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magoojd
Aug 15, 2006, 1:47 PM
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Registered: Jan 23, 2004
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My friend and I were climbing a two pitch route at the Gunks this week and something happened that didn't seem quite right. While I was belaying from the first belay ledge (friend leading 2nd pitch), another party started climbing the first pitch. The leader climbed up to my belay ledge and proceeded to place three cams for a top rope setup in the same crack as one of my anchor pieces (about a foot to the right of a pink tricam - outer most piece). It was only after he equalized the three pieces that he finally acknowledged me and asked if his anchor would be "in the way"? It seemed fine, so I let it go, but I thought he was a bit presumptuous.
Was it wrong for him to assume that I would be fine with him crowding my anchor?
or
Was he following a common practice and I'm just over-protective of my precious pink tricams?
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olderic
Aug 15, 2006, 1:56 PM
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In many parts of tne world they would have just clipped your pink tri-cam directly - consider yourself lucky... If the crack being used was the "obvious" one for an anchor then I think it's fine. Sure you can imagine a catastrophic failure of one anchor breaking the rock and blowing the other anchor but realistically (saying this without seeing the situation) it's probably unlikely. I don't know what route you were on but the Gunks is a crowded area you've got to share.
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csproul
Aug 15, 2006, 1:58 PM
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Registered: Jun 4, 2004
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Yes, I do think you are overreacting. There is nothing wrong with sharing the same anchor space. He didn't clip your gear or get tangled up with you or even belay from the same ledge (some of which can be ok too in the right circumstances). When you climb in one of the most crowded areas in the country you are going to have to be prepared to share some space. That being said, a little courtesy from the second party isn't out of line either. I try to at least say hi to the other party and let them know what I'm about to do and see if that bothers them at all. But if someone just rigs an anchor next to mine, I probably wouldn't be concerned.
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bozher
Aug 15, 2006, 2:35 PM
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Registered: Mar 7, 2005
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I know this is trad and not sport but it is so common in sport climbing that you just have to expext it in a busy area and make sure you connect into the bolts and not rap rings in case someone is passes you at a station or is rapping from above. It sucks when it happens but sometimes there is no alternative.
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jrathfon
Aug 15, 2006, 3:08 PM
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a guy (probably guide) led past me at the gunks yesterday while i was in the middle of rapping onto the next rap station. he clipped that station, then continued to link the second pitch. somehow he managed to walk between my two rap lines, already being pulled through the next rap station, with his double ropes and basically tangled everything. His party, four climbers, two climbers to each double rope began to climb with the double ropes effectively sawing across my rap-lines. I was a little peeved, but since he was two pitches up I refrained from yelling F*** Y**. If he had waited 30 seconds my ropes would have been clear and I would have been safely on the ground, instead he forced me to have to weave my rope around his cluster-f*** at the bolted rap station/belay. the route was sixish, and i didn't catch the name on his shirt, but the only guides I had seen that day in the area go by h*** a****. i'm not sure if he was from that company, so i won't blast them, but this isn't the first incredibly a-hole move i've seen from a guide in just 3 consecutive weekends. for the record, i was already rapping the pitch before he even began to lead from the ground.
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shockabuku
Aug 15, 2006, 4:00 PM
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Registered: May 20, 2006
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I think a good solution to the discomfort you're feeling is to be proactive and initiate a discussion about what they're going to do yourself. When someone comes along into the space I'm occupying, just them being there causes me to want to know what they're going to do. So, after saying hello, I usually ask. This generally starts a conversation in which we work out a mutually beneficial arrangement. I've found, even at the Gunks, that other climbers are usually polite and understand my concerns.
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jrathfon
Aug 15, 2006, 4:21 PM
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Good in theory, and I did just that. The answer was "I'm climbing" and he proceeded to run across my ropes. (basically his attitude was, who the hell are you to question me) I was the one who's ropes he was going to cross, that's who the hell I was. I had a relatively new climber rappelling with me, and the cluster-f*** was not appreciated. Especially since it was like 90, sunny, and I was dehydrated (my water on route ran out), the only thing I wanted to do was chug from my bottle 60 ft below me.
