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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Topic Author's Original Post - Aug 8, 2013 - 07:12pm PT
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What are the worst rap anchors that you've ever used?
I've had 2 that were pretty bad.
Once I removed my shoe laces and used them for the rap anchors. That was a pretty desperate time.
Another time we had to rap off a rounded flake. My partner and I flipped for the privilege of rapping down first. The plan was for the guy left behind to hold the rope in place while the first guy rapped. The second guy down had to move v-e-r-y slowly to keep from flipping the rope off the rounded flake. We both survived.
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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Hasn't this thread been done before?
No matter...sure to be entertaining as the beer-hour approaches...
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 8, 2013 - 07:14pm PT
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Hasn't this thread been done before?
I searched on "rap anchors" and didn't find much.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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What are the worst rap anchors that you've ever used?
I would tell you, but that would mean going into a place in my memory that I've carefully sealed off, and I really don't want to do that.
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Top of Triasic sands 1986. loose split shaft1/4" threaded studs with the nuts missing from the home made hangers. Sport tape wrapped arround the treads kept the hangers on....... Drilled angles in Zion rigged w/ the death triangle and so loose you could pull tem out with your fingers and slide em back in no problem... also 1986...
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Wait a sec, you're not talking about MY drilled angles are you?
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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This is where the little lassie always gets the short end of the stick. Big strong husband goes first to teset, then I go down removing the back-up.
I remember bailing on a very small tree - OK it was a bush - off of the Mordor Wall on Cathedral. I remember a night time bail down a fourth/fifth class gulley in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness off a rock perched on a dirty ledge. We called it a horn to feel better. The Cascades have a special kind of choss, and I have resorted to rappelling off of pinky sized plants. Does it count as rappelling if you have tried to more downclimbed it than weight it???
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Yours on touchstone in 2004 were bomber. these were loose in the holes. It may have been Cherry crack? pretty vauge description of A 5.10 crack in the Harlin book?
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mojede
Trad climber
Butte, America
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Two separate raps down off the South Twin Sister at City of Rocks each had single 1/4" ers with rusty hangers--they worked well enough, as that's all there was...
I'd be interested in knowing the person(s) that placed them, for historical sake, one of the Lowe's maybe???
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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SLR, are you gonna pick up the tab if I have to go back into therapy by
dredging those dark events back up?
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 8, 2013 - 09:41pm PT
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Sure, Reilly, come on over.
I recommend Tequila therapy. A lot of it.
When I was a new climber, a crusty old-timer asked me what I thought about rappelling. I was new but experienced enought to know that rapping was a despised but necessary evil, not a stand-alone sport of its own. Apparently I impressed that crusty old timer, because he pronounced me a "real climber" based on my answer.
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DanaB
climber
CT
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Wedged in water bottle.
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 8, 2013 - 09:45pm PT
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^^^
My favorite was wedged knots. It beat leaving hardware behind. The old 1-inch tubular slings had some nice big water knots that made for excellent chocks.
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 8, 2013 - 09:58pm PT
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I just remembered my worst ever.
We were high on a peak on a class 5 route. It was supposed to be an easy grade III, but somehow it was getting dark and we were still high on the face. Cold. No headlamps.
To make a long story short, we down-climbed a lot of the route in the dark (poor cheap bastards don't like to leave gear behind). But then we got to an overhang and it was pitch black, no moon.
I couldn't find any anchors except for a crack under the overhang. But I couldn't see it, so I reached down and under and placed an anchor blindly. We argued for a long time about a standing bivouac versus dropping onto a blindly-placed anchor... And finally I said "F*#k it" and dropped over the lip. "On rappell!"
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Oh, wedged knots are bomber, not even worth losing sleep over.
I've had a beer so I'm feeling expansive.
I still lie in bed at night, or sometimes in the morning, wondering how I
survived this one. The Three Noobs had just done a new route on Sloan Pk
in the Cascades. Yes, Larry, Curly, and Schmoe; the blind leading the blind.
Of some historical note one was the inimitable Steve Barnett, yet to invent
his perverse solo belay system. I don't even remember the third guy. He
was sort of a Great Northwest version of Warren Harding's Desert Frank.
For some reason we didn't rap the route; don't ask. We had made it about
halfway down and it was getting dark and cold. We wound up on a nice big
ledge. It was really big, it would have made a nice bivy ledge and if we
didn't pick up the pace that was looking increasingly likely. We pulled our
ropes and then realized we hadn't really scouted out an anchor. I mean, on
such a big ledge how could there not be one? Well, trust me, there wasn't.
Not one crack, not one nothing, except for this big sort of boulder. It
was about 4 feet in diameter and it seemed almost perfectly round. It was
sort of a goiter, if you will, growing out of the main mass of rock, and there
was no way to sling something behind it. There was this sort of slight
depression on the top slope. I tied two or three slings together so
the rap ring would hang as low as possible. Then I sent the other stooges,
er, noobs, down while I put all my weight on the sling. When it was my turn
all I can say is that I sort of slithered over the edge fixating that sling
with every bit of concentration I had, making sure to breath as smoothly as
possible. I need another beer. No, I think I'll break out the gin bottle.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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The one in Sedona last December that didn't work.
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Oplopanax
Mountain climber
The Deep Woods
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I was learning how to aid solo by myself on an unclimbed crag near Hope.
Climbed a flake through a roof (kbs to #3 camalot) and continued for 5 or 6 m up a 5.8 OW, pushing the #4 ahead of me with aiders attached to it. Got to a ledge and above me the crack was choked with dirt and moss - hey enough of this shit!
Hauled up the drill and tagline. Now I had brought some cheap split-shaft bolts I had bought from a retired climber. Drilled two 3/8 holes and found out that the 3/8 splitshafts were too big to fit in. When I started hammering them they wouldn't go into the holes - the rock was breaking off around the holes instead of the bolts going deeper.
I ended up rapping off two of those things tied together with cord. The bolts were 2 1/2" long and only about 1" of each was nailed into the hole. 25m free hanging rap. Stupidest thing I've ever done.
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ladyscarlett
Trad climber
SF Bay Area, California
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I don't climb with people who rap...
It's WAY too dangerous!
;)
Cheers
LS
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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The one in Sedona last December that didn't work.
Donini gets the prize for the first most obvious response.
Let's get real kiddies.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Scary Larry, Texplorer, and I had to bail off a high shoulder of Mt. Wilson down the front-side. How we ended up there with just a handful of Trunuts and a single 8mm is another story altogether, but suffice to say we rapped off of one shrubbery after another with single piece of tape on each. Would have left our belts in the mix if we'd have been wearing any.
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Magic Ed
Trad climber
Nuevo Leon, Mexico
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I once rapped off an angle-iron piton wedged end-wise in a wide crack.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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CHERRY CRACK IS NOT MY WORK.
