Article

The Best Yosemite Big Wall Climbing Rack and Gear List

Friday April 8, 2011 10:12am

Below is Chris McNamara's choice for Ultimate Yosemite Big Wall Climbing Rack. We list top choice first followed sometimes by the Best Buy (BB) choice> For example, the La Sportiva Ganda is our top Yosemite shoe choice but costs $200+. The Five Ten Camp Four is $105 and will get the job done.

This rack has almost everything you may need for a typical Yosemite Valley big wall. Depending on the climb you are going to do and your experience you can pick and choose what you need.


	Chris McNamara on El Capitan Credit: Corey Rich

Rack for all clean routes (Example: The Nose)
Nuts:

1 set DMM Offset Nuts or ABC Huevos (BB)

1 set DMM Peenuts

1-2 sets DMM Brass Offsets
Cams:

1-2 sets Metolius Master Cams (#00-4)

1 set Metolius Offset Master Cams (optional) (#00-4)

2 sets Black Diamond Camalot C4s to (#0.5-4)
1-2 ea Moses Cam Hook
Ropes: 1 60m or 70m x 9.2mm Maxim Glider or Maxim Equinox (BB) and one 60m x 9mm static haul rope (8mm if traveling light, 10mm if hauling massive loads)
Quickdraws: 12 Wild Country Helium Quickdraw or Black Diamond FreeWire Quickdraw (BB) or CAMP Nano 23 Quickdraw to go ultralight
Carabiners: 50 extra Wild Country Helium or Mad Rock Ultra-Light Straight (BB) or CAMP Nano 23 to go ultralight
Locking Carabiners: 5 Petzl Attache 3D or Black Diamond Rocklock (BB)
Slings: 15 Mammut Contact Dyneema and a few 9/16" runners in case you need to leave them at rappels
Cordelette: Mammut Pro Cord
Harness: CAMP Quartz CR3 or Black Diamond Momentum (BB)
Belay Device: Petzl Reverso 3
Climbing Shoes: La Sportiva TC Pro or Mad Rock Flash (BB)
Helmet: Petzl Meteor III helmet or Petzl Elios
Metolius Adjustable Gear Sling
Nut Tool: Wild Country Pro Key
Hauling Device: Petzl Mini Traxion for loads smaller than 80lb or Petzl Pro Traxion for loads 80-160lb
Ascenders: Petzl Ascension
Aiders: Petzl Wall Step Etrier
Daisy Chains: Metolius Monster Daisy Chain or Metolius Nylon Daisy Chain (BB)
Black Diamond Fifi hook
Approach Shoes: La Sportiva Ganda or Five Ten Camp Four
Haul Bag: Metolius Half Dome Haul Bag or Metolius El Capitan Haul Bag
Gloves: Black Diamond Stone Glove or Homemade Fingerless Climbing Glove (BB)

Rack for mostly clean routes (Example: Zodiac)
Rack for all clean routes (above) Plus
Hooks: Black Diamond Cliffhanger, Black Diamond Talon, Black Diamond Grappling Hook
Keyhole Hangers: 4+ Moses Rivet Hangers
Wire Rivet Hangers: 4+
Beaks/Peckers: 2-4 Moses Tomahawks or Small Peckers, 4-6 medium and large Black Diamond Peckers
1 set Black Diamond Lost Arrow
1-2 Black Diamond Angles
Gear Sling: Yates Big Wall Rack
Aiders: Yates Big Wall Ladder
Black Diamond Yosemite Hammer

Big Wall Bivy Gear
Bivy Sack: Black Diamond Big Wall Bivy Sac
Synthetic Sleeping Bag: Mountain Hardwear Ultralamina 15 or Mountain Hardwear Pinole 20 (BB)
Sleeping Pad: Therm-a-Rest Ridge Rest
Stove: JetBoil Flash with JetBoil Hanging Kit and Snow Peak Titanium Spork
Headlamp: Petzl Tikka XP 2
Rain Jacket: Marmot PreCip
Poles: Black Diamond Trail Compact (optional)
Poop Tube: Metolius Waste Case and Wag Bags
Stuff Sacks: Metolius Big Wall Stuff Sacks
Portable Solar Panel
Duct Tape
Wet One's wipes

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Chris McNamara

About the Author
Climbing Magazine once computed that three percent of Chris McNamara’s life on earth had been spent on the face of El Capitan — an accomplishment that has left friends and family pondering Chris’s sanity. He has climbed El Capitan more than 100 times and holds nine big wall speed climbing records. In 1998 Chris did the first Girdle Traverse of El Capitan, an epic 75-pitch route that begs the question, “Why?”

Outside Magazine has called Chris one of “the world’s finest aid climbers.” He is the winner of the 1999 Bates Award from the American Alpine Club and founder of the American Safe Climbing Association, a nonprofit group that has replaced over 5000 dangerous anchor bolts. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and serves on the boards of the ASCA and Rowell Legacy Committee. He has a rarely updated website, chrismcnamara.com, and also runs a Lake Tahoe home rental business http://rentsouthlake.com

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reason

Big Wall climber

Fort Collins Co

Apr 20, 2011 - 01:53pm PT

Great idea and a great addition to super topos. Having a hit list of gear can trim weight down and assure that you don't need to depends.

cliffhangerb

climber

Aug 4, 2011 - 01:40am PT

New to the big wall side of thing so this article has been an absolutely great insight (along with the various post from the forums).

One question is that one of the recommended ropes is "Ropes: 1 60m or 70m x 9.2mm Maxim Glider". Is this supposed to be the 10.2mm Maxim Glider? Not finding any reference to 9.2mm for that rope from New England Ropes.