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alexnees
Apr 21, 2006, 10:18 PM
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Hey all,
A friend and I are planning to spend most of the summer climbing in Canadian Rockies, alpine rock mostly, but some snow and ice stuff too perhaps. We're not looking to do the hardest of hard-men routes. We're more interested in moving FAST and getting lots of miles under our belts, lots of air under our feet.
So, to the point: Flipping through Selected Climbs..., I notice that a lot of climbs recommend pitons. What would be a adequate-but-minimal pin rack for the Rockies? I'm thinking something like 4 short knifeblades and a couple angles in 3/8" and 1/2". How does that sound?
To be clear, we're both a lot more comfortable with clean pro. He's never placed a pin, and I've knocked in about two...ever. So I welcome more general advice about their use and place in the Rockies.
Thanks,
A
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angusmacginny
Apr 21, 2006, 10:24 PM
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I would definatly take some pins. I tend to skip on anything but knife blades. Take a couple long and a couple of short. maybe a couple of thin angles also. You might be supprised how shitty the rock can be on "stellar" climbs there. Pins are sometimes the only way to protect, or more importantly bail from.
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tattooed_climber
Apr 21, 2006, 10:49 PM
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my partner from the rockies says a set of KBs, and afew small angles and small LAs will do
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summerprophet
Apr 21, 2006, 11:03 PM
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I agree, knifeblades are all you need, the longer the better for most of it. And remember your Tie off slings.
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alexnees
Apr 22, 2006, 3:09 AM
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Thanks for the advice, fellows. A question:
Do people get all up in arms about using pins on some climbs? Are there climbs where the local ethic is strictly clean? And if so, how do we find out which ones? I'm talking about alpine climbs of course; I'm not comtemplating *tap-tap*-ing up some free climb at Yam.
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tradklime
Apr 22, 2006, 10:42 PM
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In reply to: Thanks for the advice, fellows. A question: Do people get all up in arms about using pins on some climbs? Are there climbs where the local ethic is strictly clean? And if so, how do we find out which ones? I'm talking about alpine climbs of course; I'm not comtemplating *tap-tap*-ing up some free climb at Yam. |
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climbjunk
Apr 23, 2006, 6:51 AM
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the deeper you can drive them into the choss the better. No clean ethic here on alpine stuff as far as I am aware. go to kananaskis for the experience! :lol:
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tonydevo
May 23, 2006, 11:30 PM
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Yes, pins are very useful around here.
3-6 for most routes
10-15 for 5.9 A2 type routes
Long blades, shallow Z's and small angles are all that you need. Thin Z's offer better holding power than LA's. Leave micro-cams at home.
Mount Louis -- no pins needed on most routes
Castle -- easy routes no pins, hard stuff 4-8
Temple -- East ridge 3-6, North face a few more
Stephen -- a few pins are nice
Yam -- pins for obscure routes like Freakout and Balrog
K-Country -- pins are mandatory for the shale and choss.
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pebbleman
May 29, 2006, 4:27 PM
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Blades, blades, blades, especially those little thin ones about 2 1/2" long plus some big ones, and baby angles. I like those Z-pins if they still make 'em. You can always weld stoppers in with your pick, and bring 10 meters or more of 6-7mm for rappels when you get lost or scared and brother you will! Ethics in Canada? Only that you drink enough! Dude, there are GRIZZLY BEARS up there! Ethics are for arseholes...
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rockguide
May 29, 2006, 4:37 PM
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In reply to: Blades, blades, blades, especially those little thin ones about 2 1/2" long plus some big ones, and baby angles. I like those Z-pins if they still make 'em. You can always weld stoppers in with your pick, and bring 10 meters or more of 6-7mm for rappels when you get lost or scared and brother you will! Ethics in Canada? Only that you drink enough! Dude, there are GRIZZLY BEARS up there! Ethics are for arseholes...
Pitons are good defence against grizzly bears?
Please describe your piton-fu.
Brian :lol:
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ktkang
Jun 9, 2006, 12:37 AM
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Hello!
Rockclimbing.com has been my homepage for some months now. I love it. Thank you for your (generally) insightful contributions.
Here’s the plan: A friend and I (alexnees, who started this thread) are going to be living out of a car and climbing in the Canadian Rockies all summer. We’ve both just graduated from university, we are basically entirely destitute after putting together a suitable rack, and we are driving together across from New Jersey to see my family in Kamloops, BC before heading (and staying) out in Alberta (mostly around Banff). It is shaping up to be an incredible opportunity to relax and gain experience (baby steps); we are both incredibly excited.
‘Living the dream’ post-college has limitations, most of which pertain to limited budgets and, as a consequence, prolonged starvation and less than impeccable personal hygiene. Honestly, there’s only so much cleanliness that can be gained from the sink at McDonald’s. In anticipation of this (a seasoned veteran!), I was basically wondering if there is some sweet, sweet person out there who wouldn’t mind meeting (and pointing a hose at / climbing routes with) two wayward climber-students at some point mid-summer, or even if you just have advice for getting around (cheaply) or having fun in town on the off-days.
I realize that this is not a common request but whatever - I thought I’d throw it out there. The worst it could do is put us in contact with some new people? Please let me know (PM, or better, ktkang at princeton dot edu) if your out and about and wanna hit it. Let's talk.
Peace.
Kris
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diligence
Jun 9, 2006, 6:59 PM
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This is your ticket to get all the dirt-bag tricks you know...some flaming and generally useless banter occasionally....
Local climbers in the Canmore, Banff, Calgary region frequent this site:
http://www.live-the-vision.com/cms/
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