I think my solution is to climb on weekdays and dodge the weekend-warrior, "holyer than thou" attitude climbers. At the gunks, I get the feeling most of the tradsters have the attitude like the posters on here, that verbally bash a slight noob for a question that has been answered in another post from 2002.
Can't we all just get along...
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dingus
Aug 15, 2006, 5:01 PM
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Registered: Dec 16, 2002
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Next time a guide does that to you? Just for fun, SCREAM.
I mean really scream, like in a horror movie, top of your lungs, for as loud and as long as you can.
Then resume rappelling as if nothing at all happened.
Try it... you'll see.
DMT
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phojar
Aug 15, 2006, 5:49 PM
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Registered: Jul 7, 2006
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I've had people setup anchors over top mine before, they acted like they were the only ones climbing there. I even had to ask the guy to move out of my way as I was topping out on the climb so I could break down our anchor. Gym climbers. :roll: Some people don't have very good etiquette I suppose, but I think the guy should have asked before he started setting up his top rope, sounds like he was an a-hole.
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redlegrangerone
Aug 15, 2006, 8:12 PM
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Registered: Dec 21, 2005
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The solution is very simple. You move to Arizona and climb in Cochise Stronghold. The 1 1/2 hour drive and three mile approaches really cut down on the crowds. :lol: But the climbing is spectacular! :D
Just don't ask to share my anchor. :shock:
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maxtrax
Aug 16, 2006, 12:42 AM
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Registered: Jun 29, 2006
Posts: 38
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Ugh bad ettiquette pisses me off to no end. I understand that the gunks are crowded but therefore all the more reason to have good ettiquette. I still don't know how it happened but a lady climbing the route next to us managed to not only get one leg of her anchor around our "magic x", but the other leg was through the other leg of our anchor. This was at the shared anchor at the top of the first pitch of City Lights. This caused her TR to run over both of our brand new double ropes unless I constantly tended them (which I tried to do). All my partner (who led the pitch and was in the process of belaying me up) had time to tell her was that her carabiners weren't oposed - she just slapped a third one on which screwed the setup even more and promptly lowered off.
Then the next weekend I was at the Gunks I was belaying the second pitch of Arrow, watching my partner closely as he put in his first piece above the roof when I caught something out of the corner of my eye and looked up to see a rope coming straight towards me-- I ducked back under the roof as fast as I could, the rope missed my head by about 8 inches but still knicked my elbow. Guy dropping the rope never yelled rope or anything. I mentioned it to him as he rapped past and he just ignored me! This also resulted in him dropping his double ropes on the guide who was in the process of rapping the first pitch. This also happened to be the one climb the entire weekend I forgot my helmet on... wonderful.
Okay yeah, just had to vent that out since there was a thread to do it in.
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alexmac
Aug 16, 2006, 12:57 AM
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Registered: May 23, 2005
Posts: 550
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ROCKKKKKKK! Ooopps dropped my beaner with the red tape on it.
ROCKKKKKKK! Opps sorry about that dropped another _ old _ one sorry about that.
ROCKKKKKKK! Opps sorry, false alarm you get the hint yet?
There is my solution.
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stymingersfink
Aug 16, 2006, 7:31 PM
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Registered: Aug 12, 2003
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In reply to: In reply to: Good in theory, and I did just that. The answer was "I'm climbing" and he proceeded to run across my ropes. (basically his attitude was, who the hell are you to question me) I consider anything that interfers with the safety of my group or myself to be a safety hazard and my answer would be "your waiting unless you want to be falling" done this to the surprise of a few.
yep. While rappelling, throwing a quick clove-hitch in his rope to one of his pieces should keep his rope from sawing over yours. :wink:
In the TR situation, tying a knot on a bight on both sides of the anchor should limit the ammount of sawing action.
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