I've rapped with no anchor lots of times (Needles style).
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can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
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When I was living in Garmisch, I was descending a big ice gully, chimney, maw kind of thing and had one of those moments where you know you'll never be that lucky again.
About 1/3rd of the way down there was a German party ahead of us who had just rapped a 30 foot ice bulge onto a snow ramp before a 300ft chimney. I asked them if we could use their rap lines and they said sure. So without checking their anchor, I started down their line. Given that their rope was encrusted with ice, I had to bounce a couple of times to get the rope to run thru the figure 8 I was using. When I did that, I heard the sound no one wants to hear in that situation....PING!!!. And I was ass over heels onto the 40 degree snow ramp, rag-dolling it until my legs post-holed mere feet from that cavernous chimney.
It turned out they had run their rope thru a single old soft ring piton that probably dated from the 1930s. When I came to a stop and pulled the rope, I casually unclipped the old pin and hucked it down the chimney. To this day I wish I had kept that pin.
There have been other close calls, but I'll save that for the memoirs
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goatboy smellz
climber
Nederland-GulfBreeze
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Nothing that bad compared to riding a bike in NYC or backcountry skiing.
Now that chit makes climbing and rappelling look like golf.
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Wade Icey
Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
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Porter's Pout+Mr. Way= you do the math.
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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The worst anchor I didn't use for rapping - coming off Snow Creek Wall in the dark, we were getting close to the end of the gulley. It was 4:00 AM. We could not find the right way to go, and sunrise was a mere 1 1/2 hours away. THus we perched our butts on a sloping ledge, sitting tobaggon style and tied into a tiny bush. We huddled until daylight came. With daylgiht, we were able to find the bestter way out and downclimbed from that spot. It just didn't look like it would take full body weight. I think this is at the area where the gal fell this past year on the descent and died.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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A Long Thin Lost Arrow in about half an inch, 44 years ago. We intended to do the East Face route of Glacier Point, done in the 1930's, so we took just a few pins and nothing else. Unfortunately, we started way too far to the right. I took a fifteen-foot fall with only that Arrow as an anchor, and no other pro. We had no bolts, and that was the best we could get it. The pin wasn't tied off, and it bent, but didn't break, so we rapped off of it.
All of which shows that making mistakes as a noob is good training, provided you survive.
John
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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I used a piece of 1" sling tied with a water knot, and managed to jam the knot behind a flake; very carefully rapped off the first pitch, Northcutt-Carter on Hallett in a rainstorm. Made me appreciate the Dresden climbers a lot more...
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Skeptimistic
Mountain climber
La Mancha
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Tahquitz- The Uneventful. Single piece of webbing that just made it around a tree branch tied with a square knot and 1 inch tails. Held for 3 of us. The 4th (me) not so lucky. Should've died/maybe I did and this is all just a prolonged dreamare occuring in the moments after impact...
published in ANAM '98
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Ron, i don't even know if it was cherry crack. just think it may have been. 1986 was a long time ago....certainly not suggesting that you placed bad anchors. i remember being very impressed with how far apart the drilled angles on Touchstone were and they seemed bomber...
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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those who've rapped off really manky anchors aren't around to tell about it.
Ipso Factor we're all poseurs on this topic.
pair of shoelaces comes close to a Worst Possible Nightmare
EDIT
whups…..should've read Skeptimistic's post first
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Crazy Bat
Sport climber
Birmingham, AL & Seweanee, TN
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All of these I not only rappelled, but juggied up.
A stalactite growing on mud (30 ft).
A half rotten log about 10 inches around (30 ft).
A 2 foot lightening killed tree that fell in the pit two weeks later (165 ft.) That one still gives me nightmares.
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Mystery rap in the dark off space shots descent. 1.5" bay tree girth hitched with my nicest sling. Just went down, hoping I would find another anchor while spinning with the haulbag on me. Hit the ground just before the knots.
Off the north face of sill, just out out of my mind how sh#t the boulder was.
Lowered off a route on tahquitz long time ago by flicking the rope over a 3" bush and slowly being lowered, friction img with my feet and hands to keep the sling in place.
Live and learn, but that last one was backed up at least... 30 feet lower.
I bail now on shiny new gear and have down-led more often. Seems wiser :/
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Ihateplastic
Trad climber
It ain't El Cap, Oregon
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Decades ago I did Goodrich to Oasis with Mark Blanchard and Glen Garland. We dawdled too much and spent a breezy night at the Oasis. In the morn we diligently followed Roper's instruction on the descent route. However... his "directions" made no sense and soon we spotted some slings and decided a rap was in order. HUGE EFFIN MISTAKE! We were now committed to a vertical wall with a CRAP series of "anchors" and zero ledges. One hanging belay (wearing 2" wrapped swami belts, no leg loops) after another. Three of us hanging from a single shite 1/4" bolt with spinner hanger then a rusted pin driven straight up followed by hexes hammered into "cracks" using our EBs as a hammer...
It was death waiting to happen.
Never, and I mean NEVER was I so happy to be on level ground!
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MisterE
climber
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There was this guy in 7th grade that was supposed to provide the bass beat for my rhyme?
That guy sucked.
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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I've gone off some wedged knots. Thought they were fine. Funky loose bolts and drilled angles? Not a problem. They are cross loaded after all. I can't really think of a rap I've ever done that I thought might fail.
I've had some "special" belays though. Like the time I did No More Mr Nice Guy (Ca Needles) with EE. I led P1 which is straightforward 5.9 with pro. EE led P2, the money pitch, which is runout hard .10 with mank old bolts. This left me doing P3, which is easier, maybe a 5.9 move down low but mostly 5.8 and 5.7. But no pro at all for 60M. The plan is to end up at a bolted anchor, with a shorter pitch above to the top.
I took what looked like the easiest line and got to the end of the rope and there's no anchor. I was in a shallow scoop with a small knob, the knob sticks out about an inch. I can hold onto the knob and lean out a little to look around. I see some tat blowing in the breeze 20 feet to my right. There was simply no way I was going to leave my scoop and knob and venture out on that traverse while at the end of my rope with no gear. Especially when I knew with certainty that there was zero chance that EE would fall.
I dangled a runner over the knob, and was especially careful not to weight it, stood balanced in my scoop and yelled "off belay." EE arrived shortly, looked at my position, uttered some version of "duude..." and sped to the top.
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deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
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Aug 10, 2013 - 03:38am PT
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 10, 2013 - 10:44am PT
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^^^^
I used a similar belay in a cave, and had 3 people jumar up a rope (one at a time) that I was holding.
