The one about bombproof anchors…

EARNEST

Equalised
Angles Appropriate
No
Extension
Strong
Timely

Today i had the chance to help conduct an APC 3 class at work. Whilst most of the participants were fixated on the angles and the redundancy in the system, most neglected the strength of the anchor points they have chosen. Some chose boulders that were the size of a small TV set, others chose a clump of trees by the water’s edge. Many failed to notice that regardless of how well they have measured their anchors or ensured that there is minimal extension, the basic fact is if the anchor points are not strong enough, all their efforts will be in vain. It’s like spending thousands of dollars on a bicycle but securing it with only a cheap $10 lock. The priorities are all wrong.

I would advocate teaching climbers how to select good, solid, bomb proof anchor points first, or rather the strongest anchor points they can find. Boulders the size of a small car, tree trunks as thick as your waist, a constricting crack with a lip to prevent your pro from slipping out. Find the best anchor point that you can find and then secure yourself to it (remember your safety is equally as important), then move around to find other suitable anchor points and join them to your strongest anchor point. Finally, bring them all together with a master point and you have your anchor. Then the EARNEST checklist can come out to refine the anchor, and to assess its quality. The priority should be the anchor points and not the other points.

Wish i figured this out myself, but it was really QX and Rainbow who pointed that out to me in the SPI course i attended. Thanks for sharing it with us. It was so obvious but yet so many of us missed it. Hopefully more instructors can see and teach about anchors with this pair of lenses from now onwards rather than just focusing on self-equalising and isolated, and redirect and, sliding-x….

In round 2, the trainees on the course did a lot better selecting anchors. Their eyes were now open to selecting good anchor points before figuring out how to join them together and compensating for any weak points selected. The results were much safer anchors and a greater appreciation for the bombproof anchors.