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timpanogos
Jan 19, 2003, 8:32 PM
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Registered: May 17, 2002
Posts: 935
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I had a good day on a practice route yesterday. It was my 5th time at the crag practicing aiding techniques and my 4th time soloing. Several things started coming together for me and I would like to share a few thoughts about them here. First of all, special thanks to Pete for his patience with my bombardment of PM’s trying to understand things, and for the tons of beta on this site. Yes you really do just need to get out there and do it to come to a full understanding, but it sure is nice to do it geared with the right equipment and foreknowledge (oh, now I see what the heck they were talking about). I have been so slow in my other practices, that my main intention for yesterday was to solo the first 5.12 ladder that I bailed on, which I now knew would require rivet hangers and hooks. Read about my First Hook Move!. I was only going to focus on the ruskies, and the hanger/hook moves and so simply tied the end of my lead line to my new rope bucket (Fish wall bag, thanks Russ) and tied my haul line (now in it’s own rope bucket) to the lead lines bucket. My intention was to simply provide myself with a rap line once at the top. ROPE BUCKETS hugely reduces the clusterf##k factor! I should have had these out day one. As I have yet to do more than one pitch, the following is an assumption: Getting setup for the first pitch takes a long time – once your systems are setup things move smoothly. It is a mystery how two ropes, nicely flaked on the ground can clusterf##k everything and anything they come in contact with. I’ve struggled with this every time, until yesterday. So I get setup, and the climb goes much faster than anticipated. I tag up my haul line (love that little mini traxion), but I had only intended on rapping the haul line and cleaning on rap – and did not have my transient lead rope and haul line locker on me, and I did not setup my tag rack, so It’s hanging at the bottom on it’s own. Well, I might as well try a normal clean cycle, and haul while I’m at it – so I tie an alpine butterfly in the lead line and clip it into the power-point locker so I can jug it back up on clean. I had an extra locker on me, so I used it as a transient on the haul line. YES you NEVER clip anything but a transient locker to that power point – this I will find out, first hand later. So I rap the haul line, load rocks in my haul bag, grab my new Kong Block roll, and 2:1 goodies, add my tag rack to the haul bag and alpine butterfly the haul line to pig – it was heavy. I jug/clean the lead line, setup the 2:1 and haul the pig up to me. Ok, so here I am, I’m still tied into the lead line that I jugged, the pig is at my feet, my power-point has this pretty array of transient biners – EXCEPT that damn lead rope, that is now pinched tighter than heck by the weight on me and the pig. Damn, I was planning on setting up my pig right (far-end hauler and load release tether) – but was not planning on practicing this today, and yet there’s the pig, and there’s me going – Sh#t, I wish I had that docking tether on my pig, cause I’m not getting my lead line back until I get this pig off the power-point. RUSKIES are fantastic at a hanging hauling belay, when the distance from your anchor Power-point to where you want to be for hauling, to access the pig, to clean the whole mess right before rap etc.! Oh yea, and when you have wanked yourself by not using a transient, and need to un-weight the PP to get your damn lead rope off of it. BTW, my normal daisy chain provided a great backup to the adjustable daisies, as it’s length was just a bit longer than the adjustable – you can use the aider rings to unload the adjustable to lower as needed. – I suggest that you always have a normal daisy chain attached to you as a backup at anchors. Well off comes one of my ruskies and I hook the lead to an upper chain link and attach the daisy to a sling, and then to the pig and hoist the weight off the PP. I ruskie myself to the other chains upper link and unload my weight so I can get the lead rope unclipped from the PP. Once again: YES you NEVER clip anything but a transient locker to that power point – I’m sold on this fact! Chad buggered the link [ This Message was edited by: timpanogos on 2003-01-19 12:33 ]
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tenn_dawg
Jan 19, 2003, 9:04 PM
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Registered: Mar 14, 2002
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You've got me inspired buddy. I'm pre-planning my first trip to Yosemite this summer, and with no aid experience. I'm slowly getting the picture by reading the hell out of the posts in this forum, drawing up diagrams, and playing with systems. I'm even building a 2:1 hauling ratchet at this moment. What a great idea to preassemble that thing. I would have been using rescue hauling techniques for 2:1. Sheesh. It's a damn shame. I had a freeclimbing trip planned for a week or so from now, But for some reason I'm putting it off to go haul rocks, and practice leading A0. Hell, I've even put up an A0 climb up the side of a Oak tree near my apartment. I used LARGE eyebolts from the hardware store, and have got a big limb slung as an anchor. Damn, listen to me! I'm turning into an old crusty aid climber! Any way though, I'm enjoying following your progress, and I'm somewhere behind you. Climbing like an old coot, Travis
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passthepitonspete
Jan 19, 2003, 9:17 PM
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Registered: Oct 10, 2001
Posts: 2183
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Quote:Ok, so here I am, I’m still tied into the lead line that I jugged, the pig is at my feet, my power-point has this pretty array of transient biners – EXCEPT that damn lead rope, that is now pinched tighter than heck by the weight on me and the pig. Damn, I was planning on setting up my pig right (far-end hauler and load release tether) – but was not planning on practicing this today, and yet there’s the pig, and there’s me going – Sh#t, I wish I had that docking tether on my pig, cause I’m not getting my lead line back until I get this pig off the power-point. I'm laughing my ass off, mate! Been there, done that. There IS a Better Way, isn't there? Thanks for another excellent and carefully thought-out post. With analytical problem-solving skills like yours, plus your evident determination, success on soloing a big wall is merely a matter of time. Keep on keepin' on! [Anyone else wanna share some stuff they learned from Dr. Piton? Stuff you like, stuff you hate, but most importantly - precisely WHY.] Great post, guys. Does my heart good. Glad to see that. Even Travis is coming to his senses. I need to see stuff like this to keep me motivated to keep writing. THANKS, mates. I am Dr. Piton, and I am an old, lecherous, fruity coot. Maxwell Smart voice: "Aaaaaaaand loving it." [Scroll down on the link above to find my Quotes of the Day.]
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danl
Mar 4, 2003, 4:15 AM
Post #4 of 6
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Registered: Nov 12, 2001
Posts: 288
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I managed to relearn the basics. I went from a tradition yos style of ascending fixed lines to the texas style and then i saw the light. Now its nothing but frogs. that or a jug and a gri gri if I'm going fast and light. While i agree that some of the techniques pete passes on may be better suited to noon starts and weeks on a wall many of the fundementals are the same. remember that he is providing you with tools you must decide whether implementing them in a certain situation is appropriate or not. having said that it is very generous of him to share his knowledge with us and allow us the insight. Its just a shame it doesn't reach every one that needs to hear this. In that respect there has to be a "better way" than RC.com
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wonderbread
Mar 4, 2003, 4:28 AM
Post #5 of 6
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Registered: Mar 13, 2002
Posts: 197
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I learned that it's bad to end a sentence with a preposition. Thanks Pete.
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bigdan
Mar 4, 2003, 5:21 AM
Post #6 of 6
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Registered: Jul 12, 2002
Posts: 142
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in my humble opinion, the majority of pete's advice is only useful once you know how to aid climb already, and simply want to refine a few of your techniques for the better. regardless of what you read here, it's far more important to get out there and get the basics diale. THEN come back here and alter a few things with Pete's good stuff. i just think that there isn't enough emphasis around here on learning the way most of us do - by getting out there and figuring things out. i don't want to sound ungrateful... i myself have used a few tips i got from pete, to my benefit. just don't forget that all the reading in the world will prepare you less for aiding than going out and screwing around on a pitch. hmmm... you get the idea, anyway.
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