Table Of ContentH o w t o C l i m b® S e r i eS
Climbing
Anchors
Field Guide
Second Edition
John long
and bob Gaines
FFAALLCCOONNGGUUIIDDEESS®
An imprint of Rowman & Littlefield
Falcon, FalconGuides, Outfit Your Mind, and How to Climb are
registered trademarks of Rowman & Littlefield.
Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK
Copyright © 2007, 2014 by John Long and Bob Gaines
All photos by Bob Gaines unless otherwise credited
Illustrations © Mike Clelland
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including informa-
tion storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from
the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a
review.
Portions of this book were previously published in Climbing
Anchors by John Long (FalconGuides, 2006, and Chockstone Press,
Inc., 1993), More Climbing Anchors by John Long and Bob Gaines
(Chockstone Press, Inc., reprinted by FalconGuides, 1996), How to
Rock Climb by John Long (FalconGuides, 2003), Climbing Anchors,
2nd Edition, by John Long and Bob Gaines (FalconGuides, 2013),
Climbing Anchors Field Guide by John Long and Bob Gaines (Falcon-
Guides, 2007), Toproping by Bob Gaines (FalconGuides, 2012), and
Rappelling by Bob Gaines (FalconGuides, 2013).
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Information available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
ISBN 978-0-7627-8208-6 (paperback)
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum
requirements of American National Standard for Information Sci-
ences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/
NISO Z39.48-1992.
Warning: Climbing is a dangerous sport. You
can be seriously injured or die. Read the fol-
lowing before you use this book.
This is an instruction book about rock climbing, a sport
that is inherently dangerous. Do not depend solely on
information from this book for your personal safety. Your
climbing safety depends on your own judgment based on
competent instruction, experience, and a realistic assess-
ment of your climbing ability.
There is no substitution for personal instruction in
rock climbing, and climbing instruction is widely avail-
able. You should engage an instructor or guide to learn
climbing safety techniques. If you misinterpret a concept
expressed in this book, you may be killed or seriously
injured as a result of the misunderstanding. Therefore,
the information provided in this book should be used
only to supplement competent personal instruction
from a climbing instructor or guide. Even after you are
proficient in climbing safely, occasional use of a climbing
guide is a safe way to raise your climbing standard and
learn advanced techniques.
There are no warranties, either expressed or implied,
that this instruction book contains accurate and reliable
information. There are no warranties as to fitness for a
particular purpose or that this book is merchantable. Your
use of this book indicates your assumption of the risk of
death or serious injury as a result of climbing’s risks and
is an acknowledgment of your own sole responsibility for
your safety in climbing or in training for climbing.
The authors and Rowman & Littlefield assume no
liability for accidents happening to, or injuries sustained
by, readers who engage in the activities described in this
book.
Contents
Introduction .............................................................................vii
Simple Anchors
Chapter 1. Natural Anchors ................................................1
Chapter 2. Chocks.................................................................14
Nuts .....................................................................................14
Oppositional Nuts ..........................................................26
Micro-Nuts ........................................................................28
Hexes ..................................................................................33
Tricams ...............................................................................36
Big Bros ..............................................................................38
Chapter 3. Spring-Loaded Camming Devices .......39
Chapter 4. Bolts. .....................................................................60
Chapter 5. Fall Forces .........................................................71
Chapter 6. Judging the Direction of Pull ..................75
Chapter 7. Knots for Anchoring .....................................79
Anchor Systems
Chapter 8. Belay Anchors..................................................89
SRENE Anchors ................................................92
Cordelettes. ..........................................................95
The Sliding X ..................................................105
The Equalette ...................................................112
The Quad .........................................................116
Composite Anchors: Cordelette,
Sliding X, and Equalette .............................119
Upward Oppositional Anchors .........................120
Belay Methods ...................................................122
Chapter 9. Toprope Anchors ..........................................130
Chapter 10. The Joshua Tree System ........................137
Chapter 11. Rappel Anchors ..........................................149
C ontents v
About the Authors
John Long is the author of
twenty-five books, with over one
million copies in print. He is the
principal author of the How to
g
n
Climb® series. His short-form Lo
n
literary stories have been widely oh
anthologized and translated into of J
y
many languages. John won the es
t
2006 Literary Award for excel- ur
o
c
lence in alpine literature from the
American Alpine Club.
Bob Gaines is an AMGA Certi-
fied Rock Instructor who has
been teaching rock climbing
since 1983. He is the owner/
director of Vertical Adventures
Climbing School, based at Joshua
Tree National Park, California.
e
n
He has trained US Military Spe- KLi
y
cial Forces, including the elite t
at
P
US Navy SEAL Team 6. Bob has
also worked extensively as a climbing stunt coordinator on
over forty television commercials. He was the chief safety
officer for the movie Cliffhanger and doubled for Captain
Kirk when Kirk free soloed El Capitan in Star Trek V.
Bob is also the author of Rappelling, Toproping, Best Climbs
Joshua Tree National Park, and Best Climbs Tahquitz and Sui-
cide Rocks, and the coauthor of Rock Climbing: The AMGA
Single Pitch Manual, which is the textbook for the AMGA’s
Single Pitch Instructor Course.
Introduction
Climbing Anchors Field Guide is a companion guide
to the much larger Climbing Anchors. Many readers
would study anchor fundamentals in the large book (or
prior anchor manuals), but when they ventured onto
the rock and had to work strictly from memory, they
sometimes struggled to remember the details. What’s
more, toting Climbing Anchors to the cliffside was nei-
ther practical nor desired. So take this book instead.
That’s what it was made for.
Remember:
Basic Anchor-Building Facts
• “Perfect” rarely exists in real world climbing
anchors.
• No single rigging technique will work in
every situation.
• Trad climbers must efficiently improvise on a
handful of anchor-building techniques.
• The ability to improvise requires a thorough
understanding of basic principles.
• Climbing anchors always involve compro-
mises—the trick is to understand what you
should and should not compromise at a
given place on the rock.
vii
The fine points of the systems remain works-in-
progress as new materials, equipment, and refinements
are introduced into the field and marketplace. Never-
theless, the material in this edition represents the com-
bined, cutting-edge knowledge of both professional
guides and leading climbers worldwide.
viii Introduction
C h a p t e r O n e
Natural Anchors
Natural Anchors Are:
• Anything the environment provides—trees,
blocks, horns of rock, etc.
• Often more secure than gear-built anchors.
• Typically easy and fast to arrange.
• Multidirectional (can be loaded from any
direction).
• By and large environmentally friendly.
When Anchoring to a Tree . . .
• Make sure it is alive.
• Strive for a minimum diameter of 12 inches.
• Tie it off as low as possible to reduce
leverage.
1
