This is the second video in the series. You may want to watch Climbing with Two Ropes (Part 1) to better understand the context and explanation for the techniques used in this video.
In this video I demonstrate leading with two single-rated ropes so I can belay two followers simultaneously on a multi-pitch climb. This technique is called "parallel", because the ropes are side-by-side (parallel). Parallel technique is best for pitches that have little traversing and solid rock. This is because if one of my followers were to fall on a traverse and pendulum they could rake the other climber off the pitch. If you would like to use parallel on pitches that have short traversing sections then it is best to have each follower complete the traversing sections one-at-a-time (one climber waits while the other passes through the traverse, then continues once she has cleared the traverse). If the rock quality is in question, as it frequently is on alpine routes, then it would be better to use a technique that positions one climber out of the way from falling rock (or ice) while the other climbs. This could be either caterpillar technique or split roping. Split roping is a technique most commonly used in ice climbing, but it can work in a rock climbing context when more than one line of ascent is possible.
At the belay at the top of the pitch I demonstrate a transition from belaying to climbing again without changing leaders. When using parallel it is most efficient to use the same leader throughout the climb. I continue to use the parallel technique on the next pitch, which is called a parallel to parallel transition.
One concept I talk about is the "clean" and "dirty" stack of rope. A "clean stack" is a pile of rope where the ropes have been treated as one and piled into the stack at the same rate. In other words, when I pull-up 5ft of my yellow rope I simultaneously pull-up 5ft of my blue rope by gripping both ropes in the same hand and pulling on them together as if they were one rope. It is easiest to create a clean stack after you complete a pitch and go off belay, and begin pulling-up the remaining rope before they come tight on your followers. Once your followers are on belay and they begin to climb they will be offset from one another (one 15 to 20ft above the other) and they will climb at different speeds. This means that the ropes you pull through your belay device will not come up at the same rate, and they will create a "dirty stack" where the ropes at not matched (you might pull 10ft of yellow rope then 2ft of blue rope through your device, for example).
The reason keeping track of a clean and dirty stack is helpful is because it helps prevent the ropes from becoming tangled, and can improve your efficiency. When I lead the next pitch you will see that my lead ropes are pulled from the top of a clean stack. Ropes that have been stacked cleanly (matched together) are much less likely to tangle, since they behave very much the same as a single rope. If I were to take a belay off the top of a dirty stack, however, the pile of ropes that my belayer is managing are almost guaranteed to tangle which can reduce the security of the leader and be exceptionally frustrating for the belayer.
In the video I show how to add a dirty stack to a clean stack while I belay on an autoblocking plate (in this case a Black Diamond ATC guide). I take both of my hands off the brake strands when I do this. This technique is not recommended if:
1. My followers are actively climbing and therefore generating slack that I need to pull through my belay device
2. I am unable to see or communicate effectively with my followers, making it difficult to know when they are climbing.
3. I risk the introduction of slack causing my followers to hit a ledge if they fall.
4. I am using a belay device that does not consistently lock-off the strands, there is terrain that interferes with the locking function of my belay device, or the ropes I am using are on the smaller recommended diameter for the device.
5. There is a traverse into the anchor, where it is possible for one rope to get underneath the load strand of my other climber's rope and disengage the locking function of my device.
For more information about these potential problems consider watching my video titled "belay device failure".
Obviously the information in here takes quite a bit of practice to master, and during that time you are likely to make more mistakes which can reduce your security. Practice with friends on the ground, and hopefully the info here helps you become efficient climbing as a team of three and makes climbing as a larger team more fun.
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