Climbing Anchors (How to Climb Series)

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Start by looking for two (maybe three if needed) solid independent anchors. By independent we mean two separate boulders, trees or placements etc. If one fails then it should have no impact on the other anchor(s). The anchors of choice don’t move under any circumstances. Make sure you make your selection carefully and the word “bombproof” should always spring to mind. Natural anchors are usually built on trees, boulders, protruding flakes and other features around which you can easily wrap a sling. Mechanical anchors have the advantage that you can load them immediately after insertion. This is why they are preferred for first-time ascents. Also their installation is easy. Form-Fit Systems Indisputably, anchors fail because the load exceeds the force that the anchor can withstand. Theoretically, that should never happen because falling or lowering climbers create relatively small forces, given the capabilities of our equipment. So how does the load ever exceed the force an anchor can withstand? It happens in a few predictable and observable ways:

Take one strand at the midpoint of the sling and twist it 180°. Clip a carabiner through this loop and the other strand of the sling. So all-in-all, it turns out that it is possible to talk about climbing anchors! Next time you are at your favourite climbing centre, think about the anchors and how easy they are to clip. If you're struggling, ask the staff if they are considering changing to STAL? It will save the centre money and improve climbers experience and safety! Climbing anchors may not seem to be the most exciting topic for UKC; what is there to know you might ask? Surely they are just the things we clip at the top of climbing walls, or maybe at some well-equipped sports crags?Anchor failures are extremely uncommon in climbing. For the most part, that’s because trad gear is engineered to hold large loads, and it does its job well. Once you are secured into the anchor, call “SECURE” to your belayer to indicate that you are safely attached to the anchor and ready to clean the gear. You now need to rethread the rope through the anchor points. There are several methods to clean the anchor of a sport climb, but this post is going to outline the most common.

Fostering a mindset that encourages redundancy is critically important. Yet it’s still easy to get redundancy wrong. Let’s look at the two main ways people fail to properly apply the redundancy principle: 1. expecting redundancy to make up for bad primary placements, and 2. falsely assuming redundancy. 1. Bad Primary Placements Every personal anchor system is a little bit different. Therefore, the components that comprise the one you eventually choose to use may be different from what you see other climbers using. However, regardless of the PAS, there are some critical components you’ll see on practically every PAS. The climbing anchors were first used in 1944 at the Wilder Kaiser. At that time they were the so-called pin drill anchors. They consisted of a square, which was driven into the round drill hole. However, in terms of safety, they still had serious defects. Today they are no longer used.

When you’re ready to be lowered, call “TAKE” to your belayer. The rope should come tight through the anchor points. You can test it by taking some weight off of the PAS and seeing if the rope takes your weight.