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​Shit Happens – Or, Why You Need a Walkie Talkie


By Stefani Dawn


​
If you’ve ever read forums about multipitch climbing you’ve probably seen threads (aka. arguments about 30-seconds away from a fist-fight) about best communication practices.  Frankly, the simplest way to deal with communication on a multi-pitch climb is to get a freaking walkie talkie. 
Picture
Author, Stefani Dawn, and her hubby Rick getting ready to hop on a multipitch climb in Red Rock Canyon, NV. Rick's walkie talkie (Rocky Talkie) is visible in the photo.
Picture
Some essential gear for a multi-pitch climb - water, backpack, slings, cams, and a walkie talkie.

​​If you’ve ever read climbing forums you’ve probably seen threads (aka. arguments about 30-seconds away from a fist-fight) about best communication practices. You’ll read things like:
 
(a) Only use certain specific commands because they don’t share the same vowel sounds and number of syllables. Hypothetically this allows the commands to be differentiated from each other when they otherwise sound like a garbled mess in wind (for example “up rope” has two syllables with a hard “uh” and “o” sound; Or, “off belay” and “on belay” have three syllables with long “o” and “a” sounds; Or, don’t use the word “safe” because it sounds like “take” and safe is not a command telling your belayer what to do. You get the idea.)
 
(b) Then there are the “discussions” about what to do if you and your climbing partner can’t hear each other at all. Many suggest creating a convoluted rope signaling systems (one big looong tug  if … two big tugs if… tug, relax, tug tug tug, relax, if you are bonking and need time to eat a sandwich.) 
​
If you climb enough multipitch, I can promise there will be a shit-ton of instances you won’t be able hear each other yelling commands (even if everyone else in the canyon or valley can hear you…). And, I can also promise that attempts at rope signaling will only result in range of emotions from befuddlement to panic. The reason why is because you can’t tell a rope tug from a climbing action. Also with enough friction you won't be able to feel tugs at all!
 
For example, there have been plenty of instances when my partner spent a long time at a difficult section of the climb trying to figure out the moves and/or the gear placement. The long delay might make me think he has arrived at the belay and is building an anchor. Then, when my partner decides to finally make the moves, the rope jerks quickly because he desperately wants to clip that piece of pro he just placed (which on my end looks like a big tug). But, he misses the clip and the rope drops fast, then he grabs the rope (out of even more desperation perhaps) and rapidly tries to clip again. This looks like another big tug. If we had agreed that two big tugs means “off belay” then my partner would be fucked.
 
Yes, there are ways to make sure you and your partner are always secure when you can’t communicate. Such as, DON’T take your partner off belay, just keep feeding rope through the belay device until the rope reaches your tie-in. Then don’t start breaking down the anchor until your end of the rope is tight, it stays tight, then gets tight again when you start to move upwards to clean the anchor. This is a really good fallback system, but it is super inefficient in a multi-pitch scenario where saving time is important too (but time is not as important as remaining secured.)
 
Frankly, the simplest way to deal with communication on a multi-pitch climb is to get a freaking walkie talkie. Not only does it make climbing more peaceful (no yelling!) and relaxed (no wondering!), it makes it waaaayyy safer. If you do enough multi-pitch climbing, unexpected shit WILL happen. If you have a walkie talkie you can easily figure out how to handle it with your partner. Let me share one small-but-not-so-small example with you.
 
My hubby Rick and I were on a trad climb that had newer bolted anchors (previously everything was tat). One of the comments in Mountain Project was that you could now rappel the route with a single 60m rope.
 
We were climbing with our twin 60s. On the last pitch while belaying Rick I noticed the halfway point of the rope went at least 10-15 feet beyond my belay device (which indicates you can’t rappel with one rope). When I made it to the top of the climb and we were setting up for the rappel, we made some decisions. Since this route was a known “rope eater,” and recalling the Mountain Project 60m-single-raps-comment, we decided to do multiple shorter raps with one rope. This reduces the risk of the rope getting caught in the rock and, if it did, we’d have a spare. I commented about the rope length, but we also noted that Rick went off route, going out left onto a face for a bit, then back right to the bolted anchor. We presumed that deviation would account for the extra rope being used.
 
Rick went first on the rappel. Then I hear these words come across my walkie talkie (actually it’s a Rocky Talkie…) “Uh Stef...I fucked up. The rope doesn’t reach the next set of anchors.” Ooops. (BTW, we ALWAYS tie knots at the ends of our rope on rappel – and rappel saddle-bag style if there is risk of the rope getting caught in cracks.)
 
