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Chockstone Forum - Gear Lust / Lost & Found

Rave About Your Rack Please do not post retail SPAM.

Author

classic climb, altered by inexperienced climber

otmab

11-Mar-2009
2:11:12 PM

I was climbing in the Arapiles on the weekend, doing the second pitch of Yo-Yo, and noticed, right at the end of the pitch, what appeared to be a small Buddhist prayer flag, flapping in the wind. Closer inspection revealed it to be a red tri-cam. An inexperienced climber had wedged it into a pocket that was clearly far too small for the tri-cam - there's no removing that sucker now, and it may become a permanent feature of the climb. Judging by the perfect state of the cam and the dyneema, I suspect that it was a brand new cam, and had been placed about 10 minutes earlier by a bumbling leader. My sympathy to the once proud owner of the cam, and chastisement to the placer. I am sure they are not the same person.

IdratherbeclimbingM9

11-Mar-2009
2:26:14 PM

>a pocket that was clearly far too small for the tri-cam - there's no removing that sucker now

If it went in then theoretically it can come out the same way it went in.

I have found Tri-cams (triangular nut type), in the smaller sizes when placed in Araps pockets, ... even by very experienced leaders, can be extremely fiddly to remove, however perseverance usually prevails.

I am not suggesting that the piece you refer to won't become fixed protection, but I am saying that it is easy to lodge them almost irretrievable, as it seems to be a trait they possess in their ability to be bomber!

Eduardo Slabofvic

11-Mar-2009
2:31:36 PM

On 11/03/2009 otmab wrote:
>Closer inspection revealed it to be a red tri-cam.

hmm, spring loaded camming device or triangular nut type?

wallwombat

11-Mar-2009
2:33:34 PM

On 11/03/2009 Eduardo Slabofvic wrote:

>hmm, spring loaded camming device or triangular nut type?

hmmm, someone smells booty.

gfdonc

11-Mar-2009
2:58:46 PM

Well, well. I returned from the US last week with a new set of 4 tri-cams for a mate .. who went to Araps for the weekend. I'll look forward to hearing how the weekend went. hehehe.

Duncan

11-Mar-2009
3:56:53 PM

On 11/03/2009 otmab wrote:
>I was climbing at Arapiles

Fixed.

otmab

11-Mar-2009
4:07:07 PM

Really? You were able to remove that sucker?

sweatypalms

11-Mar-2009
4:27:13 PM

I was climbing in the Arapiles on the weekend, doing the second pitch of Yo-Yo, and noticed, right at the end of the pitch, what appeared to be a perfect spot to place my mate's brand new red tri-cam, recently purchased from his mate returning from the US. The following 2 steps right to the belay ledge meant that the tri-cam was heavily loaded while taking in rope.

My mate spent quite while trying to get it out, losing quite a bit of blood between his key and the rock, and a few tears at the thought of leaving it behind. I too spent time on it too but eventually had to give up.

It was the second time I've used them (the first time being a few metres below) and I have to admit I've fallen in love with them. But just like the song says (http://www.swarpa.net/~danforth/climb/sinkthepink.html), they can be awefully hard to get out. A traditional cam is designed with a reversible action. Tri-cams are not: you can pull the dynema, but you can't push it. So if you load it up it can easily become stuck.

Personally I prefer being a "bumbling chastised inexperienced leader" who places bomb-proof pro and has left behind 1 piece in 11 years of leading than be an arrogant judgemental expert. Its placement hasn't altered the climb because it is well after completing the crux in a safe stance. The "damage" to the climb was more than offset by the resulting later support of Natimuk business community.

...as for the latest news of its removal, I'm amazed!

otmab

11-Mar-2009
5:34:34 PM

sweatypalms, if you're going to post on this forum, it's important to be as arrogant and judgemental as possible.
As to the (somewhat philosophical) debate as to whether the ideal placement is both perfectly bomber and retrievable, or just perfectly bomber, well, we'll talk about that in the climbing gym in about half an hour....

psd

11-Mar-2009
5:37:04 PM

... and in the great tradition of Chockstone pedantry the greater crime is clearly the OP's reference to "the arapiles" -shudder-

Duncan

11-Mar-2009
6:19:24 PM

If you're going to be a self-righteous wanker, you should at least be right. I think Ghandi said that.

Wendy

11-Mar-2009
6:20:31 PM

On 11/03/2009 psd wrote:
>... and in the great tradition of Chockstone pedantry the greater crime
>is clearly the OP's reference to "the arapiles" -shudder-

but could he say "those arapiles" then?

duglash

11-Mar-2009
8:03:45 PM

On 11/03/2009 Duncan wrote:
>If you're going to be a self-righteous wanker, you should at least be right.
> I think Ghandi said that.

Nice.

kieranl

11-Mar-2009
10:24:11 PM

What's the point of being a self-righteous wanker if you have to be right? Takes all the fun out of it.

There are 14 messages in this topic.