We were on chockstones about 100 feet off the floor of a deep underground slot canyon. They had chimneyed 100 feet down to the floor of the cave, but the walls were too slick and muddy for them to get back up (I was smart enough to not free-climb 100 feet down a chimney). So I threw down a rope, jammed my knee into a crack and one foot on the ceiling, and they jugged the rope.
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geiger
Trad climber
Doylestown pa
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Aug 11, 2013 - 12:29pm PT
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It was in the Gunks and it was getting dark. I was a rookie and had no ideas how to avoid a descent in the dark. My partner, Al, joined two ropes with a sheep bend and I was able to do a long rap. He then loaded the knot with his weight on the rap and cut some part of the knot. It held with his weight on it and once down he jiggled the ropes and the knot separated. I never bothered learning how he did it because I knew I was never going to try it!
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Chief
climber
The NW edge of The Hudson Bay
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Aug 11, 2013 - 12:51pm PT
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I didn't like the single 1/4" bolt rap anchor at the top of Stoner's back in the day, especially considering I'd already broken a couple 1/4" bolts under body weight.
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Todd Eastman
climber
Bellingham, WA
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Aug 11, 2013 - 12:53pm PT
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The quarter button heads were terrifying across the continent.
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Dr. Christ
Mountain climber
State of Mine
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Aug 11, 2013 - 12:58pm PT
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I clipped the anchors of a route in CO somewhere, only to have one of the two pins pull out under the weight of the rope. I didn't use them, I down cleaned the route.
In the VRG a leaver biner at the anchors that had been so worn through it broke under finger pressure as I opened the gate. I didn't use that one either.
Come to think of it, I have NEVER used bad rap anchors... cuz I ain't stupet.
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Aug 11, 2013 - 01:25pm PT
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A couple of incidences from are brought to mind from my distant past. These excerpts have appeared here in previously posted stories other threads, but they seem appropriate for review.
The first excerpt from a trip to the Needles in 1965. The second excerpt from a failed-due-to-weather attempt on the Nose in 1963.
Number 1:
“Bob [Kamps], Mark [Powell], Dave [Rearick], and I did a first ascent of the Phallus [in the Needles, SD back in the 60s], where I – being the least experienced - was the last man up and – being the least experienced - was chosen to be the backup to a questionable rappel bolt … and thus – being the least experienced – was the last man down sans backup (the old ‘if it holds the three of us, it’ll hold you’ story).”
Number2:
“Allan [Bard] knows the many rappels on the escape route [from the Nose], maybe 14 – most from antiquated quarter-inch Rawls placed back in the late sixties by Tom R[hor], the Mad Bolter. We begin our retreat. The wind is blowing from the west so intensely that it’s impossible to stay on course and difficult to find the anchors - even harder to fight our way west to reach them. Fourteen times I find myself next to Allan, our total weight suspended in nylon slings from two smarmy, almost thirty-year-old Rawls on a blank vertical wall of granite, [many] hundreds of feet above the valley floor. Each time we pull down the rappel line from the two anchors above we reduce our security by half and raise our anxieties proportionately. I’m still wondering, Why are we here?”
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coplateau
Trad climber
Salt Lake City
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Aug 11, 2013 - 01:40pm PT
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Perhaps not the very worst, but a few high(low?)lights:
Karma Flake was the original rappel anchor from Queen Victoria in Sedona
This buried pile of rocks anchors the 120+ footer that ends Mindbender Fork in Robbers Roost
Kinda messy but adequate to get off of Sparkling Touch Spire in the Bridger Jacks
And of course, most any drilled anchors in Arches soon end up looking like this one on the Three Penguins
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Mtguide
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Aug 11, 2013 - 01:48pm PT
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I think one of the classic scariest rap anchors of all time has to be the last rappel that Jim Bridwell and Mugs Stump made on the final descent, after their long, difficult and harrowing first ascent of the East face of the Moose's Tooth. This was a climb plagued with bad weather and severe cold, lots of climbing on 1/4" or 1/2" verglas on 75 to 85 degree granite, so that instead of kicking into it with crampons, it was necessary, with every step, to first SET the points into the ice, and then very carefully to stand up onto them, so as not to shatter the ice. Often with very little pro and long runouts.
As Bridwell told it, it was Mugs' turn to make the next-to-last rap and set up the last anchor. Having left a lot of pieces already for rap anchors, they were both pretty much out of gear at that point, but Mugs thought he had something left.
So Mugs rapped on down. When Bridwell got down to that last stance, he looked at the anchor. It consisted of a single #1 BD small wire, in a rotten bottoming crack. Bridwell looked at Mugs and said "That's it?" and Mugs said, "That's it." Fortunately it held, and they made it down to the glacier safe and sound.
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The Frog
Trad climber
West Allis WI
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Aug 11, 2013 - 03:17pm PT
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I was climbing at Smith Rocks for the first time and we did this route which I believe was called 'Flakes Away,' a 5.9 crack to about a 12 foot diameter flake. You had to undercling the flake and layback/smear your way around the base, up the left side and over the top. As I moved up, pieces of rock flaked off the back of the flake and rained down on my belayer. Worst was at the top: there were a couple of maybe 8 inch dishes where someone had obviously tried to drill anchor bolts and the rock simply shattered out around the drill--no bolts. The anchor was a 12 inch chockstone wedged behind a part of the flake with a half-dozen slings around it and a couple of rap rings. My partner got to the top and we both looked around for anything else--no luck. As he went over the edge, he said, "If this fails, tell my mother I love her." I replied, "I'll yell it real loud on the way by," since we were both anchored into this particular piece of choss. Obviously we both got down OK, but on a trip back some years later, I couldn't find this route. It's also not in any guidebook; apparently the big flake failed...
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MAD BOLTER
Trad climber
CARLSBAD,NM
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Aug 11, 2013 - 07:07pm PT
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Don't blame me for that 1/4 " bolt-Nose. If you read my recording of the rap I did in 1969 you will find I was using 3/8" Star Dryvins X 2" deep or more (2 each anchor) until we got to the bottom end and used 1/4" and 3/8" combined because my supply of 3/8" drill bits was being nearly gone.
Info in ROHRER RAP BOOK on supertopo site
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Nudge Nudge
Trad climber
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Aug 11, 2013 - 09:40pm PT
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Sierra Ledge Rat, funny you start this thread.... Here's me bailing on your route, North Rib of Dana.
Tried not to weight the rope too much, but it did get a core shot from sh#t falling down.
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TREED
Trad climber
Gunks
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Aug 11, 2013 - 09:46pm PT
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Icicle.
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Fossil climber
Trad climber
Atlin, B. C.
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Aug 11, 2013 - 11:17pm PT
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How about a rap point of a single wrap around a huge angular block with 1/4" braided nylon cord bought from a surplus store, guaranteed by the greasy proprietor to be 1000 lb. test?
