Once we have worked on understanding our rub points on the webbing and knowing where we need to be more cautious, we can look at the ways to mitigate that rub for the last man down. In Part 1 we created a courtesy anchor rigging to overcome the edge transition and rubbing for others in the group, now we set up a little bit of redundancy in the webbing in order to give the last man down a marginal bit of safety should he/she rub the webbing across the rock any and potentially start to shred it up.
Canyoneering can be damaging on the ropes and anchors, but they don't have to be fatal or even semi close to fatal when the anchors are rigged properly, or even modified such as this to create a safer canyoneering environment for everyone, not just in your group, but in the groups that may follow behind you.
In coming months we will be highlighting a few more anchor setups and how those can be fixed and resolved to create a wholly redundant safe system.
I've been Canyoneering for nearly two decades, and over the past couple years it seems that anchor rigging has been changing in the canyons. I contribute this to several factors to include new younger blood entering the canyoneering realm and that newer younger blood not being properly trained on how anchors should be set up.
If you haven't checked out our Live Stream we did on Anchor Dynamics, now would be a good time to go back and review this video: Anchor Dynamics Live Stream
I have seen the single strand webbing hanging over and edge anchor popping up more and more in the past couple of years. This anchor has it's place to be used, but the nuances and dangers of the anchor must be understood and the understanding that the anchor is neither redundant or backed up. If the single strand of webbing breaks, it breaks and the person hanging on the end of the webbing / On Rappel is going to fall. This occurred several years ago and one of the more public incidences in Constrychnine canyon. A group of about 30 were rappelling on the same anchor and the same piece of webbing 2/3 of the way through the canyon when about #16 got on rappel and hung over the edge and the webbing snapped dropping the rappeller about 60 ft. to the canyon floor. This could have been prevented with simple measures being taken and some forethought in the anchor and group management.
This video is Part 1 Check out the next post for Part 2
I often get asked this simple yet so complex question. What should be my first gear purschases when getting into Canyoneering?
Sometimes "Newbs" can get a bit overwhelmed by the different types of gear and the amount of gear out there, which is to be a bit understated, because the world of Canyoneering is still so new that there isn't a lot of gear for the sport like there is for other sports. If you get into climbing or camping or backpacking there are many more manufactures and gear sources for these, Canyoneering is still up and coming in the gear sector and companies are forming to fill the niche, but it's still gonna be a while. This is good, because you only have to look in a few places to find the proper gear, but there still is some confusing things to consider.
In this video I talk a little about the most essential gear that you should start with. These items are what you absolutely need in order to travel through a Technical Slot Canyon. Everything else on top of this is more for comfort and ease of travel. Sometime Newbs will buy the non-essential gear first because it's less confusing.
So, to break down what you really need: Rope - a Static Canyoneering Rope (Canyoneering ropes are made specifically to repel water and have a tighter weave to resist abrasion from the canyon environment) Don't try canyoneering with your climbing rope - it SUCKS! If you do, don't EVER use your climbing rope for climbing again. Harness - Climbing harnesses work just fine - Don't EVER use your climbing harness for climbing again if used for Canyoneering. There are Canyoneering specific harnesses that have a little different tie in point and some seat protection built in. You can also buy add on seat protectors to put onto some types of climbing harnesses. Carabiner(s) - A Screw Gate locking carabiner. Don't use Autolocking carabiners. Sand jams the mechanisms and make them unsafe. Rappel Device - Any rappel / Belay device will work, but there are canyoneering specific devices that work better on the canyoneering ropes and single strand rappels. Quick Links - Also called Rapide's (French) these will be left behind on the anchors and you will need enough for each rappel in the canyon. 1" Tubular Webbing - This to will be left behind on the anchors that are build and or replaced from worn out stuff in the canyon. Use dull colors that won't attract too much attention (Black, Tan, Rust). You will need enough webbing to replace all the anchors in the canyon. Some canyoneer's carry up to 50' at a time with them. Helmet - Any climbing helmet will work.
This will get you started into the canyoneering world. Other items will follow as you get more involved and decide that the sport is for you and you want to stick with it. If you have a good experienced group that you are starting to go out with, you might be able to get away with not buying a rope immediately if others in the group have ropes that will be used and you are tagging along with. My next purchase after these items would be a good Canyoneering Specific Back pack and Shoes. But more on that later, or hit me up with questions in the comments if you'd like to explore more items.
