February Canyon Practice

Activity Notes

<br> Topic of the evening: Unlinked Anchors.

<br> Unlinked bolts are the gold standard in aquatic canyons. They’re common in Europe and other parts of the world, and are starting to appear with greater frequency in the Pacific Northwest. Canyon teams should be familiar with their use and know how to rig them. Unlinked anchors are used for both for traverse lines and rappels.<br> =============================<br> *** PLEASE BRING: a canyon draw (aka alpine draw). ***<br> There are a number of variations, but one of the simplest is a 60cm (~24in) Dyneema sling accompanied by two HMS locking carabiners. The primary purpose is for connecting unlinked bolts, although it could also be used as a spacer for reducing clutter on an anchor, for rappel extension, a quick backup anchor, an extra tether, etc. It's a good thing to have when you're running canyons with unlinked bolts. It usually lives as a unit on your harness.<br> =============================<br> We will review two methods of rigging unlinked bolts ("Block & Go" & "Temporary Y-Anchor") and practice rigging traverse lines to unlinked stations. There are some subtle nuances in the rigging that are good to be familiar with. We'll also practice using the munter-mule-overhand (MMO) releasable system.<br> Bring all the usual gear, lots of questions, and a helmet. Expect lots of cool folks, hands-on-practice, and a fun evening. Hope to see you there!<br>