Connecticut Top Rope Anchor Shopping List
Essential equipment before you head out to the local traprock crags in Connecticut.
The Top Rope Anchor Course is one of the most popular courses I teach. We cover lot of information in those first couple days out and I’m often asked “what kind of climbing anchor equipment should I buy now?”
Following is a list of equipment you’ll need for top rope climbing in Connecticut complete with tips on what to buy and gear you should stay away from. The focus here is on rigging anchors from natural protection i.e. trees, boulders and horns.
Connecticut top rope anchor setup often requires long static ropes and creative anchoring to reach the cliffs edge.
WAIT UNTIL YOU KNOW FOR SURE
If you’re thinking about purchasing your own top rope rig wait until after you take a course. Practicing with the guides equipment will allow you to make more informed decisions on what to buy. Keep in mind that retailers often (or probably should) have policies against returning safety equipment.
KNOW THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF YOUR GEAR
When it comes to safety equipment it’s best to stay away from used gear, especially products made of nylon (i.e. ropes, harnesses, etc). Carabiners can last indefinitely but harnesses and ropes have a life span of only a few years for most users. Retire your equipment in accordance with manufacturer specifications and store in a cool, dry and chemical-free environment – contamination is to be avoided at all costs.
PURCHASE EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURED SPECIFICALLY FOR CLIMBING
It seems obvious but avoid re-purposing ropes, harnesses and safety equipment from other activities, hardware stores and marine supply shops. Despite the labels strength ratings you may find the wear properties, intended uses and ability to hold knots are not appropriate for climbing.
Look for a CE and/or UIAA marks to ensure the equipment has been tested and meets minimum requirements for use in climbing.
Products that carry the CE mark meet minimum EU requirements.
Products with the UIAA mark meet the testing standards of the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation
Here’s your top rope anchor shopping list
Helmet (one for each member of your party)
Static Rope
Dynamic Climbing Rope (60m or 70m)
(6) Locking Carabiners (HMS, Pear Shape)
(1-2) Cordelette (7mm, ~20')
(2) Sewn Slings (120cm, 240cm)
Brake Assist Belay Device (GriGri, Cinch, etc)
CLIMBING HELMET
If you climb outdoors (especially around here) you must wear a helmet for protection from falling objects i.e. loose rock at Ragged Mountain and airborne glass bottles at Pinnacle Rock.
Recommendation: Buy a lightweight helmet you like, cover it in stickers and don’t skimp on the price. You’re far more likely to carry and wear a helmet you like it vs. one of those heavy miners helmets we used to wear.
STATIC ROPE
You’ll want a long low-elongation rope to reach those far away trees and blocks common at Connecticut crags. Stay away from spooled webbing – the durability of a static rope vs. tubular webbing will dramatically increase the security of your anchors.
Recommendation: Nearly all major climbing rope manufacturers are making good static ropes. Your static rope should be 10mm or greater in diameter and about 40 to 50 meters long. Buy dark solid colors not easily confused with your dynamic climbing ropes.
I like to use the Sterling 3/8″ SuperStatic2 in our climbing school.
DYNAMIC CLIMBING ROPE
Which dynamic rope you choose has much to do with the terrain and type of climbing you like to do. For top-rope climbing in Connecticut, you’ll want something a little thicker for durability and at least 60 meters in length to reach the tallest climbs at Ragged Mountain.
Recommendation: Look for a dynamic rope between 10-10.2mm in diameter x 60 meters in length. Dry treated ropes will cost a little more but tend to be stronger and last longer than non-treated lines.
I like the Sterling Velocity 9.8 and the Mammut Crag Classic for their handling and durability.
SIX (6) LOCKING CARABINERS
You’ll want to have several locking carabiners available in addition to the ones you used to belay. Most anchors will use at least three and you’ll find the extras useful for rigging ground anchors, rappel backups, and myriad other uses.
Recommendation: Avoid small D and modified D-shaped locking carabiners. You’ll often need to clip bulky knots and master-points that require a larger gate opening. Pear and large D-shaped carabiners work well in top rope anchors.
I like to use the Petzl Attache and William carabiners.
CORDeLLETE
A necessity for tying off trees, flakes, blocks or for equalizing multiple pieces of protection into a single anchor point. So useful you might want two!
Recommendation: Purchase 7 meters (~23ft) of 7mm accessory cord. Form a loop by tying the ends together with a figure 8 bend (preferred) or a double fisherman’s knot.
