Descending or Bailing from a Top Rope Solo

Technique for descending from a hanging top-out or anywhere mid-route without taking off TRS devices, using an ascender, or friction hitches. This is fairly advanced and not recommended if you're new to top rope soloing.

(Apologies - this would be much easier to show by a short video but I’m not a video person. I shot the photos and wrote the rough draft a couple years ago and since then most photos were accidently deleted.)

This is the technique I use with the uAscend/MT TR setup. It should be able to be used with other “rocker” (lever) type primary (non-toothed) devices such as: Camp Lift; Ushba/Ural Alps Basic; CT Move; Kong Back-Up; Camp Goblin; and DMM Buddy. However, I’ve not tested it on any of them.

I developed this technique to simplify a retreat/descent from mid-route; from an overhang; and for routes where you are not able to easily reach the anchors and top out. One area where I climb the last 10’-15’ headwall, is 5.12+ territory which is above my pay-grade. (These routes are easily accessible from the top to set up TR anchors, and most of the route is well below that difficulty)

Prequisites 

• uAscend/Camp Lift or equivalent primary devices
• MicroTraxion/Spoc/or RollnLock (or equivalent backup)
• Two independently anchored rope strands
• A Grigri or equivalent ABD (assisted belay device) for descending

Advantages of this system

• Less hassle because you never have to remove the primary or secondary devices (though you can still do that)
• Less chance of dropping a device
• There are always two devices on the rope protecting you while climbing, rappelling, or transitioning. Should you loose control of devices or ropes, there is redundancy for locking up
• You can rappel at any point on the climb.
• No xtra prusiks, rope grabs, ascenders necessary or personal anchor systems necessary.

Disadvantages

• You still have to add/remove a GG (or equivalent) to rappel, (thus it is not as user friendly as using a Taz Lov, or Trango Cinch/Vergo or forth coming Sulu)
• If free-hanging, you need to know how to do a foot-lock or foot wrap
• You need to have access to access to two isolated strands of rope from the anchor (you can have both devices on a single strand, or one on each strand)
• This method will not work with two toothed devices. It only works if the top one is a rocker type device. If you are using two toothed devices, see Derek Averill’s method.  

Technique

1. Hang on the uAscend (top device)
2. Rig GG on the other strand of rope
3. Clip GG ‘biner through uAscend ‘biner and take-up rope slack till tight
4. Lock open the MT or RollnLock backup device*
5. Transfer your weight from the uAscend strand of rope to the GG strand by: 1)  grabbing both strands of rope with one hand above all the devices and pulling on GG strand, while; 2)  simultaneously taking weight off the uAscend strand. (If not at a stance or place where you can take the weight off the uAscend strand, you will need to do a foot lock or foot wrap)  3) pull up slack on the GG rope with the other hand and tighten to transfer your weight to it.  
6. Grab both strands of rope together with one hand between the GG and uAscend OR grab the uAscend strand and spine of GG ‘biner. Either way your hand should rest on top of the uAscend so it can’t pivot up and lock. This is what allows it to easy be pushed/slide down the rope by the heel of your hand as you descend.  
7. Open handle on GG with other hand and descend.

To climb again

• Re-engage the back-up device
• Transfer weight to uAscend strand of rope from the GG (if not on the ground and free-hanging, this will require a foot-lock again).
• Remove GG from rope and clip to gear loop.
• Climb away

Note: this is something that should be practiced on a tree in your backyard to gain proficiency before using at the crag. It sounds complicated but becomes quite easy with practice and even second nature with practice. YMMV

Best Feeding Top Rope Solo Setup

 Best Feeding Top Rope Solo Setup

Grandwall uAscend primary + MicroTrax backup

Yann Camus has recommended the Grandwall uAscend for a primary TRS device. I’d never tried one till recently. After using it for a while I feel that it is probably the best feeding device for TRS on the market...and I've tried most of them. If one is only concerned about the ultimate hands-free and safe TRS experience, the above setup is probably the best performing, safest, lightest weight, least critical re rope type/size, and cheapest setup at this point in time.

Many people getting into TRSing ponder what is the safest and best setup. It seems to be the perennial question. There's tons of advice on the internet but a lot of it leaves much to be desired and some of it is downright dangerous. For anyone getting started in TRS, you can't go wrong with this basic setup.

