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Home > Article > Clean Aid and Hammerless Climbing Top 11 Tricks Friday , May 6, 2011
Articles Go Clean Aid and Hammerless Climbing Top 11 Tricks
by Chris McNamara Monday March 14, 2011 7:31pm
A big goal of SuperTopo is to inspire more clean ascents. There are eleven tricks that Chris McNamara has found to do that. Please add in your own clean aid tips below the article. Patagonia R2 Jacket Go
Carry lots of small cams It's impossible to carry too many small cams (sizes .331"), just try. They weigh nothing and Related Guidebooks are the mostused pieces on any aid climb. If you have too few, you have to backclean, which means you are more likely to get scared and reach for the hammer. Yosemite Big Walls
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Road to The Nose
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Petzl Pro Traxion $130 From top to bottom, Black Diamond Camalot C3, Metolius Master Cam, Wild Country Zero, CCH Alien. Credit: Chris McNamara
Video open in browser customize free license pdfcrowd.com Offset cams Video In the last book, offset cams were "recommended" in the racks. Now we list most racks as Petzl Mini Traxion requiring 12 sets. Yes, you can get up most walls without them; but offset cams are usually $85 the most bomber clean placement in a pin scar. The difference between a tipped out regular cam or a bomber offset cam, is often the difference between C1 and C2 or C3.
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Offset micro nuts Big Wall Harness Buying Advice These little guys get in pin scars where nothing else can. Non offset micro nuts often won't Mar 26, 2011; 3:47pm stick at all or are more likely to get fixed. Clean Aid and Hammerless Climbing Top 11 Tricks Mar 25, 2011; 1:03pm
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The Nose, 5.14a or 5.9 Cam hooks C2 Cam hooks not only save time, they are often the only clean placement that works in a thin El Capitan crack. They are scary at first, but if you "aid boulder practice" enough with them, you will cruise C2 as fast as you free climb. The Nose—the best rock climb in the world!
open in browser customize free license pdfcrowd.com South Face, C1 5.8 Washington Column
The South Face of Washington Column.
Moses Cam Hooks Credit: mountaingear.com
Top step Increasing your reach is usually the best way to find an elusive clean placement. Getting into that top step gives you another foot or more. There are topstepping tips and other tips at the open in browser customize free license pdfcrowd.com online How To Big Wall Page here: http://www.supertopo.com/gear/howtobigwall
Free climb Many lowangle A2 sections can be easily free climbed. Sometimes a move or two of 5.8 or 5.9 saves ten minutes of trying to get a shallow pin scar placement to hold. Even pasting one foot on an edge and one foot in your top step can help you reach a bomber clean placement. Wearing comfortable free shoes on a lowangle aid pitch is a good idea.
Leave the hammer in the bag On a route that you might be able to do clean, leave the hammer in the haul bag. Just by having to tag it up, you are more likely to push your clean climbing as far as possible.
Intertwine stoppers You can make a twofoot mini cheat stick by intertwining three stoppers to snag distant rivets.
Hooks and beak hooking Often you can hook a crack or fixed head either with a regular hook or with a beak. Medium and large sized Black Diamond Peckers work especially well. A BAT hook can also sometimes get in the eye of a RURP with a broken cable. If you are going to nail, it is much better to use a beak, Pecker or Tomahawk as they are much less destructive than Lost Arrows, knifeblades and angles.
open in browser customize free license pdfcrowd.com The Tomahawk works as a regular hook in some applications thanks to the curved shaft that wraps around edges for stability. Credit: Chris McNamara
Hand place pitons open in browser customize free license pdfcrowd.com Many pin scars take a handplaced piton. For extra security, give it a few pounds with your palm (leather gloves recommended). Sawedoff pitons often work the best if a handplaced beak or Pecker won't work.
Chris McNamara on The Shield, El Capitan. Credit: Corey Rich
Cheat sticks I don't use em. But if it keeps you from reaching for the hammer, go for it. open in browser customize free license pdfcrowd.com The How To Big Wall Climb Book has many suggestions for what is the latest and greatest aid gear and here is what is currently on Chris Mac's Aid Rack
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About the Author Climbing Magazine once computed that three percent of Chris McNamara’s life on earth has been spent on the face of El Capitan—an accomplishment that has left friends and family pondering Chris’ sanity. He’s climbed El Capitan over 70 times and holds nine big wall speed climbing records. In 1998 Chris did the first Girdle Traverse of El Capitan, an epic 75pitch route that begs the question, “Why?”
Chris McNamara Outside Magazine has called Chris one of “the world’s finest aid climbers.” He’s the winner of the 1999 Bates Award from the American Alpine Club and founder of the American Safe Climbing Association, a nonprofit group that has replaced over 5000 dangerous anchor bolts. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and serves on the board of the ASCA, and Rowell Legacy Committee. He has a rarely updated Chris McNamara.com, and also runs a Lake Tahoe home rental business http://rentsouthlake.com
Comments Did you like this article? Got something to say? Don't hold back... Comment on this article
Mar 13, 2011 05:25pm PT Never got the Ting off technique from Jello's Clean Walls video Chris?
Piton Ron
Big Wall climber Toquerville, Utah
Author's Reply Mar 13, 2011 05:27pm PT Nope, never found a way to buy it... would love to see it.
Chris McNamara
SuperTopo staff member
open in browser customize free license pdfcrowd.com Mar 13, 2011 05:28pm PT Darn, he has a whole box of them but just went to Switzerland.
Piton Ron
Big Wall climber Toquerville, Utah
Mar 13, 2011 05:32pm PT
bluering The difference between a tipped our regular cam or a bomber offset cam, is often the difference between C1 and Trad climber Santa Clara, CA C2 or C3.
Check your fire...
Good tips though!
Mar 13, 2011 05:37pm PT I'll loan you mine if you want to see it. Send me your address.
Prod [email protected]
Trad climber Prod.
Mar 13, 2011 07:18pm PT Bring some epoxy and glue your hand placed pins into the crack.
Mittens
climber
Mar 16, 2011 11:55am PT Thanks Chris!
WallMan
Trad climber Denver, CO open in browser customize free license pdfcrowd.com Mar 16, 2011 12:36pm PT 'Tis the season to get my aid climbing speed and technique back up to snuff. I think for me the best way to get past an aid placement hammerless is to make that hammer JEleazarian hard to get to (such as in the haulsack or better, back in camp). Thanks for the inspiration. Trad climber Fresno CA John
Mar 16, 2011 12:55pm PT Using the hammer on a pitch you want to/should climb clean is like bailing.
Mark Hudon You'll get to the anchor and the feeling of "it wasn't that bad, I should have sucked it up" will hit you and then you'll never be back there again for the rest of you life, to do it the Trad climber way you originally wanted to (I'm as guilty as the next guy, believe me). It's better to just Hood River, OR man up in the first place. (talk is cheap sitting here in front of my computer, BTW)
John and I have been working out together this winter and we're all jazzed to try to climb ZM clean. We keep telling each other that everyone is brave in El Cap Meadow. ;)
Mar 25, 2011 01:03pm PT Yeah, that Ting off trick is pretty badass. Totally stable in a top step.
Chairman Meow
Trad climber SLC, UT
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