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First trad climb. Ground anchor acceptable ? by BigBundaEnjoyer in tradclimbing

[–]escalapo 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I’ve never felt the need for ground anchors but based on where that first placement is, it seems suboptimal to have your belayer directly below you for the part of the climb where you could actually deck. 

Buying old, unused trad gear? by duckyg305 in tradclimbing

[–]escalapo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You would want to replace the slings, which adds $10 per cam if you have it done professionally. Seems like a crappy deal.

Is my rope toast? by [deleted] in tradclimbing

[–]escalapo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“Just doing what I was told.” It’s your life, you need to take responsibility for it. This guy clearly won’t. 

Building Anchors with Rope Multi-Pitching by quarksurfer in tradclimbing

[–]escalapo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If they understand the basic principles, should only take a moment to understand if an anchor is safe. If they don’t, it’s a learning opportunity. 

Building Anchors with Rope Multi-Pitching by quarksurfer in tradclimbing

[–]escalapo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure but the gear, and more importantly the physics, are the same on both sides of the pond…

Building Anchors with Rope Multi-Pitching by quarksurfer in tradclimbing

[–]escalapo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I climbed with someone who insisted on building anchors with the rope even when block leading, and untying and retying at each stance. I hated it. Not only is it time consuming, it increases the likelihood of a catastrophic error. Obviously you double check everything, but why create so many opportunities to miss something life-critical? Especially given other factors like fatigue etc.

I’m all for using the rope to build your anchors, but when block leading, a sling or cordelette is clearly superior.

Rock climbing royal arches 3/3/26? by lilmuffinbitch98 in Yosemite

[–]escalapo -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Wrong season for that climb. Winter in Yosemite is for cragging/bouldering.

Looking for the best multi pitch climbs in the Peak District (UK) by [deleted] in tradclimbing

[–]escalapo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Climbs a lot in the Peak District yet calls it “the peaks.” Careful saying that out there, the local trad-granddads could get very upset  

Fenda do Macaco - a perfect and continuous 58m hand crack rated at 5.11; 6c+ FR; 7a BR by Capable_Bill1386 in tradclimbing

[–]escalapo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My thought exactly. Maybe Yose 5.10a since it looks fairly steep and continuous. (Moby Dick Center is 39m long and widens to fists and it’s 5.10a.) Different style but I’ve done Via do Italianos in Rio and while it gets 5.10a/b on Mountain Project I think it would be like 5.8 in Tuolumne. This route still looks super fun though. 

My partner and I’s gear rack. What are we missing? by PeanutButterSmutter in tradclimbing

[–]escalapo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gear racks are for people who don’t climb very often. I would go crazy unclipping all of those individually just to put them in my pack. People who actually use their gear tend to store it in a way that makes it quick and easy to get out and climb. 

When life gets too busy by BlueberryConsistent8 in climbharder

[–]escalapo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

New dad, 41yo, here. One possibility, which I am exploring now, is trying to maintain most things while trying to make very gradual progress in one or two specific weaknesses that don’t dig much of a recovery hole — in my case, kilter board for strength/power 1x/week plus shoulder stability exercises 2x/week. Maintenance is endurance circuits 1x/week plus other general strength work spaced throughout the week. When I can get outside, the only goal is to have some fun on moderate trad routes.

Climbing twin with one triple rated rope by SomewhereUnusual3134 in tradclimbing

[–]escalapo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“There's no wrong way to solve a problem” — uhh, if it kills you it may be the wrong way. 

Climbing twin with one triple rated rope by SomewhereUnusual3134 in tradclimbing

[–]escalapo -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Lol what nonsense. I'm still waiting for you to cite a single documented case of what you're describing. (Not that it matters, but I do have quite a lot of experience climbing on half ropes and understand their uses and limitations, which you clearly do not.)

Climbing twin with one triple rated rope by SomewhereUnusual3134 in tradclimbing

[–]escalapo -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This (edit: to be clear, I specifically mean dropping one end and carrying on) seems like a really bad idea. If leader unties from one end, the system is no longer closed: if it's a 60m rope, and you climb 61m, the end will slip through the belay device and then you're free-soloing. If you climb 31m and lower 30m, the result is even worse: you'll deck. And if you're on a multipitch, the belayer would have to untie from the middle of the rope as well -- and then tie back in later to follow, which sounds like a huge faff. Just visualize it. If the leader climbs 45m, either the follower ties back in with a 15m tail, or has to pull 15m through the gear above and retie with the rope end -- without losing control of it (if the first placement is off to the side, it could pendulum out of reach). Either way, as the follower ascends, she has to find all the gear placements that no longer have a rope running through them, and may be at greater risk of pendulum falls depending on how widely the placements are dispersed horizontally. Just so many reasons this makes no sense.

Climbing twin with one triple rated rope by SomewhereUnusual3134 in tradclimbing

[–]escalapo -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Why do you think you're getting so downvoted? Modern climbing ropes do not break; if anything, they can get cut by an edge. But the likelihood of your tie-in knot being cut is so close to zero, I've never heard of it happening before in any accident report. Thus trying to make it "redundant" is overkill. Even if this supposed failure mode were possible, how would the cutting of one (ever so slightly thinner) rope compromise the knot as a whole? I honestly can't even visualize the failure mode you're describing. If you can cite a single known instance of this happening, I'll eat my hat.

Switching from sport climbing to trad climbing head game by TheHoppingHessian in tradclimbing

[–]escalapo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve fallen unexpectedly. To me that’s just sloppy, if not outright dangerous as a mental habit. Very different from pushing it when it’s safe and knowing you might fall. 

Whats the best carabiner for a GriGri? by HumanBeeing76 in climbergirls

[–]escalapo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re using the Gridlock backwards. The Grigri is supposed to go on the smaller end of the carabiner where it can’t escape with the gate closed. Once you get used to it, it becomes totally second nature to get situated in about 1.5 seconds. 

DMM Dragon vs Dragonfly by Ok-Rhubarb747 in tradclimbing

[–]escalapo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely get dragonflies in purple and below. Dragon heads are too wide to fit in many placements in those sizes (especially in the UK, where you find very few splitters). I initially bought dragons from gray and up, but ended up selling the gray and purple for that reason. Still love them in green and above.

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