Making any instructional video with any more safety requirements than "don't burn yourself on the hot glue gun" is a minefield on UA-cam Edit: I got to 4:00 and she totally deserves this minefield. I've seen some dumb mistakes (general knowledge non safety stuff) made on this channel before but this one is dangerous. You don't unclip your personal anchor unless you are on a rope that is already supporting your body weight.
This is the first I've seen the quad in a video since learning it two years ago in a class. I guess my instructor was right in saying it was a pretty new anchor. I multipitch as often as I can, sometimes in a group of three. It's by far my favorite anchor, especially as a trio as it helps keep things clean before taking off on the next pitch.
before everybody starts climbing multipitch routes with only a single rope and a pull cord now, keep in mind that if you pull your cord and your single rope gets tangled up above you, you are left with a 5mm pull cord in your hand and have no save way to go up to retrieve your main rope and no way to go down either. Nevertheless it's a great system for easy multipitch routes where you can walk down and the chances of bailing are small or for steep/overhanging routes where you want to save weight and the chances of tangling up your rope is small.
Similar problems can happen as well with a double rope rap system. If the knot gets stuck above you, you are pretty much fucked unless enough of the rope made it down to you that you can use it to lead up to the stuck knot. That's why knowing how to pull in a rope in tricky situations like that is a massively useful skill though.
I agree! Even more reason to use twin or half ropes instead. An EDK is way less likely to get stuck than the three-knots--and-a-locker backup contraption she made.
Also agree EDK is the way to go for double rope raps for sure but it is nice to know this system in case you lose the core on one of those ropes and need to get down.
there definitely are limitation to any of the standard methods of recalling your rope. When rope weight or bulk are issues, this system is what most people use especially on mountains. If you use it all of the time you will learn its pitfalls which should help mitigate calamity on a more serious route later. I currently use a 1/8th inch tech cord tag line and carry a Beal escaper for most routes (including multi pitch and alpine). Im also a rope soloist with 45 years of climbing experience. The 1/8th inch rope cuts into your hands so you need gloves but works well because it doesn't stretch. The Escaper is fabulous and terrifying. It doesn't always release easily and I've never had it release early. It needs to be able to slacken off to unload so doesn't always work when the terrain is less than vertical or meandering. These really aren't single pitch sport climbing tools although I recommend practicing on this type of route. I tie a butterfly knot instead of an overhand or figure 8. Its easier to untie.
4:05 WTF? am missing something, or did she just unclip her primary sling without being secured by a secondary sling, or at least a midline double eight clipped in to the old anchor? If you’re gonna provide instructional vids, at least do it right.
As an AMGA Single Pitch Instructor and college climbing instructor, I take many issues with this video. There is zero redundancy in her edge security and she even unclips entirely at 4:02. I don't endorse the use of any sling through the belay loop (soft things through hard points, hard things through the belay loop). I also think it is important to use nylon instead of dyneema for a tether, especially if you are only using only one. As for the GriGri, I have one and love it; but you HAVE TO BACK IT UP when you are going hands-free. At 7:36 she is putting 100% trust in the GriGri's assisted auto lock; not a good call. It may be the fact that my guide certification is through the American Mountain Guide Association, but I find it hard to believe that it would contradict the Canadians this throughly. That all being said, I absolutely love the quadralette and use it most times I'm out sport climbing with beginners or spelunking (I prefer other directional anchors for trad). I also like the lightweight versatility of the tag line (I already owned a 70 m rope and didn't want to switch to half/twin ropes due to the cost). If you are considering doing alpine climbing where long abseils are important to you, and your safety is important to you, you should get twin or half ropes! They will be safer for climbing on alpine protection (usually sketchy) and can each act as a main rappel line if the other was core-shot. Plus, two half ropes weigh about the same as a single+tag. Climb safe, and PLEASE don't try anything shown in this video without in-person instruction from a certified climbing instructor!
I'm not trying to question Brette's ability or comfort at an anchor; she is an incredibly accomplished climber. I was just upset that this was marked as an instructional video and doesn't feel suitable for beginner climbers.
