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The American Death Triangle is a piece of webbing attached to each hanger and then down to a single rap ring. It is not the same thing. If that piece of webbing becomes worn or torn then the entire anchor could fail. The Fixe Ring Anchor is the most popular anchor system sold by Fixe and they give specific instructions to place them horizontally at least 8" apart.

The only time I can recall seeing an American Triangle on a route at the Red is a few years ago on "Straightedge" at Pebble Beach.

Most of the anchor set ups used today are very strong. Everyone has there preference. I have used every set discussed in this thread. They all have their pros and cons. Before sport climbing came around, most routes in the Red were really spooky. Old hexes , Knotted slings, fixed wires, chockstones, tree roots and rodos. So now when i see the anchors of today, I think Wow! We should have done this a long time ago.

Any sort of bolt setup at the top of a route is reasuring after climbing some of the obscure routes I have done and found nothing or ancient rat chewed webbing or a rotten crack for anchor building.Getting back down must have been as much trouble as getting up there ,back in the day.

The one hundreth anchor system will be installed on a route in Muir Valley this next weekend. Of course, Liz and I are very concerned about climbers' safety and, with Tim Powers, have studied the many different anchor systems to determine the safest ones to be used in the Valley. Note that the word is "safest" and not "safe."

We all know that nothing in this sport is truly safe. However, we try to ratchet up the odds in our favor by using the best gear and techniques available to us.

The American Safe Climbing Association (ASCA) tells us: "Bolts used for outdoor rock climbing in the U.S. have historically not been regulated or certified in any way. Historical practice is to use bolts which are nowhere near any "reasonable" level of safety compared to the standards of modern society, and even the bolts used now to establish new routes and replace old bolts are not certified or regulated in any way. Limitations due to ease and speed and type mean that even many bolts used by the) are nowhere near what would be considered acceptable safety margins in other walks of life such as the modern construction industry. The ASCA is a bit of a misnomer, because climbing is (obviously) not a safe thing to do. Old deteriorating bolts are potential death traps even for experienced climbers. No bolt is ever guaranteed, and trusting a bolt with your life is always a gamble."

So, why do we participate in this "unsafe" sport? Are we all nuts? Well, yes of course, but aside from that, Helen Keller summed it up best:

“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature… Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.”

Rick