First, select a loose rock. Or use shoe lace and a runner.  Don't forget to block the trail ..read more

The flying directional is brutal on the tree and usually creates anchors with over 90 degree angles. That's the climbing rope running over lots of sharp edges. ONE carabiner. This one caused an injury. The anchors were ten feet apart, at a 90 degree angle. Note the use of the loose rock. The tree is just too small.   ..read more

Learn to tie off a bowline. Carabiners have been known to disappear at Carderock and Great Falls.  Perfect for tripping hikers. That's a single carabiner at the climbing rope. That's not redundant, and thin webbing on the rock is what you call suboptimal. This is called a "Yard Sale", lay everything out and clip it together. A lot of thought went into this, not good thought, but a lot. Some of the hardware are Quicklinks, not carabiners, so no gate ..read more

Tiny tree, single bowline, no stopper knot, boat rope, good thing the other anchor was OK.  Hammock, chairs, the psychotic dog tied to the tree and boom box were removed ..read more

Skinny alpine runners, single carabiners, this accessory cord. Why would you use only one trunk of the tree?   ..read more

Buy enough rope. Adding slings and carabiners introduces points of failure. Anchoring high in the tree increases leverage. A clove hitch isn't the best top rope anchor. This is the anchor for Ronnie's Leap. Orange paint usually means cutting down the tree, or did they mean just cut one dead limb? The tree is fine and losing it would greatly complicate anchors on these popular climbs. Get a real anchor, webbing way up on the trees is sketchy and hard on the trees. One piece of webbing and the climbing rope is dragging over the top of the cliff.   ..read more

Run the rope over a small rock and see if you can pull it out of the ground. The anchors are almost 180 degrees apart, single carabiners, and the anchors are way up in the trees. The tree on the right was shaking violently.   ..read more

  The single rock has been known to move. Sling both rocks, they have never moved. I wouldn't use that, and I wouldn't tie a bowline without a stopper knot. Don't leave your expensive haul bag at the top for somebody to steal. Maybe the extra rope piled at the left wasn't enough to get around the boulder. Note the unstable clove hitch backed up with an overhand ..read more

One rope goes to the too small tree, the other off to  distant tree. Why not the enormous tree? Longer anchors invite points of failure and stretch more. Tiny tree, high anchor, good thing the other anchor is doing all the work. The ropes are 8MM, easily cut and stretchy. Webbing is less likely to creep off the horn. An overhand loop knot would be more secure. When you lay out everything you own and clip it together it's called a yard sale.   ..read more

"My knot looks just like the guy's in the video but let's add a carabiner just in case. The dead tree and it's too skinny companion remain popular. That pile of sawdust means that lots of little creatures are cutting the tree down FROM THE INSIDE. Newly observed in this tree. A perennial favorite anchor despite the rotten hollow, this tree show new work by the insects.   ..read more