How in hell do we make it this far?
How about that, Jerry?
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lyckegard
Trad climber
Torslanda
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Aug 12, 2013 - 04:51am PT
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'cause a picture says more than a thousand words.
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 13, 2013 - 04:22pm PT
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Nice stuff!!!!
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Riska
Trad climber
CA
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Aug 13, 2013 - 06:05pm PT
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The one on the top of the Brecha de Los Italianos (1000 foot saddle between Poincenot & Fitzroy). We were descending after climbing for 24 hours straight, much of it in white out conditions.
They held my partner who rapped first.
It however failed to hold me, who fell past my partner and then an additional near-vertical 300 meters onto the glacier below. Lucky for me, falls don't kill climbers, landings do.
Landed on the most perfect 45% angle, powder cushioned bersgrund at the base.
And after breaking most of my bones, waking from a coma induced by a massive head injury, I walked out of the hospital 5 months later.
Do I actually remember the anchor? No, but I am sure it was a couple of rusty old pitons held together by a rat's nest of manky, sun bleached webbing
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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Aug 13, 2013 - 06:11pm PT
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That doesn't sound so bad.
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Aug 13, 2013 - 06:13pm PT
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Jesus Riska.
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 13, 2013 - 07:54pm PT
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...after breaking most of my bones, waking from a coma induced by a massive head injury...
Er.... I think we have a winner for "The Worst Rap Anchor Ever."
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Slabby D
Trad climber
B'ham WA
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Aug 13, 2013 - 08:12pm PT
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So you just whipped by your partner. Presumably with all the rope. What happened to him? Is he still up there?
Your story is too good! It needs mire detail!
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S.Leeper
Social climber
somewhere that doesnt have anything over 90'
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Aug 13, 2013 - 08:45pm PT
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we have a winner!( no Locker he doesn't actually win anything)
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Anxious Melancholy
Mountain climber
Between the Depths of Despair & Heights of Folly
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Aug 13, 2013 - 09:24pm PT
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Agree, Riska's anchor must have been one of the worst.
For me, after decades of dreading raps and their anchors, I now find myself transitioning to an understanding that there's more than one way to skin that kat.
Meat anchor, as long as he can do the down climb, we're golden.
Typical Death Valley NP Canyon anchor. If ya got building materials, why knot use 'um? (DV Cerberus Canyon)
What's with this? Slotting a pebble yet using a rap link? Yes, we used it.... (DV Helios Canyon)
Sleeping Beauty anchor (this seems like it turning into a trip report, but it's happened over so many years!?)(DV Bad Canyon)
I say Bomber! She says, Really? (DV Bad Canyon)
And we'll end for now with my favorite (KNOT!) rap anchor. We're deep into Shinumo Canyon, below Navajo Nation lands on our way to the Colorado River in the latter stages of a canyonering/packraft trip in Grand Canyon NP. We've gone down way to many raps to think about escaping to the side (although I'm sure its possible with much effort). And I'm faced with this.
Think that's enough for now......
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S.Leeper
Social climber
somewhere that doesnt have anything over 90'
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Aug 13, 2013 - 09:43pm PT
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phuq
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Aug 13, 2013 - 10:32pm PT
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I think your nine lives are just about up.
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Krav
Trad climber
Benicia, CA
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Aug 14, 2013 - 01:02am PT
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Was back in 1988 and I was climbing at the Weeping Wall at Suicide in Idyllwild. We heard something like rockfall in the gully to the right of the wall. We went over and this guy had fallen and snapped his leg off above the ankle, bone jutting out of the skin. Clark Jacobs came over and helped to stablilize him and then they sent a copter up from El Toro Marine Base in Santa Ana. By that time the S & R showed up and we put him in a litter and they hoisted him up and carried him off to Loma Linda Hopital. We determined he had been rapping off an old aid piece, a RURP I think and his partner was anchored in also, but his fall was not so bad, just banged up. I went to see him at the hospital the next day and was pissed because I wanted some coffee as I had to drive to LAX, but they didn't sell it at LL as it's an Adventist hospital. His dad sold all his gear at a swap meet in Santa Monica the following weekend.
Personally, I once rapped off the knot in an 1-inch tubular webbing runner (mine) slotted in the crack on a climb called "On the Road", because it was too hard and I was to cheap to leave a stopper.
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Paul Martzen
Trad climber
Fresno
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Aug 14, 2013 - 01:07am PT
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Great photos Anxious,
People should practice rapping as smoothly and with as little force on the rope as possible.
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 14, 2013 - 01:18am PT
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Anxious, that last anchor was bomber! The plant was still alive!
I remember BITD... there I was during the autumn in the last century I had to tie off to a dead leaf......
(:
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MisterE
climber
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Aug 14, 2013 - 01:37am PT
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 14, 2013 - 01:55am PT
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Dang!
I'm amazed that all you Darwinians are still climbing!
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MisterE
climber
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Aug 14, 2013 - 02:04am PT
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Life gifts the unenlightened!
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Vic Klotz
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Aug 19, 2013 - 12:06am PT
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Sacherer Cracker, a sling around a chockstone. The sling slipped out as the chockstone turned while weighting it. I probably had that look that people get just before they die, and don't understand why?
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Quasimodo
Trad climber
CA
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Sep 12, 2013 - 02:32am PT
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My partner and I were descending off the Dolent in the Italian Alps when the snow slope ended at a very large Bergschrund. We cut a snow bollard in the slope. The snow was hard but the warm temps were a big concern. Being my first bollard we just looked at it for a few minutes while discussing if it was big enough and deep enough to hold each one of us for the 40 foot overhanging rappel. If the bollard failed there was a icy tomb waiting below in the schrund. It worked. My first and only rappel from a snow bollard....thank god.
A friend envited me to do a canyon in Death Valley. When he showed me the rock pile rap anchor photos I had serious reservations. Looks like Russian Roulette to me. I'll stick to hiking in Death Valley if the rap anchors are just rock piles.
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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MAD BOLTER,
The fact that they were 25 years old made their brand and diameter irrelevant! It was still scary.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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An anchor is, by definition, perfect if it doesn't fail.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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^^^ That's what I tried to tell my mom when I handed her my report cards.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Touche!
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speelyei
Trad climber
Kingman, Arizona
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Don Gonthier, Clif Edwards and I wrapped a single piece of 9/16" supertape around a clump of elderberry stalks to get off the top of the alpenjager on Crown Point.
I guess I was around for the height of bolting hysteria at Smith, and saw many incarnations of fixed anchors that were "supposed to be" safe to rap from, but people would TR right through the oversize bolts or chain anchors. Some of those things were down to an 1/8" of original material.
