Post by Mike Anderson on Apr 13, 2014 16:33:05 GMT -7
We all know cam preferences are personal, and most folks will take their same trusty favorites regardless of the situation. That said, the type of climb you're planning should play into what cams you take on a climb.
This is how I think about it:
Sandstone (Zion mostly) - The parallel cracks and soft rock cry out for 4-lobed cams over TCU's. I have a bunch of the old four-lobed Camalots in the finger sizes (0.4, 0.3, 0.2, 0.1) that I pull out for these routes. That said, I always bring a few TCU's, which are better than anything else in pin scars. Another consideration is that in soft sandstone, you'll be placing cams frequently, so you'll be carrying a lot of them. In these cases, it can be smart to go with a single-axle design in the larger sizes -- they have a narrower camming range, but they're lighter, and if you carrying 30+ cams, that weight adds up.
Granite - The rock is bomber so you can run it out a little more, so you won't need as many pieces of pro per pitch. That means you can take fewer total cams, but you might want those cams to have a wider ranger -- double axle cams are smart here. TCU's are also bomber in granite, so I favor those in the finger sizes over a 4-cam design.
Alpine - In the alpine realm, speed is safety, and lightweight = speed. You want to consider the ratio of hiking/approach/3rd-classing (climbing without protection) to the amount of roped, protected climbing. If there is relatively little roped climbing, you can tolerate using gear that is slow to place and retrieve if it is lighter weight - i.e., nuts, hexes, slings tied around rocks & pitons (if carrying an ice hammer). OTOH, if you're going to be climbing lots of roped pitches and they are relatively difficult, the ease of placement you get with cams may justify carrying them in. When I bring cams on an alpine climb, I prefer a double axle design with its wider camming range because I can cover the range of cracks I'm expecting to encounter with fewer total cams. For example, if I know I'll be facing a pitch with a mandatory wide cam, and some hand cracks, I'll bring one wide Camalot, and the other sizes down to the hands, then I'll use lighter TCU's in the finger sizes.
These are just some preliminary considerations to think about when you're planning your next big day in the mountains, but it's not EVERYTHING you should think of. What am I missing? What factors do you take into account when building your rack?