I've taken a couple of courses with the NKBV (the Dutch Alpine Association) and from their instructions I reach pretty much the same conclusions. One thing I do find very rarely on UA-cam, which we do all the time when on official courses and in the Dutch gyms, is that all biners that have a moving rope through them should be 3 action lockers.
She’s doing a lot of stuff that would be bad in guiding but fine for personal climbing. Yes, she should’ve put in a catastrophe knot and not depended on the grigri, but she does teach how to set up a tag line correctly which is the point of the video.
Wouldn't it be better to tie the overhand on a bight in the lead line than on the tag line? That way even if the EDK failed you would still be on the lead line. Her method seems pretty inferior.
Yes. Just saw this video and noticed that as well. Much better to tie the overhand on a bight for the biner block on the rap line (the thicker rope) BEFORE the overhand joining the ropes. This gives you a bulkier profile to lessen the chance of the knot getting pulled through the carabiner/quicklink/rap rings etc. Also ditch the overhands on the tails this only adds more bulk to get stuck in something.
Came here to say exactly the same. There's no benefit in having the knot on the tag line since if the double overhand knot pulls through the chains you'd be literally rappelling off your cordelette at the anchor point.
She says what they are; two overhand knots stacked (doubled up EDK), figure 8 for the backup, and it looks like the ends have another overhand for redundancy.
isn't self equaling unnecessary if you set up the belay in the direction of the last placed piece on the route? if your 2nd falls you're always going to be pulled in the direction of that last placed piece right.
For bringing up a second this works well as an anchor with convenient shelves, but I agree that self-equalizing isn't as important for multipitch. That being said, this anchor is absolutely phenomenal for setting up a TR for newer climbers on routes that wander or if you want to set up multiple routes with one anchor.
It's basically redundant the same way toproping or leading on a single rope is redundant: it isn't. You just accept the risk of relying on one massively bomber piece of gear for convenience.
Because the anchor is redundant against its own failure. Your rope is an entirely different part of the system, and nobody is stopping you from twin roping.
Is that supposed to be an EDK joining those two ropes together? That knot should be dressed much better. Also, why the two overhand knots in the tails? Something to get stuck in a crack or behind a flake? A better option would be to tie another edk right above the other edk to prevent the knot from rolling.
She's a few feet off the ground at most- you can hear people walking by in the background. Obviously isn't the best move for an 'instructional video', but then again if you can't recognize the discrepancy then perhaps you ought not to be taking a video as a form of legit instruction in the first place. And the rappel block w/ GriGri needs no backup.. you're on an assisted breaking device that requires direct user input to descend (opposite of a standard rapp w/ ATC where letting go leads directly to a fall). At most tie a cat-knot if stopping/going hands-free for longer than a few seconds.
very sorry, this should be corrected-was in shock to see at 4:08 the "rock star" as you stated in your intro. UNCLIP her personal anchor, prior to having her weight on rope or another backup anchor....dangerous.
Even if she has unclipped from the belay, chances are that she hasn't called safe yet as she is still building her anchor. So in that respect, there really isn't anything wrong with what she has done as she would still be on belay and her last runner would be protecting her if she was to fall.
At 4:32 you can look at her harness and see that she isn't tied into a rope, only the sling. Also at 7:33 you can see that they are about 15 meters up.
I understand that assisted braking devices are less preferred when using natural pro due to the harder forces on the gear. So why not use a regular belay device which is also much lighter?
abd's like the gri gri are really great for trad & lead climbing especially when belaying from above. Also a good lead belayer will make a soft catch regardless of the belay device, and don't forget that most of the catch comes from the dynamic quality of the rope.
A sewn loop PAS is essentially a sling. It has no more redundancy than a single sling. There is nothing wrong with girth hitching to the belay loop either as long as you check for wear often.
