In cases of medical negligence, two tests are applied: one is the Bolam test, which roughly states that if everyone is doing it, it must be okay (i.e. if you’re following convention, what you’re doing isn’t wrong); the other is the Bolitho test, which states that, even if a course of action is in line with conventions, scientific logic must still apply.
BOLTING & ANCHORS
About 15 years ago, at Milner Amphitheatre, I swung across from Automatic for the People to a two-bolt lower-off placed by Andy de Klerk above White Men Can’t Jump, as my ropes would not reach the ground. I clipped in, leaned back and as I was taking my device off, both bolts came out! Since then, I’ve never trusted bolts or bolters other than myself.
Around the world, there are now millions of bolted routes where there is no backup or redundancy up to and including the fourth bolt (and occasionally even the fifth and sixth, especially on easier routes), where failure will result in a deck fall in most cases, escape from injury is remote and death is a possibility. There is no standardised training for bolting or, rather, there is no enforcement of standards or qualifications for bolters. It is learned like trad climbing is learned: by seeing one, doing one and teaching one. It is quite bizarre that there is so much control and regulation over guides and guiding, yet there is so little control over bolting.
In any case, bolts are often subjected to high-impact, high fall factor falls lower down on sport routes, with no redundancy. Yet, it is conventional to use two bolts (i.e. a redundant system) for lower-off points which are never subjected to high-impact falls; the practice of not including backups/redundancy on lower bolts may pass the Bolam test (in line with conventions), but this questionable logic means that it fails the Bolitho test.
When establishing a lower-off, it’s conventional to place the two bolts in horizontal alignment, but in many (if not most), instances they are not equalised, which again fails the Bolitho test. On the other hand, one will often see trained guides go to elaborate lengths to equalise belays with all sorts of long knotted slings and such, which is mostly unnecessary. These horizontally placed bolts increase friction, which increases wear on ropes; more importantly, they often cause a twist in the rope resulting in the rope jamming. I learned this the hard way at Yellowwood and very many other people have too; I have since equalized all the lower-offs with a chain.
Furthermore, some lower-offs are equalised, but they end in a single point such as a ring or maillon, thus negating the redundancy and, again, failing the Bolitho test. The maillons are all too often not 10mm, but 8mm or even 6mm, and sometimes it’s just an old ‘biner!
If there are any two points, it is not debatable that the two points need to be (a) equalised and (b) independent of each other.
BELAYING & DEVICES
Conventional bucket-type/tube-style belay devices are downright dangerous and have been banned at local and international climbing gyms. Assisted-braking devices, which use mechanics or geometry to ‘hold’ the rope, are essential – my device of choice is the Edelrid Jul. I always insist on being belayed by one, even if the belayer prefers a tube. Ian Slatem would be alive today if an assisted-braking device had been used.
GriGris are not as safe as Juls. I was cleaning the solar panels on my roof, and the GriGri’s cam did not engage when I leaned back, and I fell off the roof. Lucky me, I had put a knot in the rope, so I escaped serious injury as my foot caught in the gutter and I slammed upside down, headfirst into a window that did not break. If it were a brick wall it would have been a different story.
Bear in mind, however, that Juls are not entirely idiot-proof. Because the Jul works by pinching the rope between the belay carabiner and the device, using the correct size rope and carabiner is essential. There is a range of Juls for different rope diameters, along with several compatible Edelrid carabiner options.
Petzl Micro-Traxion: These are wonderful devices for belaying individuals who are likely to need assistance on top rope as they lock solidly and are low friction. I often have two on my harness and when climbing with two ropes and one partner I always put one rope on the Traxion; if using one to self-belay you can actually pull yourself up tricky parts if you need some assistance.
When using a Micro-Traxion make sure there is no slack in the system as they are not rated to take proper falls!
KNOTS & ABSEILING
Stopper knots: If using an overhand stopper knot, it’s essential to tie it right against the figure eight knot and keep a short tail. If the stopper is too far away from the figure eight you may end up clipping a draw or carabiner through the loop, and it makes clipping much more difficult if you are in a pumped, desperate situation as you have to reach too low and pull up too much rope to manage the clip.
European Death Knot (EDK): Despite the grim name, the EDK is a safe and accepted way to join two abseil ropes. It is essential to dress the knot correctly and ensure that each of the four individual strands is pulled tight. It also is not necessary to have a very long tail, around 12cm is more than enough.
WARNING: Long tails are super super super dangerous.
I was getting off a route a couple of years ago and my climbing partner had tied a knot that had a tail about 50cm long… and I put my device on the tail!!! I’m very lucky that I noticed. Willem also had a similar experience more recently, and his prusik saved him!
