Rock Climbing. Pete Hill

strongest line. Any significant loading will therefore exert a levering force on the gate section of the karabiner, which is to be avoided if at all possible. Simply tying in with two figure of eights will avoid these problems.

      Equalising Anchors using a Sling

      Before attaching the rope it might be preferable to link two gear placements – such as a couple of wires – together. This method will often be used on a multi-pitch route, or where dealing with one anchor is more practical and quicker than using two. The situations where linking anchors using a sling are relevant are mentioned in Chapter 12.

      There are a number of ways of bringing two anchor points down to one using a sling, but the following two are suitable for almost every situation where joining two anchors together is needed. The first one is the quickest and has the advantage of looking right once it’s been done! The second is also fairly quick and has the advantage of using less sling length, helpful if the anchors are some distance apart.

      Method 1

      1 Make sure that each wire has a screwgate attached.

      2 Clip the sling into each of these, and do the gates up.

      3 Pulling the sling down from between the wires, tie an overhand or figure of eight knot around it.

      4 This then has another screwgate karabiner clipped into it and will be the attachment point for your rope.

      (Left) Equalising anchors by using an overhand knot around the sling