There is nothing wrong with using a sling to attach to an anchor. There are debates online about girth hitching the belay loop vs tieing in through the leg and weight loop. This debate often references Todd Skinner's belay loop breaking www.climbing.com/news/loss-of-a-legend/ It should be noted in this case the harness in question was in such bad condition that it was recommend not to use it. One of the areas that could be done better in the video is at 7:18 where Brette is detaching the sling from the anchor without a hand on the brake side of the rope (yes the grigri might catch but petzl makes it clear that one should always have there hand on the brake side of the rope)
So what? People are so stupidly pedantic in these video comments. She is demonstrating anchors, not how to use a grigri nor how to tie into a PAS. Girth hitched 22kn dyneema fails at 14kN from heat friction. Harnesses also fail at 14kN. You suffer internal injuries at 10kN. If you generate anywhere near these forces on a sling you have bigger problems that "tying a sling to a belay loop" ffs. Nylon belay loops give zero fucks about what you attach to them. Relax.
EpicTV you seriously need to take this video down. Not only does Brette completely unclip at 4:03, she also fails to back up her rappel, and is stepping all over her rope. I would hope that keyboard warriors don't use this terrible video as instruction, but this is not safe practice and is not befitting the quality of most of the rest of your content.
There are so many problems with this video. -only use a self-equalising anchor if you need it and if shockloading the gear would not make it fail -never completely unclip from an anchor -don't use an overhand knot to join two ropes, especially when they're not the same diameter -wear your helmet correctly -always back up your descender with a Prusik -unless absolutely impossible, refrain from using dyneema for attaching yourself to an anchor, as it stretches very little
DANGER!!! Minute 4:11 while hooking up to the Quad cordelette, if you fall, nothing will keep you safe. At 7:35 you find the host of the show barefoot!!! PleaseEpic TV hire asomeone who knows about safety to advise you before uploading videos in UA-cam, as some less experienced viewers or the host of the show may have an accident doing what is shown on this and other videos.
Its like wearing a helmet. Lots of people climb without it, but you'll be safer with one.(Take notice that some times you get hit by fallen rocks or carabiners) When repelling down an important part of your stability is proper foot placement and will be hard to do it with injured feet (stepping on sharp rocks or edges). Remember you are maneuvering while stepping on unstable and some times dangerous terrain. If doing climbing maneuvers is safer being barefoot, you'll find rescue teems from Police and firemen working that way. When climbing at the Gym I use my La Sportiva Otaki or Skwama, but for going outdoors I use more comfortable shoes like Mad Rock Nomad. Some climbers take off their shoes specially when using uncomfortable technical shoes, cause they are used to climb with only one pair and don`tolerate the pain after some minutes.
Matt is just like YES I am climbing for the first time in forever
These are fantastic! Excellent and potentially life saving info, with the best climbers out there. Thanks!
As an alpine/tradclimber this is one of the single most useful climbing tip videos I have ever seen.(anchor and rapline-wise).
What size length and type of cordeletee do u use brett. Ps everyone whinning about he unclipping at 4minutes no one cares.
Making a climbing instruction video on UA-cam is basicly as walking straight in to a minefield.
Making any instructional video with any more safety requirements than "don't burn yourself on the hot glue gun" is a minefield on UA-cam
Edit: I got to 4:00 and she totally deserves this minefield. I've seen some dumb mistakes (general knowledge non safety stuff) made on this channel before but this one is dangerous. You don't unclip your personal anchor unless you are on a rope that is already supporting your body weight.
This is the first I've seen the quad in a video since learning it two years ago in a class. I guess my instructor was right in saying it was a pretty new anchor. I multipitch as often as I can, sometimes in a group of three. It's by far my favorite anchor, especially as a trio as it helps keep things clean before taking off on the next pitch.
Brette is a savage, she just goes off the first pitch anchor completely while teaching the instructional video hahahaha
0:42 Mega Jul, love to see it! :)
before everybody starts climbing multipitch routes with only a single rope and a pull cord now, keep in mind that if you pull your cord and your single rope gets tangled up above you, you are left with a 5mm pull cord in your hand and have no save way to go up to retrieve your main rope and no way to go down either. Nevertheless it's a great system for easy multipitch routes where you can walk down and the chances of bailing are small or for steep/overhanging routes where you want to save weight and the chances of tangling up your rope is small.
ascend/lead on the 5mm pull cord? ;)
Similar problems can happen as well with a double rope rap system. If the knot gets stuck above you, you are pretty much fucked unless enough of the rope made it down to you that you can use it to lead up to the stuck knot. That's why knowing how to pull in a rope in tricky situations like that is a massively useful skill though.
