A Video Guide to Everything You Need to Know About Building Climbing Anchors

Use this guide as a general overview. Remember, learning about rock climbing online serves as a tool, but in no way are videos or written articles a substitute for hands-on instruction. Failure to follow appropriate safety measures could result in serious injury or death. If just getting started, seek professional climbing courses offered by AMGA-certified guiding services. Be smart, and climb safe.

Are you beginner to trad climbing? Or simply eager to brush up on and improve your anchor-building abilities? Then you’re in luck. This might well be the best and most thorough video guide we’ve ever seen for building climbing anchors.

This video is a flood of information about anchors intended to help new climbers know how to evaluate an anchor for themselves, rather than blindly trust whomever they are learning from. It’s a lot of information, so watch as much or as little as you are interested in, and remember that there’s more than one right way to do things.

– Video creator, Rob Busack

This extensive video includes the following topics:

Principles

• How to Build a SERENE anchor
• Considerations beyond just SERENE
• Cordelette materials & knots

Rigging examples

• Standard cordelette anchor
• Cordelette around a tree
• 2-piece cordelette-style anchor
• Two separate slings
• Sliding X
• Sliding X with limiter knots
• The Quad
• Two quickdraws
• Using the rope itself
• The Equalette
• The ACR anchor

Using anchors

• Rappel anchors
• Extending over an edge
• Top-roping
• Connecting yourself during multi-pitch

Dive in and enjoy!

Want more climbing content? Get our awesome climbing newsletter.

Join our mailing list to receive the latest climbing news, hand-picked gear deals, training, articles, and more updates from our team. Thanks for supporting our grassroots community!

SUBSCRIBE!

You have Successfully Subscribed!