Clipping Carabiners and Quickdraws
Clipping for Sport Climbing Success                                   

For the majority of climbers enjoying bolt protected routes, clipping has become the art form that placing protection used to be. Today's redpoint at your limit depends on if a) you can do the moves, b) get your quick draws onto the hangers and c) clip your rope into the quickdraw… not how well you can place gear. Hard moves should be the crux not the clips. For the beginner and intermediate leader, learning these clipping techniques will help you save energy for climbing and avoid unnecessary falls.

Equipment
A QuickDraw consists of a piece of sewing nylon webbing and two carabiners. The draw should be from 4 to 9 inches long, depending on the situation. A shorter draw will shorten your fall, but a longer draw will help to decrease rope drag if the bolts are not in a straight line. Some draws come with a sewn loop or in-situ rubber band. This is to hold the bottom ‘biner in place so it cannot get flipped out of position while it swings back and forth on your gear loops or when you pull the rope through, prior to the next attempt at a climb. You can secure the bottom ‘biners on your quick draws with a rubber band, tape or a Petzl String. This will ensure that the carabiner is always ready to be clipped. The top carabiner, on your draw should be a straight gate carabiner that will hold up to the abrasion it will be subjected to by the metal edges of the bolt hanger. Some lightweight carabiners don’t have the durability necessary for repeated falls. We recommend using a bottom carabiner with a bent gate. The bent gate will help facilitate faster clipping. Larger carabiners are usually quicker to clip because they allow room for your finger and the rope to fit through the gate more easily. Less bumbling means a better shot at the flash or red point. In addition, a larger diameter carabiner will reduce rope wear when you take those whippers when you're being lowered off a climb. It is also a good idea to choose a carabiner that has a high open gate strength.

Clipping and Racking QuickDraw's

It’s not enough to have a full set of quick draws, big muscles and a burning desire. If you can't get the rope into the carabiner, you're in for some major air time. You must know how to clip the rope safely and quickly into your QuickDraw. There are two primary ways to clip the rope into the carabiner.
The first way is used when the gate is facing in the opposite direction from the hand you are clipping with. In this example the gate is facing left and you are clipping with your right hand. To clip this way, sturdy the carabiner with your middle finger and twist the rope into the carabiner with your thumb and forefinger in a motion similar to snapping your fingers.

The second way is used when the gate faces in the same direction as the hand you are clipping with. For example, the gate faces right and you are clipping with the right hand. In this case you should sturdy the carabiner by placing your thumb on the back of the bottom carabiner and press the rope through the gate with your first two fingers, or from the palm of your hand.

If you've clipped correctly, the rope should come from the belayer, up the rock, and out the ‘biner to the climber. If the rope is going to the front of the carabiner, towards the rock then out to the climber, the rope could cross over the gate in a fall. The gate will then open and the rope will easily become unclipped from the carabiner. (Think:  Long screamer fall potential!)

You should practice both of these methods until you feel comfortable clipping either way. However, you will probably find that you prefer one way of clipping over another. Once you realize which method you prefer, you may wish to set up your quick draws on your harness so that you clip that way most of the time. Knowing which way you like to clip is especially helpful on projects when every clip can be crucial and you have the opportunity to switch your quick draws around when hanging or lowering. If you are going for the on-sight and can't see what you'll be up against, rack half of the needed quick draws on one side of your harness and half on the other side with the bottom carabiner facing in your for direction. This allows you to quickly clip the hanger and have the bottom carabiner in position for the rope clip you prefer. Time wasted equals power lost, so be sure to rack right.