I agree! Even more reason to use twin or half ropes instead. An EDK is way less likely to get stuck than the three-knots--and-a-locker backup contraption she made.
Also agree EDK is the way to go for double rope raps for sure but it is nice to know this system in case you lose the core on one of those ropes and need to get down.
there definitely are limitation to any of the standard methods of recalling your rope. When rope weight or bulk are issues, this system is what most people use especially on mountains. If you use it all of the time you will learn its pitfalls which should help mitigate calamity on a more serious route later. I currently use a 1/8th inch tech cord tag line and carry a Beal escaper for most routes (including multi pitch and alpine). Im also a rope soloist with 45 years of climbing experience. The 1/8th inch rope cuts into your hands so you need gloves but works well because it doesn't stretch. The Escaper is fabulous and terrifying. It doesn't always release easily and I've never had it release early. It needs to be able to slacken off to unload so doesn't always work when the terrain is less than vertical or meandering. These really aren't single pitch sport climbing tools although I recommend practicing on this type of route. I tie a butterfly knot instead of an overhand or figure 8. Its easier to untie.
Oh boy...I get confused when more than one rope is used but still slowly learning.
4:05 WTF? am missing something, or did she just unclip her primary sling without being secured by a secondary sling, or at least a midline double eight clipped in to the old anchor? If you’re gonna provide instructional vids, at least do it right.
Alpine climbing
"How to be an Internet Wanker": See most of the comments.
When top belaying, do you feed the rope as if you’re belaying from the ground?
As an AMGA Single Pitch Instructor and college climbing instructor, I take many issues with this video. There is zero redundancy in her edge security and she even unclips entirely at 4:02. I don't endorse the use of any sling through the belay loop (soft things through hard points, hard things through the belay loop). I also think it is important to use nylon instead of dyneema for a tether, especially if you are only using only one. As for the GriGri, I have one and love it; but you HAVE TO BACK IT UP when you are going hands-free. At 7:36 she is putting 100% trust in the GriGri's assisted auto lock; not a good call. It may be the fact that my guide certification is through the American Mountain Guide Association, but I find it hard to believe that it would contradict the Canadians this throughly.
That all being said, I absolutely love the quadralette and use it most times I'm out sport climbing with beginners or spelunking (I prefer other directional anchors for trad). I also like the lightweight versatility of the tag line (I already owned a 70 m rope and didn't want to switch to half/twin ropes due to the cost). If you are considering doing alpine climbing where long abseils are important to you, and your safety is important to you, you should get twin or half ropes! They will be safer for climbing on alpine protection (usually sketchy) and can each act as a main rappel line if the other was core-shot. Plus, two half ropes weigh about the same as a single+tag.
Climb safe, and PLEASE don't try anything shown in this video without in-person instruction from a certified climbing instructor!
I'm not trying to question Brette's ability or comfort at an anchor; she is an incredibly accomplished climber. I was just upset that this was marked as an instructional video and doesn't feel suitable for beginner climbers.
I've taken a couple of courses with the NKBV (the Dutch Alpine Association) and from their instructions I reach pretty much the same conclusions.
One thing I do find very rarely on UA-cam, which we do all the time when on official courses and in the Dutch gyms, is that all biners that have a moving rope through them should be 3 action lockers.
She’s doing a lot of stuff that would be bad in guiding but fine for personal climbing. Yes, she should’ve put in a catastrophe knot and not depended on the grigri, but she does teach how to set up a tag line correctly which is the point of the video.
Wanker.
That actually has nothing to with nationality. The SAC (swissalpineclub) as well as the UIAA would never recommend something like that.
Man, that's a lot of rope...but rather have more than enough than not enough..thxs Brett
Intro music sounding like the Succession theme
Wouldn't it be better to tie the overhand on a bight in the lead line than on the tag line? That way even if the EDK failed you would still be on the lead line. Her method seems pretty inferior.