So, here’s what we did:
  • Rick had some gear on him, so he radioed me that he will build an anchor and get off rappel.
  • Then, he radioed me when he was off and I tied the two 60s together (I had the second rope with me).
  • I rappelled down to next set of bolted anchors, radioed Rick that I was off rappel.
  • He got back on the rope and met me at the bolted anchors.
 
Could you imagine trying to work that out by yelling?
 
Worse yet, could you image trying to deal with that situation if you couldn’t even hear each other?
 
Plus there are so many ways this situation could’ve been more complicated. What if Rick needed more gear to build his anchor? With communication, I could’ve easily sent gear down the rope to him. What if Rick was the one with the second rope? We could have easily worked that out too. And, yes, without a radio he could’ve Prusicked his way back up, but he was near the bottom of the rope, Prusicking would’ve been exhausting and taken forever, and it was already getting dark.
 
You can do your best to plan a climb (we thought this would be SO straightforward – it’s bolted anchors for goodness sake!), but shit happens.
 
Frankly, walkie talkies should be a standard piece of gear on every multipitch climb. Not only can they help prevent major epics, they can help with little things like “I’m gonna take a while here, this piece is stuck.” Or, they can even allow you to have a little fun like “Rick, that’s me… good thing you aren’t here right now because that fart I just let out is so bad…climbing.”
Picture

A Shout Out to Rocky Talkies

Rick and I use walkie talkies a lot - both for mapping (our business is Climb-On Maps) and for climbing. We recently picked up the new Rocky Talkie system. Here's our two cents on them:
  • We love that they don't beep when the communication button is pushed. The Rocky Talkies are nice and quiet. I've been on climbs where a partner had her walkie talkie in her pocket and every time she stepped up some button would get accidentally pushed and either an obnoxious alarm sound would blare across the canyon, or the pre-communication beep would blurt over my speaker making me think she was trying to say something. No beeps, yay!
  • The sound is super clear. Every other walkie talkie system I have used sounds muddled or has some sort of static. I have never previously experienced how easy it is to hear the person talking to you.
  • When you are talking, the radio picks it up right away - there is no delay. One of the things that drove me nuts about our old walkie talkie system was a delay between pushing the button and when you could start speaking. If you spoke too soon, it would get cut off and the person on the other end would be like, "whhaaat?" Argh! The Rocky Talkie system picks up your voice right away!
  • It's small and comparatively light.
  • It's very simple - in a really good way. So easy to use.
  • The carabiner attachment is really robust on the Rocky Talkie and it has a backup stretch chord, which allows you to wear it in a bunch of different places on the body. For example, you could wear it on your harness and then detach and pull the device up to you to talk without fear dropping it. We prefer to keep our walkie talkies close to our face, so all you have to do is push the button, turn your head, and talk. Unhooking the device to talk is an extra step we don't care for, but you will need to experiment on what works for you. 
    • Rick and I rigged our old walkie talkies with a key ring through a small strip in back, then hooked the carabiner through that ring. That strip in the back of the walkie talkie doe not seem that secure. If the walkie talkie snagged on something and the strip broke, that was it - the walkie talkie would be gone. The Rocky Talkies attachments are robust. 
  • There is one primary annoyance with the Rocky Talkie. The antenna. Although the antennae is a similar length as those on our other walkie talkies, and although the overall length of the Rocky Talkie is significantly less than our other walkie talkies, the antennae seems more in the way. I think this is because of how immobile the device is on the carabiner combined with the large carabiner size, which seems to position the antennae in annoying ways relative to the body. It's taken some time to find the perfect spot where it doesn't stab at a body part, get in the way when pulling off gear, or raise concern about poking out an eyeball in a fall. I've finally found my perfect spot for the Rocky Talkie on my gear sling and Rick had found his perfect spot on his backpack. It just took experimenting. I think we might also experiment using a smaller carabiner.
  • My other concern (which has only happened once so far) is the channel changed without my realizing it. The little switch apparently got bumped. I recently learned, though, that if you hold the channel flipper forward for two seconds it locks the channel in place.
    • Channel changing has happened on other walkie talkies I've used, and it can be a problem if it changes while climbing and you don't realize it. I'd say one way to deal with this is to have a rule to always acknowledge communication, even if its an "ok" or "thank you." That way if the person doesn't respond you can yell up to check the channel (assuming they can hear you) or mention it at the next belay spot. 
  • All-in-all we really dig our Rocky Talkies - which is why I decided to write up this mini-review. 
  • Rocky Talkie: Meet the creators Alex and Bryce - Interview with Common Climber
  • Rocky Talkie website

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        • Overcoming Boundaries >
          • Photographer - Brook Anderson
          • Profile - Louise Shepherd
          • Profile - Megan Banker
          • Profile - Shawn Axelrod
          • Rock Type 1
          • The Tape Job
        • Women's Edition >
          • Editorial - Women's Edition
          • Climbing is My Art
          • Mt. Logan Solo
          • Photographer - Michelle Ranee Johnson
          • Profile - Caitlin Schokker
      • Non-Themed Editions >
        • April 2020
        • May 2020
        • June 2020
        • August 2020 >
          • Online Auction
          • Editorial August 2020
        • September 2020
        • October 2020
        • November 2020
        • December 2020 >
          • Anthology 2020 Sponsors
        • January 2021
        • March 2021
    • Topics >
      • Adaptive Climbing >
        • Adaptive Climbing Edition
        • El Capitan: Enock Glidden
        • Quinn Brett Interview
        • My Journey to Adaptive Rock Climbing
        • Planning for Mt. Rainier: Adaptive Climbing
        • Resources - Adaptive Climbing
      • Alpine & Ice >
        • California Still Has Untouched Climbing Wilderness
        • Ice Solo
        • Mt. Ogden Spanking
        • Mt. Whitney Whipping
        • My Common Alpine Epic
      • CC Profile >
        • Profile - Shawn Axelrod
        • Profile - Megan Banker
        • Profile: Wendy Bruere - More Than It Hurts
        • Profile - Favia Dubyk
        • Profile - Debbie Fowler
        • Profile - Lindsey Hamm
        • Profile - Sabine Pratt Hunziker
        • PROFILE - Marisa Michael - Nutrition for Climbers
        • Profile - Caitlin Schokker
        • Profile - Louise Shepherd
      • CoVID and Climbing >
        • COVID Climbing Memes
        • CoVID-19 Remakes Our Lives
        • Dear Memory
        • From Couch to Lifting Couches
        • How to Climb and Avoid the Corona Virus
        • Train the Mind: Mental Toughness Tips for Quaratraining
        • The 5.10 Commandments
        • Trying to Send this Route
      • Equipment (writings) >
        • Aliens!
        • A Rack Retrospective
        • Cam Ranges (+ Big Bros)
        • Carabiner Strength Ratings
        • Climbing Shoes Fit
        • Guide Book Follies
        • Rope Buying 101
        • Shit Happens – Or, Why You Need a Walkie Talkie
        • The One Item to Stockpile
        • Which Way Should I Carry My Trad Rack?
        • Why GriGris Suck
        • 8 Reasons I Carry a Full Rack on Every Trad Climb
      • Facebook Feature >
        • FF: Big Walls
        • FF: Butt Shots
        • FF: Exploring Our World
        • FF: Overcoming Boundaries
        • FF: Trees & Climbing
        • FF: Welcome New Climbers
      • Grades, Styles, & Types >
        • Bouldering-Falling
        • Bouldering Grade Advancements
        • Grading Climbs at the Gym
        • It's a F-ing Chimney
        • Onsight vs Flash vs Etc...
        • Top 10: Increase the Climbing Grade When...
        • Trad Climbing is for Chicken Sh*#s
        • WTF 5.7?
        • 18 Climber Types: Which Are You?
      • Kids >
        • Family Stages
        • The Guidebook
      • Legends >
        • B - Joe Brown
        • G - Brad Gobright
        • G - Todd Gordon
        • H - Hugh Herr
        • H - Thomas Huber - In Another World - A Personal Climbing Journey
        • J - Saxon Johns
        • M - Tim Macartney-Snape: ​A Legend from Sea to Summit
        • M - John Middendorf
      • Mental-Physical >
        • Climbing Training Series >
          • Improving Hip Mobility
          • Rock Climber Mobility
          • Train the Mind: Mental Toughness Tips for Quaratraining
        • A Climb Worth Fighting For
        • Achilles
        • Everyone Around Me Is Better Than I Am
        • Fear, Pride, and Exploration
        • How Auto-Immune Disease Affected My Climbing
        • Mastering Joy on Easy Street
        • Mind, Body, and Soul
        • My Demon Has a Name
        • New Year's Resolutions
        • Of Cartoons and Quickdraws
        • Push and Pull
        • Sorcerer and the Kidney Stone
        • Take Risks - You'll Remember Them Later
        • The Art of Climbing Without Rock
        • The Devil's Game
        • The Taste of Climbing
        • 12-Weeks to Onsighting a 5.8
      • Other/Misc >
        • Assault on Schurman Rock
        • Book Club
        • Climbing, Community, and the U.S. Presidential Election
        • Climbing Drinking Games
        • Climbing Gyms: The Gateway Drug
        • Climbing Hands
        • Climbing in the Bare Essentials
        • Climbing Resolutions
        • Demented Dirtbag
        • Don't Take Granite for Granite
        • Dorothy, We Aren't on Havana Anymore
        • Guatemalan Worry Dolls Go Climbing
        • No Health Insurance Changed How I Climb
        • Snakes and Ladders
        • Starting Over
        • The Adventure of A Lifetime - So Far
        • The Bane of Northwest Climbing
        • The Pink Tricam
        • Things of Stone and Wood
        • Zac the Interloper
      • Places & Climbs >
        • Climbs >
          • Consolation Prize
          • Flakes and Shakes: Flake Crack Revisited
          • From Yorkshire to Eternity
          • Tiptoeing Through Some Bungles
          • Tombstone Territory
          • Yosemite - What We Came For
        • Location Reviews
        • My Home Crag >
          • Climbing in the Upper Cumberland Valley, Kentucky
          • Drytooling in the Rain - Wayne's World, WA
          • My Home Crag: Nowra, NSW, Australia
        • Travel Stories >
          • Blue Mountains - Bliss: Climbing in the Blueys
          • Buenos Aires, Argentina Crag
          • Colorado - Calling Pat Ament
          • Coolum Cave - Sendfest 8
          • Ecuador - A Nation of Four Worlds
          • El Potrero Chico - Riding the Dirty Dog
          • Yosemite: Growing Up
          • Lover's Leap - Zone of Craptitude
          • Rio de Janeiro - Classic Climbs Sampler
          • Taghia, Morocco - Hardly Failing
          • Tasmania - Legend of the ‘Unclimbable Cliff’
          • Thailand - Lost and Found: A Mini-Epic in Paradise
          • Vedauwoo, WY
          • Yosemite - What We Came For
          • 20 World Destinations for Adventurous Climbing
        • 2020 U.S. Rock Climbing Festivals
      • Poetry/Prose >
        • Anti-Social Climbers
        • Sojourn at Dyuritte
        • Finding Poetry
        • Ice is Nice
        • The Space Between
      • Safety and Skills >
        • Bolting and Ground-Fall Potential
        • Euro-Death Knot is NOT
        • Multi-Pitch Tips: Two ATCs
        • Sketchy Anchor Bolts
        • Sliding-X Anchor
        • Three Ways to Use a Stick Clip
        • Top 10: Climbing Best Practices
      • Science Fiction >
        • Red Curtain: Prologue
      • Social, Social Media, & Social Issues >
        • Chossy Trio Renegades
        • Climbing into the Fold
        • Diversity in Climbing is Not a Bandwagon
        • Fuck "Gumbies" and "Noobs"
        • Montana, My Home: Claire Larson
        • My Husband Climbs Stronger than Me
        • Navajo Rising
        • Social Network Rescue
  • Marketplace
    • Butora
    • Climbing Addicts Colored Chalk
    • Climb-On Maps
    • Dynamite Starfish
    • FIXEhardware
    • Furnace Industries
    • Grimpi
    • Heroclip
    • MoveWell with McGee
    • Mystery Ranch
    • Neilico
    • NW Alpine
    • Rockytalkies
    • Tension Climbing
  • Reviews
    • Books >
      • Advanced Rock Climbing Book Review
      • Adventures at the Edge of the World
      • Climbing Rock: Vertical Explorations Across North America
      • Hangdog Days Book Review
      • HOOKING UP: The Ultimate Big Wall and Aid Climbing Manual
      • Paul Preuss: Lord of the Abyss
      • The Sharp End of Life: A Mother's Story - Book Review
    • Equipment/Gear Reviews >
      • Belay Device Review >
        • Edelrid Mega Jul
      • Harnesses >
        • ArcTeryx-FL-365
        • Misty Mountain Cadillac
      • Packs and Bags >
        • Sukoa Chalk Bag Review
        • Trango Crag Pack
      • Personal Anchor Systems >
        • Camp-Daisy-Twist
        • Petzl-Dual-Adjust
      • Other >
        • Dr. Piton's Review of the D4 Delta2P Portaledge
    • Location Reviews >
      • Australia >
        • Queensland, Australia >
          • Kangaroo Point Photos and Beta
          • Kangaroo Point Review
        • New South Wales Australia >
          • Blue Mountains >
            • Blue Mountains Photos and Beta
            • Blue Mountains Review
          • Nowra >
            • Nowra Review >
              • Nowra Photos and Beta
      • Mexico >
        • Potrero Chico Photos and Beta
        • Potrero Chico Review
      • United States >
        • Climbing Area Check List - U.S. >
          • Climbing Area Check List Part 1: Alabama to California
          • Climbing Area Checklist Part 2: Colorado to Michigan
          • Climbing Area Checklist Part 3: Minnesota to New Mexico
          • Climbing Area Checklist Part 4: New York to Wyoming
        • Arizona >
          • Queen Creek Canyon
        • California >
          • Joshua Tree >
            • Joshua Tree Tips
          • Mount Whitney >
            • Mount Whitney Photos and Beta
        • Idaho >
          • City of Rocks >
            • City of Rocks Photos and Beta
            • City of Rocks Review
        • Oregon >
          • Smith Rock >
            • Smith Rock - Photos and Beta
            • Smith Rock Review
          • Spring Mountain >
            • Spring Mountain Review
            • Spring Mountain - Photos and Beta
          • Trout Creek >
            • Trout Creek Photos and Beta
            • Trout Creek Review
        • Nevada >
          • Gun Club
          • Keyhole Canyon
          • Mt. Charleston, Nevada
          • Red Rock Canyon >
            • Red Rock Canyon Review - Yeahs and Neahs
            • Red Rocks Photos and Beta
        • New Hampshire >
          • North Conway, NH
          • Rumney, NH
        • New York >
          • Gunks Review
        • Utah >
          • Echo Canyon
          • Ferguson Canyon >
            • Ferguson Canyon Photos and Beta
            • Ferguson Canyon Review
          • Ibex >
            • Ibex Photos and Beta
            • Ibex Review
          • Maple Canyon >
            • Maple Canyon, Utah Photos and Beta
            • Maple Canyon Review
          • Moab >
            • Moab - Main - Photos and Beta
            • Moab -Main - Review
          • St. George >
            • St. George - Prophesy Wall- Photos and Beta
            • St. George - Prophesy Wall - Review
        • West Virginia >
          • Seneca Rocks
        • Wyoming >
          • Ten Sleep
  • Photographers & Artists
    • A- Brook Anderson
    • B - Florian Beyer
    • C - Karen Chan
    • D - Daga Dygas
    • F - Eric Fallecker
    • G - Max Gordon
    • J - Michelle Ranee Johnson
    • K - Christine Kuebler
    • L - Shawn Lee Illustrator
    • M - Alex Messenger
    • N - Tiffany Nardico
    • O - Charlie OlGrady-Kessner
    • O - Karmelo Onate
    • O - Camila Ospina
    • P - Diego Perez
    • S - Bryan Sillorequez
    • S - Stephen Smithburger
    • S - Matt Spohn
    • V - Laura Vallo
    • W - Joel Wilson
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  • About Common Climber
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  • Authors
    • B - Stephanie Bahnsen
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      • Dave Barnes Extended Bio
    • B - Austin Beck-Doss
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    • B - Brianna Boney
    • C - Carrot
    • C - Radek Chalupa
    • C - Erin Collins
    • C - James Crump
    • D - Stefani Dawn
    • F - Tony Ferrar
    • G - Joshua G
    • G - Leesa Gallia
    • G - Naomi Gibbs
    • G - Enock Glidden
    • G - Max Gordon (Contributor)
    • H - Grey Hensley
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    • K - Christine Kuebler
    • M - Collin McGee
    • M - Aaron Mike
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    • O - Maggie Odette
    • P - Emilie Pellerin
    • P - Brice Pollock
    • P - Paul Pritchard
    • R - Monique Richard
    • R - Juan Rodriguez
    • S - Lor Sabourin
    • S - Jess Sanson
    • S - Jeff Smoot
    • T- Frothy Thomson
    • T - Wil Treasure
    • T - Matt Tredway
    • W - Kirby Walke
    • W - Hugh Ward
    • W - Wayne Willoughby
    • W - Lani Wilson
    • Z - Peter Zabrok