Setting Up a Top Rope Anchor | using tree anchors and then rappelling down

This video shows how to set a top rope anchor for climbing using tree anchors or natural anchors. It also shows how to transfer onto the top rope and rappel down. This is very useful for top rope rock climbing and rock climbing guide scenarios.
#rockclimbing #toprope #climbing

[@FightingGravity2071]

My wife and I are new to climbing. We just became top rope certified at our local gym in Nebraska. Your content has inspired us to move outdoors in the next year. I am so thankful for your clear communication and teaching style. Thank you so much!

[@summitseekersexperience]

Awesome. I think you will get a lot out of climbing outside

[@Beech1900pilot]

I watch your videos annually to remind me of the set up process for a top rope system. Thank you for the refresher

[@J.Cannon420]

Thanks for the video. I knew the bowline was fine and prefer the bowline for setting up my anchor. It's good to see an instructor preferring it as well. Cheers!

[@ericabeall3290]

Absolutely love how clear and straightforward this video is. Thank you!

[@summitseekersexperience]

For sure!!

[@DVMCellini]

The Bob Ross of climbing.

[@summitseekersexperience]

Trying to keep everyone relaxed

[@_wesleyrich_]

Nailed it! I actually watch these videos to sleep. And that’s a compliment!

[@hankmishima4798]

Thanks for this video! Plan to use your method for the trees for securing a static where needed. Like the process of checking your anchor and top rope while still backed-up.

[@delmarcarr6498]

Very thorough and informational only feed back I got is use a piece of carpet or a padding on the cliff edge places near me require them good for the rocks and your rope

[@GregSidberry]

Good content. Only prefer feedback is: 1. use at least a double fisherman to backup the bowline 2. personally prefer to use webbing to wrap trees ( wrap 2, pull 1 if possible) and rock. imo it's gentler on the tree and found webbing is more abrasion resistant on rock w/o worrying about damaged cores on corners. Many ways to reach the same goal. Keep posting!

[@summitseekersexperience]

Thanks Greg! Good points on other alternative solutions!

[@majkelb3057]

Underrated channel !

[@summitseekersexperience]

Thanks! Trying to grow this thing

[@JimBenson]

Great guide to building natural anchors at Allenbrook in Atlanta.

[@summitseekersexperience]

Thanks Man!

[@NoobForLyfe]

Excellent resource thank you so much!

[@georgemikodesigns]

Great examples over Allenbrook :P

[@sp10sn]

New subscriber. Thank you for this series. Question from a noob perspective; do we not place a mat or other material at the cliff's edge and/or other friction points?

[@summitseekersexperience]

You want to look at the cliff edge and see if it's sharp or sloping. If it's sharp, you'll want to use a towel or rope protector as you said.

[@KennyFontan]

Perfect, thank you!

[@summitseekersexperience]

Yeah man

[@timothyjnau]

Nice video! One thing I usually do is use a figure 8 instead of an over hand knot. The figure 8 is usually easier to untie depending on how much the rope is weighted and the knot tightens up. Referencing 8:37

[@summitseekersexperience]

Interesting... is it a double figure 8? the advantage of the BHK is that you get two loop master point.

[@toxic888]

thanks for the video

[@magnehaneberg8605]

Hi Jason! Novice from Europe here. You're using the GriGri to secure yourself to the tree. Could you talk a bit about using e.g. the Petzl MicroTraxion or the Petzl Tibloc as an alternative to the GriGri? My thinking is that you have to have a certain velocity to make the GriGri catch you, whereas with the other aforementioned devices they would catch you pretty much immediately regardless of fall speed. Of course with the risk of damaging the rope. I appreciate your videos! Keep it up! 👍 PS: If you don't have the MicroTraxion and/or the Tibloc and are considering getting them, they're available as part of the Crevasse Rescue Kit for a somewhat lower price than if purchased separately.

[@summitseekersexperience]

Hi there, I have a microtraxion and have used a tibloc before as well. The main advantage of the grigri over those for me is that it is easier to let slack back into the tether with the grigri (and you can do it weighted). Yes, the grigri needs to "get caught" as you said, but I always have the knot at the end of the cliff to prevent any catastrophic consequences. Definitely more than one way to do it, but this is my preferred.

[@cattochi_]

King 👑

[@summitseekersexperience]

yea boi

[@the_original_dane]

Love your videos, Jason. Great content. Please keep it up.

[@summitseekersexperience]

Thanks, for sure!

[@billshipley7067]

1 I dig the belt buckle 2 Can you use a super figure 8 in place of BHK

[@summitseekersexperience]

Yes… but a bhk is a better fit because of you have extra slack it doesn’t effect the location of your master point. Super 8 would be considerably lower with extra slack

[@RideBikes_Walkplaces]

Hi, just wondering why you don't use Edge protection on the rope, I've been told it's vital!

[@summitseekersexperience]

Definitely vital if the edge is sharp. The camera angle makes this look sharp but it's not.

[@370HSSU]

Always use edge protection.. Always. Your static rope will last longer too.

[@beakerboy]

You refer to the bowlines that you make as “bowline on a bight”. If you Google that, all images show a knot where the end loop of the bight is the loop that wraps around the two free strands. In your knot, the bight continues and requires an overhand on the bight. Is the a different name for the knot you use (single bowline with a bight?) versus “on a bight”, maybe? Any reason not to use the version that terminates itself and would not require the finishing overhand-on-a-bight?

[@zach4965]

Climbing anchors calls it a “bowline with a bight” distinguishing it from a bowline on a bite

[@zachh9201]

Is the knot around the tree a triple bowline?

[@TallTexasGMan]

Very informative. I don't climb rocks, occassionally towers (non-professional). Our harnesses include shoulder straps. However, my comment is really geared towards your V. Shouldn't you have rope protection, Kevlar wraps for example due to abrasion from rock edges?

[@summitseekersexperience]

This would be appropriate if ledges are sharp.

[@miniwaern]

Can you do this top anchor style with dynamic ropes or will the 90 degree cliff cut them immediately under tension and this is just for static climbing ropes, or?

[@mjh42777]

What about tying a figure 8 on a bite around the tree? Is that safe? Trying to build anchors at devils lake Wisconsin.

[@intothestickslife]

I'm new to this, so forgive me for what could be a stupid question... Why do you set your anchor (master point?) up so it's hanging over the edge of the cliff instead of on top? To me it would make sense to have the anchor on the top of the cliff so I can tension it as I'm about to step over the edge and start rapelling. This would save having to be tethered and rapelling to tie into your top rope to then continue rappelling. I hope that question makes sense!

[@summitseekersexperience]

Question makes sense. You normally want your top rop hanging (or rappel line for that matter). A lot of times if you pull the rope in the configuration you mentioned, there’s a ton of friction over the lip. Additionally, if the lip could cut the rope, rope protectors will only work on static rope vs a top rope being belayed on or rap line that needs to be pulled through.

[@intothestickslife]

@@summitseekersexperience Yep that makes sense to me, so you wouldn't want your top rope to be tied directly to the tree either?

[@summitseekersexperience]

@@intothestickslife that would be a different setup. Normally setting up a top rope from a single tree anchor would be done in a Multi pitch scenario. I may do a video on that application.

[@intothestickslife]

@@summitseekersexperience Brilliant, thanks for the help!

[@geoninja8971]

I feel the same - I like our master point to be 2-3 metres back from the edge, then I can give the system a good weighting before coming off the safety tether without actually being off the side.

[@mateoc.4791]

8:55 Is it still considered safe/good practice if you have 2 strands (double bite) as opposed to 4? I’m imagining this happening where the middle of the rope is already close to the edge so you don’t need to take another bite after the one giving two strands?

[@carterowens6763]

This is so helpful, thanks for sharing! I am curious why bowlines are used for the anchor knots vs something like a figure 8 or an overhand on a bight with a carabiner closing the system. I am not very familiar with bowlines and their advantages - are they easier to adjust for appropriate slack than other kinds of knots?