SEWN NYLON SLINGS
Slings come in a variety of lengths, strengths, and materials. For top-rope anchors, you may want to have a couple of longer runners available. For top-rope anchors use thicker nylon or Dyneema blend slings for their durability and strength – you probably want to avoid the super-thin, lightweight Dyneema slings meant for lead and alpine climbing.
Recommendation: Carry (1) 120cm (double-length) sewn sling and (1) 240cm (quad-length).
I like to use the Black Diamond Dynex and nylon (22kn) and the Bluewater Titan (27kn) runners.
BRAKE-ASSIST BELAY DEVICE
Increase your security while working near the edge with a brake assist belay device attached to your anchored working tail. Go hands-free with a bomber catastrophe knot within arms reach of the device. The brake assist devices are pricey but can also come in handy for self-rescue, belaying from the top and belaying your partner while they hang-dog their project.
I like to use the Petzl GriGri for securing myself at the cliff edge.
Recommended Reading
Rock Climbing Anchors by: Craig Luebben
Self-study is an important part of your continuing education in climbing. There’s a lot of questionable information out there. Be sure to learn from reputable sources.
Nothing can replace professional instruction but his book is one of the better printed sources of trusted and tested anchoring techniques.
A White Mountain Rescue
A WFR course gets some real world training with two simultaneous calls for rescue on Mt Washington.
By Christopher Broughton-Bossong
SOLO Wilderness Medicine Instructor
Students practice first aid and emergency response during a recent Wilderness First Responder Course.
During a summer teaching wilderness medical response courses in the White Mountains, I was contacted by New Hampshire Fish and Game to assist with a rescue on the Glenn Ellis trail, leading up Mt Washington. It was an overcast and rainy day and I happened to be in the middle of teaching a wilderness first responder course for SOLO when the call came in. This timing worked out quite well as it meant I had a class of roughly 20 additional and unsuspecting rescuers to bring along.
The Glenn Ellis trail is a rather arduous trek and the more hands for something like this the better. The call had come in for a young girl with a school group who had a seizure near the top of the trail. During the hike in, a ground hornet nest had been disturbed and clouded the trail with hornets, to add a bit more to the challenge. A hasty team had already arrived on scene and gotten the girl packaged into a litter. During the event, one of her classmates was nearing a panic attack and so her teacher took the initiative to walk this student out ahead.
As our team was hiking down with the young seizure patient, I was alerted, by radio, that there was a second call on the mountain and on the same trail. The teacher who hiked out ahead had fallen and may have broken her collar bone. Myself and another rescue ran ahead to assist her. Her collar bone seemed to be intact but she had broken her arm in three places. Each fracture prevented us from being able to splint or sling the next appropriately. We had to improvise. We managed to use several triangular bandages and an ace bandage to secure her arm well enough to allow her to comfortably walk out. A problem we had not anticipated was that with her arm slung extending downward in front of her, she could not lift her leg more than about six inches without her thigh bending her broken wrist. This made traversing a boulder field seemingly impossible.
We used a daypack, flipped it upside down and had her step through the straps with her legs then secured the lumbar strap around her waist, creating a makeshift harness. This allowed us to lift her onto, over and down the areas that she could not climb over on her own. She managed to walk herself the entire way back down the mountain to the waiting ambulances.
Tuckerman Ravine seen from the Lions Head Trail on Mt Washington, NH
Facilitating any rescue in a wilderness setting is inherently challenging and not without risk. Having the number of patients double with one of them sustaining multiple fractures is nearly enough for the challenges to quickly outweigh the available resources. We were fortunate that both patients were stable and we had a team of rescuers ready and able to think outside of the box and improvise the tools needed to overcome each new obstacle as it arose. I overheard one of the paramedics on that rescue who was also a state medical examiner comment on the students that he had never seen a litter team move someone so quickly while continuing to check vitals rotate out people on the litter and descend a mountain without setting the litter down. He had no idea that they were just students and had never done a rescue like this before. It was one of my proudest moments as an instructor. We never know when things will take a turn for the worse but having the confidence to meet those challenges and maintain your composure really can make the difference between life and death out there.
Be Prepared
Accidents happen. People get hurt, sick, or lost. Would you know what to do? By learning a few basic skills, you can make the difference between a good outcome and a bad one-and maybe even save a life.
Ascent Climbing and Rock Climb Fairfield are teaming up to bring SOLO’s Wilderness First Aid (WFA) and WIlderness First Responder (WFR) courses to Fairfield, Connecticut in May 2016.
