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kap
May 22, 2005, 9:07 PM
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So I'm moving to Denver. I've been living in NYC and relying on heavily geared up climbing partners. I've been climbing for a while now, and it's time for me to start putting together my own rack. I know what I'd like in a 'gunks rack, but would appreciate input on what I should want if Colorado is going to be my climbing home. I expect I'll trad crag climb around Boulder and (my real interest) do as much alpine climbing as I can in RMNP and elsewhere. So, if you were starting from scratch (I have all my personal gear), what would your perfect Colorado rack consist of?
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reno
May 23, 2005, 4:20 AM
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Stoppers, Aliens, and slings. And a lot of all three.
(Eldo and alpine routes can wander a bit.)
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flamer
May 23, 2005, 4:46 AM
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In Colorado a "standard rack"(SR) is ...1 set of RP's(or other small nuts), 1 set of stoppers, 1 set of cams from a blue TCU/Green Alien, to a #4 camalot(or equivalent).
You'll see guide books refer to a SR, this is it.
josh
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rockrat511
May 23, 2005, 2:13 PM
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I'd have to go with around 34B, 34C somewhere in that range.
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cologman
May 23, 2005, 2:58 PM
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No rope, No rack, only the shirt on your back :lol: :lol: :lol:
A bit of a turn on a classic mindset :?
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cindylou
May 23, 2005, 3:23 PM
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I'm absolutely no help, but welcome to Colorado. You'll find the climbing community enjoyable, informative and supportive.
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cindylou
May 23, 2005, 3:56 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: I'm absolutely no help, but welcome to Colorado. You'll find the climbing community enjoyable, informative and supportive. don't forget irreverent...and beer drinkers...and full of lusty women... :P
oh, right, lusting, lusty women!
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clymber
May 23, 2005, 4:41 PM
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i moved from Jersey adn the gunks were my home area back then ....sorry to say but all those tricams you have might as well bury them in some box you wont every open again...ppl look at you like you have 3 heads and 8 eyes if you use them out here....the hexs arent used all that much either....
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nthusiastj
May 23, 2005, 4:53 PM
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In reply to: i moved from Jersey adn the gunks were my home area back then ....sorry to say but all those tricams you have might as well bury them in some box you wont every open again...ppl look at you like you have 3 heads and 8 eyes if you use them out here....the hexs arent used all that much either....
I second that. Tricams don't seem to be much use here.
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reno
May 23, 2005, 5:37 PM
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In reply to: don't forget irreverent...and beer drinkers...and full of lusty women... :P
I had to read it twice to make sure it didn't say "rusty women."
And ditto on the tricams... you might find the occasional place in a horizontal somewhere, but I didn't use mine too often.
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boadman
May 23, 2005, 5:46 PM
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It's really different depending on where you're going, but I would say:
double set of aliens, blue through red
double friends (or C4s if you like them better) 2 to 3 or 3.5 (including half-sizes)
1 of the 1.25 and 1.5 friends
Full set of stoppers and RPs
Many beaners (wiregates if you're doing alpine stuff)
8 shoulder length slings
10 quick draws.
When you're up in the park, you probably won't use your whole rack, but when you're climbing in Eldo, or Lumpy, you'll appreciate the doubles. Have fun shopping.
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shorty
May 23, 2005, 6:23 PM
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In reply to: ppl look at you like you have 3 heads and 8 eyes if you use them out here....the hexs arent used all that much either....
kap -- you'll find as many definitions of a "perfect Colorado rack" as there are Colorado climbers. I'll start by agreeing with flamer that the standard rack is pretty much dead on for most of the state. As others have stated, you need to add or subtract pieces depending on the crag and the route. I tend to place a fair amount of gear (because I'm a wuss), so my rack can be fairly large. It's nice to have doubles for some climbs, but it's not always necessary. We really don't have continuous splitter cracks like Indian Creek, no matter how often I've tried to convince belayers of that when I'm whimpering about not having enough gear.
IMO -- Doubles in stoppers are nice in much of Eldo and a number of Lumpy climbs. Depending on crack sizes & length, I might also carry double cams at Lumpy and parts of the Platte. One of the nice things about most of the granite cracks here is that they vary in width for most pitches on most climbs -- if you run out of one size of gear, a different placement may be available just a few feet away.
I'll agree with above posts that stoppers and cams will be the backbone of your rack here, but don't discount a few tricams or hexes if you like them. I like the four smallest tricams and a couple of hexes that are just slightly larger than my largest stopper. I don't place them on every route, but they can be quite useful -- especially on alpine routes.
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kap
May 24, 2005, 1:14 AM
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Thanks for all the thoughts -- it's precisely the type of advice I was hoping for -- and the greetings.
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sesser125
May 24, 2005, 1:43 AM
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get either offset aliens or friends. i use mine almost every route in estes.
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kap
May 28, 2005, 7:51 PM
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In reply to: In Colorado a "standard rack"(SR) is ...1 set of RP's(or other small nuts), 1 set of stoppers, 1 set of cams from a blue TCU/Green Alien, to a #4 camalot(or equivalent). You'll see guide books refer to a SR, this is it. josh
Josh,
Thanks. Question: Obviously, if you get aliens through the largest size (clear) and camalots from their smallest size there is a lot of overlap. I assume that's not intended. Do you recommend getting the aliens or camalots in the overlapping sizes?
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