I noticed today that one of the two pieces of webbing around the tree at the top of P1 had a small tear in it. The two pieces of webbing look to be the same age. I'd be happy to replace the webbing. What is protocall for changing an anchor? Do I notify a Preserve ranger?

-CT

Like Nike said, just do it. Unfortunately, most people will not check the webbing very carefully and so it has become standard to remove it immediately if it appears suspect, even if you can not replace it. The next party will leave something behind if need be but that is much better than an accident. Thanks for posting.

Will likely be done on Friday.

It is important to cut down any webbing you deem dangerous, even if you can't replace it. Better nothing than something that might kill a party that isn't as observant.

It is also important to understand that webbing rap anchors have absolutely no official status and the Preserve has nothing to do with them. Anyone can install such an anchor, and anyone can cut it down.

Thanks, Clay, for doing your part.

Just chop it all down and walk off it's the only way think about tradition. It sounds like a convenience anchor to me.

WR, I know you are being sarcastic but you are correct.

There are very intelligent, persuasive folks on this site who would like to see every one of these slung trees cleaned of all the crap. I am not that extreme. But I do think there are too many of these crap anchors and I don't see why we need a tree with a fixed anchor atop P1 of RMC. Is that some kind of destination pitch? Why not continue upward?

Maybe I'm not getting where this anchor is. If it's really atop the traditional pitch two of RMC maybe it helps for toproping Ape Call or something?

I just don't see any reason for it.

On a crowded day, everything below 5.8 with a fixed anchor is a destination. That said, the rest of RMC is at least as much fun as the first pitch, and the walk off is easy and quick.

Is the RMC anchor the pine tree above Ape and Essence and just right of Ape Call (after the crux roof)? If so, a lot of people use that anchor for those climbs. If not, and there's a lower anchor, ignore.

WR's sarcasm notwithstanding, the tradition of walking off from all climbs is a feature of a past that is not ever going to return, and no one, certainly not I, am suggesting anything like that for the present situation.

This does not mean that there might not be a few selected climbs where walking off is as fast or faster than rapping and, given all the things that go wrong with rappels, safer as well. For such climbs, walking off is a matter of intelligence, not tradition, and that is the only context in which I have advocated it.

I might add that as far as walking off goes, the Preserve is not a fan. They are basically pleased with the substantially lowered stress on the cliff top brought about by rappelling. Of course, that lowered level of stress was traded for large impacts at the cliff base, but it may be that the base was a lost cause the minute parking on 44 was banned.

Given that the level of crowds at the Trapps, it is in all climber's interests to manage the traffic flow on climbs. The worst situation, in terms of safety and usage, is to have people rappelling back down the climbing route. If the ability to do that includes anchors that can be used to monopolize first pitches for top-roping, then the situation is that much worse.

Rather late in the game, the Preserve realized that they should have focused their bolting program on creating separate rappel descent routes that would not interfere with climbs. If such descent routes involved short cliff-top walks, that would be acceptable. There are now a few such routes, perhaps not enough, and they are certainly used, but also probably not enough. People will install slings on a tree rather than walk 100 yards to a bolted rappel route.

Climbers have not, in general, shown any inclination to view the environment in any perspective beyond their most immediate desires, and so have created and continue to create their own rappel anchors wherever they feel the need. It would be hard to argue that the Trapps are not over-supplied with rappel stations at this point. Some are dangerous, but many are just redundant. Those in the middle of perfectly good climbs, occasionally in the middle of perfectly good pitches, that tie up the first pitches with top-roping and direct traffic down on top of other climbers are the worst.

So there is certainly plenty of room for paring down the rap anchor weeds, it has nothing to do with old farts pining for the traditions of a lost era, and trying to make it seem that way is just fiddling while Rome burns.