[@summitseekersexperience]

Great Question, Figure 8 will work, the advantage of the bowline over a figure 8 follow through is that you don't have to "guess" where to start the figure 8 knot prior to wrapping around the tree. With a bowline, you can wrap around the tree and then place the bowline exactly where you want. The bowline is also easily adjustable after they are tied (check out our other video that focuses on bowlines which highlights this).

[@adamstone5946]

@@summitseekersexperience I'm going to add to your response, that bowlines are also much easier to untie once they have been heavily weighted. Figure 8, can be challenging to untie at times.

[@summitseekersexperience]

@@adamstone5946 yeah for sure.

[@SIaybrahamLincoln]

Thank you so much for making this video. Very informative and easy to follow. Is there any concern about abrasion of the anchor rope running over the edge of the cliff? Thanks again.

[@summitseekersexperience]

Definitely something to be mindful of. If the edge is sharp, you need to shield the rope from the edge with a rope guard, backpack or tarp/towel

[@gabrielparent4735]

Do you have a solution to put redundancy on your first tether ? If that static rope breaks, you are done for.

[@summitseekersexperience]

Well, static ropes are more robust than climbing ropes and we don't have redundant climbing ropes. Secondly, when on tether, your main layer of protection is your stance. You are not actually climbing here, just working close to the edge so your stance should be more than adequate unless your shoe laces are untied. A lot of people want to over "redundancize" a system but it's important to know if it's actually justified.

[@gabrielparent4735]

@@summitseekersexperience sound right to me ! I agree that « must put redundancy everywhere everytime » can stress and isnt possible everytime

[@hudgensjeter9748]

Great stuff! Keep it up. Are you in Arkansas? Sure looks like it

[@summitseekersexperience]

Thanks. Nope, I live in the Atlanta area.

[@tuesdaysdontsuck]

Would you ever tie your bowlines/ overhands on the anchor points as redundancy, but then wrap rope around the tree 3 or 4 times to use the friction? Also thanks for the super content!

[@summitseekersexperience]

The friction is unnecessary if you tie a bowline/OH. I'm not big on the tree wrap knot.

[@billyelliot78]

Nice video, exactly the information I was looking for. what gauge static rope are you using there?

[@summitseekersexperience]

8.5 mm

[@erictrumpler9652]

Interesting...too bad you didn't show a total view of the set up... I would have liked to see more clearly which strands of the static rope coming from the first anchor were used as the tether and master point respectively...

[@summitseekersexperience]

For sure. I'll try to do that more in future vids

[@garrettseal]

Since your original tether was a static rope, isn’t it incredibly dangerous to take a fall on that? Or am I missing something

[@summitseekersexperience]

If there is significant slack yes, but note how I manage the backup knot to be basically right at the edge of the cliff. Thus, if I were to take a fall, it would be there, and the travel would be minimal. Also, don’t confuse this with climbing above anchors with a PAS on the master point

[@flynryan3053]

9mm or 10mm static rope for anchor setup? Edit He used 9mm, i should have scrolled further

[@clarkcoots]

Is there any viability in using a Connecticut tree hitch for one side of the static rope anchor?

[@summitseekersexperience]

Probably not but a bowline would be more appropriate

[@370HSSU]

Always use edge protection. It can save your life.

[@testboga5991]

Why not tensionless anchor?

[@mateoc.4791]

I have 30ft of 7mm accessory is this enough to make this type of anchor (at least some of the time)?

[@summitseekersexperience]

Negative… you probably need at least 100 ft of rope

[@SethSchneiderw]

What mm is your static line?

[@summitseekersexperience]

9 mm

[@martinhub3737]

Why not just descent on that Grigri ?

[@summitseekersexperience]

you could, but then you would need to start the descent on the tether with the atc... or have to grigris

[@Flaime69]

how long was the static rope that you used?

[@summitseekersexperience]

I have a 150 foot, 8.5 mm from Edelweiss that works great for all situations

[@uvdpuqhcpenfyalf]

You use term "working strand" without defining what it means.

[@summitseekersexperience]

That's the end of the rope that you can manipulate.

[@bobwojcik6196]

You don’t mention anything about being sure both anchor strands are equalized.