Nylon vs. Dyneema

I was planning on doing an analysis on the pros and cons of using nylon vs. dyneema slings, but I happened on this useful article in an old issue of Climbing.  Confirms what most of us know already.  Dyneema has more advantages, but it’s always nice to have a nylon sling or two for certain applications.

Going light (dyneema)

Sharp rock with cutting potential (dyneema)

cold and wet terrain (dyneema)

Bail sling (nylon)

Girth hitch/overhand knot strength (nylon)

Simple, Light, Burns Long.

Recently tried this simple fire starter on a climb of Mt. Stuart. You take a handful of cotton balls and smear them really well in petroleum jelly. Toss them in a ziplock. Weighs nothing. Each cotton ball burns for close to 5 minutes. This gives you plenty of time to get your campfire started, which is useful for working in wet environments.  It’s a no-brainer essential that even minimalists can accomodate. 

Right Movement

I imagine over time a climber develops an intimate relationship with her body. Much in the same way a yogi or gymnast would.  There are a multitude of different positions she needs to assume to ascend.  The creative use of hands, from stacking fingers to generate pulling power to jamming your first into a crack and camming your wrist for stability.  We learn that fingertips and toetips are enough to finish.  In that way the holds that seem so small to the untrained eye seem much more enormous to a climber.  

I am not a high level climber by any means.  But I spend alot of time in the gym and outdoors watching how other climbers move.  Movement in climbing takes me back to some of my own spiritual practices.  In Buddhism, there is a teaching calling the Eightfold Path.  It includes some guidance on how we should conduct ourselves in life.  From Right Speech to Right Intention, it goes on.  When it comes to climbing you can add Right Movement. 

Right Movement is providing precisely the movement that is needed in that moment to achieve success.  No more, no less.  Some of climbers we see on television are masters of providing just enough.  Elite climbers have an acute body knowledge of momentum and how much to apply.  Momentum is key when we think of Right Movement because it’s the dynamic properties of climbing that separate beginners from the next level. 

In the gym I often see women and men of slight build find greater success in finding the right movement.  In general, men possess strength and the ability to generate more power than women.  This results in the old adage:  if you got it, use it.  This can result in expending more energy than is necessary to complete your movements.  Sure you may complete the route, but you didn’t do it with Right Movement.  I guess it’s just another way to talk about efficiency.

Within Right Movement lives The Zone.  You know the one.  Where everything flows.  Where things come easy.  Every movement on your climb is there for you.  Your body positioning is impeccable.  Almost as if, in those rare moments, you are completely wired to succeed. 

It’s not to say Right Movement will lead you down that path with consistency.  But it’s something to think about.  Not too much, not too little.  The Middle Way of climbing.  There’s a certain beauty that comes with quality, efficient movement.  An awareness of your terrain.  Understanding that you know what this route needs and you give it.  I see climbers overpower routes all the time and watching them climb it looks exactly like that.  A fight.  A struggle.  Right Movement is a dance not a fight.  It flows like water.  It being you.

Go Hookless

Cutting Weight For The Alpine

Chris leading pitch on Serpentine Arete

I picked this weight saving tip from Jim Nelson recently on our climb up the Serpentine Arete of Dragontail Peak. Our group wanted to climb the route in a day, which involves about 13-18 hours of effort, from trailhead to summit and back. So we wanted to go as light as possible on the route.

Usually I bring 12 draws on a typical climb, with two carabiners attached. I’ll just clip these ready-made draws to my harness and climb. Pretty typical of what you’ll see at the crag. You place a piece of protection, clip one end of the sling to the pro, and clip the other to your climbing rope right?

crag style

clip biner to pro

To shave weight, we took our 12 naked slings and slung them over our shoulder.  Them clip 12 biners directly to the harness or clip one biner on each sling.  As we place pro, we attach our sling directly to the pro webbing with a girth hitch.  Then clipped the other end to the climbing rope.  Attaching the slings directly to the pro webbing with a hitch allowed us to drop 12 biners of weight, and over a full pound of weight from the crag-style approach.

alpine style

The weight savings means you can bring a few extra slings with you.  If you need extension, girth hitch multiple slings together to get the desired length.  If you want to shorten your length, loop your sling through the pro sling and clip both ends with your biner.

shorten sling with basket hitch

multiple hitches to lengthen

There are a number of reasons why this style worked well with Serpentine Arete.  The route was mostly 4th and lower 5th class climbing.  So our strategy was to simulclimb most of the route.  There were a few short mid-5th class sections that had to be pitched out though.  The advantage to the ready-made draw is that it allows you to clip your rope to your pro quickly.  There was no hard climbing on Serpentine, so slinging the pro webbing directly was an easy option.  I DON’T advocate girth hitching slings directly to nut or hex wires.

This style is adaptable as well.  So if you do encounter a hard pitch or two, you can reorganize your slings back to crag style for those sections.

Educate yourself on the strengths and weaknesses of girth hitching vs. biners here before using this style:

https://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/qc-lab-connecting-two-slings-together.html

http://dmmclimbing.com/knowledge/improvisation-larks-foot-or-basket-hitch-vid/