UKC

Hi, I'm wondering if I can see beforehand on Rockfax (or similar) what anchoring situation is present at the end of a sports climbing route. For example if it's two separate bolts or if are they connected with a chain. 

I've been doing lead climbing indoors for a few months now and also practiced at the anchoring station in the gym. Ahead of my first climb outdoors, I would like to minimise any elements of surprise  

For example this one in Hedbury: https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/hedbury-257/sea_view-14867 

Many thanks!
 

That info doesn't tend to be recorded. And at some crags it can vary from sector to sector, or even route to route. From one of the comments, it sounds like that particular route has a lower-off you can hook the rope over without needing to re-thread. But if you're concerned, it might be worth asking around at the crag when you're there. If you've been taken through the options, and how to handle them, you should be well prepared anyway.

I think both of the options you describe are considered standard and therefore would not get special mention in a guidebook. In my experience both are often found on the same crag, often on adjacent routes. You need to be confident to deal with either - it should be possible to practice both at your indoor wall.

If something else is in place (eg pigs-tail anchor or "moulinox") in my experience this will normally be mentioned in the guidebook. But it's not common to find anything else in the UK.

Happy to be corrected by those with more sport climbing experience.

Good luck with your first foray outdoors!

Martin

I think the worst case scenario is that you find an anchor you weren't expecting and have to leave a quickdraw or carabiner and lower to the ground. Then you can watch a YouTube video (e.g. the BMC ones) on how to use that kind of anchor, climb the route again and do it properly, taking your quickdraws back.

This assumes there is phone reception at the crag, which isn't guaranteed 

Might not help you much on some sea cliffs (unless you have a boat ), but you can see the anchors from the ground on a lot of routes. I guess you could use binoculars to get a closer look.

There aren't actually that many different anchor setups that you are likely to encounter so it might be worth just doing some research so you can be prepared for whatever you encounter.

For anchors that require threading, first secure yourself then the rope so you can't drop it when you untie and strand yourself (Like I nearly did on the roof of a cave early on, eek!). Make sure you are also prepared for unlinked bolts that are too small to fit a rope bight through (if you only learned that method). Don't thread hangers as they can damage/jam the rope.

With non-threading anchors, if its a carabiner or similar (and the gate opens) then its simply a case of clipping it like indoors. The other ones you may occasionally encounter could be pig tails or bull horns etc. and the rope is placed into these in a way it can't come out again which should be quite obvious but maybe look these up.

Whatever is up there, once you are secured to the anchor, you can take all the time you need to dangle, recover from the climb, calm your head and suss it out.

I second this. Get a couple of carabiners and just have them on your harness for every route you lead - if you reach the top and don't fancy the situation, just clip them into what you find there, clip the rope in, and lower off. Even if you have to leave them behind, that's about £10 worth of gear and it probably cost you more than that in fuel to drive to the crag (actually, at current food prices, it's probably the equivalent of a pint or a frozen pizza). You can always go back and get them another day or ask your climbing partner to get them back for you if they are climbing next and fancy the same route.

When in doubt, it's always better to leave something behind because on most routes if the anchor were to fail when you are lowering (very unlikely, mind), the consequence will often be guaranteed death.

It's always worth having a good look at what is already there too, even it's an obvious chain + single clip assembly, the ropes of others could have worn almost all the way through the clip from heavy use on the route (think "the world's slowest angle grinder")and you will want to add another clip of your own in this case (I don't know if this happens a lot in the UK but it is certainly an issue at lots of crags abroad).

First, learn to rethread. Then if you get to an anchor you don't understand, just rethread it

I carry maillons with me for this. Cheaper than biners and just as strong

Also harder for others to remove and therefore a little more anti-social. I think they're fair enough as a real emergency option, but if it's an option that you virtually never use then the price difference becomes less relevant anyway. Especially as most climbers will have some old krabs lying around but would be buying maillons specifically for the purpose.

If you're going to climb the route again, then it doesn't matter and you might as well leave a carabiner. If you're not going to, a maillon will be much harder for someone else to remove, especially after it's been there a while.

It's not like maillons are even much cheaper. A cheap and fairly safe alternative is a snapgate that you've taped shut - but I'd only really use this in an alpine environment for an abseil.

Maillons aren't any good in an emergency, either because you have to guarantee being able to screw them closed in whatever extremis you find yourself - otherwise they are weak.

Many thanks all for the helpful replies! The tip about the extra carabiners is definitely a good one. Thank you. 

Agreed

Much harder?

You can get a maillon for less than £3. The cheapest biner I can find with a quick Google is about £8, so about thrice the price

I don't carry fingertape with me when I'm climbing

A maillon can rust/get sticky and be a real problem for the next person to open after some time on the cliff.

I don't know where you're looking to get a minimum price of £8 for a carabiner.  My own search shows a well known company with a rack pack of camp nano 22 -- 6 biners for £22 (albeit that's "member price" so add 5 if needed), and then currently an extra 10% off.  So, twenty quid for six of them, or just over three quid each. 

Cheap LOCKERS are usually on sale at under £8

If you leave a cheap snapgate, the next person who climbs the route gets a free snapgate and doesn't have to buy their own maillon that will rust and get stuck.

I actually do keep fingertape on my harness most of the time, but also have a few short lengths of tape stuck to the outside of my helmet so I always have some on me in a pinch.

tldr: use a carabiner.

Learn to re-thread the rope safely and confidently, both threading a bight (quick and easy through big rings) and re-threading a single strand (while staying on belay) which is sometimes necessary where the anchors are small or clogged with knackered old krabs. Learn to do it without a locking krab for the time you forget it or drop it.

If you're pumped and full of adrenaline, take a moment before you start. If midges are killing you, suffer, don't rush.

Never lower off textiles, your rope will cut like a saw.

Learn to abseil, it's useful in extremis but can usually be avoided by abandoning a krab or two. Be willing to abandon gear, better to lose a £7 krab than nick the sheath (or worse) on a £100 rope.

Pause and think through the 'what ifs' every time. Don't just learn a technique and stick to it. Think. How does that work? What if that bit fails? Is the rock sound (it changes, don't assume)? Did I tie that right and catch both loops? Before I unclip this, what will be left attached to me and the wall? What if I drop this now? Am I actually still properly on belay before I lean back? If you don't like the the answer think again and do something about it.

It's not difficult but that's part of the danger!

jk