Anyone trad climb without cams?
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I always use passive only if I think I can lead it safely. Placing passive pro is definitely becoming a lost art. Cams feel like cheating to me. Plus, passive pro is way cheaper. |
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I try to place hexs on every climb I do for old school points. Also, Jimmie Dunn is a climbing partner of mine. So, I have tried a few times to repete some of his first accents with the same rack that he used... I've never sent one yet or have I come close, very scary stuff!!! I climb a lot with a passive rack only. I find that passive gear gives me the warm fuzzies more that cams, but can make the second go crazy(get pissed) if they are not good at removing gear. |
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Ian F. wrote:Years worth of bail gear.SMC Camlocks, Forrest Titans,..... looks like a REALLY old rack of mine that got set aside in a bin and then lost in a move |
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I love cams. I hate hexes. I place cams on every lead I do. Period. Sometimes I only place cams (collective gasp from the crowd). Cams are one of my favorite things about climbing. Cams and chalk. And sometimes tick marks. |
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Jay, I'm sorry to report that The Knights of Chouinard had a meeting and you are now banned from trad climbing. |
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If by "trad" you mean barefoot, chalkless, and camless climbing, then I'll happily submit my resignation. |
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I have this funny feeling that I would be quite irritated following most of the folks posting on this forum :) |
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I have a rack of ~40 pro - no doubles yet. I have been climbing ~ten years - top-rope or trad (+ice) . |
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what is it they say? |
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It's not uncommon in Red Rock to lead pitches on passive gear alone, many pitches eat nuts, and such, although it is nice to have those cams on you too. |
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Bernard Gillett wrote: Hi Scott - I'm not working on any guidebook at the moment. If the rumor mill says I'm writing, my only guess as to its origin is that I've been working on a calculus text book (and attendant supplements) for the last several years. We (my co-authors and I) are almost finished with that monster project, so there's a chance I'll turn to writing or updating another guide in my down time. I certainly have no immediate plans to do so (though I've always thought a sport climbing guide to the Estes Park area would be welcomed in the community). I doubt the success/failure of my St Vrain book will have much to do with whether I write another guide; as mentioned earlier, it's the creative process that is most attractive to me. Of course I enjoy making a little money, but it's not a big disappointment if I don't. Thanks for your positive comments; it's nice to hear you've made good use of my books.If you are working on a calc book please share the title, I'd love to stick it next to your climbing guide books on my shelf. |
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On the contrary, I showed up at Cathedral, NH with a full modern rack (or two) except we forgot the nuts somehow. We thought about climbing without them, and decided to bail to the gear shop for the cheapest set of consignment. I think we had 6 for $18. They made all the difference. |
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This is an annoying thread. Nuts are great. I use them in constrictions. Cams are great. I use them in parallels. Hexes and Tricams are okay. If you insist on using them instead of SLCDs thats your deal. People did a lot of stuff before there was new stuff. People backpacked with external frames, wore heavy wafflestompers, and wore cotton. Technology advances. Safety increases. If you want to buy cams and use them primarily whats the deal? It doesn't make you a lazy climber, it just makes you a climber of your generation. I don't really see why its worth anyone's time (including my own right now) to debate the merits of cams. They won. Along with internal frame packs, trail runners, sticky rock shoes, and technical fabrics. |
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I have been thinking of adding a few hexes to my rack for mod trad in the Sandias. The rock is a fractured granite and there are alot of cracks that are narrow at the front and then open way up inside. Perfect for a med size hex to drop in like a stopper. |
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This pic is from the 4th of July, just 3 or 4 years ago, at Tahquitz. I have a tradition of climbing only on hexes and nuts on the 4th as a celebration of the history of American traditional free climbing. I guess I'm a real dork that way. |
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Nick Barczak wrote:This pic is from the 4th of July, just 3 or 4 years ago, at Tahquitz. I have a tradition of climbing only on hexes and nuts on the 4th as a celebration of the history of American traditional free climbing. I guess I'm a real dork that way. I learned to climb starting in 2003. My first season at the Gunks I had one cam, and a shit load of nuts, hexes and tricams.I like it, once a year not being a total new wave pansy. got me thinking... |
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I learned on completely passive gear. Since then I have supplemented my rack with a 1-6 set of cams, mostly for my partner to lead with, but i prefer passive placements currently. Also, something you could look into is "Pebble Pro". Most people ive met havent heard of it, but it was how they lead climbs before machined nuts and hexes. |
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I love cams, but I was recently acquainted with their limitations in dirty, smooth rock. The pull was rather sideways, too. See for yourself, and let me know what you think: https://youtu.be/HgOl3tLn8aw |
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I climbed with a 40 year old a few months ago who only used nuts and tricams |
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Eric Moss wrote: I love cams, but I was recently acquainted with their limitations in dirty, smooth rock. The pull was rather sideways, too. See for yourself, and let me know what you think: https://youtu.be/HgOl3tLn8aw Good thing you resurrected a thread that's literally thousands of days old to let us know. Also, plurals don't need apostrophes. |