SOLO ANCHOR SYSTEM. (For self-belay climbing)

Wouldnt it be bloody marvellous to be so damn good on rock,you didnt need anchors at all?I mean like,swan up to your dream berg and just go vertical like a badass version of spiderman?Look at all the weight you would save?Nuts,cams,pitons,and all the myriad bits of ironmongery that you know are gonna weigh you down,and you know would be suicide to leave behind.

Unless your a Big Wall climber most of your technical alpine soloing is going to be done with bare hands and the delicate placement of axes and single-point crampons in summer mixed climbing conditions,and on known routes.You will have done your research leading up to your climb.Reading your guidebooks,picking the brains of your mates,and googleing the be-jesus out of every known info-source you can think of!
if you have a brain in your head,you will allso have studied the geological strata,mineralisation,and weather conditions on your berg and accounts of previous ascentionists.But nothing quite prepares you for that feelling of angxiety and excitement at putting in your first self-belay anchor system!There is no partner,no second,no one to hold you if you fall!How you build your anchors suddenly requires a whole new dimension of precision and awareness that is by turns,liberating(when its right)and terrifying when it all goes wrong.After decades of climbing alone i thought i was pretty hot-stuff at placeing gear.Then i did an SPA trng course at PYB in Wales,Mark Richards was my instructor(most know him as "Baggy" though only a few know why?)back then.In his own quiet way he showed me how little i actually realy knew!If you seriously want to learn anchors,have Baggy teach you and check out his site!?Some of the worst systems ive seen have been put up by expierienced climbers.Dont be too proud!Go do a refresher course every few years and let someone else check your technique!Youle live longer!

Starfish multi-directional anchor.

This is a detailed "representation" of the Starfish solo-anchor system i use (though i rarely get this much gear in.).Its a simple "opposed system" designed for my own self-belay technique,using two separate cordellettes of 8mm Static Rope.Its called a "Starfish" because you can get away with missing several anchor points on it,and it still does the job and holds together.
Two opposing HMS-Krabs have been used to take the climbing rope in this setup,primarily to highlight the "tensioning shock-cord" that pulls the upper and lower anchors together at the centre.The shock-cord "is not" load-bearing!! If done well this holds the gear firmly in place in the event of a fall and prevents gear lift-out on ascent.

The shock-cord keeps the entire system stable whilst the climber ascends to place protection,and holds it all together in the event of a fallIts particularly usefull where nuts and hexes are loose in crumbly or smooth cracks,or for keeping Slings tight on rock spikes!It holds together well under fall shockload from any direction.
The "depicted" system i have deliberately over-engineered to demonstrate its primary principles.If nescessary one can get by with much less,but thats down to yourself,circumstances,and the efficient placement of "bombproof" anchor gear.

This second "representation" shows the "retrievable rope system" i allso use.This one gives me the extra option of retrieving my pack and the entire rope on a realy tough pitch.Allso for leaving gear behind to be collected later or in descent,or perhaps just for leaving the whole lot and keeping the rope if recovery is just not possible!Note the use of a maillon which blocks the stopper-knot and prevents the climbing rope from pulling through!?The bellaying action does not function of course until the first protection is placed.This too must be bombproof!! 

I make every possible effort to retain all of my rack as it is so bloody expensive,but will not risk my life over a few nuts and krabs!
Both systems use only one climbing rope for ascents and abseils on an Edelrid-Eddy rigged for self belay.I find a second abseil rope to be just extra weight and surplus to my requirements.

Rob.

GO FOR YOUR GUNS! (Soloing and Tech-Tools.)

Ueli Steck recently raced up Eiger,Nordwand in a mind-blowing 2hrs-47mins-33seconds!He wasnt carrying much other than a,45litre pack,about 35metres of rope and a good pair of Tech-Axes!A few months later Rob Jasper and Roger Schaeli "Freeclimbed" the Harlin route on the same berg in an incredible 3days!?
Modern axes now enable even a mediocre climber like me, to peck their way up climbs considered impossible back in the 1950s without a ton of kit ,and the Dagenham Girls Pipe Band bringing up the rear to boost moral?!They are now an accepted and essential part of every mountain soloists toolbox.

This is my selection made by the (now sadly extinct)Mountain-Technology company of Scotland.By modern standards they are not the lightest of axes but they have 3mm thick surgical-steel pics that are nearly indestructable.And when i do replace the blades it only costs me £15 a set,courtesy of a toolmaker mate on the Newhaven Industrial Estate.The other radical looking set below are my new Grivel-Monsters(modified by me not Grivel!)that i bought last year.

I have great fun scareing myself to death on sussex-chalk with these,and cant wait to use them in Switzerland this summer.I built up the collection some years ago by buying them one at a time from Joe Browns in Capel Curig over separate visits,after the Technology company closed down.Finally,all they had left was a couple of odd ones that were tough to shift?So i did a great deal and snucked them away while the young dudes were drooling over the super-dooper Petzyl and Black Diamond ramrod-GT rock ravishers!

I hardly ever use Wrist-Leashes as i so rarely do anything that warants them.But i am "never"without either stretch Grivel Lanyards on easier routes.And i allways use Prusik adjustable 6mil-Cord on the more difficult routes.Notice allso the alloy-Maillons,that dont spring open when you wallop them on rock that are separated from the axe handles by cord-loops?
Thats to stop the horrible bloody racket that Krabs make,when clipped straight to the axe!(gives the handle movement more flexibilty too!)
USE LANYARDS!!-Its a soloist no-brainer realy? Drop an axe and you loose a climb or maybe your life?The Prusiks allow me to shorten the lanyards-(a)So they dont hook up on stuff(b)Because sometimes an axe makes great "protection",like a giant Birdbeak or Bulldog-Hook!And finally because i love rigging multi-purpose inovations that out perform an original function!

The one thing that curved tools are "not" good for is hammering in Pitons and other protection.So depending on the route i may take one curved axe and one straight hammer-axe?You get some realy odd looks off other climbers over this "but it works folks!",and climbers usually see the light when they see them in action.More often though,i take one of my old faithful"Hammer-Pics" (see above),and my pair of curved-axes minus their hammer/adze heads to save a little weight.Most of my chosen routes are "Normal" routes on alpine mixed-climbs,and even if it looks a bit powdery i can still take my improvised Deadman-Shovel.

I rigged this with a marine-U,Bolt and Wingnuts to fix round the handles of my axes,to dig my way out of trouble?But to be honest,ive never encountered a snow situation that couldnt be shifted by a terrified Thornton,with a fast scooping helmet?! When its "brown-trouser time" this old dude burrows like a raped Marmmot!!

For glacier yomps,easy snow-slog summits and everything else?I have my M/technology 68cm Alpine Axe and one of my straight Techs that i can switch blades on,if i need a shorter tool.The smaller one is 52cm and a great little piece of kit.Again with these,i allways use a lanyard clipped to my belay-loop on the harness,so i can change hands freely on route.
Some dudes worry about getting spiked by axes in the event of a fall? I allways figure its more likely you will be killed when you fall because you dropped the bloody axe?
And i am sure it will be a great comfort to you as your hurteling into space,and feelling like a prize dickhead for being too hard core to wear a lanyard!!

Rob.