Perihelion wrote:
I am primarily an alpine trad climber, looking to expand my bag of tricks to deal with situations when I can't easily protect a move with my "standard" trad rack. I often explore new areas, so I am very often not on an established route. I can never quite tell what I might find on the other side of the next rock.
I have no reservations about aiding past tough spots, or using pins & etc to protect runout sections where I can't set clean pro. (happens often) I'd prefer to learn this from a mentor, the problem is, I don't know anyone else doing this kind of mixed alpine/trad/aid climbing. I'm sure I'll hook up with someone eventually, but for now at least, I'm on my own. So it is that Im turning to total strangers on the Innertube for advice. I'm gonna die, no doubt about that. Whatever.
There are no big whippers on my menu, if I can help it. I save the fancy moves for established crags and the gym; in alpine territory, I am cautiously adventurous. When I say "lead fall," it is mostly like a slip on 4th class, low-mid 5th class, less than vertical terrain. That doesn't sound impressive, it wouldn't make dramatic video, but it has the potential to be really ugly or fatal. I want to avoid falling down the entire mountain, so at least my body will be easy to recover.
I have found a fair bit of info about using pitons, and I scored (cheap!) a decent selection of angles and lost arrows from an old timer who is getting out of climbing. I need to expand this collection to cover small seams and flared cracks, which will often be dirty, wet, or slightly mossy. I'll start by adding a few knifeblades and bugaboos.
I'm climbing where not many people ever go, so I'm not too worried about chipping the rock, but I'd like to minimize the damage I do. Pins are a last resort, not the first thing I turn to. When none of my clean gear works, I'll whip out the hammer and go to work.
That brings me to tomahawks, peckers, and hooks. I understand that hooks are mainly for aiding past a tough spot, not for use as lead pro, per se. I'll figure out how to use hooks soon enough after I start using them. I don't see any big mystery there.
Tomahawks and peckers (Can my Pecker hold a lead fall? That's a question I always wanted to ask, now finally I have a good excuse.) look good, with potential for both clean and hammered sets, but I'm not finding a lot of info about the proper use and potential pitfalls of those pieces. Most of what I've found shows these pieces set in pin scars, but that's not a realistic set in my world. It's enough to pique my interest, and make me think I'm on the right track. Are they suitable for lead protection, assuming a mild fall? What are the pitfalls of this kind of pro -- in other words, how can you set it so it looks good to the inexperienced eye, but is actually not secure? Will this all be fairly obvious after I start using these pieces? Point me to books & videos, and share your anecdotes and gibberish. I will proceed cautiously until I get the hang of it, but I'd like some input from "the community."
Thanks.