On the Line: Top Rope Solo Manual (Cragmanship)

Andy provides a stellar overview of common TRS devices and setups, outlining the risks and tradeoffs of each. A great foundation for starting your own TRS journey

Love AK books. He is practical and opinionated, which helps a lot to evolve my technical skills with his experience. I was glad to see the Vergo listed. Trust me this is a jewel of device for TRS. If not used with a leash and a positioning guide on the carabiner/maillon it has an unlikely but possible failure, well documented by a great TRS YouTuber from Quebec.In my climbing setup, I also have a SS 8mm Maillon (50KN vertical strength EN362, UIAA 121 & EN12275 certified such as Petzl, Mammut, Camp - should cost less tahn 10 bucks, get the good stuff) and a commercial device from Salewa to force right positioning of the connector-Vergo link (pictures show detail). The Salewa Twist Lock avoids a known failure state (in a rare situation, the Vergo partially enters the carabiner gap, so that a fall is not promptly stopped). Before buying the Salewa gadget I just taped the carabiner to limit the gap, it works perfectly but involves another step - and possible failure point if tired, rushing, or just ignore the thin probability of interference connector-vergo.Trust me I bought several devices over the years and, at 100 bucks, this Vergo device grabs instantaneously in the event of a fall, yet the rope slides like butter through it when climbing. I rarely assist it, which is a major timesaver (I only climb on single rope though). In my assessment, the Vergo is in another league compared to grigri, bird, etc. specially for the frictionless slide up and prompt grab on a fall. I can’t speak for retired devices or the most expensive ones (more than USD 200 is too much) but on the products available new on 2024 that could fit the bill, I tried it all.This is my view of the book itself: I recommend reading for all together with others from AK, specially Down, if you want safety when TRS and rappelling. AK also illustrates his books, which means he has put a LOT of work into his books. Knowledge is key for climbing.In fact, key to stay safe on solo is technique and lots of training with a top rope backup on a small crag so you can learn and be semi-automatic on dangerous situations requiring immediate and precise decision making. After you get trained, it is a matter of climbing the more you can. But to me is reckless go solo before knowing all the ropes.AFAIK, this is the first book dedicated to TRS, even if any good big wall book and maybe a few rope access ones treat with the information needed to properly TRS. Nevertheless, by not being focused on TRS, they require prior knowledge to interpret that in a TRS climb environment. In other words, you need to have some guidance to understand related information and, if you do not TRS often and for several years already, it is hard to develop the proper judgment alone. Given that TRS is a low risk but high consequences endeavor, as of Today this book is a MUST BUY for anyone in the field.Back to setup, if that interest the reader, I like to backup the Trango Vergo with the CT Roll n Lock or Petzl Mini Traxxion or the Camp Lift . I also must admit I used the AliExpress copycat of the Camp Lift from a firm called Lixada. It’s a backup anyway…but beware.Hope you love the book as much as I did and that my view may add at least some useful reflection. I love to TRS and I love swimming in the ocean for the relatively controlled and safe immersion on a different state of mind with the nature, that grabs my soul somwhow.Buy this book, good luck and climb forever!

As everything else written by Andy Kirkpatrick- fantastic deep dive in the matter.

First book about TRS or Top Rope Soloing!Great content, a lot of explanation of all possible devices and techniques.A real must have!

This is an excellent resource. I spent countless hours reading Reddit forums and watching YouTube videos to learn about TRS, but never really trusted the info I was consuming. AK's book takes an unbiased look at the discipline and discusses the pros and cons of each setup and methodology. I also generally like his writing style, as these manuals tend to get pretty dry. Definitely worth adding to your climbing library. I enjoyed it so much that I purchased his earlier work "Down" as well.