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Bigwall pin rack??

Original Post
Sam Keller · · Mallorca, ES · Joined Jun 2013 · Points: 30

Hello wall rats;

I'm a climber with some clean aid big walls under my belt (up to VI C3)I also happen to live at Zion National Park.

My goal is to get into hammer aid w the end goal of climbing the Streaked wall and soloing Mescalito next fall.

I have never done any hammer aid before, and no one who I know who lives in Zion does any hammer aid either.

I am a competent 5.11 free climber and have worked as a rope access technician so I feel confident in my ability to stay alive.

What I am looking for is advice on a pin rack. Ideally I would like to have a Zion rack first, and I would like to expand to a more all purpose rack after that.

I know I need a funkness and a hammer, but what other hammer aid specific pieces should I buy, and in what #?.

I get a pretty good deal on gear, so $ isn't the limiting factor, I just don't want to buy random gear I won't use!

So, gimme your suggestions please.

Thanks!

Preston Rhea · · Mammoth Lakes · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 1,454

I don't know anything about sandstone aid climbing, but I have done a fair bit of nailing on granite.

First and foremost, beaks! Get them. The big size is the most useful and you should have a handful of them, with a few of the medium and smalls. They go all over the place and turn hard seams into relatively mellow endeavors. After that a couple knifeblades are useful for horizontals, but beaks pretty much go in most knifeblade size cracks. Lost arrows are the next to get for the cracks a bit bigger than knifeblades. Rurps can be useful, but small beaks will get you past most of those sections too.

Unless you are on a really beaten out aid route in the valley, angles aren't that useful. And even then they'll need to be sawed off. Small cams, especially totem cams, will get you past most angle iron sections.

So yeah, get beaks first, other stuff later. You'll crush it. Nailing is pretty straightforward.

Andrew Gram · · Salt Lake City, UT · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 3,725

For sandstone, the main thing is to not nail if you can since the scarring is more dramatic than in granite.

Beaks are most useful. If you can find Pika toucans, they are great and can sometimes be hand placed. Between beaks and toucans i very rarely use knifeblades, but a few are useful. I've never placed a RURP.

A very light rack of smaller angles and arrows with a few Z pitons is nice for doing stacks for big blown out scars or weird pockets. A few sawed angles are great for old scars in the desert, and can also be hand placed sometimes.

Big pitons are only useful in bizarre choss situations.

20 kN · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2009 · Points: 1,346

I would just whatever the topo says for the climb you are doing--pretty simple. Most nailers require several beaks, a few angles, maybe a couple KBs and LAs, and that's mostly it. You typically wont really need RURPs until about A4 in most cases and bongs are mostly worthless on classics. I wouldent bother getting a Z pin myself. Those are highly specialized pieces and I have never found that I absolutely, positively needed one (on A2, A3 anyway). It's also possible to stack pins without one too. Dont forget heads too as they are just as important. Also, bring a chisel.

Kauait · · West is the best. · Joined Aug 2015 · Points: 0

Your gonna need more than what has been suggested if your planning on the the Steaked wall or anything like it. Desert nailing rack can be heavy. Committing routes like that is not the place to go with a thin rack! It all depends on the route and what's needed. But the desert has very parelleling cracks(as you know)so it not uncommon to place the same size over and over and over...my rack consists of 50+/-beaks of all sizes and some modified. 30+/- blades 20+/-la's mostly small and thin 20+/-angles mostly 1,2 &3s with (3 sets of 1,2,3 sawed angels 2 sets of 4&5's sawed angels)and 3 sets of baby z's and a hand full of larger z's. You don't z much in the desert but you will if you do a route like peyote dreams babu z are needed!!might sound like alot But 60m desert pitches of harder aid eat a ton of pcs. Give me a shout and be happy to let you barrow some stuff. Save you from buying stuff you might not want.

Kauait · · West is the best. · Joined Aug 2015 · Points: 0

Key: I don't use a funkness to pull gear. (Just to work as a keeper from dropping gear) it causes way to much damage. you want to upward blow and back down to set hight then back up and repeat as needed tell you can remove with finger effort! It will leave a more likely clean placement for folowing parties. Beaks can take much longer to remove. Definitely the larger BD style you can damage the/your placement very easy.. moses and pika camming beaks and pika toucans (blades) I highly recommend for the desert.

Rob WardenSpaceLizard · · las Vegans, the cosmic void · Joined Dec 2011 · Points: 130

This is somthing I would do with you sam

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Big Wall and Aid Climbing
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