Yes. Just saw this video and noticed that as well. Much better to tie the overhand on a bight for the biner block on the rap line (the thicker rope) BEFORE the overhand joining the ropes. This gives you a bulkier profile to lessen the chance of the knot getting pulled through the carabiner/quicklink/rap rings etc. Also ditch the overhands on the tails this only adds more bulk to get stuck in something.
Came here to say exactly the same. There's no benefit in having the knot on the tag line since if the double overhand knot pulls through the chains you'd be literally rappelling off your cordelette at the anchor point.
So I just wait and the ropes magically tie themselves up as in 6:03?
She says what they are; two overhand knots stacked (doubled up EDK), figure 8 for the backup, and it looks like the ends have another overhand for redundancy.
isn't self equaling unnecessary if you set up the belay in the direction of the last placed piece on the route? if your 2nd falls you're always going to be pulled in the direction of that last placed piece right.
For bringing up a second this works well as an anchor with convenient shelves, but I agree that self-equalizing isn't as important for multipitch. That being said, this anchor is absolutely phenomenal for setting up a TR for newer climbers on routes that wander or if you want to set up multiple routes with one anchor.
What crag is this? They mention ... little crag outside of Chamonix... does anyone know where it is exactly or what the crag is called?
Servoz 😊
This carabiner could fall or get damaged when you lowering like this
How is it a "backup" and "redundant" if your hooked onto 1 rope??
It's basically redundant the same way toproping or leading on a single rope is redundant: it isn't. You just accept the risk of relying on one massively bomber piece of gear for convenience.
Because the anchor is redundant against its own failure. Your rope is an entirely different part of the system, and nobody is stopping you from twin roping.
Is that supposed to be an EDK joining those two ropes together? That knot should be dressed much better. Also, why the two overhand knots in the tails? Something to get stuck in a crack or behind a flake? A better option would be to tie another edk right above the other edk to prevent the knot from rolling.
The knots in the tails are so you don't rap off the ends
I think I was referring to the tails at the anchor.
Where do you see the bottom ends of the rope in the video?
Interesting. Understood very little. But interesting. I'm slow, so I need very simple, broken down steps learn something.
is anybody LOOKING THE 4:03 FAILURE???
Yes, Catastrophic mistake
came to ask the same thing. Unforgivable on an instruction video. Also no backup prusik or anything on the Grigri rappel system.
Entirely unclips, jesussss
She's a few feet off the ground at most- you can hear people walking by in the background. Obviously isn't the best move for an 'instructional video', but then again if you can't recognize the discrepancy then perhaps you ought not to be taking a video as a form of legit instruction in the first place. And the rappel block w/ GriGri needs no backup.. you're on an assisted breaking device that requires direct user input to descend (opposite of a standard rapp w/ ATC where letting go leads directly to a fall). At most tie a cat-knot if stopping/going hands-free for longer than a few seconds.
You don't need a backup prusik on a gri-gri.
😳 i guess at 4:08 the primary safety is the sole of her left shoe and her redundancy is the sole of her right shoe....
6:16 puse the video and look how matt's hangin`...ahahahah total mess jaJAja
Unfortunately, the music, coupled with the cockerel, distracted me somewhat. *edit* haha, you actually apologised for it KUDOS! :D
I forgot how to do it, UGH.........
very sorry, this should be corrected-was in shock to see at 4:08 the "rock star" as you stated in your intro. UNCLIP her personal anchor, prior to having her weight on rope or another backup anchor....dangerous.
how they can trust the strength of those ropes and anchors?
4:03 wtf!
She is on the ground
I know right? Even if she is on the ground it's teaching people bad habbits.
No, she was a few meters of the ground
Even if she has unclipped from the belay, chances are that she hasn't called safe yet as she is still building her anchor. So in that respect, there really isn't anything wrong with what she has done as she would still be on belay and her last runner would be protecting her if she was to fall.
At 4:32 you can look at her harness and see that she isn't tied into a rope, only the sling. Also at 7:33 you can see that they are about 15 meters up.
I understand that assisted braking devices are less preferred when using natural pro due to the harder forces on the gear. So why not use a regular belay device which is also much lighter?
abd's like the gri gri are really great for trad & lead climbing especially when belaying from above. Also a good lead belayer will make a soft catch regardless of the belay device, and don't forget that most of the catch comes from the dynamic quality of the rope.
@@ethanguy82 gri gri is not recommended for trad climbing...
Using a sling as a PAS and girth hitching the belay loop....
yeah and she just detached from the anchor, it isn't clear of they were on the ground or not.
A sewn loop PAS is essentially a sling. It has no more redundancy than a single sling. There is nothing wrong with girth hitching to the belay loop either as long as you check for wear often.
There is nothing wrong with using a sling to attach to an anchor. There are debates online about girth hitching the belay loop vs tieing in through the leg and weight loop. This debate often references Todd Skinner's belay loop breaking www.climbing.com/news/loss-of-a-legend/ It should be noted in this case the harness in question was in such bad condition that it was recommend not to use it.
One of the areas that could be done better in the video is at 7:18 where Brette is detaching the sling from the anchor without a hand on the brake side of the rope (yes the grigri might catch but petzl makes it clear that one should always have there hand on the brake side of the rope)
So what? People are so stupidly pedantic in these video comments. She is demonstrating anchors, not how to use a grigri nor how to tie into a PAS. Girth hitched 22kn dyneema fails at 14kN from heat friction. Harnesses also fail at 14kN. You suffer internal injuries at 10kN. If you generate anywhere near these forces on a sling you have bigger problems that "tying a sling to a belay loop" ffs. Nylon belay loops give zero fucks about what you attach to them. Relax.
EpicTV you seriously need to take this video down. Not only does Brette completely unclip at 4:03, she also fails to back up her rappel, and is stepping all over her rope. I would hope that keyboard warriors don't use this terrible video as instruction, but this is not safe practice and is not befitting the quality of most of the rest of your content.
Its perfectly in line with the rest of their content. Matt does something unsafe nearly everytime he is on the wall.
Brette a cute
4:03 WTF, you kitting me???
She free solos. Why would she give a single fuck about unclipping whilst stood on that enormous ledge?
There are so many problems with this video.
-only use a self-equalising anchor if you need it and if shockloading the gear would not make it fail
-never completely unclip from an anchor
-don't use an overhand knot to join two ropes, especially when they're not the same diameter
-wear your helmet correctly
-always back up your descender with a Prusik
-unless absolutely impossible, refrain from using dyneema for attaching yourself to an anchor, as it stretches very little
Point 3 is incorrect. EDK is completely safe with equal diameter ropes.
come on 2 min of introduction !! 2 min wasted in my life
4:05 Scary. Always want to be tied in.
DANGER!!! Minute 4:11 while hooking up to the Quad cordelette, if you fall, nothing will keep you safe. At 7:35 you find the host of the show barefoot!!! PleaseEpic TV hire asomeone who knows about safety to advise you before uploading videos in UA-cam, as some less experienced viewers or the host of the show may have an accident doing what is shown on this and other videos.
Got me thinking, what being barefoot has to do with safety? People climb a lot barefoot.
Its like wearing a helmet. Lots of people climb without it, but you'll be safer with one.(Take notice that some times you get hit by fallen rocks or carabiners)
When repelling down an important part of your stability is proper foot placement and will be hard to do it with injured feet (stepping on sharp rocks or edges). Remember you are maneuvering while stepping on unstable and some times dangerous terrain. If doing climbing maneuvers is safer being barefoot, you'll find rescue teems from Police and firemen working that way. When climbing at the Gym I use my La Sportiva Otaki or Skwama, but for going outdoors I use more comfortable shoes like Mad Rock Nomad. Some climbers take off their shoes specially when using uncomfortable technical shoes, cause they are used to climb with only one pair and don`tolerate the pain after some minutes.
She looks sweet ey
If one bolt broke, you would fall. Do the magic x by twisting one of the ropes.
Look again. You are safe in the case of a single bolt failing, and unlike the X you are safe in case of a strand of cord being cut.
wheres her husband?