible questions on this rig.Feel free to comment(like a human being that is?!) or email,or even phone if your good looking? But right now i need a large Cognac and my feet up on the cat for a few minutes! :-)

Good climbing,

Rob