monkey face aid

hi

i'm making a trip out west to visit my gf in a few weeks.  we plan to go to smith for a few days and hope to do monkey face one of those days.  probably do the west face variation.

i've never played with bolt ladders and have done limited jugging when i used to work at my college wall.  i'm not sure my gf has done any jugging.  we're both competent climbers and will practice before we get on the monkey.

i'd like to do the ladder as efficiently as possible. is the best setup going to be two ladders for me and a full jugging kit for her?  ive been doing quite a bit of research on this and im not clear if it would be better to use a lighter setup on MF since it's just 20 bolts / one pitch - i've seen pictures of parties doing both.  i'm not opposed to either setup, although i would like to keep aiding in the long run so... more to the point, are ladders going to be a pain for the rest of the west face?

thanks for the tips

jay

she does not need a jugging kit, ladders and fifi while you belay.  I had never done a bolt ladder, and climbed west face.  I just followed, but the bolt line was easier than expected, I learned while waiting in line to go up it.  Was not a big deal and everyone around was super helpful and supportive, I thought I was going to be slow and be the problem, but it went fine.  Was actually pretty fun!

If you can milk draws, there are good feet options for 90% of that bolt ladder. Some slings, as mentioned before, work fine for the last couple of bolts that traverse to the right at the end leading, and you could even leave those slings there for your partner. IMO following those last few bolts on ascenders is way more work than just hanging on. While we're talking about getting into the Monkey's mouth, I'd recommend doing the Monkey Off My Back variation to the summit.

Check your knot, and have fun!

I've done this bolt ladder many times. I find that the most efficient way for me is 2 daisy chains with big lockers I can get all my fingers in, and then a QuickDraw off the belay loop to clip close.  Use lots of footholds (don't forget you can step on the bolts!) and hang off the daisy or draw if you're feeling tired. Second quickest way for me is with aiders, with no daisies.  Honestly aiders are almost a hinderance when you pull into the Belay cave. Bring a handful of draws, I usually clip the glue ins. Your follower will be much better at aiding the bolt ladder rather than jugging it, it's not hard to lower a bight of rope down with the gear down to your follower.