Tat lower-offs. In many ways a tat lower-off (i.e. an anchor made with accessory cord) is the safest form of descent, which is not to say that all tat lower-offs are safe – it hugely depends on the experience of the person placing it. Unlike bolts and even nuts, a thread or a solid horn draped with decent cord is pretty much foolproof and can be inspected and renewed each time. Even a relatively inexperienced person who has any sense will consider the safety of any tat lower-off, whereas bolted lower-offs are never really considered… until they pull out, as happened to me.
It is also logical and intuitive to back up and test a tat lower-off, which is conventionally done by the first and heaviest person, whereas bolted lower-offs are never tested. Having said that, Butch de Bruyn pulled off a fridge-sized block with metres of tat around it while climbing on Aiguille du Chardonnet. He knocked Tony off and they both went down around 200m; I just managed to get out of the way. Tony broke his fibula in the process from a crampon twisting his leg, and they were both bruised and battered. We should have inspected the block, which has been there forever; it was a hot day and it seems the ice keeping it in place had melted. How many bolted stances and lower-offs pull out of the Alps with global warming remains to be seen; the American Direct route on the Aiguilles du Dru fell down a few years ago bolts and all.
Abseil Lengths: Long abseils can be a very serious hazard, especially on big and remote walls. You can get stranded with a potentially dangerous prusik ascent of a rope as your only option if one end is out of reach. If this does happen, it is important to belay the person prusiking as they retrieve the rope, and the person must place gear in case the rope releases during the ascent; once both ropes are available the whole process becomes much safer.
That being said, long abseils, done safely and with the correct length ropes, save an enormous amount of time – if coming down from the top at Yellowwood, it saves at least an hour if there are three people, compared to the 30m raps on Newborn that even require directionals. For smaller crags, long raps are less hazardous, especially if they go all the way to the ground.
If in doubt, make anchors for rappels every 30m, in case you lose a rope.
Abseil Anchors: These must be designed so that the rope doesn’t become twisted and there are no slots or notches where a rope or knot can get stuck. Take-offs must be done from an easy-to-start high point on a ledge. Single-point, well-equalised abseil points are not only necessary but mandatory in this context. Abseil points must also be carefully chosen to allow the rope to drop down freely (avoiding rocky ledges) and to allow for the retrieval of a rope blown by wind.
All the main abseil descents at Yellowwood have single-point Singing Rock Redblocks to keep friction down and preserve ropes. They make a huge difference and they are backed up with an independent chain through which the rope is also fed; the older points on Down Time now also have three bolts.
Abseiling with the rope: This is advisable if there is wind or ledges and vegetation below that can snag the rope. Cable coiling loops is now my favoured method as it reduces the rope length to a third and sections are dropped as you go down. I simply start the coiling from the end, but there is another method called the Colorado Snake Bite, where the rope is coiled around several loops first. You can hang four or five loops off your harness gear loop and just drop them as you go. The cabling process starts at the ends of the rope you drop and only about 80% of the rope needs to be cabled. It is very useful for other reasons as it does not tangle and it also dries better if it gets wet as the coils are separated. It is also less strenuous to coil and does not need to be hung around your neck when coiling.
You can stop coiling anytime by clipping the last bight to a ‘biner, thereby stacking the coils. As with lap coiling, make sure that each time a bight is clipped to a ‘biner that the coiled part hanging down is a bit shorter than the last. As you abseil down and run out of rope, keep dropping a coiled section.
Severity Grading: I instituted a severity grading system around 1982 as an adjunct to the numerical technical grading system. In most instances, the numerical grading system is adequate because the technical grade encompasses the severity grade. However, the severity grading system is essential when grading easier trad routes as these routes are all too often climbed by inexperienced individuals. In fact, even experienced individuals are often injured or killed on such routes as the danger is ever present and often not fully appreciated. Easier routes are often less steep, such as Arrow Final which has a severity grading of S3 as a leader fall invariably leads to injury and, in two cases, death.
S0: Good rock, bomber gear easy to place, no ledges to hit etc. (Most but not all sport routes!)
S1: Some danger in one of the above factors but avoidable with care.
S2: Fall/s at some places on the route likely to be injurious, and/or rock quality may be questionable and may result in injury to the belayer if dislodged.
S3: Extreme care and competence are required to be safe.
S4: Extremely risky and dangerous no matter the competence of the climber (effectively soloing).
Note: Undertake all climbing and mountaineering activities with caution and seek out proper guidance and hands-on teaching before attempting any new skill.