At a place called Devil's Punchbowl in California, we clipped and rapped from quite a few buttonheads and 1/4" bolts, with the old leeper hangers, but honestly, they seemed pretty good. Didn't matter, that's all that was there.
A few little slot canyons I've poked around in here in AZ have really nice stainless hardware, but the bolts are placed 3" apart. What's up with that?
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McHale's Navy
Trad climber
From Panorama City, CA
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nice stainless hardware, but the bolts are placed 3" apart. What's up with that?
I rapped off 2 nice stainless bolts that were very close together on the very edge of a bolder coming down from Shagadelic a few years ago. It seemed like it would be easy for a crack to form in such a place. I wanted to sling the boulder but it was too big. I hate sh#t like that.
Anchors can be bad but I think I almost rapped off the end of our rope coming down from Sickle Ledge in the 60s. I was just enjoying the beauty of everything and not really paying attention to what I should have and then noticed the anchors I had passed about 10 feet above me!
Scariest rap anchor was one I had to put in during a night retreat off the Rostrom in 68. It was the last rap before the halfway ledge and I could find nothing except this weird 4" bong placement in an awkward corner pounded straight up. Worst part was having to go back up the rope in the morning to get the rope down. I was dead tired when I put it in during the night, and now I was just going to be dead!
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thebravecowboy
Social climber
Colorado Plateau
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Nov 20, 2013 - 12:09am PT
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Aunty Glen
Trad climber
Australia
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Nov 20, 2013 - 12:27am PT
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Not my anchor, we elected not to use it. I'm not sure on the padlockery ???
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Truthdweller
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Nov 20, 2013 - 12:36am PT
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Although a "Worst Rap Anchor" thread, does rapping off of More Monkey Than Funky in a Dulphersitz count for anything? Watched Thomas Einevol of Norway scream every inch down in a tshirt and painters pants, back in 1983...ouch!
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Steve Hickman
climber
Norwood, CO
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Nov 20, 2013 - 08:34pm PT
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A short new route somewhere on Twin Owls (ca. 1970's)- - time for beer and sex so rapped off and returned following week- - clipped into single (Charlet?) rap anchor pin and it fell out. Rotten granite and stupid good luck.
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Paco
Trad climber
Montana
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Nov 21, 2013 - 12:03am PT
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A head-sized rock, wedged in a vertical crack between the basalt pillars of Mount Wellington.
OH...one time I rapped off of some CHAINS...like the kind you use for towing vehicles, or hoist motors, that someone had like... BOLTED to the rock I was climbing on. It was bizarre. Can you imagine... what if rocks everywhere had pieces of metal put in them? Hahaha! Huh. I just wonder who would have put them there. Or why. Could've been gremlins, I suppose.
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TWP
Trad climber
Mancos, CO
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Nov 26, 2014 - 08:19am PT
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Bump for climbing content. Fortunately I have nothing to contribute to this thread.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Nov 26, 2014 - 08:59am PT
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Jeebus. I'll never complain about snow bollards again.
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martygarrison
Trad climber
Washington DC
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Nov 26, 2014 - 09:00am PT
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Probably every quarter inch station I ever used on the Apron.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Nov 26, 2014 - 09:10am PT
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A lot of people here have lead sheltered lives, even if they didn't think so.
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Nov 26, 2014 - 09:24am PT
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I flush all the bad stuff from my mind.
One time I got lowered off of a small flake about halfway up Pratts crack, I was gassin out... up above my last piece by a good bit, in total desperation, just before panic, when I spyed a small flake. I reached out and pulled on it to see if it was going to hold, it did. Then I put a small sling on it and gently eased my weight onto it... it held and then I fell off.... the GF lowered me. Not exactly a rap but a way down to saftey.
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Inner City
Trad climber
East Bay
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Nov 26, 2014 - 09:24am PT
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Off route on something near "Boogie with Stu' left of the lower falls, we decided to rap off the only thing we could, the manky, quarter incher we were both already clipped into. As Helga descended, I saw the hanger flexing in a very scary way. I started to look around for tree limbs to grab if I went airborn. But of course, it held!
Some canyoneering anchors are definitely quite concerning. Anyone ever use the Macramé style not for rappelling? Yikes. Rock stacks, meat anchors and such sound bad, but seem to work well!
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Nov 26, 2014 - 10:16am PT
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Wedged in water bottle.
I've seen some manky crap but that is freacky!
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Nov 26, 2014 - 12:51pm PT
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California Needles, about 1984. Julie Lazar and I had just climbed The Howling. Julie was rapping off first on two 60M 9mm ropes. There was a nasty accident in the notch below us. If you know the place, there are several different levels to the notch and if you fall from one to the next things get ugly fast. It was then that I heard the cry "We need another rope NOW!"
I yelled down to Julie that I was going to send one of my ropes down. I figured I'd rap down to one of the bolts on The Howling and from there to the notch. Below me the party with the injured climber were lowering him to the ground with several ropes. When I arrived at the single quarter inch bolt, clipped in and began to pull my rope reality set in. The exposure there is staggering. I had my heart in my mouth as I gingerly lowered myself down to the notch.
Someone got to the tower and the helo was called. It's not so obvious today, but if you look around the Magician - Djin saddle you'll see that some of the trees were cut down. they lowered in a guy with a chain saw to clear the landing zone.
If I had a brain in my head I would have rapped on the single cord from the top and gone back to get it later.
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WBraun
climber
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Nov 26, 2014 - 01:09pm PT
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Best and worst simultaneously and this is not a rap anchor post :-)
Walt had led the crux pitch of the "New Route" Ice Climb.
There was no anchor at the top.
Walt belayed Stretch up while just sitting sitting in loose snow.
I was last.
As I exited the water running fist crack to the ice pinnacle there was a lot of slack in the rope.
A whole lot, way too much lol.
The Ice pinnacle broke with me still attached to it. ha ha ha
When the the force of the slack came tight on Walt's belay, Walt started sliding to the edge as Strech grabbed him also.
Both started to slide towards the edge and stopped before we all died.
We didn't ..... lol
Those are the best days.
Everyone looks forward to those type of episodes in their lives ...... :-)
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dagibbs
Trad climber
Ottawa, Ontario
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Nov 26, 2014 - 03:00pm PT
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Worst was... a rounded bulge that I decided to label a horn -- on Chapel Pond Slab in the 'Daks. It was only a slab, right, so I wouldn't hurt too badly. There was gear, so the other two climbers got to rappel on the gear, but I was cheap (that's how you learn, right?) so just left the rope slung over the bulge. Got to the ground, gave the rope a light flick, and it came tumbling down to me. I did try to be as smooth as possible on that rap -- no back up knot, since they tend to make things a bit more jerky.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Nov 26, 2014 - 04:13pm PT
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Everyone looks forward to those type of episodes in their lives ...... :-)
As long as we can tell them.
