hunter wrote:I guess rigging would be the politically correct caving term, never really thought about it but I climb a lot and certainly use the term "anchoring" there.
"Rigging" is probably a better word because it really encompasses the full setup of a rope for caving (building the anchor/rope pads/re-belays, etc...). Of course thinking about it I also say I will rig the rope when I'm climbing...
Hunter
"Anchoring and Rigging"
I see the two concepts: "Anchoring and Rigging" as being different aspects of a process for using ropes in caving (and climbing), but as Hunter says, the term "rigging" could include "anchoring". The difference to me is simply that
anchoring is the process of placing your rope to be used for abseiling (rappelling) or prussiking in a fixed and stable position, i.e., around the butt of a tree outside a cave, or wrapped around a natural anchor point within the cave, e,g., a bollard or jug, or attaching a figure of eight loop in the end of the rope to a an artificial anchor (bolt) by way of a sling or karabiner.
Rigging on the other hand relates to the way in which the rope (or ladder) is positioned in a cave, including the manner in which it is anchored (using natural or artificial anchors or a mix of both). The rigging for a cave may entail the use of rope protectors or re-belays to have the rope in the optimum position for SRT, presumably as a free hang if you want to minimise rope abrasion or you are using 9mm rope or something thinner. So in the case of a multi-pitch cave, the rigging details might describe the location positions for bolts at pitch heads or provide a description of the position of tried and tested natural anchors, as well as relating the recommended rope lengths for each pitch including added lengths for tie back and re-belay and the number of krabs or slings that might need to be deployed to set up a Y-hang and/ or for anchoring to some other fixed point.
Cheers,
Arthur Clarke.