UKC

I enjoy many styles of climbing, from bouldering to alpine via winter and trad and have become increasingly attracted to aid climbing-solo aid in particular. Andy Kirkpatrick's book first brought it to my attention and it really appeals to me.

Question to people on UKC who aid climb, especially those who know about solo aid climbing. Which solo belay device would you recommend I get and why?

Cheers,

Robert

In reply to Roberttaylor:

I use a grigri. why? Because its the only way I know how to set it up.

In reply to Roberttaylor:

I think Andy K uses the silent partner. They're about $200 and you can't buy them over here because of EU testing.

You can self belay just using the rope though. Look up the Yoesemite roped solo system. I've used it a fair bit to trad climb. It's pretty scary and awkward.

In reply to Roberttaylor:

Just start by using a clove hitch (always tie a back up!). It's a very good trick to learn for any climber for self rescue.

Have a look at this http://andy-kirkpatrick.com/blog/view/rope_soloing_101_part_1

Andy

In reply to Roberttaylor: I don't solo aid, but I do solo free routes in the mountains. I use a silent partner, although I have also used a gri-gri. I've fallen on the SP, but not on a gri-gri. Whatever you do, tie a backup knot.

In reply to Roberttaylor:


I've done about 50 pitches using a clove hitch and taken a 120' and a 60' fall onto one. If I was to solo another El Cap. route I'd do the same again. It is cheap, simple, compact, effective, and there is relatively little to go wrong. It works really well for pure aid. It's a PITA for free-climbing and not being able to easily feed the rope was a contributory factor behind the 120' fall.

Back up with a figure of eight to a different crab.

Now, that sounds a story worth telling!

In reply to Roberttaylor: I've used a grigri for the little aid soloing I've done whilst short fixing - it worked well and I'm sure it would be fine for full pitches of soloing too. I was using it on 100% aid terrain but if you were going to be freeing any pitches/alternating between aid and free (which is pretty common on a lot of walls) then maybe a Silent Partner would be better for feeding the rope through whilst pulling free moves. A clove hitch sounds like a simple and easy solution too although would have the same issues with feeding ropes as a grigri for free moves (possibly more so).

In reply to David Coley:

i agree. please tell more!

In reply to duncan:

Come on Duncan - write it up for UKC! How about that fall of Auroa as well!

In reply to David Coley:

I wrote a bit about it on supertopo:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=14825&msg=460578#...

In reply to Roberttaylor:
I own and use the following.
Silent partner- very smooth rope feed, big and heavy, designed for the job, better IMO for mixed free and aid climbing.
Grigri- compact, fairly light weight, rope feed depends on rope size etc but generally very good, works well for aid only, and reasonably well for mixed aid and free.
Clove hitch- very compact, very lightweight, good for aid only, bit of pita for free climbing.
There is another version of the clove hitch set up, where you put several clove hitches on a crab with loops of rope between them, you just drop each hitch off as you ascend, this requires a couple of large crabs and obviously opening the gate of your main belay point, not ideal.

The silent partner rarely gets used as the grigri is my first choice, obviously there are potential issues with it but I've not had a problem with it, and ALWAYS USE A BACK UP KNOT, whichever set up you choose.

In reply to Roberttaylor: I take it the Grigri 2 is as useable as the grigri 1?

In reply to Roberttaylor:

Poorer feed with the typical soloist´s rope and issues with the rope catching under the handle part of the cam. Reputed strength issues.
The old Grigri has an established history as a reliable rope-soloing device and the new one hasn´t!

In reply to David Coley:
I have used a GriGri (1) that worked more or less fine. Lately I bought a Silent Partner to be safer. So I have hardly any experience with the Silent Partner. In the instruction it says use a 10.3 mm rope. I used as a trial a used Beal 10,2 mm rope. Not pleasant so to speak, it blocks. So changed to a newer 9,2 Infinity of Mammut without hardly any wear. But still it doesn’t run smooth enough for me.!?Especially when you need slack it “refuses” to feed as a surprise. Any (rope) advice is welcome. Thanks/rr

In reply to RR: How tight are you tying the clove hitch? And are you tying the clove hitch the correct way up?

In reply to David Coley:

I have discovered that if you start the amount of rope beneath you is critical. That the clove hitch is not to tight and has as least tension as possible so the line feeds nicely and doesn’t force the clove hitch to close/block. May be I didn’t read the instruction correct. Both ends of the clove hitch are exiting on the opposite side of the two small bars, so on the crabs side. One end of the clove hitch comes out to the right and one to the left, or one up and one down. I thought a clove hitch’s pull of direction doesn’t matter, as long as it is in the direction of the overlap. But maybe it chocks it self easier one or the other way. Does it? Sorry, I am not that technical.
Or may be it is just that I don’t want to pay the effort to release the knot now and then. Or don’t want to risk to fall loosening the clove hitch.

I am not used to fall (old school). To be honest I have only fallen a long time ago a long distance 40 feet in an overhanging climb. Belayed by a brave talkative partner (home sapience) that had burned hands after holding me and I had for year’s nightmares and for a couple of week’s sore ribs. Don’t want to repeat it. Anyways, more to the point: I can image to get a smoother rope (recommendations please if any) or may be it is that I do something wrong.

Thanks for the effort and your spent time on this subject.

/rr

In reply to RR:

Problem solved.
Tried a new smooth skinny rope (a borrowed Edelrid ± 9 mm)! It runs perfect trough the Silent Partner. So I am going (or have) to buy a new rope. The question is a skinny one or a thick one (10,3 mm) as recommended in the manual. I tend to opt for the skinnier version. Any recommendations?

In reply to RR:
It sounds like you have the knot the right way up, but check the instructions and the min. rope diameter.

Get yourself on top rope as a backup somewhere steep and lop onto the SP to build up confidence.