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Post by chrisdessert on Mar 11, 2013 14:29:42 GMT -8
I was looking at the old Freedom book, emphasizes racking on a sling. I know there are some terrain where racking on a sling is advantageous, but I almost always rack on my harness. Better center of gravity. It keeps gear from swinging about and obstructing my movements. It'd be nice to know what the consensus is here. Should the sling or harness method be emphasized. If harness is preferred should we include efficient racking information, such as this highlighted in the link below? www.climbing.com/skill/efficient-racking/
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Post by gregggagliardi on Mar 12, 2013 15:07:10 GMT -8
There are many schools of thought on this. Some prefer to rack on the harness because it keeps the gear from sloshing around on a gear sling, throwing the climber off balance, getting in the way, including the gear on the sling getting hung up on rock features when the terrain is less than vertical. However, there is a limit to how much stuff you can put on a harness and still grab pro easily and quickly when you need it. Also, the climbers girth increases, which makes climbing in chimneys and off-width cracks a pain. (When gear is on a sling it can be moved around to better accommodate chimneys and off widths). However, on really tough technical pitches there is definitely an advantage for the leader of the pitch to get rid of the sling, trim the rack down to just those pieces necessary and to place these strategically on the harness in a pre-arranged order for removal and placement.
I like the idea of discussing racking by weighing the strengths and benefits of both approaches for different climbing situations; long pitches versus short pitches; vertical versus less vertical terrain; difficult crux pitches versus ordinary pitches; presence of chimneys and off-widths on the route, arranging the gear in order of planned placement on a pitch versus a set location for each piece. use of multiple loop gear slings versus chest harnesses versus waist harness, mixed distribution of gear using both harness and gear sling, etc.
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Post by chrisdessert on Mar 13, 2013 11:36:18 GMT -8
Exactly Gregg. This area needs more nuance, but also strive to keep things simple for the sake of clarity. A 4-gear loop harness with a backloop should be well enough for a climbing distance of 60m. My personal difficulty with alot of gear on my harness stemmed from lack of organization, but there's an app for that as evidenced in the link I provided.
Possible break it down to how a crag setup vs. alpine setup would look. Specifically things like two biner draws clipped to harness (crag) vs. one-biner slings over shoulder (alpine) with mention of binering each piece of pro. Some special mention of off-width which often requires racking on one side of the body if the opposing side will be in the crack.
Maybe focus on the most common scenarios for elaboration. Racking efficiency is one of those things that takes a while to diagnose and find the best setup. The key is to stress that it is greatly affected by the specific route and type of climbing you plan to do.
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Post by nicklyle on Mar 14, 2013 22:11:30 GMT -8
Some partners like to use a sling because it can simplify gear hand-offs. The second can rack as they clean and then just hand over the sling at the belay. When swinging leads of course the second can rack to their personal preference and then climb on through.
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Post by chrisdessert on Mar 15, 2013 8:54:28 GMT -8
Using a sling to clean and hand off works for harness leading too. Especially leading in blocks, as the follower has to reflake or flip the rope onto their belay while the leader clips gear onto their harness anyways. Definitely some pros to using a sling.
I was more wondering generally what style is most used by everyone generally. If our consensus is on one or the other we can either leave the emphasis on sling as is or think about promoting harness racking as a preferred style.
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Post by nicklyle on Mar 16, 2013 9:17:02 GMT -8
I think the text needs to mention both using a sling and the harness for racking. Either one might be clearly the best way to rack, depending on context. I use both methods, but lean towards the sling.
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Post by adamnelson on Mar 17, 2013 18:40:20 GMT -8
I tent to use a gear sling at the crag and harness for alpine. At a crag it is much easier to gear up for one specific type of climbing. For example in a flare, chimney or offwidth I like to use the sling plus harness gear loops on one side of my body so things are easy to find and not catching. I also prefer the sling at the crag because it keeps the gear closer to both my hands and my eyes making it easier to find. I will rack slings on my harness because I dont need to be able to see them. In the alpine gear on the harness is preferred. I sling all my single and double slings over my shoulders because I use a lot more slings in the alpine and have less gear overall. This may add a bit of extra time to transitions at the anchor if you are not dialed with your partner but if you are it is just as fast. Even gearing on a sling can require a bit if re-racking at the station. Especially if section was difficult for the follower and they become more worried about staying on the mountain than re-racking gear.
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Post by loniuchytil on Mar 29, 2013 7:21:54 GMT -8
I racked my gear both ways and have my own personal preferences and can share why if a students is in question but I feel that this is a very personal choice and should be left up to the individual climber as to what works best for them. Both methods should be mentioned and taught as options for sure! I think we should be careful about imposing our personal choices and stick to giving sound and safe methods and let the climber pick his own preferred method
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