Ascending a rope with a Gri-Gri

Whether you are big wall climbing, caving, or setting up a big tree swing in your backyard, sometimes you need to get serious about ascending a fixed rope. The proper tool to do this is not the humble prusik knot, but an ascender (aka jumar). 

The traditional set up typically used by big wall climbers is two ascenders clipped to the rope, two daisy chains connecting the ascenders to you, and two aiders hanging from the ascenders for your feet. While this is certainly a time tested and efficient technique once you get the hang of it, many people find this set up to be quite awkward and inefficient when first learning.  Plus, you need a lot of expensive gear!
Here is an alternate technique that has a few advantages, and many find easier to learn.

Gear you need:

1. Petzl Gri-Gri, Trango Cinch, or similar auto-locking belay device
2. A single ascender, usually for your dominant hand (right or left)
3. A daisy chain or 4 foot (double-length) runner to connect the ascender to your harness
4. A single aider or some kind of tied foot loop to stand in

Advantages to this system:

• You are always attached to the rope with the Gri-gri
• The Gri-gri allows you to slightly lower out and release tension on the rope if necessary, which is often extremely handy
• You are always ready to rappel with the Gri-gri on the fixed line
• It uses much less equipment (lighter and less expensive)
• With a bit of practice, this ascending technique is just about as fast as the traditional one described above.

Note:  The pulley in the image below is nice to have, but optional.

This is a better show than a tell, so check out the good diagrams of this set up and a more in-depth discussion at this website.

photo from chockstone.org

and here’s a nice YouTube video showing the technique in action: