Taking an Improvised Climbing Harness Up and Down Multiple Pitches: What I Made and Why
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Not the way I would have preferred to start my day.
I put a bit of pressure on myself - probably more than I should - to ensure that our family outings prove to be a good time. I feel pretty badly when things go wrong, and things do go wrong from time to time.
There was the time I somehow didn’t roll the tent poles into a tent after a trip, which meant that when I packed for the next trip, I didn’t have the poles; of course, that was a trip with the boys. I did a video about that day. The boys were excellent. They shared in the decision process about whether to turn around and hike back out or not. We did hike back out. No trip long weekend that time, just a lot of hiking and driving.
There was the time I forgot my climbing shoes, and we had to switch the crag face we were going to climb and instead needed to find a walk-around to the top so that I could sling a top rope. It took a janky rappel from a tree down to the bolts and then a transition onto the anchor so that I could set the top rope, but we got the route slung. It ended up being easier than the boys wanted; they were hoping to push themselves that day. I felt bad, but - again - the boys were all smiles and had a good time.
There was the time I couldn’t get up the route at all. For whatever reason, it was a “high gravity” day. We ended up just hiking and scrambling other boulders in the area.
The truth is, we always have fund, even when I mess things up, but that doesn’t seem to stop me from being a little hard on myself when I’m impacting others. I can forgive myself rather easily for messing up something for just myself.
One of the great things about parenting is that I get to relearn lessons that I forgot over adulthood. The first time my kids saw snow, I saw it through there eyes. What kind of magic is this? Cold, fluffy crystals falling from the sky! Collecting on the ground! And so, I am also trying to relearn that minor disappointments, even towards others, are just that. There is a youthful acceptance in my boys’ approach to life. If I stop and think about it, you kind of have to be that way as a child. The world isn’t made for you. You parents ask you to participate in making plans, sure, but a lot of your life is scheduled on your behalf. Desks and counters and windows are too tall for you to use properly. Chairs are too big. You must come to terms with your own inner dialog and expectations not being met… probably frequently.
So, I try to learn to stop trying to control everything. That may sound weird when we are doing risky activities; I certainly try to mitigate risks. But I also can learn to better accept the small defeats that I bring on myself. After all, they seem to just keep smiling through them.
As far as the video goes, it’s a technical dive into another day when things I messed up. What I was able to do, though, with years of practice and a good understanding of materials and forces, was come up with a solution that allowed my son to have the day we hoped to have.
And as the video points out, I was able to come up with this solution because of what I typically care on my harness. Yes, when I’m with my kids I go a little heavy, but that is because I need to keep all three of us (although, in this case it was only two of us) safe, and having responsibility for three could demand a little more equipment if things went wrong.
Because of that, I was able to make something that, I think, worked really well with two soft goods and three carabiners. While I would never buy these materials just for the “off chance” that I might need to make a harness out of them, they obviously are good for other purposes. The quad runner is especially good for making quad anchors. The double runner is pretty standard for making anchors, rappel extensions, extending gear placements, and the like. Two locking carabiners are pretty standard. Really only the double-gated carabiner is a bit novel. However, I use that as a tie-in carabiner for glacier travel, like I discussed in this video.
If you do want those materials, here are some links: