Hey everyone, so here's the deal: I just recently learned to lead and am looking to head out to the Gunks in the next few months (pretty thrilled about it I have to say). I've done some research and have finished my first try at compiling a rack and I wanted to see what people thought of it. I realize it's absurdly light on cams, but my wallet is already very light and I'd really like to work on trusting my passive pro (though I welcome all criticism). I plan on leading no harder than 5.7 for the time being. Here's the stuff:

Tricams: black to blue (.25 - 2.5) doubling up on pink and red
BD stoppers: 1-13
BD Camalot C4 #1 red
DMM Torque Nut #4
Yates screamer
mostly 24" dyneema slings
BD Quicksilver non-lockers
2 20ft 7mm nylon cordeletts

oh, and I'm using Mammut Galaxy 10.0mm 70m.

Thanks for reading and please let me know what I can do to improve this!

Regards
-Manny

Am I reading it right that you have one cam?

If so, you can at least buy the five larger sizes of hexes - they will provide you with a *lot* of protection options for short money. At 5.7 and under, you'll find yourself in a lot of broken corners at the Gunks, and you'll really want some larger gear. If cams aren't doable right now, hexes will do just about as well.

Also, you said bd stoppers 1-13. Unless you meant to type 4-13, you've got some stoppers in there that are barely good for bodyweight. I'd leave everything under #4 at home unless you want to get into nesting gear.

GO

GOclimb, thanks for the reply. Yes, one cam is right, it's all I have for the moment. I'm going to look into those hexes. I'll see if I can pick up a few from the 1" to 3" range then. (would I need even bigger?)

As for the stoppers, yes I had thought about nesting them, but I guess that would be overkill if there's better protection to be had nearby.

What would you recommend for the next size cam purchase? I got the feeling from reading posts that the smaller cams are going to be a little bit more worthwhile so I was thinking about a C4 .3

Thanks again

The largest Tricam you have should cover cracks somewhat larger than the #1 Camalot. Maybe hexes or another Tricam if you don't want to pick up a #2 Camalot. Larger cams? Not as critical IMO. You certainly don't need a 4.

In general, I would focus your cam dollars on smaller sizes. Or double up on the smallest Tricams (below pink).

With your rack, you WILL be getting an education in passive gear. And that's good!

I'm not sure what Mike means by "smaller sizes," but if he just means smaller than the #4 I'd agree. I'd focus on what I consider the medium Camelot sizes-- I would get .5, .75 and #2 Camelots as my next priority, especially when you're climbing 5.7 and under. I place them on every pitch. I love having smaller cams too but I think the nuts tend to substitute better for those...

Also investing in a few locking carabiners would be wise.

Solid input, thanks all.

And yes, for completeness sake I should have listed the rest of the gear, hehe:

3 locking carabiners
petzl reverso 3 belay device
helmet

I also have 1" tube webbing (2x30ft) that can be cut to appropriate sizes. Though I don't know yet if i'll need it.

That brings up another question actually, and since I'm still waiting for the Dick Williams guide I purchased to arrive in the mail to check this, I suppose I'll ask here. My question is about descents in the gunks. Do they tend to be walk-off or rappels? And if they are rappels, are there bolts and chains or would I have to leave gear and/or use natural pro?

Thanks everyone

You may walk off if you like. The walkoff from the Trapps generally involves a bit of 3rd class downclimbing to reach the carriage road at the Uberfall. There are numerous fixed rap stations on the cliffs, so leaving gear is not generally necessary. The bolted stations are indicated in DW's guidebook, and these require a single 60m rope. Other stations are built of various bits of gear and webbing. It is up to each climber to decide if he wants to trust these or not.

Manny, I would suggest either hiring a guide to teach you the basics of leading, or find a competent leader for a partner for now, or both. Of course you can sink or swim as a lot of us did, but the learning curve is steep, and small mistakes tend to have serious consequences. My first two leads were without any instruction at all and with no one more experienced than me. I remember doing Wrist (5.6) as my first lead with half a dozen stoppers, a dozen biners, and half a dozen tied slings over my shoulder. Trying to pull the roof on the last pitch I was certain I was going to die and quite disgusted with myself when I got down because I actually wanted to do it again! I did it once more, only on a 5.8+ called Broken Sling, and that's when I decided to stop and find someone who knew what they were doing before I killed myself.

Seriously, the questions you're asking are good, but you should learn this stuff from someone who knows...in person.

Rob, I wholeheartedly agree with that logic. That is, in fact, exactly what I did. I spent a week in Grand Junction learning to lead from this really cool guide out there. The problem for me is the rock type/surface and what gear I'd need back here in NY vs. what we used on desert sandstone and granite (and the fact that this is my first crack at buying and building my own rack). I also plan on doing some mock leads on top rope in my local area to work on furthering familiarity with eyeing good placements.

Despite all that, though, the prospect of hitting my first leads in the Gunks are about as intimidating as they are exciting. I'm pretty pumped for it. Though I, too, want to make sure I'm not getting in over my head.

Sounds like you've taken the right steps. As far as gear goes, obviously you can do just fine with passive gear only. That's what the greats did, and some still do. Learning how to place nuts and hexes in opposition in horizontals will save your ass someday when you have used up all your cams.

That being said, the Gunks tend to lend themselves to smaller gear in the 5.7 and up range. A gold Camalot is a big piece of gear. I have heard many a visiting climber exclaim how freaked out they were by the smallness of available gear placements, and the fact that you have to climb usually well above them, as opposed to crack climbing where you can just throw something in whenever you get uncomfortable.

Personally I wouldn't monkey around with tricams smaller than the pink. You will find them hard to place, and harder for your second to remove. I would go with Pink, red, and brown...maybe the blue. I find anything bigger than blue will "walk" out of placements too easily.

Don't mess with sport draws. If you've already bought them then that's fine, but if you are going to buy more slingage...buy 2 foot slings and use them in the tripled up mode. Knowing where and how to extend your pieces is pretty critical in the Gunks, particularly in the lower grades. You can get away with 8-10 on shorter one pitch routes like Finger Locks or Bunny. If you want to do longer stuff then you should probably have 12-15, plus a 4 footer over your shoulder.

Of course this is all personal, and the next person might tell you that what I have said is hogwash. But the people I know tend to carry similar racks. Except Smike, who for some crazy reason gets away with short clipping every single piece he places!

RR