The downside is, a rappel device has to be added or swapped in/out when rappelling. If you have a hands free top out, this isn’t an issue. Or, if you leave a sling through the master point of the anchor that you can easy clip into while swapping devices. 

However, if you want to descend mid-route or have a hanging top out, it leaves much to be desired. In the next blog post I'll share an easy way to rappel using this setup just by adding a Grigri, without removing either the primary or backup TRS devices. 

Currently, the best setup for quickly descending, doing laps, lowering to work a crux, is still either the Taz Lov2/3 or the Trango Vergo that I’ve previously written about in my blog. Both devices allow descending at any point simply by hanging, locking out the back-up device, and pulling the handle on the primary device to descend. For ease of use and safety, the Taz Lov and Vergo are currently the best IMO. 

The compromise is, they don’t feed quite as well as the setup discussed here - you give up a slight bit in ease of feeding for convenience. Other compromises are: Taz Lov - the size, weight, and expense. The Vergo - feeds just slightly less than the Taz, though still much better than most other belaying/rapelling devices. Everything in TRS is a compromise. Set your goals, route, and parameters and decide which method and device is best for you.

The Ultimate TRS Feed Setup described above not only fulfills the goal of having the best feed but also the primary and back-up are two different types of devices. While having two of the same devices certainly works well (i.e. two MicroTraxs), best practice is to have a primary non-toothed cam/lever type device on top paired with a toothed device as a fail-safe back-up if the primary should fail for some reason.

Ultimate TRS feed set-up details:

• Primary = Improvised chest sling harness (or breakable neck cord) + uAscend with added tow loop to hold vertically
• Backup = MicroTrax on same strand of rope hanging down from belay loop (no need for dogbone on either)
• Weight of an approach shoe cloved to the free end of the rope to facilitate feeding of devices. This allows you to quickly adjust as rope stretches and easily adjust the weight by putting in a rock or two.

Note: The MicroTrax, while an excellent device, also has its weaknesses: both locking on the rope when not wanted; and locking open when not wanted. I’ve experienced these multiple times. I’ve written about these failures and how to get around them (check check earlier blog post). The simplest solution without modifying the MT is to use a smaller diameter rope (< 9.6) that is not worn and fuzzy.

Descending:

• Put the GG on the other strand of rope (or above the uAscend on the same rope)
• Take the uAscend off the rope and let it hang free on the chest sling. 
• Weight the GG
• Lock open the MicroTrax
• Descend on the GG.

NOTES

1. I’ve found the improvised Suspend harness to be simple, easy, cheap and comfortable (or you can make a DIY Petzl Torse which is adjustable on the fly). If you are concerned about the harness configuration and the possibility of it exerting pressure on your neck in the event of a fall, instead of using a 1.5mm tow loop on the uAscend, you can make the tow loop out of 10 lb. test monofilament fish line so it will break at a known force. 
2. 
   
   The tow loop on the uAscend should only be attached to the orange non-moving plate (see photo). This allows you to put it on/off the rope on without having to take the device off the chest harness/neck loop. It also prevents you from dropping the device with putting on/off the rope and doesn't interfere with it's pivoting.
3. To avoid the issues that I’ve experienced with the MT, I’ve ground off the lock-open nubin and use a thumb loop to manually hold it open while descending. See my blog for details.
4. The Camp Lift is very similar to the GrandWall uAscend. However with one important difference. The cam lever spring is stiffer which causes more friction and thus doesn’t feed as well as the uAscend.
5. The RollnLock can be substituted for the MicroTrax for a backup and is even cheaper and runs a bit smoother. HOWEVER, some have claimed issues with it locking up if it twists or if it collides with the primary device. I used it for multiple years and never had an issue using as a backup. Use at your own risk.
6. With this setup, there is no reason to extend the top or bottom device. Some people get paranoid about the devices colliding. I’ve never had that happen and if it does, the MT will still engage because of the teeth.
7. I use 9.5 ropes with all my devices. With this setup you can go up or down a bit in rope diameter. 10mm is plenty big and I’d not recommend going larger than that though I have used up to 10.2

ADDENDUM 

I know extend the upper device slightly with a very short sling. -just enough so the two devices can’t collide. Details here