Rope drag

rgold wrote: Same here. Sewn sport-climbing draws make very little sense for trad. In addition to the ability to extend any placement as needed (including stepping back down and extending---the need to extend isn't always predictable), the flexibility of "alpine" draws is important for keeping nuts and cams in place.

not all quickdraws are sewn to be stiff. I frequently use the trango phase QDs for trad climbing because they have some flop to them (flexability) and because most of my cams have extendable slings so I often don't need much length. Quickdraws do have their place in the world of trad climbing. That being said, I wouldn't leave the ground without some alpine draws if I'm trad climbing.

I carry a few quickdraws, mainly for clipping cams. Wild Country Astros are great for this because they're super light and relatively cheap. I know it's common to just carry a set of quickdraws for splitter cracks, as the pro tends to be fairly predictable and routes don't wander as much.

Matt Westlake wrote:Practice is best. While I agree with most sentiments about how extension is good and to be proactive, sometimes it's easy to overdo it. This can actually make what might be a safe placement less good by adding unnecessary fall distance.

That's a good point to remember. I had particularly bad (ie STUPID) fall that could have been shortened if I had of been more focused on protecting myself. I came to a steep bump on a wandering and dirty moderate alpine pitch. The crack was discontinuous and I didn't want to fill the only two pods for thin hand jams with gear (ie shit for hands), my ego had me committed not to french free anywhere on route (like I said, stupid). I Put in a #1 right at my feet where it kicks up, I was worried about drag from the rope being pulled down in this depression so I extended with a 240cm sling I normally use for anchors. Long story short I put myself in a bad stance and fell from about 8' above that piece. When my feet landed on the slab I rolled backwards and took a long tumble. Minor concussion, cracked helmet, ripped up pack, bruised hip, and one shattered ego. Thankfully I wasn't injured badly and finished the route the next day, it could have gone very badly.

When you place a piece don't be in the mindset that you *have* to place it and leave everything there. When I run into a situation like that now I will place a piece up high, if I'm planning on leaving it I will clip the rope into the biner on my sling AND the racking biner on the cam. Once I get up higher and have another piece in I'll simply unclip the rope from the racking biner and have my extended piece. Other times I'll just plug the piece in for the first few moves and pull it once I have another piece of gear in above. This of course is only in places where I actually think that I might fall above, not one every climb.

There are also times where it's appropriate to put in a piece to pull a crux move, then pull it when at a better stance above to keep your rope line straight.

That's a really good idea about clipping both and then unclipping the racking biner!