The First Piece of Gear

How high do YOU climb prior to placing your first piece of gear? I was belaying my second today and watched while a climber thirty feet away fumbled his first piece 10' off the deck and fell. It was gnarly to watch but he seemed relatively ok. I feel like 10' is a fairly standard distance, assuming gear is available. I don't think I would plug it in much sooner, assuming it was available.

What do you do?

As far as I can reach from the ground hahaha. I think its more of a mental thing though.

Jake Jones wrote:Depends on the route. I've sewn shit up 6 feet off the deck and I've gone up 15 or 20 to place the first piece.

Agreed. If it's hard off the deck, I am getting gear in right away. If it's a walk, I'll go for awhile.

Depends on the route 5ft to 50ft.

If the start of the route is on a ledge and I can get a piece in before i step off the ground I will. I normally look at the risk vs reward of stopping to place gear. No point in screwing around with gear if you know there is a good stance above you to place gear even if it is a little run out.

So basically you got to think how hard is the climbing, what is the risk of getting hurt if I fall from here, how hard is it to place gear where I am, and how good is the gear placement and than find a good balance in there for what you are comfortable with.

depends. on a multi-pitch I like to get a few pieces in pretty quick. from the ground I try to get gear in when my feet are between 6 - 12 ft off the deck I guess unless there is a crux move lower than that.

Agreed. As high as I can get comfortably on single pitch, usually... 10-15 feet after a few moves and placing high. On multi pitch, almost as soon as I leave the belay. "Jesus Piece"

Single pitch:
I look at the route and/or guidebook, determine how hard the climbing is, and look for the lowest stance. if it 20 ft or less i'll probably run it to the first stance, depending on how hard the climbing is. I try to, when possible, climb uninterrupted from stance to stance.

If needed, though, I may place a nut in an upwards constriction from the ground, especially if the route is wandering or if I anticipate needing to "take".

For multi: First decent piece I can get in, even standing from the belay, I try to place to try to avoid FF2ing.

For both single and multi, I'll often place more than one piece for my first placement, but more commonly on multi-pitch.

Nothing lower than 10-15ft if I'm coming off the ground. If it's easy climbing, I don't mind working 30ft up to find a good spot.

On multi's, right away, before leaving the anchor, as high as I can.

Depends on:

-available placements

-route difficulty; place more lower with more difficult climbing

-multi pitch, always look for a placement immediately when leaving the belay to prevent factor 2 potential

-occasionally a first piece directional

Is there a particular height for the first piece above/below which you would/would not add an opposing piece?

Old lady H wrote:Is there a particular height for the first piece above/below which you would/would not add an opposing piece?

Depends. How good is the first piece? Is it multi directional? Cam, or passive piece? If it is a cam, would rotation of the piece compromise the placement? If it is a nut, is it good for outward pull? Can it be set to keep it in place? Can the first piece be slung long to prevent outward pull?

This is not a situation that has a one size fits all solution.

Thanks! The puzzle pieces make it so interesting. You have to think all the time, without putting much thought into it!

I try to place my first piece when I'm high enough I wouldn't want to fall and hit the deck. So it depends on the landing zone and how much ankle twisting stuff is around. Sometimes I have to go higher than I'd prefer to because there's no pro option or good stance. On multi, I like to get one in asap to avoid falling on the achor or more likely on my belayer's harness. A redirect is nice there.