Why do threesomes need to be so complicated?

My guess is that many readers are hoping that this particular post will fall under our "external affairs" category. It does not. This particular threesome was a local event... Some readers, but not all, might be hoping that this post involves both men and women. It does not. This particular threesome involved three men... And I would imagine that there are thousands of readers (okay dozens) out there that are hoping and praying that this particular threesome does not involve any of the contributors from New England Adventures! Actually, it does. Both Brian and myself were involved... There is one more thing that this post does not do. It does not, in any way, have to do with what the French refer to as a Ménage à trois. Sorry...

More importantly, this post does deal with the trials and tribulations of climbing with three people on a multi-pitch climb. Specifically, this post deals with how to manage a group of three climbers that all want a chance to swing leads on a multi-pitch climb as efficiently as possible.

There are those out there that feel that the most efficient way to climb with three people is to leave one at home. This is probably true, but for me some days are about efficiency and others are about community. This past Saturday was one of those days were inclusion was the best option.

The Place:

It is important to mention that The Whitney Gilman can often be crowded on weekends and that climbing on the WG with three people on a weekend is probably not a great idea. That doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done. It just means that other groups on the cliff may not like you.

The People:

Brian and I figured that having Josh along for one of our last “training” climbs before our trip to WY would slow things up a bit (two are faster then three), but also liven up the climb as well.

Josh and Pablo - post cruise goofin...

The Details:

 The first thing we did was chat about what would work and what would not. Once that was decided Brian jumped on the first pitch and started the climb with two ropes - we are all about using Brian’s Sterling Photons for the trip! Josh and I were both attached to an end while Brian climbed with two. I followed, cleaned the route and stripped Brian of his gear while Josh climbed. Once Josh arrived, I took Josh’s end of the rope and Josh took the end attached to Brian (this may not be comfortable for all folks). I started climbing with both ropes. Once I arrived I built an anchor and got off belay. Josh climbed, cleaned the route and stripped gear from me. Once Brian arrived, Josh took Brian’s end of the rope and Brian took the end of the same rope attached to me. Josh then began climbing with two ropes.  Little complicated to describe, but not to tough to do.  We continued this pattern for six pitches.

Beginning of second pitch