Research Paper

Hello everyone, I am writing a research paper about rock climbing. My research is about active gear vs passive gear. My question is why, do reach for your active gear before your passive gear? Or do you? Did you learn how to place passive gear before active gear? Did you learn how to place both at the same time?

How many pages are you trying to write on the subject?

And to answer your questions, I learned how to place passive and active gear at the same time. And it really is more a matter of speed for me, if I am pumped it's usually quicker for me to grab a cam and place it, rather than pull a stopper off the draw and slot it well. If I'm not pumped on the other hand and have a good stance, I'll place the stopper if there is a good spot. Its all based on situation. If I'm doing something long and easy I'll cut down on the cams and just bring a handful to supplement the stoppers. I just don't use hexes often at all, and unless I know there are horizontals or pockets, I usually leave the tri-cams on the ground.

Eithet wrote:Hello everyone, I am writing a research paper about rock climbing. My research is about active gear vs passive gear. My question is why, do reach for your active gear before your passive gear? Or do you? Did you learn how to place passive gear before active gear? Did you learn how to place both at the same time?

There are 2 reasons I reach for active gear before passive gear, first is the fact that it's quicker and easier to place, and second is because it is quicker and easier for the second to clean.

I learned to place passive gear before active gear, I'm generally more comfortable falling on passive gear than active gear, but I place mostly active gear.

I learned to place both at the same time.

For me it's really all about speed and efficiency.

I mainly only place pro if I'm trying to save my active pro, in belays, and in smaller sizes.

Then there are always places well only a nut will go.

I trust falling on either active or passive the same considering they're each placed well

I'm trying to write about 5-7 pages on it this topic. Nothing to extremely long. when I learned to place gear, I learned to place both at the same time. When I'm climbing, I usually go for the active pro before passive, no matter how hard the climb is. Mostly because of the ease of placement.

To echo the others, I place cams more often than nuts (unless I'm at Devils Tower!) because they're faster and most of the time easier to assess and move past. I most often place nuts when I have a decent stance and am not maxing out.In fact, on pitches where I know I'll be redlining, I usually put the nuts near the back of my gear loop unless I know for a fact I'll need them.

I learned to place passive pro first.

Also- you might want to remember the distinction between "to" and "too" when writing your paper :)

Like all the others, I reach for active pro first not only because it's faster to place, but also because they generally fit a greater crack range (especially black diamond).

Sometimes the crack just screams for a nut, say a slot that narrows towards the bottom. This is especially true when the longer reach afforded by the nut gives you better access to the crack... maybe the crack is deep or the high above your head.

I learned with passive pro first (e.g. opposing nuts in horizontal cracks in the Gunks) because Friends were just coming out when I started leading.

As a college professor, can I just say that usually when a student appeals to internet message boards, the paper is in bad shape?

To the OP, if you really want to produce a good paper, start with a history of pro, perhaps from Brower's use of expansion bolts on Shiprock to Chouinard's manifesto about clean climbing, then wrap up with the advent of cams and Ray Jardine. Then go into different reasons that people use nuts versus cams (stylistic flare by doing something more challenging and old-school; economics of nuts being cheaper; practicality of some places being better for nuts than cams).

Just a thought.

Oh, and I learned to place cams before stoppers, but only because I learned to climb at Indian Creek.

Learned to place both at the same time, but for a while my rack was only nuts, hexes and whatever cams I could barrow. If I'm at even a semi-decent stance, I place the passive first to save the cams for later. But if the climb is at my limit, cams usually go first.

I believe the size and shape of the crack determines the piece you use. You shouldn't force a nut or a cam into a spot that doesn't lend itself well just to save time or because you have a good stance (unless other reasons present themselves like running out of a certain size of gear or needing something for the belay station). I learned to place both at the same time (though an eye for a good nut placement took a bit longer to aquire).