Fixed Gear

[Fred]

This is why yo don't TR on fixed gear. I had to lower on a bunch of these in Owens River Gorge. LOL

[Fred]

Luckily the FIXE rap-ring stations aren't as susceptible to this kind of wear because they are a perfect circle and rotate to prevent wear in the same spot. However, D-shape gear such as chain links, carabiners, and open shuts like the one in the photo force the rope in the same spot every time.

[Burley]

F I A C K ! ! !

Just think... someone was the last person to rap off that... yummy!

[chossmonkey]

Worn Super Shuts actually test higher than new ones. The grove keeps the rope from sliding to the front and bending open the hook under high loads.

How worn they can be and still have good specs is anyone's guess though. The sharp edges are another story with a less happy ending. I forget where I saw the test data.



But yeah people shouldn't TR or do multiple lower offs through the gear. A lot of people think it is fine to lead a route then flip their rope through open anchors like that and lower off because they are not TRing.

[anderfo]

Wow that didn't look pretty. I wonder how old it is...!

At the rope gym in my town, we have fixe clip-in carabiners at the top, 2 of them at each anchor, and they have been used for lowering and toproping continuously from about 4p till 10pm every night for many years. Of course they are checked quite often, but they have never looked like this.
They look like this except we have two biners (one on each bolt) instead of a chain and only one biner.
We use them also at our sport crags and some of them have been on very popular routes (where you have to stay in a queue before climbing) since 1994 and they still look nice. So nobody ever thinks about rapping off instead of lowering, as long as the anchor looks OK - and it normally does.

However using those biners for lowering and toproping requires that people actually make sure that they still do not look like the one you have shown here.

[Fred]

You need fine sand on the rope to get these results which is why it doesn't typically happen in gyms, granite cliffs and limestone cliffs. More likely to happen with sandstone.

[chossmonkey]

I find it is more what the base of the cliff is like than the type of rock. Granted the type of rock generally dictates how much grit there is at the base to be picked up from the rope.

It should also be a reminder to folks to wash their rope after visiting places like the Red.

[martha]

I rapped off some shite like that in Vegas. my feet touching the ground was the best ever.

[*Chris*]

I swear Fred or Martha posts that pic every spring. Who'd you catch TRing through the anchor this time?

[Fred]

I didn't see anyone...

Sorry if I've posted this before, I didn't remember.

[martha]

I'm sure I've never posted that pic, but I have chewed people out for TR'ing through anchors before.

[anderfo]

Probably not necessary at Welsford or similar places where wearing out the anchor will take 100+ years

[*Chris*]

Yep... guess I was wrong. Found only 1 thread and it was a slightly different photo. My apologies.

[martha]

wow, reading my olds posts... I've really mellowed in the last few years and since having kids. MF was only a tiny baby in that thread and I was feisty!

Gosh, I miss that woman!

[STeveA]

If you climb at Rumney, NH you will notice that most of the top anchors look like the photo. Very scarry. In addition a lot of the nuts are loose and can be hand tightened.