Cam Selection for Big Walls vs Alpine, etc

[Mike Anderson]

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? 

[dan]

Great post.
Some thoughts:
Racking up for a route you've already done is easy. Racking up for a big route with limited beta is a tough balance between weight and placement options. Too much and youre weighed down. Too little and you may have to waste time back-cleaning, building more belays, or getting scared from running it out.
Some things ive done to lighten my rack over the years include:
Use lighter weight wire gate carabiners
Ditch the cordelettes: yes they are useful but not critical
Bring some smaller tricams: I'm sure I will get flack for this but they are very lightweight and work just as well as cams when building belay anchors. Save the cams for when you're gripped on lead.
Bring rp's and/or small stoppers. 6 small stoppers weighs about the same as 1 small cam.
The small passive gear isnt necessarily a replacement for all the cams, but can probably replace some if you have to build gear anchors.
One of my trad climbing mentors could place bomber stoppers and tricams as quickly as most people can clip bolts. Definitely a skill worth working on if you want to lighten the rack and send big routes.