So helpful! Hope you keep doing these post-pandemic. Really clear instruction and the close-ups are particularly helpful.

15:30 Dude Glen I got in this exact situation with my partner today at Index, she followed up a hard pitch but had to mess around with cleaning gear and wanted another TR lap on it so I used the locking quickdraw new-masterpoint drop setup and it worked great! Thanks so much for putting out this content, I've never seen that anywhere else before (but I haven't read the SPI manual all the way through...)

Although I took numerous alpine courses with the American Alpine Institute back around 2006 it amazing how the techniques you introduce seem much easier and simpler. It's nice to see the sport evolving and I commend you on your fine work!!!

Just read about an accident using that first lowering method where you leave the first person tied in at the bottom as a counter-balance single strand rappel for yourself. Unfortunately the first person didn't understand the whole system and when the rope went tight as the 2nd person began to rappel the first climber got confused and untied their knot, causing the 2nd climber to fall 200ft to the ground. Fortunately the fallen climber survived, but was still hurt. Not a technique I'd use with a novice or anybody who doesn't fully understand the system.

Great video. Thank you

The chains at my are very rusty, I'm curious why threading through the chains is preferred in some situations instead using a carabiners. Thanks for your videos, you speak precisely and at a good pace.

@birchfie

2 жыл бұрын

Nevermind, I realize this is video is for lowering...likely when you're not going to be able to retrieve you own equipment

15:30 Scramble of bambilion carabineers 😅😅 But still cant think of situation when this system is better then default lowering according to guidelines (putting small carabiner into ATC "small teeth" and opening up from rope bitting).🤨 Thanks for clarification anyone😏😏

Did you mean to have these videos unlisted? This is excellent content, Glen!

Hey Glen, outstanding content as usual. What are your opinions on belaying and lowering with the grigri directly off of the anchor? It seems like a reasonable choice for top managed sites. Though petzl doesn't recommend it, they don't appear to explicitly forbid it either, and I've seen several guides using this technique. Interested to hear your thoughts!

@skillsforclimbing

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for the question @peterlazorchak! Single Pitch Instructors, which is a type of certification offered through the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), frequently use Grigris and other brake assisted devices for both lowering and belaying from the top of a climb. To lower from the top, the brake strand is redirected through a carabiner so that the brake is always running over the side-plate of the Grigri to offer additional friction. Without the redirect the device offers very little friction and therefore speed control over a lower. It's also possible to use a carabiner designed with a horn for redirecting the brake strand to add more friction, such as the Petzl Freino. The advantage of using a brake assisted device, of course, is that if the belayer/person lowering goes hands-free, the cam on the device locks and the person being lowered stops. This also allows a lower to be quickly and easily converted into a belay- and vice-versa. There are a few big disadvantages, however, which is why I usually prefer not to use a brake assisted device for this purpose. The first is that the device needs to be "free floating", or not pinned against terrain, in order for the cam to remain operational. This can be pretty tricky if the anchor at the top is on a slab, for example. The second disadvantage is that, depending on the terrain, it can be difficult, awkward, or tiring to pull back on the release lever of the brake assisted device (BAD) while at the same time maintaining good brake control. I find it is harder to provide a smooth lower with a BAD compared to the ATC guide set-up for lowering. And lastly, in a snowy or cold environment, a BAD may offer remarkably little friction on icy ropes, while an ATC guide is affected to a lesser degree. Positives and negatives to both!

The next thing you need to show is how to switch from autoblock belay to a lower with a loaded rope say when the climber got so pumped at that roof they pinged off and are now hanging out from the rock a long way and 30m above the ground so ratcheting isn't viable to lower to the ground.

@skillsforclimbing

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the suggestion! Here's a quick and easy solution I might be able to describe here in case I can't get it out in a future video. When you are belaying in auto-block mode and your climber becomes incapacitated for some reason, this is one way to get them down with minimal rigging. Step 1: redirect the brake strand up through another locking carabiner on a high point on the anchor. This does nothing yet, since the brake strand is currently being pitched by the load strand. Step 2: Locate a nut tool (or large key-nosed carabiner) and insert it into the small hole located on the side of the belay device that has the friction grooves. The nut tool will just hook the hole- it won't go through because the hole is too small (same is true for a carabiner). Step 3: While holding the redirected brake strand firmly, use the nut tool or carabiner as a lever to force the belay device out of auto-block mode. Now let the brake strand slide through your other hand, which will lower your climber down the cliff. The redirect adds friction which allows for a controlled lower. If you stop levering, the plate pops back into auto-block mode thus stopping the descent of the climber. Essentially this is very similar to the operation of a Grigri. Hope this helps!