Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Captain...or Skully
climber
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2012 - 12:29am PT
|
www.bigwalls.net
Click on the forum button. We LOVE stupid questions. It doesn't get the traffic of this place, so please be patient.
Cheers!
|
|
giegs
climber
Tardistan
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2012 - 01:00am PT
|
What's best practice for bailing on a pitch of questionable gear? Hell, even good gear. Assuming you've fallen a couple times on your last piece it's probably not terrible, but I'm a scaredy cat. Obviously you're going to want to clean most pieces on the way down but where to stop/finish? Trust in your last two or three pieces and hope for the best? Wait for your nuts to descend on their own? Down aid while cleaning?
|
|
JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2012 - 01:04am PT
|
Back to The Prow for a second. I think the bolt ladders with the long reaches were mostly put in by Robbins and Mike Covington. Denney led a few of the higher pitches, but mostly above the bolt ladders.
John
|
|
corniss chopper
climber
breaking the speed of gravity
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2012 - 01:10am PT
|
The future of aid climbing. Remote control drilling from
the comfort of your porta ledge.
|
|
Grippa
Trad climber
Salt Lake City, UT
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2012 - 10:12am PT
|
Stupid Question:
For difficult hooking sequences is it standard to use adjustable daisy's to better keep tension on your placement?
I can't remember who it was on here but they had fabricated adjustable daisy's using 8mm cord with a ropeman or equivalent as their attachment point. Quite creative I must say since as soon as you get a placement you can reel in slack and gently weight the piece.
Thus far all I've used is standard daisy's on routes up to C2. Looking for some techniques to help make the next few C2 and C3 routes quicker and more managable in the difficult sections.
|
|
Minerals
Social climber
The Deli
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2012 - 01:34pm PT
|
Glad that helped, Vitaliy.
I forgot to mention that when trying to pull a solid 5/16” machine-head rivet for replacement, the rivet will often break somewhere along the threads, which leaves part of the rivet in the hole, making the hole useless for replacement. A new hole must then be drilled. Not good.
There’s a lot of info here and there in this forum, but because there is basically zero organization here, it’s tough to search for info unless you know exactly what (thread) you are looking for.
Here’s a crappy old photo that shows a bunch of different cable gear, including different types of rivet hangers. You can find the photo and a list of the different items towards the end of the thread linked below, along with a bunch of other info on copperheads, etc.
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/28147/How-To-Make-A-2-Copperhead-And-Everything-Else
Edit: I’m not familiar with Jared’s book, but if you haven’t read it, you might also check out the John Long and John Middendorf book. It’s got some good stuff in it, along with great illustrations by John McMullen. Maybe they should have just called it… The Book of John…
http://www.amazon.com/How-Climb-Big-Walls-Series/dp/0934641633
Here’s a 1/4” x 1 1/2” button-head with two washers, placed as a rivet. The rivet/keyhole hanger is placed between the rock and the washers. When it’s time to pull the button-head for replacement, a tuning fork can be placed between the two washers in order to help protect the rock from the tuning fork and to support the head of the bolt.
And for an extra-extraneous bit of irrelevant trivia… The bolt/rivet photo in the post above brought my total number of uploads to my Photobucket account to 666… Cool!!! >: )>
|
|
10b4me
Ice climber
dingy room at the Happy boulders hotel
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2012 - 05:16pm PT
|
Wow Ron, getting those teeth removed can make that much difference? I gotta find me a dentist who can do that.....
hahahahaha
|
|
Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
|
|
|
Oct 27, 2012 - 05:20pm PT
|
I'm 5'9" and had no problems with the reach on the bolts on the Prow with second steps. WTF?
There is a world of difference between clipping a bolt ladder and drilling from the top step of your etiers.
Any two-bit 5'9" climbing can clip a bolt ladder... It takes someone tall to actually drill good holes for a ladder.
|
|
Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Oct 28, 2012 - 01:47pm PT
|
Minerals thank you for posting another great reply.
Stupid Question:
For difficult hooking sequences is it standard to use adjustable daisy's to better keep tension on your placement?
I can't remember who it was on here but they had fabricated adjustable daisy's using 8mm cord with a ropeman or equivalent as their attachment point. Quite creative I must say since as soon as you get a placement you can reel in slack and gently weight the piece.
hmmmm good question for someone with more knowledge. So far I can't see how adjustable daisy would help much. Isn't it more about how you load the hook while transitioning your weight to it?
I have an adjustable daisy, and like it very much though.
|
|
Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
|
|
|
Oct 28, 2012 - 03:28pm PT
|
Most hook placements you'll come across are well used and have a little divot that has been worn out by the hook's metal that and are really no big deal. Reach up, feel around for the divot, select the appropriate hook and there ya go. Easy Peasy
I find that placements that are far off to the side, for both finding the placement, setting the hook, and climbing onto it, are the most challenging. If you're on a hook, trying to lean out to find a placement is tricky since you don't want your legs to swing out the opposite direction, and then mounting the hook, since you want to apply a straight down force onto it, is also tricky.
