THE GOAL OF THE ASCA LOWER-OFF INITIATIVE IS TO EQUIP POPULAR CRAGGING ANCHORS WITH DURABLE LOWER-OFF HARDWARE. THESE INCLUDE SINGLE PITCH ROUTES AND COMMONLY CRAGGED FIRST PITCHES OF MULTIPITCH ROUTES. ANY ANCHOR THAT IS FREQUENTLY LOWERED FROM IS A CANDIDATE FOR LOWER-OFFS.
So far, we have equipped more than 9500 routes with lower-off hardware in the USA and Mexico. Our top choices for lower-offs are the ClimbTech Lower-Off Hook for single pitches, and steel carabiners for pitches with extensions. These lower-offs are easily maintained or replaced when worn out through a quicklink attachment.
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Accidents have happened to new and experienced climbers alike. Durable lower-off hardware at the anchors solves this problem by allowing fast, efficient, and safe descent without having to untie or retie the lead line. The ability to clip and lower to descend and clean a route greatly increases the safety margin for all climbers, preventing climbers from going off belay and preventing mistakes from happening while at the anchor.
“Belay miscommunication and error at the top of single-pitch routes is one of the leading causes of climbing accidents and fatalities.” (AAJ, ANAC)
how to correctly use lower off anchors
Anchor hooks and many other lower-offs are not designed to be climbed above. Do not climb above anchors when using only lower offs for protection.
Do not clip lower off anchors from above and down climb to them when attempting to set up a toprope. This is dangerous and can result in accidently unclipping your rope from the anchor.
When toproping on any fixed anchors, only the last climber should lower directly on the lowering hardware to increase the working life of the wear part. Use personal gear to toprope up until the final climber lowers.
When the final climber reaches the anchor they clip into the steel hooks/carabiners, get tension from their belayer, and then clean personal gear that was used for toproping before lowering.
If you are leading the extension to a route with lower offs installed at the first anchor, clip a quickdraw to one of the bolt hangers of the anchor as you pass, not one of the lower offs.
If there are lower offs on the first pitch of a multi-pitch route you should build your anchor to climb the next pitch above by clipping the bolt hangers or quicklinks with personal gear, not the lower off.
Lower off anchors on popular single pitch routes help to address many common accidents that arise with complacency and high traffic, but still require climbers to pay close attention to their systems. Climbing comes with high consequences if mistakes are made. Always understand the system you are using for protection and weight/re-inspect before you transfer to a new protection system.
Many veteran climbers are in favor of the Lower-Off Initiative.
The following are a couple of testimonials on why the ASCA Lower-Off Initiative is so important:
“Owens River Gorge is one of my favorite places for family climbing in large part due to the convenient mussy hooks on nearly every anchor. This eliminates the most stressful and dangerous part of the day, the moment where climbers are forced to untie and rethread their rope through the anchor, when their safety depends on communication with the belayer. Let’s get rid of this dangerous moment once and for all, and make more crags like the ORG.
Steel lower offs on single pitch routes make sense on every level; they’re quick and easy to use, last a long time, and most importantly eliminate the most common form of climbing accidents, miscommunication, or user error at belay transitions. Equipping every single pitch route in North America with steel lower offs will likely save more lives, avoid more rescues, and maintain more crag access than any other hardware maintenance initiative currently in the works. “
-Josh Wharton, Estes Park, CO
professional climber, alpinist, dad.
“70 ft of freefall to hard, flat ground should have killed me. In fact, my partner (life and climbing) thought that is exactly what she witnessed. Fortunately, I won the proverbial "life lottery" by landing in such a way that the impact spread across the entire left side of my body (skiers call this a hip-check), breaking countless bones, lacerating my liver, collapsing a lung, enduring several major surgeries, many weeks in the hospital, and a hard but successful full recovery. Others haven't been so lucky, and some ended up paying the ultimate price of death or permanent disability because of a simple, but avoidable mistake.
With 20 years of climbing experience under my belt, I have untied and retied at anchors thousands of times, so when I sent a route in Ten Sleep Canyon that had rap rings for anchors, not lower offs, I automatically went through the retying steps so I could lower and clean my draws. Halfway through that process, someone I recognized on the next anchor over started talking to me - congratulating me on the send asking about the crux, etc. We chatted, I finished my knot, or so I thought, then I said take and lower, and unclipped from the anchor... The next thing I knew I was in an ICU in Billings, MT with a tube coming out of my mouth, the side of my lung, and my bladder. I thought my climbing days were over but was happy to have survived.
I have always considered myself a safety conscious person that understood the dangers of complacency and the value of double-checking systems. As an avid developer I have always used, and promoted other developers to use, clip-in lower-offs on single pitch sport routes. Still, knowing all this, I managed to mess up and it nearly cost me my life. I firmly believe that accidents like this are purely a numbers game - the more people climbing, the more mistakes will be made. It doesn't matter if a person is new or skilled, mistakes can and will happen. The simplest way to prevent mistakes is to remove the chance to make them. Having lower offs on every sport route is the easiest way to accomplish that!”
-Erik Pallister, Bozeman, MT
veteran climber, route developer
Although we at the ASCA believe that all climbers must be capable of safely cleaning a route while rappelling and be responsible for their own safety, we believe that lower-offs provide more safety, ease of use, durability, and sustainability to single-pitch anchors without any significant disadvantages.