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Anchors

Anchor

Our best friend in climbing! A solid, simple and bombproof anchor is what keeps you and your partner safe. An anchor always consists of at least two or three anchor points that are connected via rope or cord material into one “clip in” point – the masterpoint. The anchor connection between each anchor point and masterpoint is called “anchor leg”. Hence, there are always as many “legs” as anchor points.
The type and length of rope material used for anchors, varies from situation to situation. An anchor is also typically a belay or rappel station that marks the end of a climb or pitch. In sport climbing an anchor is typically made up of minimum 2 bolts. In traditional climbing an anchor is typically made up of either 3 camming devices or 1-2 solid rock/tree tie-offs
The angle between each leg shall not be higher than 60 degrees. That is why the bolts of a bolted anchor are always close to each other. Especially when rigging a trad anchor, it is more important to consider angles since individual placements of one anchor may be far apart thus creating a wider angle.
Anchors can be very simple and very complex depending on the rock terrain and available fixtures (bolts,cracks, trees, boulders). Generally speaking, 2 bolt anchors are quicker to rig but with good rock quality and lots of cracks it is also quick to create a 3 piece trad anchor.
There is a big distinction between a Top Rope anchor and Multi-pitch anchor. Top rope anchors often need to be extended so that the master point is out of the way of big rocks, ledges and low angle terrain. They also need to be more conservatively build with extra locking carabiners and thicker rope or webbing. Top Rope anchors are typically far away from the belayer which means that there is less control and no monitoring for unusual actions such as:
open carabiner gate through movement, carabiners scraping against rock, non-equalized masterpoint and so on.
For TR anchors:
  • preferably use locking carabiners when building a TR anchor
  • always use 2 locking carabiners for the rope
  • (when needed) extend master point out for cleaner rope management
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    What an amazing experience! We took the beginners class, and so happy we did, Fabi was very knowledgeable, breaking instructions down step by step making it easier and fun to learn! After learning all the important safety steps we got to climbing right away, with fabi right there giving us pointers on the best route to take. I left class feeling more confident in my abilities to climb. Fabi has such a chill, friendly, and encouraging way of teaching, it felt like we were learning with a friend. I highly reccomend. Thank you for sharing your knowledge Fabi!
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    Had such an incredible time doing my first trad rock climbing multi pitch! Coach Jakob was extremely professional and taught my friend and I so much. We went up over 2,000 feet and got to the top of a stunning mountain in Idyllwild. He was informative and we felt completely safe the entire time. It was a fun and beautiful adventure. We would highly recommend Jakob and Chillino Rock Climbing Group for your upcoming adventures!
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