Metal Checklist

When placing a traditional equipment, a person needs to develop good habits and it should come second nature. Coming from a very structured aviation background, mental checklists are a good mental exercise for keeping yourself safe. When placing a piece of pro here is a short list of things I would ask myself. Can you think of any others?

1. Is a cam the best or can I place passive pro as a better alternative?
2. Is the cam undercammed so that it would fail in the event of a fall?
3. Is the cam over cammed as to get stuck for my second?
4. Is the piece placed in the direction of a fall?
5. Does the piece need to be extended to keep it from walking?
6. Is the piece place in a spot that will prevent me from decking or hitting a ledge?

7. Am I at a decent stance, or should I move up another step or two? If I have that option, maybe placing it right here is more risky or pumpy than moving up (or down) before placing it.

8. I'm scared out of my mind. What made me think I wanted to lead this, anyway?

Metal checklist, or Mental checklist?

Step 1. Is my gear metal? check.

Step 2. Did I use "n"? OOoooohh. Good thing we had the checklist.

Too funny...... Good thing there is editing capabilities, and spelling Nazi's.

Keithb00ne wrote: 1. Is a cam the best or can I place passive pro as a better alternative? 2. Is the cam undercammed so that it would fail in the event of a fall? 3. Is the cam over cammed as to get stuck for my second? 4. Is the piece placed in the direction of a fall? 5. Does the piece need to be extended to keep it from walking? 6. Is the piece place in a spot that will prevent me from decking or hitting a ledge?

1. Slayer

What gear will I need above to finish out the pitch? You don't want to use your last or only cam of a size that will be needed above.

Will I block my hands with this piece?

Do I really need to place another piece of great right here and right now? What will my fall be like if I try to climb up to that rest? How difficult is the terrain between my current position and the next rest? Is there a rest or still this be my best stance for the rest of the pitch?

There are so many things to consider and it always depends on the situation. I also come from the aviation industry but I recommend avoiding the checklist mentality. If you must, do your 'preflight checklist' before you leave the ground. Scout out where the gear is good, what sizes you will need, and where the rests are.

Adding to the "Will I block my hands with this piece," you also need to see if it will block your feet. When I began to get into crack climbing I placed cams in some irritating places that were the widest and easiest point of which I could jam my feet into and ultimately ended up either down climbing and moving the piece or nearly stepping on it (not a good feeling).

Also, I agree with the part about avoiding checklists and coming up with a "pre-flight" checklist. Place cams every where, get to the point where you can put them into placements with minimal thought/effort and have them be bomber every time. I watched a video on the history of Squamish and the guy was able to place cams above his head without so much as a glance. He knew exactly what size cam he needed (and he told the camera he had never climbed it before). The checklist comes when you are scouting the route, looking on MP, and getting the opinion of your partner and where things need to go. Hike around a bit and get some alternate views of the route. It also doesn't hurt to have a list with anchor-building either...

I agree with so many people on this thread-Like not using your last of something. There is nothing more frustrating than having to run it out (or down climb, or go off-route) because you made a mistake…

Cheers!

Bolts.

Check.

/end

I agree that you should not be over thinking placements when you are climbing. Checklists are good for n00bs just entering the sport. With so many posts on MP about gear failures, I thought a consolidated list would be helpful.

2. Emperor, Gorgoroth, or anything Norwegian