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Climbing with a pack

Original Post
Mark Hudon · · Lives on the road · Joined Jul 2009 · Points: 420

These days I see people on a three pitch route that they are going to rap wearing packs! Leader and follower!

Why?

I can maybe see it on a 10 pitch alpine route with a long walk off but not on anything you could rap. What are these people carrying?

Juan Vargas · · Bakersfield, CA · Joined Apr 2014 · Points: 1,115

A guy i used to climb with always carried a pack on anything over two pitches long to carry his Marijuana pipe

curt86iroc · · Lakewood, CO · Joined Dec 2014 · Points: 274

why does it matter? i see people trail running 4 miles with an ultra-vest and 2 water bottles. not my thing, but to each his own...

L Kap · · Boulder, CO · Joined Apr 2014 · Points: 105

Food. Water. Rain / wind jacket. Warm layer. Sunscreen. Emergency kit. Headlamp. Guidebook or phone for route beta. You never know when you or another party will get delayed or need something. None of these things will do you any good if they're on the ground. And if you are a climber who does long multi-pitch, it's helpful to do your training with a pack.

ABB · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 0

I don't know what they're carrying but I imagine they'll need all of it at the rate they're generally moving.

Mark Hudon · · Lives on the road · Joined Jul 2009 · Points: 420

Merely curious. 

Ben Pellerin · · Spaceship Earth · Joined Mar 2018 · Points: 0

Water snacks beer weed first aid kit jacket keys wallet camera slings draws shoes for walk off whiskey. The good question is there a reason to NOT carry a small pack.

Mark Straub · · Fort Collins, CO · Joined Feb 2010 · Points: 245

Anything 5+ pitches I like to have a light follower pack with a bit of food, water, and a jacket. Do I need it? No, but it’s nice to have and I don’t mind carrying 4 pounds every other pitch if it means I get to be warm, hydrated, and full on the climb.

Serge S · · Seattle, WA · Joined Oct 2015 · Points: 683

SLR.

Jplotz · · Cashmere, WA · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 1,315
Mark Straub wrote: Anything 5+ pitches I like to have a light follower pack

So annoying. "Follower packs" are never light. 

Each climber is responsible for his/her own stuff.

31 pitches though, then yes to follower packs. 
Gumby King · · The Gym · Joined Jun 2016 · Points: 52

Beer.

Just kidding...  but why am I not carrying beer is the greater question.  Usually its to carry water and approach shoes for both climbers (one pack) when the walk off doesnt take us back to the start.  But...  taking them with us keeps the vermin from getting into our food for all day multipitch cragging.  Not every place has bins like Manure Pile Buttress.

Darrell Cornick · · Salem, OR · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 5

Lovers Leap never fails to crack me up with that. Last week I saw both climbers on Surrealistic Pillar carry a 20-30 ish liter packs totally stuffed. It’s 2 1/2 pitches! It makes climbing so much less fun and way scarier when it gets delicate way above gear. I think it takes time for some people to learn what they really need.

JaredG · · Tucson, AZ · Joined Aug 2011 · Points: 17
Darrell Cornick wrote: Lovers Leap never fails to crack me up with that. Last week I saw both climbers on Surrealistic Pillar carry a 20-30 ish liter packs totally stuffed. It’s 2 1/2 pitches! It makes climbing so much less fun and way scarier when it gets delicate way above gear. I think it takes time for some people to learn what they really need.

You don’t bring the pack for surrealistic pillar. You bring it for the 3 hour wait to get on corrugation corner!

chris blatchley · · woodinville, wa · Joined Sep 2016 · Points: 6

In some places I might not want to risk leaving gear when there are recent stories of theft

Logan Hugmeyer · · Salem · Joined Jan 2019 · Points: 6

I see the opposite when hiking all the time. 8 miles back 3 people in skate shoes looking totally gassed with one water bottle between them. "How far to the trailhead?" 

Russ B · · Salt Lake City, UT · Joined Jun 2011 · Points: 42

I try to always roll with a pack on anything multipitch, as most the objectives I'm working towards require it. I've had this mindset for about a year now, and climbing with a pack only minimally affects how hard I'm comfortable climbing on lead when it's 5-10 pounds. When it's below my limit and my partners don't wanna carry another pack, I'll usually just carry the pack the whole time. This winter I'd like to focus on climbing harder again now that I'm getting an injury to heal, and I'm thinking like to train in the gym wearing a pack.

It's usually just a 15L summit pack, filled mostly with a deployed 2 person eblanket stuffed in for volume, head lamp shoes, jacket, .5L of water, a couple snacks, phone and maybe camera and battery pack, and I carry a cordlette/rescue kit in the pack. I should weigh it sometime, but it's probably about 5 pounds most of the time. Sometimes if it gets hard I take the shoes out and clip them to my partner for a pitch to half the weight, other times I bring the guidebook and extra water for weight.

Plus when you're bailing off a route with your tail tucked in between your legs in the rain, My partner and I are hanging out at the P4 anchor eating fat snacks like chips and dip or a pineapple under a blanket having a good time still, and just waiting for it to pass. 

Leliko Mana · · On the road in US · Joined Nov 2018 · Points: 45
JaredG wrote:

You don’t bring the pack for surrealistic pillar. You bring it for the 3 hour wait to get on corrugation corner!

My partner and I climbed Corrugation Corner last weekend with zero wait. We both carried packs: I - my beloved orange Petzl Bug stuffed with a jacket, water, snacks, and car key, and my partner - small pack with water and a climbing book. I specifically bought The Bug bag for multi-pitch because apparently it's the best bag to attach a rope for a long walkout which I do at Lover's Leap. It never stops to amaze me how quick we people are in judging others. By the way, seeing climbers carry packs is not disturbing. What I found VERY disturbing last weekend was to see a solo climber on Bear's Reach. These guys terrify me as I know it's only a matter of time till I see one of them falls to death screaming loudly. Arghh.

Josh Rappoport · · Natick, MA · Joined Sep 2017 · Points: 31

Sometimes it is nice to rap in your approach shoes
I previously wore a pack for multipitch with a CamelBack in it, shoes etc but felt my center of gravity totally off. Now I recently got these 0.75 liter soft water bottles with build in clips. I put one of those on each side of my rear gear loops and my approach shoes (I got some really lightweight ones) on a carabiner and then wear these pants with a thigh pocket that can hold two or three Clif bars

John Byrnes · · Fort Collins, CO · Joined Dec 2007 · Points: 392
Mark Hudon wrote: These days I see people on a three pitch route that they are going to rap wearing packs! Leader and follower!

Why?

So it's easy to tell that they are a party you definitely do not want to be below, or behind, or even nearby.  They are going to drop stuff, climb incredibly slowly and will likely need rescue.

Russ B · · Salt Lake City, UT · Joined Jun 2011 · Points: 42

What are you smoking, and where can I get some? 

Travis Bianucci · · Logan · Joined Apr 2017 · Points: 5

I have a buddy that has some crazy non predictable blood sugar levels so he always has to bring a bunch of Gatorade and what not. 

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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