Sport climbing "rack"? Pack tweaking....

Yeah, sport, right? No gear....

Except you walk up to something bolted, and it turns out to be old school. Or badly bolted. Or....needs two single placements to be safe at that grade.

What would you take, as a minimal rack to get you through? I don't place gear at all, really, but my bag is pillaged for stuff pretty often, and I'd far rather the lead feels good with what they have, than to walk away. 

Coming up on 20 trips to City of Rocks, so we are now open to wandering off in the hinterlands more, instead of the same things, over and over.

Besides, sometimes you don't know what you're looking at. 

We came across Beeline, when it was newly installed, just as we were walking by. Eyeballing it, it seems like a reasonably bolted sport route, and my party climbed it as such. A bit spicy, but doable, way below the rope gun's grade.

Now? 

It's on MP as a trad route, I believe, and everyone I watched on it this season, climbed it as such. Just one short stretch of crack, way up top!

I'm thinking a modest rack in my crag bag, when we're aiming for "sport" and the lead(s) aren't hauling along the trad tonnage? 

Maybe sorta this? The blue 3 would have a red and yellow with it....but they are in my partner's pack, with most of my sport draws, lol! Such a thief....

Okay, here's my minimal harness, usually with an alpine draw or two, plus a sport draw or two. I'm usually just number two up, clean the route (sometimes) and clean the anchor, after I top rope the thing, play on the whole face, or just haul up to clean and boogie on out so we can eat, or whatever, lol!

And, most of what is usually on, or in, the pack, although missing is the stuff in the harness shot, most of my draws (sport and alpine both), and the rope (and rope bag). Snacks, phone, keys are in there too. I'm years in now, but it's only getting dialed now that I'm at City so often, and it's getting tweaked again, since I really should/could have some trad gear in there.

Btw, I have beat the crap out of my Patagonia cragsmith 32! It's been really great! Everything goes, although some of it is on the outside, usually, when I'm hauling the rope. I can, abd do, really stuff it! Zip one side, roll it on that side, shove hard, yank the other zip up, and you're good to go!

Best, Helen

Maybe some Metolius Ultralight Mastercams from blue-green or maybe just yellow-black even. They have a good price:weight ratio and great quality too. And a set of nuts.

Edit: Yeah! That looks like a good “just in case” rack. And definitely a couple alpines.

I certain areas that tend to have "mixed" routes I carry a thin rack, a biner of small nuts, tricams  and mabybe a .5 .75 and 1 cams.  I also like to have a couple of alpine  draws to eliminate rope drag. 

Honestly I just take a single rack with me.  So tiny to #4.  If I can see the route I can sometimes leave the bigger cams.  

I’d much rather have what you need than not.  

Looks pretty good Helen, I’d leave the #3 on the ground unless specified in the protection and maybe get a few more smaller nuts. The COR guide book usually gives a good idea of what to bring to supplement the bolts. 

My mixed rack is as follows: 1 set of cams from 0.2 to #2, 1 set of tricams from the small white one to brown (5 tricams), 6 alpine draws, and a small selection of nuts to compliment the tricams (usually a couple rps and three offsets to fit between tricam sizes) plus the normal amount of sport draws that I usually carry. 

If I wanted to go lighter I would probably nix the passive gear entirely minus the rps (because they are so light) most of my climbing with trad/sport mixed climbing has been in the north east though so YMMV.

Helen, just take 1/3 of what you would rack for Indian Creek and you'll be golden

Jay Goodwinwrote:

Helen, just take 1/3 of what you would rack for Indian Creek and you'll be golden

Lol! That's my partners rack....triples up to, I dunno, 5 or 6 in some sizes?

I am an Indian Creek virgin, still. 

Don't even do gear, yet, I have about a rack and a half, at least. 

And yeah, there's some tricams and hexes, just to tweak the twerks on here, lol!

Hey, is there a pic of me on Wind Dance? I'd sure love to have it, if there is? I've got close to nuthin for that trip. Except my partner still has all those draws and stuff....from taking our buddy up Wind Dance the next day, lol!

Thanks again, sir! It was awesome.

And thanks, all, this stuff helps, especially when you're basically clueless about...well, lots of stuff, most of the time!

H.

I don't have a photo; maybe reach out to David Hutchinson.

A camera was just another thing to carry back in my day, so never did. Smart phones now, but never grew a photo habit. Was busy, either climbing or belaying.

Reddit has a much larger audience for these questions if you really want answers.

Directing people to Reddit is a serious breach of forum etiquette.

To the question, at my local crag if you try to place gear it will rip out a block on your head. The spare rack is a wire brush.

If your ropegun can't get it done with what you have there he'll need a bail biner.

Whoever is doing the leading should be sorting out what rack they want for a particular route; I suspect your leader does not want their options crowd-sourced from Mountain Project.  Ask your leader what they want for a particular route/area (or just help them carry their rack, which they should be bringing if they are doing the leading).

Having said that, if you want to cover all your bases, just bring a complete single rack.  That will get you essentially up any route <5.8, sport or trad.  No need to make this any more complicated than that.

A sport climb should not need any “extra gear” just the bolts. Just because a climb has bolts doesn’t mean it’s “sport”….. 

look before you leap. 

What to take? It depends. I know its all the rage to "pick a horse and ride it" in terms of "what to take" but its a ridiculous exercise on the face of it. One of my partners routinely takes a MASSIVE rack up even the shortest of pitches, and it doesn't matter what I have to say about it, or what the terrain looks like either. Why would it be any different with you?

But, by depends I mean, you look at whatever route description you have, you look up at the pitch, and then you assess what to take, not before. 

Take as little as possible to get the job done, would be my recommendation.

Thanks, all! All of this is good, and is about how it will shake out, so thanks hugely. I'm not the one placing gear, but it sure does get used, and more often than I'd expect, when we are in supposed "sport" terrain.

So, yes, bail biners are along, and get used.

This is really a "just in case we see something fun" rack. Maybe routes with no beta at all, except eyeballing it, grabbing what looks about right....and those bail biners. 

We've run into plenty of stuff that is bolted and assumes no one will ever fall. "Sport", that isn't very safe, "sport" that's really mixed and would be happier with gear, and, those mystery routes that simply look interesting. Then there's the trad routes....with nary a gear placement, lol! Fun stuff!

Here's a "sport" one, slow down to place gear, or, just go for it. 

Patina Pie. Photo by my friend Trevor.

Best, Helen