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marky
climber
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Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 4, 2008 - 01:45am PT
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Anyone under the age of 30 would be astonished to learn what you did with gear of the hexagonal or triangular variety.
Be explicit.
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
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Back in the day, the standard Yosemite Rack was #1-#8 or 9 Chouinard Hex and #3-#8(no half sizes) stopper. That's a rack of 15 or so pieces of gear. Throw in a few free biners and off you went.
I never liked tri-cams for free climbing. They were not very versatile and tended to fall out in the "cammed" position. Nice in pockets like Courtright, but that's about it. Frankly, I don't know any climbers climbing at a high level who used tri-cams in places like Yosemite.
Bruce
ps- Warbler, is that a fifteen-footer or when you were fifteen?
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Read the thread It takes balls to use nuts...
my climbing partner Mike leading p1 of Baby in the 'Gunks, 1980.
The rack is stoppers, nuts and tied slings.
He gets about 3 pieces in on the first pitch. That's how we climbed back then...
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marky
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 4, 2008 - 02:09am PT
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Excellent.
I am doing my best to lead a hex-and-tri renaissance among young climbers. Kind of like the current fixed-gear fad, only even more retro and infinitely cooler.
It's hip to be square. Or hexagonal.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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I keep suggesting we have a First Annual Cam-Free Day where all the kids can get out and jump on all those old 70's lines with just hexs and stoppers (no new fangle tri-cams please) - but the idea just never seems to get any traction for some reason...
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mcreel
climber
Barcelona, Spain
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So, youngsters don't use tricams? Sh#t, I really am getting long in the tooth!
I don't get on a trad climb without my 0.5, 1 and 1.5 tricams. Even in Yosemite, where I used to climb at a high level (for me, that is). For wilderness routes, a big hex is a lot lighter than a big friend, and the sound they make clanking against your other gear has a certain je ne sais quoi that every climber should experience.
On the other hand, small hexes and large tricams aren't very useful, IMHO. So, if you really want to go retro, why not sling up some machine nuts? Or use knotted webbing? Knotted webbing is actually a good trick to know - I've rapped off it a few times.
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AbeFrohman
Trad climber
new york, NY
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what are we calling youngster? doesnt matter how old you are, if you climb in the gunks, odds are you carry tricams. and many carry hexes (more cowbell!)
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Gunkie
climber
East Coast US
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Tri-cams rule.
That's probably the reason that Kim Carrigan wrote that article years ago saying Yosemite was no longer at the cutting edge of free climbing. You Yos boys were just way too freaked out to use any gear that had a pink sewn sling attached :)
I think someone should do an all Tri-cam ascent of the Nose.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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No, the Valley is cam country...
different features will protect differently, nothing more than that. The horizontal cracks of the 'Gunks were dicey cam placements when Friends first came out... thus the famous 'Gunks rig which added a sling down the rigid central beam to prevent levering. Any one have a picture of that?
I do carry tricams on some climbs in Tuolumne because it is not unusual to come across a beautiful pocket in the middle of an otherwise blank, knobby face. While you might get lucky and place an Alien, tricams tend to fit better.
But I don't recall ever wishing I had a tricam in the Valley... yet.
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Gunkie
climber
East Coast US
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The horizontal cracks of the 'Gunks were dicey cam placements when Friends first came out... thus the famous 'Gunks rig which added a sling down the rigid central beam to prevent levering.
I've got a whole rack of those with 5mm Spectra. Usually clip both slings as the Spectra is short and the main sling is longer. I heard one story [Russ Clune's bro, Danny Clune] snapping a rigid stem Friend and being saved by the control cables. Yikes. I'll try to post a picture of my 25 year-old Friends with tie-offs, tonight.
BTW, in the valley I've only used the pink Tri-cam in pin scars while aid climbing. The valley is cam central.
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ydpl8s
Trad climber
Denver, Colorado
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I agree fattrad, also try some Forrest copperheads, or Colorado Nut I-beams!
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Here's your visual aid:
Watusi seeking the right stopper on Stone Groove
Guy Andrews with a rack of windchimes on Body Shop
BVB with a sweet #8 hex placement on Central Pillar of Frenzy
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Gunkie
climber
East Coast US
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Has anyone used or even heard of Forrest T-Tons [sp?]? I have some of those things and carried them on my rack for a while. I remember one bomber placement.... that's it. And didn't George Willig use a variation of the Forrest T-Ton to ascend the window washer tracks on one of the World Trade Center towers [RIP] in the 1970's?
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Gunkie
climber
East Coast US
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Check my above post, I carried the Titons for about two months...worthless.
Must have been subliminal :)
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SteveW
Trad climber
Denver, CO
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Not about hexes--but I've still got my entire set, drilled out
of course. But the original Chouinard stoppers--stuff cord
through the larger ones and then you can use them for
opposition in the horizontal cracks at the Gunks. Good stuff.
I wouldn't hesitate to fall on either of a well placed stopper
or hex. In fact, I did just that quite a few times.
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tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
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I could be wrong, but I think the lowe tri-cams came out after Ray Jardine introduced us to friends.
As far as good stories of hexes, one of my first attempts at leading was an overhanging crack at Castle Rock in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The route is called Fairwell to Arms, in the old guide book it was rated 5.9, looking online I see it is rated 10a, which is more like it.
Neadless to say at the time I wasn't up to leading a 10a, heck I couldn't even pull it on tr until a few subsequent tries. But at the time a 9 seemed doable, forget a tr attempt, and I had some nice new pro to try.
The first placement was a bomber hex in sideways, I think a #9. As I tried to transition from the overhaning crack to the verticle arm bar I placed one of my friends, #2 I think in a flared crack. It didn't take me long to flame out. I and shortly thereafter the friend were airborn, but that bomber hex kept me from crashing into the rocks below.
I've been thinking about doing some hex and stopper only climbs, but most of what I have to climb now is bolt protected faces. But on good granite and more moderate grades, no reason not to go after it with a set of stoppers and hexes.
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rockermike
Mountain climber
Berkeley
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After years of placing hexes I took my first leader fall (ca 1979?)on a number 8 hex, maybe 25 feet. Surprised the hell out of me that it held. ha
still feel safest above a well placed #7 or 8 stopper; oh yea, I still miss the cow bell clanging around the crags.
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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I sort of fell out of climbing in the mid eighties when cams were making their way. All I ever had was a couple of the original friends that were used when nothing else worked. I had the usual assortment of hexes and stoppers plus an odd clog or two. At times I even carried a teton and some heads. Heads worked good in some spots. Tetons sucked and left the rack quickly. When I started climbing again around the turn of the millenium, All i could afford were shoes, new slings(1" webbing), a rope and new biners. No draws, no cams, no harness(the old one looked fine). The first time I ran into other climbers, what a wake-up. I was hideously outdated. I've lead a few things since then(nothing harder than a 5.9) and still use my cams sparingly. I have had a few compliments on my nutcraft. When and if I can afford cams, I'll get used to them, but now I just go with what I know.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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How about extending this thread to include tales of primitive ice gear? I was cleaning up my basement recently and found a bag full of antique ice screws (anybody remember Warthogs?).
Brought back memories of my first lead of steep ice. It was a free-hanging curtain and I had an MSR Thunderbird axe, a Stubai ice hammer, and screws that were a lot easier to place with two hands than one. The top pitches were a real joy, but the first one, the one with the curtain, was a real pant-loader.
I think I called it "Never a Bride" because it was beside a waterfall called Bridal Veil (the one in BC, not CO), but I should have called it "Brown Trousers" or something like that.
D
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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How about pitons? Venturing out on Rockies limestone with hexes, straight stoppers, and pins. Hexes are way harder to place in limestone than granite. I think we had a lot of shaky belays and truly believed in the leader must not fall.
Modern ice gear definitely takes 1/2 to 1 grade off many climbs.
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