Worst rap anchor I ever used was a knotted sling jammed in a crack. Pretty tame based on the stories above.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Nov 26, 2014 - 05:29pm PT
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For some the worst rap anchors doubled as the last rap anchors.
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Ihateplastic
Trad climber
It ain't El Cap, Oregon
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Nov 26, 2014 - 05:52pm PT
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Wrong turn from the Oasis at the top of the Apron.
Five or six of the mankiest rap anchors (all on a vertical wall) I ever experienced. Pretty much scared to death the whole way down.
At one point I unclipped from the "anchor" and just hung from wide hand jams in case the anchor ripped while the first guy went down. Another was a single rusted 1/4" button head. When the first guy reached one anchor he yelled up to bring a rock so he could hammer in the single crap pin we would use on the next anchor.
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Eric Beck
Sport climber
Bishop, California
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Nov 26, 2014 - 06:42pm PT
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Seemed good at the time. It's May 1961. I am still in high school. It's a sierra club trip to the Palisades. We are up early on our way to North Palisade. There is no bergschrund going up the U notch. The climb is uneventful and we find we are the first party that year. Back at the U notch, I find the rappel point. It is a single Gerry horizontal /vertical piton halfway in a horizontal crack. There is a single loop of parachute cord thru the eye. Without hesitation I set up the rappel and down we go. Total confidence in a rappel point that had been there all winter.
It was a good day, we went on to bag Sill.
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TheSoloClimber
Trad climber
Vancouver
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Nov 27, 2014 - 10:02am PT
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No super horrifying stories on my part, but a couple little tidbits.
At the start of this past season, it was too rainy and wet to climb, but I decided to go adventuring under the North Walls of the Chief. I started to climb up the North Gully, which was mostly third class interspersed with bits of fourth and fifth. Every so often I would get to a spot where I thought I would be uncomfortable downclimbing it, so I went on with the goal of topping out.
It got increasingly sketchy and difficult, so I decided to bail. I bootied someone's manky old fixed line, and slung boulders and shrubs to get down the scary bits, pulling the rope after me.
Not too extreme, but I felt like I got away with some sh#t.
Then, a couple years ago, myself, Kid Cormier, and Browniephoto bailed off an aid route (Zorros). The anchor was solid enough, but the rap was over an unfriendly edge, about 200 feet freehanging.
That was mellow. The rope was rapped on was left over the winter. In spring, Brownie jugged back up to retrieve it. That was nutty.
Last, Brownie and I set off to climb a spire in Kelowna. It was chossy as sh#t, and we never actually got there, but our plan to get off of it was to just hang the rope over opposite sides, and simul rap. Probably a good thing we never summited.
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jplotz!
climber
Wenatchee, WA
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Nov 27, 2014 - 10:48am PT
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Nov 27, 2014 - 11:10am PT
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It was a bomber anchor, but I came so very close to dying there that I can't get it out of my mind whenever some mentions rap anchors.
"The Sarge" and I had just climbed P1 of Devil's Delight (Tahquitz.) Our plan was to do P1 and rap (It's a really fun pitch.) At the anchor I caught up with a nice gal belaying her leader up P2. I asked her if I could share the anchor, and clipped in without intruding on her set up. "The Sarge came up. By then the gal was gone. My partner clipped the anchor and I leaned out to view the rappel. I started to fall outward. I felt like a million volts was going through me as I turned saw the anchor moving away. I grabbed for the runners there and just barely reached them before taking the plunge.
I will never know how or when I got unclipped, who did it, or how I could not have noticed it. So I guess the worst anchor I'll ever use is the one that I wasn't clipped into.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Nov 27, 2014 - 12:51pm PT
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The best anchor story that I have heard recently came from Eric Bjornstad during my interview with him last year.
He and Fred Beckey climbed Chinle Spire and found the capstone to be very soft, much too soft for bolts, so they set up an anchor driving several ring angles as soft stone pickets.
The rope got twisted and they started flipping it aggressively to free it up from the ground. After a few tries they gave the rope a mighty flip and were amazed to find the rope pitons and all flying to the ground!
My wife Mimi and Dan Langmade did the second ascent many years later only to find no anchors so after futilely trying to set up another piton anchor they chose to sacrifice Dan's new 9mm and single wrap the entire capstone to get down. Todd Gordon and partner were the third party up and found Mimi and Dan's bleached rope still in place thinking it was original equipment.
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KabalaArch
Trad climber
Starlite, California
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Nov 27, 2014 - 03:46pm PT
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Fright fest thread!
So I guess the worst anchor I'll ever use is the one that I wasn't clipped into.
A thunderstorm had closed in unnoticed and fast from behind Glacier Point, and a precipitate retreat from Deep Throat was in order. We three were all strung out on the upper pitches, about 500' or so above the Valley floor – Scottie was topped out at the stance, Tom about halfway up the pitch, myself smeared on the rounded dish which constituted the lower stance.
Coming down in buckets, with stream courses everywhere. Hella lighting and thunder added to the confusion of us shouting back and forth. A short pitch it was, and the rope was running past my stance; I think the Plan was for me to untie so the upper climbers could bypass this stance, and make it to the next one on down. So, I was just clipped into the bolts, when the word came down for me to head down first.
So I grabbed a belly of slack to rig my descender – the 6-biner brake still in wide use at the time.
Surrounded by the confusion of this sudden tempest, I stopped myself in the middle of the act of unclipping from the anchors – before I was clipped into the rappel.
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christoph benells
Trad climber
Tahoma, Ca
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Nov 27, 2014 - 07:02pm PT
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about 2 snow bollard raps below this. Had been climbing way too long.
I dug out the bollard and hit ice about 6 inches deep. I cut it out as good as i could but alaskan ice is very, very hard.
We had a couple of stubby ice screws in our packs that would have worked great as a backup...but general tiredness took over and i elected to use a half pounded in picket as a backup...
I rapped over the overhanging edge of the crevasse and when i made it to the snow down below and put my feet down it all collapsed.
next thing i know i am hanging upside down a few feet into a crevasse only being held up from certain death by the terrible bollard and a useless picket. I had the other rope too so if i had gone in my partner would have been totally f*#ked.
But hey, all is well that ends well, and i learned a great lesson and will never do that again.
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TWP
Trad climber
Mancos, CO & Bend, OR
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I bump this again for real climbing content. And fortunately I still have nothing else to offer.
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Risk
Mountain climber
Marooned, 855 miles from Tuolumne Meadows
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Arrowhead Arete gully had at least a dozen faded slings around a tree or boulder; but, still seemed sketchy (Walt S. in charge of safety...). Especially since it's a full 165+' free-hang off of a huge, sharp, chockstone. Unnerving.
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big ears
Trad climber
?
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https://www.climbing.com/videos/hansjörg-auers-terrifying-rappel/
Personally i think they should not have published this vid. With so many people climbing these days, there will be more and more peoe who think its “cool” to get into situations like this. In other words, some might take this as some thing to emulate, rathwr than contemplate and them learn from.
Thoughts?
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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That^^^ is the most sketchy suicidal rappel I've ever seen. It's so ludicrous it seemed staged at first. I fail to understand why a climber attempting this kind of ascent wouldn't be prepared with more hardware to facilitate the attempt. I guess the video proves what is possible, but yeah- posting it may encourage idiots to try the same.
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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What about stories of Himalayan climbers rapping off of ski poles?
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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I recall rapping off a hand-sized chickenhead in the Cochise Stronghold which snapped off as I was trying to flip the runner off of it to be cheap once I got down.
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ground_up
Trad climber
mt. hood /baja
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Man that video is almost hard to watch , the stuff of nightmares.
I do not think that any new climbers are gonna watch that and
want to try it cuz it looks rad.. I would hope not. Rapping is
one of the more dangerous aspects of climbing. I have never wanted
to make it more spicy. I would have crapped myself on that one.
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rbolton
Social climber
The home
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Not sure about this anchor.
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thebravecowboy
climber
The Good Places
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^^^^the bomber mousetrap anchor^^^
the practical physics (and assumption therein) requisite for this sh#t....
or just oblivious good luck...not that any of you know a thing about that...
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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I've posted these before, but they have a place in this thread:
Bailing off Coonyard Pinnacle mid-pitch somewhere with Davidji. It was actually pretty good because we each took a 40 foot slider off of it before giving up:
This one doesn't look bad, but the rusty piton is cracked all the way through, and the direction of pull on the nut is not friendly to where the rock constriction is. It's somewhere most of the way up Geek Tower center route, bailed with Jay Wood:
Probably would have had some other good ones on first time trying Hawkman's Escape, but camera strap broke in a chimney on the way up and I lost the camera (down somewhere on Michael's Ledge since 2008 or so).
Careful if you have to rap down Via Aqua (we didnt't - it's a relatively easy climb and a walk-off):
I have blocked out memories of whatever we rapped off or left behind in the Aquamist Chimney, which Ritwik and I used when were not sure exactly where we were after doing a new route to the left (which we had spontaneously decided on with no prior scoping/planning). It was the middle of the night, tired/cold/etc. and we didn't know we could have scrambled/walked off and come down the Yos Falls Trail from our high point :)
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Decades ago my buddy Galen and I made a late season descent of the Sherpa Couloir on Mt Stuart in the Cascades after an ascent of the complete north ridge. Silly us, September meant that the normally reasonable descent had changed from steep plunge stepping to an inch of mushy slub over rock hard alpine ice, and there was no way we were walking down, or even climbing since we had omitted the crampons to save weight. Someone had rappelled this recently and left anchors, all red slings with the initials RM sharpied on them, and each sling was super grim. In each case we reset the sling on a bomber horn situation within a 3' radius of the original awful placement, often requiring a little nut tool excavation to expose the solid situation.
We turned 8 terrible half rope rappels into a solid escape, including the last anchor. It was tied around the pinch point of a large peanut shaped boulder on a sloping gravel covered wet slab, and led straight over the overhanging downslope cliff face. Honestly, there wasn't more than 6 square inches of contact for this boulder spread over two points on a 25 degree downsloping slab. We just untied the sling, put it on the other point, and the load faced uphill as we escaped down the lower angled gully to skier's left.
Just because you come upon a horrible rap anchor doesn't mean you have to use it.
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mongrel
Trad climber
Truckee, CA
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Canadian Rockies. We had to bail down a gully you'd normally just downclimb unroped, but a huge dump of heavy wet snow had occurred so everything (including the class 3 continuation of the route) had become a total death trap from risk of just getting sloughed over a little cliff. Things were sliding everywhere, and it only takes a few inches of that shyte to sweep you off. No photos: we started in the blizzard and before 2 rappels were done it was dark. Carried on all night, nine or ten 25 m raps. A bollard, an icicle, a V-thread (bomber), a whole bunch of single-piece raps on anchors including a cammed tricam, all in typical Canada rubble. Once, maybe twice, we had 2 pieces incorporating something we found. Being noobs to the region, we didn't realize in advance that any crack larger than knifeblade was just a stack of loose rocks, so most of the handful of pieces we had were totally useless. I conserved that one precious KB as long as possible!
Any real alpinist would have thought it was casual, but we thought it was gnarly and that we were lucky to get down without getting sloughed and burgerized against the gully walls.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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All rap anchors that hold are good. Your worst anchor is your last anchor.
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WBraun
climber
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Every gross materialist's anchor has already failed and that is why you are on this planet .......
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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pehaps but certainly some anchors only hold on some whim beyond our comprehension...
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originalpmac
Mountain climber
Timbers of Fennario
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Sketchiest rappel? The one I fell 45 feet off of, flipping and tumbling into the Ice Park. I made it into Accidents in North Amer. Mountaineering on that one. Anchor was fine, just the user (me) was an idiot. I do recall rapping off of a bush that was maaaayyyybe and inch in diameter that was frozen into the snow after an ice climb in the mountains. Good times!
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fear
Ice climber
hartford, ct
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Alright... I actually had nightmares about that last video.
Wow. It looked like he could have welded one tool into that grassy crack/hummock thing above. I bet he could have bashed it in with his other tool, clipped the spike and rapped off of that.
Even hollar'ing for help before trying that awful stone thing would be preferable.
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Nick Danger
Ice climber
Arvada, CO
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On Chimney Rock in the San Juan Mtns Jimmy Newberry and I were rapping down with one rope (two ropes would have allowed us to make the ground using established anchors. However, with one rope we ended up on a sloping ledge about 50 - 60 feet short of the bottom of the climb. No anchors, no cracks to put a piece in, so we looped the rope around the biggest cobble sticking out of that conglomerate. Jimmy went first and I held the rope in place in case it decided to slip. When it was my turn I walked off at an angle most likely to keep the rope looped around that protruding cobble. I did not like that rappel.
Another time Scott Mossman and I topped out on this pinnacle with a very small summit at Hartman Rocks south of Gunnison. There were no rap anchors at all on the summit so we put a bolt in. As the granite on the summit was rather grusy the finished bolt tended to flex. We were not reassured by that so we tossed each end of the rope down opposite sides of the pinnacle and simultaneously rapped off. It felt pretty wild but we felt much safer than we would have using that worthless bolt.
