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Quickdraw

From Climbopedia
Revision as of 08:34, 14 September 2025 by Karl (talk | contribs)
Quickdraw
Use(s)Lead climbing, mountaineering

Quickdraw is an essential piece of a climbing equipment used for connecting the rope with a running protections. It consists of two carabiners connected with a sling.

Clipping

Clipping with fingers

  • Grab the rope between the thumb and the index finger.
  • Use the middle finger to hold the carabiner in place.
  • Pull the rope against the carabiner gate.
  • The rope slips into the carabiner.
  • And the rope is clipped.

This clipping method works only with the right hand - carabiner gate faces left, or with the left hand - gate faces right. In other cases, use a different method.

Risks

Aside from safety recommendations for carabiners, there are few more rules to follow while working with quickdraws.

  • Position the carabiner in a way that the gate is pointed away from the direction of climb.
  • Improper positioning of the gate can lead to unclipping of the carabiner during a fall.
  • Backclipping of the carabiner is also risky as it might also lead to the uncliping of the carabiner.
  • If direction of the climb is uncertain, securing can be done by placing two carabiners with gates pointed in the opposite directions.
  • alternatively, carabiner with a screw-gate can be used for the same purpose.

Self-unclipping of the rope during a fall

If the carabiner is placed incorrectly, the lead climber faces a risk that the rope can unclip itself from the carabiner during a fall. The risk increases if the carabiner is back-clipped.

  • Falling into an incorrectly placed quickdraw poses a risk.
  • During a fall, the rope might push against the gate of the carabiner.
  • Then slip through the gate of the carabiner.
  • And release itself.

Alpine quickdraw (alpine draw)

TODO

Packing and unpacking the alpine quickdraw

TODO

Clipstick

TODO