Book Review: Rock Climbing Anchors: A Comprehensive Guide
Written by Topher Donahue and published by Mountaineers Books in 2019
When Bouldering, it’s your posse that protects you. When climbing with a rope — indoors or out — it’s anchors that keep you safe. In a welcome update to a classic book, Topher Donahue, updates Climbing Anchors to world where most practitioners learn to climb in gyms (some never leave), where the rising standards of performance are matched by expectations of gear performance, and where climbing parties may well include young adults. Much as the original did, this rewrite strives for clarity and practicality with photos serving as the primary means of illustration. The original was based on an engineering ethos, and the update builds on that.
The principles of equalization, redundancy, and control serve as the backbone of Rock Climbing Anchors as does the need to work quickly and effectively—especially in multi-pitch situations. Donahue doesn’t slavishly adhere to the use of cordalettes. They’re bulky and must be re-tied every time they’re used.
Slings might be a better, faster alternative. He’s a proponent of the sliding X as the “go to” anchor, one that should be known cold. The proper use of anchors indoors is described. It’s not that they’re going to fail. It’s that belayer-climber weights may be quite unequal, it’s that ‘biners may be back-clipped, or gates clipped the wrong way. Modern equipment and gym set ups represent technical advances — they just have to be used properly.
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