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clode
Trad climber
portland, or
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Joe should appreciate this one. In my early, teenage, stooped years, my buddy and I were deciding what to climb at Beacon Rock. I don't know the name of the route, but it's a thin crack somewhere between the western-most tunnel and Dod's Jam, on the western half of the river face.
I aided up, using all the small stuff on my rack: hexes 1 & 2, short, thin Lost Arrows, and a few small SMC wedges/nuts. I figured I got up about 70 feet off the deck because I had a 150-footer, and my buddy had not yet seen the halfway mark show up while he was belaying me.
At that point I ran out of gear for further upward progress. Then, right there, in front of my face, there it was, one button head, complete with hanger! I anchored off, my buddy jumared up, cleaning everything I had put in, then, with both of us hanging from that one bolt, we rapped off.
To this day I feel we got very lucky the bolt didn't pull or the hanger fail. I never climbed and rapped like THAT again!
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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I climbed in over my head on a mixed line with sh#t gear early season once. 3m from the top in this nasty flared chimney I almost called for help from above as there was another party up there.. toughed it out and mad the thank god move to the bomber hook and the good gear....
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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It was like rapping off a bad anchor, only different.
I think it was in 2010 that I decided to replace the anchors for the top two pitches of the Don Juan Wall at the Needles. Some guys in camp said they were doing the route the next day and offered to trail and fix my ropes. Cool. I’d have two ropes tied together which they would fix to the last belay on the route. I explained that the last belay had two ancient bolts placed about five feet apart, a knife-blade in a Funky crack about ten feet up with a long piece of tat hanging down, and some good tcu placements up and right to back the whole mess up. Both bolts were quarter incher's with old rusty nuts, not button-heads. The one on the left had one of those hangars that lays flat, when weighted it pry’s out on the bolt. Bolts like these were designed to attached the toilet paper holder to the cinder block wall of a gas station bathroom. I asked the guys to be sure to back me up well, and offered them some gear to use. They said they’d use their own. I could return it later at camp. They had been there a few days and seemed competent so I wasn’t worried.
When the ropes were fixed I began jugging on up. The first anchor was previously replaced by Clint Cummins. It was the next two I was after, especially the last. At the second anchor, three old bolts as I recall, I bounced around quite a bit prying from various angles to get out the bolts. Lucky for me they came out easily so I didn’t have to get too active. That done I jugged up to the last one.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. My rope was clipped into the left hand bolt and then across to the other one with a slack tail. There was no attempt to equalize, and not even the pin was clipped. There was no backup. I could see this with another fifteen feet to go to the small stance at the bolts. I froze. My wife Barbara was sitting in the main notch reading a book and keeping half an eye on my progress. I thought about what it would look like to her if the bolts popped and I went tumbling down through the sky for four or five hundred feet all tangled up in ropes and a small haul bag. I jugged ever so gently up to the stance. Out came the tools. The old right hand bolt was in a pretty good spot over the stance, so I placed a 3/8” bolt a foot to its left and clipped in. Whew… Pulling the bolt on the right was like pulling a nail out of a rotten log. I placed a ½” in the same hole. I left the other old bolt as a relic for future passersby to see. Rage was swelling up inside me. I set it aside until I finished the raps to the base.
On the hike out I got more and more worked up. Today was not going to end well for these guys if I had anything to say about it. As I walked up the last bit of dirt road into camp I was on fire. Then, for the second time that day, I couldn’t believe my eyes. They’d packed up and left.
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nah000
climber
now/here
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^^^^
i’m somewhat speechless.
holeee shIt is that beyond fUcked up.
without your explaining to them you wanted everything backed up?
sure... just some surprising but still somewhat garden variety incompetence...
but as it stands?
that’s some not so garden variety attempted murder...
jayzeus. glad you didn’t bounce too much getting the ole anchors out...
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Complete Shitbirds especially when you offered to give them some gear to back up that crap!
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F
climber
away from the ground
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
Mar 8, 2018 - 07:49pm PT
It was like rapping off a bad anchor, only different.
I think it was in 2010 that I decided to replace the anchors for the top two pitches of the Don Juan Wall at the Needles. Some guys in camp said they were doing the route the next day and offered to trail and fix my ropes. Cool. I’d have two ropes tied together which they would fix to the last belay on the route. I explained that the last belay had two ancient bolts placed about five feet apart, a knife-blade in a Funky crack about ten feet up with a long piece of tat hanging down, and some good tcu placements up and right to back the whole mess up. Both bolts were quarter incher's with old rusty nuts, not button-heads. The one on the left had one of those hangars that lays flat, when weighted it pry’s out on the bolt. Bolts like these were designed to attached the toilet paper holder to the cinder block wall of a gas station bathroom. I asked the guys to be sure to back me up well, and offered them some gear to use. They said they’d use their own. I could return it later at camp. They had been there a few days and seemed competent so I wasn’t worried.
When the ropes were fixed I began jugging on up. The first anchor was previously replaced by Clint Cummins. It was the next two I was after, especially the last. At the second anchor, three old bolts as I recall, I bounced around quite a bit prying from various angles to get out the bolts. Lucky for me they came out easily so I didn’t have to get too active. That done I jugged up to the last one.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. My rope was clipped into the left hand bolt and then across to the other one with a slack tail. There was no attempt to equalize, and not even the pin was clipped. There was no backup. I could see this with another fifteen feet to go to the small stance at the bolts. I froze. My wife Barbara was sitting in the main notch reading a book and keeping half an eye on my progress. I thought about what it would look like to her if the bolts popped and I went tumbling down through the sky for four or five hundred feet all tangled up in ropes and a small haul bag. I jugged ever so gently up to the stance. Out came the tools. The old right hand bolt was in a pretty good spot over the stance, so I placed a 3/8” bolt a foot to its left and clipped in. Whew… Pulling the bolt on the right was like pulling a nail out of a rotten log. I placed a ½” in the same hole. I left the other old bolt as a relic for future passersby to see. Rage was swelling up inside me. I set it aside until I finished the raps to the base.
On the hike out I got more and more worked up. Today was not going to end well for these guys if I had anything to say about it. As I walked up the last bit of dirt road into camp I was on fire. Then, for the second time that day, I couldn’t believe my eyes. They’d packed up and left.
I don’t always feel like gambling with getting the chop, but when I do, I have some total random dudes I just met fix a line for me to jug.
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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I didn't see them as some random dudes. They were up there for a few days doing good climbs in good style. Also we had some conversations in camp. I came to the conclusion that they were okay. Obviously I was wrong. I'll always be stumped by the fact that we reviewed what was going to happen at that anchor and they totally blew it off.
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TWP
Trad climber
Mancos, CO & Bend, OR
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By definition, we are not reading any reports from climbers who used "the worst rap anchors" of their career. It's a fine point, I know; however, a few of these reports seem only one RCH away from said limit.
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