What should be in a full Moab, Indian Creek, Desert rack?

So I have an internship lined up for Moab next August- December want to get out there with enough gear. I figure 15 months will help me piece it together. I also should note that I have not come across an offwidth that I didnt thrash through and come out the end with a smile on my face.

So I throw it to the experts. What should be in a full Moab, Indian Creek, Desert rack?

It depends on what size you like to climb, but 5-8 pieces each in green to blue helps. Add in 3-4+ duplicates each bigger or smaller depending on your skills and tastes.

Aerili wrote:

It depends on what size you like to climb, but 5-8 pieces each in green to blue helps. Add in 3-4+ duplicates each bigger or smaller depending on your skills and tastes.

That pretty much squares with my experience also. I guess I'd add that if you want to economize but still have a lot of options, triples of 0.4-4, and then more of some size that you want to focus on. In the 10 range we were working on, 3 and 1 camalots seemed to be what we needed more of most often, especially 3. Then just avoid routes you're not racked for, you'll still have a ton you can do with that rack. Maybe one each of 5 and 6 to start, unless you're really a wide fiend.

But a much cheaper approach would be to just track down some locals (and also there seem to be a lot of traveling partner seekers for IC on this site) and climb with them. 

For aid climbing I'd say doubles from tiny to to #4, singles of 5 & 6 with triples of .3- 3. Also offset nuts and some routes may need offset cams and/or totems. Plus or minus stuff depending on the route, some routes may need more big gear.

For the creek, doubles or triples from tiny to #4 with 5 to 7 of each in specific sizes depending on the route. If you like it wide I'd also get doubles or triples of 5 and 6.

Keep in mind, in theory you only need to own half the rack and the other half is your partner's. 

Are you guys saying you need e.g 5-7 #1s?  Jeezus.  These are total rack values, right?  So for "triples," you could have one person bring a double rack and another bring a single...not triples each (total of 6?!)...?

I've placed 8 #1's on a climb in the creek so depending on the size you like to climb it's nice to have 5-6 of that size and hopefully your partner has something comparable.

Ted Pinson wrote:

Are you guys saying you need e.g 5-7 #1s?  Jeezus.  These are total rack values, right?  So for "triples," you could have one person bring a double rack and another bring a single...not triples each (total of 6?!)...?

It depends on how many friends you have. If you have it all you don't need friends... Some routes (Top Sirloin for example) take 8-12 of the same piece, that's a lot of double racks.

I have at least 5x 0.3-3 with 6-7x 0.75-3 plus some small and some big stuff. If you can find 3.5s they are money on lots of routes. I think doubles in the big stuff is nice but usually if I'm going to trutch I find someone else who has thrutching gear.

that's a lotta cams

Seems like with a double rack from .25 to 4" you can get away with a lot of stuff in the desert.  I would then add a 5 and 6.  After that I would go for triples in the small hand to large hand sizing (5-8 metolius).  You can do a ton of towers and desert climbs with a rack like that.  I was able to get on a lot of routes over 5 years climbing in the desert.  It really is a fun, different type of climbing.

For IC, just make sure to partner up with someone (or a few people) with gear and between you both you should be able to do some great routes.

Not much need to own full creek rack yourself, count on combining with a few friends (you'll need to make friends). A double rack is enough to make yourself a useful member of the group, but the more the merrier of course.

Ditto some of the above posts.

If you want to go fully equipped for everything from tips to OW, you won't be able to carry all the cams you'll need. Team up. Two people/parties with triples 0.4 or 0.5 to 3 with a few larger sizes as needed can do a heck of a lot except the most consistent size, longer pitches. Top sirloin for example, I think I placed 10-#1. 

Depends too on your comfort level with a given size. I tend to run it out and bump cams in the sizes that are easy for me and with big cams in OWs, so whereas I personally often carry 5 or 6 each red and green, I don't take that many yellow and blue or #5s and 6s.

Alexander K wrote:

It depends on how many friends you have. If you have it all you don't need friends... Some routes (Top Sirloin for example) take 8-12 of the same piece, that's a lot of double racks.

I have at least 5x 0.3-3 with 6-7x 0.75-3 plus some small and some big stuff. If you can find 3.5s they are money on lots of routes. I think doubles in the big stuff is nice but usually if I'm going to trutch I find someone else who has thrutching gear.

Well, you probably need at least ONE friend to hold the other end of your rope. ;)  Otherwise, you don't need any cams!

Indian Creek, home of the original and actual "Splitter" cracks. Needing 6+ cams of the same size is not uncommon. Most people get together with others for routes that require this kind of rack. However, like others have said, there are lots of routes that don't require a full rack of one size so just be heavy in the size that you want to climb then add to it as you climb other routes. 

Thanks. Do tricams work well or atall out there?

No need for tricams.  If you are getting all BD cams I would suggest a few pieces for the in- between sizes such as black metolious or 2 friends. These are between a .75 and 1 which might seem trivial until neither of those cams fit.  

grant N wrote:

Thanks. Do tricams work well or atall out there?

They work, but not nearly as well as SLCDs. I love tri-cams but I wouldn't bother bringing them to the creek. They do much better on southeast sandstone and granite. 

I would suggest at least triples on every cam. Realistically that is hard to do. The creek is no doubt gear intensive. I found myself using a yellow metlious the absolute most but it is very dependent on the climb.