Clipping the First Bolt  

Stick Clipping QuickDraws to Bolts 

The third scenario is a bolt that is placed high off the deck and appears to have difficult moves before it. The first ascent party probably intended that that first bolt would be stick clipped. Often there are telltale signs. Look around the base of the route to see if there is a stick long enough to reach the first bolt. You will often find that one is stashed nearby with white tape dangling from its tip. If you can't find the stick but still want to stick clip, make your own if the materials are readily available. Use athletic tape to secure the top carabiner of your QuickDraw to the top of the stick with the rope already clipped through the lower draw.
Use the stick to reach up and clip the bolt. When you pull the stick down, the tape should undo itself and the gate should close. Now you can safely top rope up to the first bolt. This is not cheating. Remember, many routes are set up this way to get you safely off the ground as well as to save money on bolts. Okay, now that you are at the first bolt and clipped in, relax and look at the moves between you and the second bolt. Look for and plan on which hold, which side you want to clip from, etc. when you have the sequence sussed, do it!  

Tricky Clipping Situations 

As you near the second bolt, it looks like that good stance you'd planned on clipping from isn't so great after all and the holds near it look pretty small.
In this case you have a couple of options. The most power draining way to go would be to climb up into the hard moves, stop to clip the bolt, and hold on even longer to clip the rope. This works if you’re really strong or having an “on” day. But if things aren't it just right, you could give away too much of your strength to the clip and be left with nothing to complete the climb. There are better choices. 

Express clipping

Express clipping isn't something that we see much of these days, but the technique is effective. To set up an express clip, clip a draw to the Velcro tabs on your harness if it is equipped with them. Otherwise, just use your front gear loop. Make sure to put it on the side you think you'll be clipping from. Next, clip the rope into the bottom carabiner. Now, when you climb up into the hard moves you can quickly pull the draw off your Velcro tab or from your gear loop and clip it into the bolt. Since the rope is already clipped to the draw you can continue climbing to easier ground. If you are comfortable with express clipping or you are facing a series of hard clips you can clip the rope through all the bottom biners on one side and express clip your way through the difficulty. If you should happen to drop a draw racked this way it will be stopped at the bolt immediately below. 

Quick-Draw Chains  

Now you're clipping in, moving well and feeling good. As you near the next bolt you find yourself resting on a good hold about 2 feet below it. The holds near the bolt look thin but it looks like there's a good hold a move above it. Obviously you don't want to clip from the poor holds near the bolt, so you will want to clip it from either the good hold above or below the bolt. If you decide on the hold below because you want the protection during the thin moves, you can crank up and clip a draw on the bolt and down climb back to your good holds. If you can now clip comfortably, do so. If you can't and you used short draws, add another draw until the clip is within reach.

Now clip the rope in and you're ready to go. When you have climbed up to the good hold above the bolt you can reach down and clip the rope into the highest draw and safely retrieve your other draws. Another option is to climb past the hard moves and clip the bolt from the good hold above. If you feel confident and don't face a huge fall, this is the best style to use. You won't have to reach up to clip the bolt and won't have to pull up lots of rope to clip. You also don't have to worry about falling while trying to make a difficult clip, and falling farther due to the extra rope you've pulled out to clip with.  

Backclipping  

On routes that have bolts very close together, and this is coming on very hard cruxes, you need to watch for back clipping. This happens when you grab a rope below the last QuickDraw to clip the next one. If you back clip yourself you will have incredible rope dag will find it impossible to progress forward. Remember when you’re working routes with closely spaced bolts to only pull the rope right from where you are tied into the harness to prevent back clipping.

Grabbing the Draw

When working on a project, clipping quickly and safely can make the difference between red pointing a route and hitting the deck. If the clip is a little out of your reach, put a longer draw on it so you don't have to work so hard to clip it. On a project you'll fall while working it at least a few times. It is a fairly common practice to grab the draw when you're tired and think you may hit the deck or get hurt if you missed the clip. If you do this, be sure to grab either the top biner or the draw. Do not grab the bottom carabiner. More than one climber has fallen when they grabbed the bottom carabiner and were then unable to clip because their hand was in the way, gripping desperately, and unwilling to let go to clip. 

Locking Carabiners

If you're planning a long session to work a particular section on a project, you may also want to think about putting locking carabiners on your draws. You'll be falling and the added security is well worth the extra effort it takes to set the locking carabiners. The durability of locking carabiners will save your regular ones and the extra peace of mind is worth a lot. 

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