So the most recent booty cam acquisition involved the dreaded cam-stuck-alla-way-in-the-damn-crack. This can be a crack of a size that does not fully bind up the cam lobes, but the trigger is too far to reach with your fingers and one nut tool will not do the trick. So why can't you just snag one side of the trigger bar and pull? Think about the way the trigger works. You use two fingers to bring the bar down evenly, thus engaging both sets of wires on the two pairs of cam lobes (in general). If you only have one side of the trigger bar snagged with your nut tool, the other cams are still motionless...taunting your futile efforts just inches away.

What to do???!!!!

Get your buddie's nut tool as well and hook the other side of the trigger bar. Now, with both nut tools in unison, pull slowly and retract all cam lobes. You should be able to walk that sumbitch towards you now, in whatever direction looks the best. When it gets close to the edge, try using your fingers. Ľou got it!

The other day I used two nut tools with short keeper cords. I was pulling the cords themselves, the cam was so deep. I guided one tool with a taped on stick as well. On another occasion I swung the nut tool by the cord and hooked the trigger. That only required one tool, as the crack was pretty wide.

So get back up there and get yer cams before someone else does.

Tim, maybe "tricks o the trade", eh???

I've used three tools, one clipped to the trigger & my belay loop and two to try and work the lobes.

Stuck nuts??? If it weren't for that one crystal it keeps snagging on! DANG-IT!!!


Anyone come up with a sure fire way for tri cams, they have to be the worst -- I think mapp gas torch with hammer & chisel/punch with a crowbar. Bastard! come out of there!!

Stoppers are pretty darn handy for snaggin' out of reach triggers as well. I have used the stopper + 1 nut tool combo successfully on numerous occasions.

I've taken 2 metal stays out of a backpack, taped a nut tool to to each one and walked it out. The stays are stiffer and lower profile then most sticks. Granted this was in the Creek where I could put all this together on the ground and have my partner haul it up. Using the loops on the top of nuts works wonders too.

We would tie a piece of 2-3mm cord to each side of the trigger bar, inside the trigger wirepulls, and run it around the end of the cam shaft, through the sling. When those damb things would fall all the way in, you simply had to pull the end of the cord to retract the cams. You can use a nut tool if it's really buried in there. The cord stays out of the way pretty well too.

Seems like with tricams you have to know how they were set, and then only pivot it back in that direction. Once they are unset and wobbling around in the crack, then it would almost be ideal if you had some big tweezers to get that sumbitch out.

Yeah so I totally lodged a Metolius yellow way deep into Vision crack in the Red. I've never told anyone till now, but it feels good to get it off my chest.

Two Quickdraws with the upper biner removed (one for each trigger)can work in a pinch...are stiffer than a sling and work better than a nut tool on those smaller sized cracks.

As for the Tricam, a cordless sawzaw with a metal cutting blade would probably be best. Usefull for getting rid of old stuck cams as well.

Speaking of tricams, anyone played with the new (to me) .25 Camp Tricam? I saw them in the store yesterday and I was gonna pick one up, but then I remember that I hardly ever use tricams anymore.

I'd be curious to know if people find it (.25) to be a useful size though.

--Marc

We talking about SLCD's or tricams?
For SLCD's, YOu get the "head" of the nut tool between the narrow lobes and the rock and pry wile pulling on whatever part of the cam you can reach- it's bootied me about a full indian creek rack over the last several years, despite trying to return the piece to it's owner when I can find the owner...
Works on Camalots, HB's, Aliens, DMM's, Trangos, etc...

For tricams, you hammer them in lightly with a tool between the rounded "rocker" side ane then while "overcammed" you move the flat end of the not tool over the "nose" side of the ends of the orcker facing down and push, to keed it overcammed, and then witdraw. Works 1/2 of the time. The other half, well, clip and go.

Pry and Try is the way I go when the cam lobes are nearly welded to the rock. I gave a good effort on a nice #2 Camelot on Great Zot last year, but decided forty minutes was sufficient. Someone else got it the next month, however.

Hey- speaking of which...

To the owner of the cam I cleaned off of the West Ridge in Eldo a few weekends ago- you mail me a description the piece, markings and climb you left it on, and you can have your cam back.

I'll also show you how I got it out...

Alright heres what you do take 3-4 feet of thick wire, bend it in half and bend over the ends into hooks. this is what I call a friend finder.

With your nut tool hold the cams sling or thumb loop and then with the friend finder hook the trigger and remove the cam.

Also can get one of the DMM nut tools they have a cam trigger hook

Nut tool to start with.
Backed off wired stoppers can be handy but...

Nothing beats zip ties, soapy water and a liberal dose of tweaking behind the errant lobes with a nut pry.

Ok, who's got the skills to remove the stuffed .4 Camalot on Breezy?

I haven't had to leave any of my partners' stuck cams or nuts behind that I've worked on as of yet.

If a cam is stubborn, I try not to mess with it
too much until I closely look at it first, and imagine how
the hell my partner could have slotted it,ie; from up on down, from down, in, up, and out etc...
or if it could have walked from a certain direction more than another.
Then I mess with it ever so carefully, while I'm resting ; ) and watch every
single movement of the lobes to see where I should go from there.

If I can't get it out with my hands, I use two nut tools.

If it is waaay back in a crack, I squeeze as much of my shoulder, and arm into the crack as I can tolerate, after I visualized which direction I will remove it from, then I close my eyes, and feel it move about, making sure it's not getting more stuck, until I decide when to remove it.

In Red Rock, especially with stubborn nuts, you can simply spit a mouthful of water on the nut, and surrounding sandstone
and it will come out like magic!

I get around the problem of cleaning the tricams I love to place and errant cam I stick by always leading. It works great every time!

Sounds like you need a Leeper Friend of a Friend.

It's a pretty desperate tactic, but if the problem is only that a cam is too tight - no pesky little crystals are in the way - I've sometimes been able to wrap a sling above the triggers, clip another sling or two to that, then literally stand on it. Or jump, like testing an aid placement.

The cam may come out quite suddenly.

Well ^
"..clip another sling or two to that, then literally stand on it"

That is like the classic tactic for rigid stems while cleaning aid with a hammer handy.
Two wired stoppers used on either side of the trigger, both connected to a common sling that after adjusting the length clip to your harness. While putting a fair amount of force on the trigger, abruptly smack the back end of the stem with the hammer.
Obviously not a very beneficial tactic with cable stems.

I sort of think of tricky removal in an opposite manner.
If I can get the cams to retract enough, even reducing cam pressure to nil can be enough. They do not have to come completely out of contact. It is more about getting the bulk of the load off the cams, and then getting the remaining load off the axle, by pushing the stem up/in an 18 th inch.
Simply yanking on triggers I find to be pretty futile.

I don't know if I explained this well ?
In short I worry more as much about unloading the axle as I do the cams.

I was just thinking... I think I cam my booty more often than I manage to booty any cams. Must be all that offwidth.

Good one Tony :)

Just, yah better leave the thread about 'retrieving welded nuts alone'.

I have a thirty year old "Leeper Friend of a Friend" and it works great for my rigid stem cams and my Aliens.

I posted a photo of it here:
imglarge.mountainproject.com/106215490_2a349b.jpg?1217295614

And another photo here:
imglarge.mountainproject.com/106215491_9b3b1b.jpg?1217295764

I don't know if the leeper is still available, mine is ~30 years old handed off to me by a friend, so I guess you could say it is "a friend of a friend of a friend . . ."