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
