A personal opinion on daisy chains.

No daisy chain or headlamp to get caught up in the squeeze!

I get asked about this on occasion, I thought I'd post it here. I also haven't posted for a while, I've been sucked into the instagram world. @sawyerwylie





A personal opinion on daisy chains and institutional inbreeding: Before I go on to rail against daisy chains/PASs, I should clarify that I don’t in fact hate them. I do own several. This is complex, let me explain.

Donald Rumsfeld famously stated “there are known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns”. My hypothesis is that the climbers who used daisy chains/PASs are those that tend to fit into the “unknown unknowns” category. They are lacking in experience and knowledge. They're competent enough to go have have great evening craving, but not enough to make serious decisions about tactics and techniques. Let me explain.

One common ethos among climbers is “light and fast”. This tend to lead the climber to simplify their equipment and carry multipurpose items so they can carry less. You do have to haul it all up with you after all. With less, you can go farther, climb more (now you’re talking!), cary more good food, and get on harder things, etc. This is perhaps the biggest root issue with a daisy chain/PASs, is that it's simply extraneous equipment. Oh, you’re cleaning an anchor on a single pitch climb? Use draws clipped together to go in direct to the anchor. Clipping in to an anchor on a multi-pitch? Clove hitch to the anchor with your rope (a much stronger and safer option than any sling/PAS/daisy chain by the way). Rappelling down after a climb? Grab one of the slings from an alpine draw, basket hitch it to your belay loop, and clip in with that. You’re not using them any more after all. There is really no situation that a normal climber (you’re not Alex Honnold) would encounter that would absolutely require a daisy chain (you’re not aid climbing either, c’mon son).

An experienced and confident climber knows all this, and thus doesn’t use one since keeping one on their harness would just add a bunch of downsides. So it becomes a visible marker about someone’s experience and skill level. This doesn’t mean they’re a bad climber. They might be a strong and fun climbing partner, but they likely fit into one of two categories. One, they have limited knowledge and confidence about rope work and don’t realize it, or two, are unwilling to adapt from their standard operating procedures which came from what I call institutional inbreeding. Both are red flags. So when experienced climbers see someone with a daisy chain, and then they run it between their legs (“g string style”), then it becomes an incredible source of amusement. Sure g string might be the best way to get your daisy chain out of the way and to avoid having it hang up on your gear. But the point is, you shouldn’t be doing it anyways, and you look ridiculous!

Is there a time and place for a daisy chain? Duh, aid climbing, bolting, and some big wall activities. Is there a time and place for a PAS? If you’re being guided and they need to baby you. But if you're reading this, you probably think of yourself as a competent climber and are not being shuffled around on a 5.6 by a guide.

Curious about what I mean by institutional inbreeding? I mean where beliefs and thoughts and actions get built up to ridiculous ideas without any science or logic. Another example of institutional inbreeding in climbing is a belief in “micro fractures”. Another is always having your headlamp attached to you helmet. Not only are you risking damage to a critical and fragile piece of equipment by not hiding it away in your puffy in your pack when not using it, but it’s one more thing to deal with when you don’t need it! Simply. Deal with less so you can climb more. Another is always having to equalize things. It doesn't matter if it's equalized if your gear is crap. Get good gear and limit the sling material between them to reduce possible extension. Consider just clipping into the loop of a cam, it’s essentially a sewn master-point for you. I sometimes like to equalize things when I am top roping with a guided group for hours, it’s simple and fool proof. But it’s not fast. We want to climb, not sit on a ledge.

So really, the daisy chain/PAS isn't bad and neither are the people who use them. It's just the poster child for an outdated way of thinking and lack of adaptation. If you're psyched to top rope 5.6 with ovals for your career, that's cool. I couldn't care less. But if you start talking big game, AND are walking around like you top rope 5.6 with tricams and hexes, it's going to make people laugh.