For leaning out to the side you can't get too low in your slings since you don't want to lose too much horizontal reach, you just have to make sure your balance is true. For mounting the new hook, getting low in your steps and moving over low, will decrease the angle from one hook to another.
The only use a daisy is that if you blow either hook, you won't lose them.
Top stepping off a hook greatly depends on the placement. If it's one of those placements that are behind a little ridge, as most are, if you're moderately careful, it's no big deal. If the placement is on a flat edge, you have to be delicate.
For a hook placement that I can't see, a daisy is a big plus. I'll attach the daisy and sink down onto it and slowly move up my ladders till I can see the hook and evaluate it.
A hook on a very small divot. Don't be doing no break dancing on this one!
You might want to be careful on this one since it looks like a hook has already broken off the edge to the hook's left.
A freakin' bomber, fall holding, Meat Hook!
This will be your most common hook placement. Tape it down, put a Screamer on it and don't worry about it.
Starting the crux pitch of Lost in America.
All in all, this section isn't too bad since the hooks are pretty good, you're moving out horizontal from the anchor, the rock is smooth and overhangs below the anchor. A fall would be a big swing but not dangerous. I don't know why I haven't removed that first hook and put it away yet, maybe I'm thinking that I'll need it again soon.
|
|
Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Oct 29, 2012 - 04:24pm PT
|
Great post, the Chief. Value your knowledge on the subject. Interesting look at the history too. I notice a lot of hypocrisy in climbing world.
One observation: the climber in the photo is drilling about two feet above the point of aid he is standing on (way down in his aiders). Is that because he is on a hook and you don't walk up high on those?
I am thinking of learning to solo on silent partner or something. It takes a lot of time to belay ETC on walls. And if you do it alone there would be no one else to blame etc. Hard to arrange the right time to do a wall with a partner. For most people it is a big deal and you need a whole vacation. I loved doing the Prow since we did it fast. And liked my partner too.
|
|
briham89
Big Wall climber
san jose, ca
|
|
|
Oct 29, 2012 - 04:41pm PT
|
Vitaliy, when I've got some time on my hands and no one to climb with, I'll go fix a line at a local crag and micro trax self belay and aid up it. On the top rope you can try all sorts of hook placements (some way sketchy) to see what holds and what doesn't. Also, you don't need a belayer getting bored while you screw around
|
|
Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Oct 29, 2012 - 04:54pm PT
|
Where, at Castle Rock?
|
|
briham89
Big Wall climber
san jose, ca
|
|
|
Oct 29, 2012 - 04:56pm PT
|
Typically I'll go to Guadalupe rock because it's the closest spot to me. It's not the best spot in the world, but hey it's rock!
|
|
Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Oct 29, 2012 - 05:12pm PT
|
Riley are you serious? I am game if you are. As long as I don't have to lead anything harder than C3 at this point. Or C3+. If you know any spots to TR A5 hooks or something that actually trains skills, would be happy to. I don't understand the ratings all too well at this point. Aid ratings are kind of bullsh#t. Popular routes have so much fixed stuff on them that it is like doing a long bolt ladder with occasional move in between and occasional crack with a bunch of offset placements.
|
|
mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
|
|
|
Oct 29, 2012 - 05:40pm PT
|
Popular routes have so much fixed stuff on them that it is like doing a long bolt ladder with occasional move in between and occasional crack with a bunch of offset placements.
Sounds like you want to learn how to AID climb.
Get on something that hasn't been banged out like a cheap whore.
An early repeat of a smaller wall will teach you more that 10 ascents of the milk runs.
|
|
mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
|
|
|
Oct 29, 2012 - 06:06pm PT
|
Why do you use 3/8ths inch rivets Chief?
Do you think they are more commiting than a 1/4" bolt with hanger?
|
|
Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Oct 29, 2012 - 06:22pm PT
|
your skinny 6'2" tall ass
I wish I was skinny. 190 lbs. At least not 300 like I used to be. Last year in mid summer I was 205, so making progress. I want to get down to 175 or so. Less weight=less weight to pull up.
mucci +10000. For now I feel like I need to do a few more 'trade' routes to at least get my sh#t better together. I saw a huge progress from my first to second to third wall so far. There are a few obscure walls I would like to try...
Riley, lets do some route on Watchtower in winter. http://www.summitpost.org/the-watchtower/150902
Go out there, climb some ice, do a wall, post some pictures for Chief to hate on=BLAST. Some guys did a route on that wall in Winter and said it was fun. I read a nice report:
http://www.rockclimbing.org/tripreports/watchtower.htm
|
|
mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
|
|
|
Oct 29, 2012 - 06:41pm PT
|
I don't know about that 500lb rating cheif....
I do however agree that rivets are NOT protection, rather progression tools much like the infamous bathook holes.
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!