12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678 12345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901Protection 2123456789012345678• Page 23–1 23 PROTECTION INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................... 1 QUICKDRAWS AND RUNNERS ........................................................................................................................... 1 PROTECTION.......................................................................................................................................................... 2 Passive Wedges ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 Active Wedges ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 Passive Cams ........................................................................................................................................................ 4 Active Cams ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 THE EXPANSION FORCES OF PROTECTION ................................................................................................... 8 HOW TO CLEAN PRO ............................................................................................................................................ 8 HOW TO RACK GEAR ........................................................................................................................................... 9 INTRODUCTION The leader and the belayer are a lot safer if they understand the characteristics and limitations of all climbing gear. Ropes, harnesses, webbing, and carabiners are covered in the AMC Basic School, and it would be useful to review ropes and carabiners before continuing with this chapter. The following is a discussion of the gear used for artificial, removable protection, which is usually referred to as “natural pro.” In discussing various pieces of equipment, we may discuss brand names or trademarked names and specific companies. This manual does not recommend or endorse any specific company; the mention of the name is only to clarify the explanation of equipment. We include quickdraws and runners, protection such as nuts, cams, etc., and a section on how to rack them. QUICKDRAWS AND RUNNERS The terms quickdraw and runner are often used interchangeably, and they are close enough that most people understand what you are talking about when you use either term. In this discussion, “quickdraw” will refer to short slings and “runner” to longer slings. Quickdraws (draws, QDs) are usually 12 inches long or less. They are the staple of sport climbing, and are most useful when clipping bolts. They consist of 2 biners and webbing, usually sewn. The webbing is usually sewn from ½”, 9/16” or 1” nylon or ½” Spectra (called Dyneema in Europe). A sewn quickdraw is stronger than a tied runner of the same material because there are no bends in the webbing to weaken it. We recommend using sewn quickdraws if possible, as tied quickdraws may not hold a factor two lead fall. For example, a tied sling of one-inch tubular nylon may be rated at about 3800 pounds but a sewn sling of one-inch tubular nylon is rated at about 6600 pounds. Although the pattern of stitching differs, the three main purposes are to stiffen the draw, to make it easier to clip the rope into the rope-bearing biner, and to provide stability for the rope-bearing biner. The advantage to stiffening the draw is that it extends the reach of the leader by allowing him/her to grasp the draw near the bottom. The bottom biner is easier to clip when held in place. The advantage of stabilizing the rope-bearing biner is that it is less likely to rotate or spin after the rope is clipped in and the climber moves up past the placement. If the biner rotates so the gate end is up, there is a greater risk of the gate opening due to an irregularity in the rock or bolt hanger, or of the biner getting side-loaded as it is rotating. In both of these instances, the biner is most susceptible to failure if rotating out of the normal down-and-out orientation. Since it is crucial to rely on the biner staying in place during a fall, many quickdraws also have a rubber stiffener or O-ring that helps to stabilize the biner. Some climbers tape the bottom end of the draw tightly to the biner to accomplish the same effect. The rubber stiffener also provides protection against abrasion. The upper biner of the draw, the one that clips into the bolt hanger, is sometimes stiffened, also, to help extend the reach of the leader. It is better, however, to allow some slack in the upper biner. As the leader moves past the rope, this “independent suspension” absorbs some of the motion of the running protection (the lead rope) passing through the rope-bearing biner, reducing movement in the upper biner. When the upper biner is held in place, or biners are ganged, there is more likelihood that the motion of the running protection will twist the biners apart, or open gates, or otherwise induce a dangerous situation. Rev. 09/01/03, AMC Lead Manual 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901Page 23–2 • Protection 212345678901234567 Some quickdraws have a quarter twist sewn in to force the bottom biner’s spine to sit perpendicular to the rock. The upper biner, the one in the bolt hanger, usually sits flat against the rock, and the bottom biner rotates 90 degrees to point the gate away from the rock. Quickdraws often come with two biners already attached. Some of them have the two gates facing in opposite directions and some facing the same direction. Some leaders prefer one or the other configuration, but it is a matter of preference. Regardless of the horizontal direction of the gate, the upper biner should always be nose up and the bottom biner nose down when racked on your gear loops. Runners are usually longer than quickdraws. They are made from 1”, 9/16” or ½” webbing. A quickdraw can be made from any of this webbing by tying a water knot, putting two biners in the loop, and clipping one biner to your harness gear loop. They are sometimes carried around the neck and shoulder (never around the neck alone) or doubled or tripled up to allow them to be carried on the harness gear loops. They can be used at the length they are carried (doubled, tripled) or can be extended to help reduce drag in zigzag placements or to help prevent natural pro from walking. Longer runners also may be “daisy-chained” or girth-hitched together to make longer runners; the chaining and deployment can be done one-handed, if necessary. They are also big enough to be used for girth- or slip-hitching “large” features such as chockstones or chickenheads. A Screamer™ (made by Yates) may be the only “dynamic” draw currently in production. It is designed to absorb the shock load of a fall by failing some of the bar-tack stitching to slow the fall. As each set of stitches rips out, it absorbs some energy from the fall, reducing the final impact force when the rope is fully stretched out. They are advertised to activate when the shock load reaches 550 pounds. One side effect of using this draw is that it magnifies the gate flutter of the rope-bearing carabiner more than with a static draw. This can be dangerous, so many people recommend using a locker as the rope-bearing biner. These are primarily used to “baby” smaller pieces when they are all you can place. The idea is to keep the peak force below the rating of the piece until the rope has had time to absorb the force of the fall. PROTECTION Protection is often referred to as pro or pieces, and falls into three main categories. The term natural protection refers to trees, boulders, chockstones, horns, and other naturally occurring features, although for lead purposes, most climbers refer to removable protection as being “natural pro” (as in “a natural pro lead vs. a bolted lead”). The broader term artificial protection refers to removable or clean protection such as nuts and cams and to fixed protection