UKC

Hi all,

I was thinking of getting into trad and my nearest crag is the Avon Gorge, and I was wondering what sort of rack would be best? I'm hoping it isn't tons of cams as I don't know if my pockets can handle that...

People climbed at Avon before cams were around.  Whilst some would be desirable, it'd be wrong to think they're essential if you're just starting out.

You can get up a lot of things with a full set of rocks 1-9, doubled up on 1-6, quickdraws, a few four foot and eight foot slings, a few hexes (8 and 10 say, on rope) and, most important of all, a broddling stick.  It's still a fair chunk of cash, which is why many of us started climbing with a mate and each bought a matching half of all of that.

Plus the knowledge on how to use it all safely, of course.  That's on you, not me or anyone else.

T.

Thanks mate, thats awesome. One question, what's a broddling stick? I searched it up and all I could find was a bunch of groin protectors, hoping I don't need one of them to rack my nuts in!

It's the same as a furtling stick.

I believe that polite society calls them nut keys . . .

T.

A nut key. something to stick in the rock and poke around to get the nuts and hexes out. Enjoy!

A clarification for the non-ancient:

The 'four foot' and 'eight foot' there refers to the circumference of the sling, not it's length.  (Because that's roughly how much tape you would have needed to tie your own, give or take the amount of tape involved in the knot itself.) 

So the metric equivalents would not be 120cm and 240cm as you might suppose, but actually 60cm and 120cm.

Perhaps worth noting that, while brilliant, Avon is also a little unusual compared to a lot of places.  Worth familiarising yourself with the style of climbing, where a steady approach helps with the sometimes run out character of some climbs.  That said, great for training footwork and balance.  

Well that's me categorised (appropriately, it's a fair cop guv).  I'm guessing that talking about hexes on rope gives the game away too.  Does anyone do that that still, or is knowing how to tie a triple fisherman's knot one of those lost skills?

T.

If you dont already use them then a massive recco from me for Dicks Climbing (local to you in Brizzle) who i have bought everything from. They also do the DMM nut bundle at a good price which has all the wires, offsets and torque nuts (pka Hexes) you would need to start with:

https://www.dicksclimbing.com/products/dmm-wallnut-set-111-alloy-offset-set...

This looks like a good set of protection for Avon Gorge. Been climbing there for nearly 30 years and not needed to use cams ever (at least at the grade we climb up to HVS/E1). Wall nuts are surprisingly more useful for Avon Gorge than other types of nuts as tend to find the placements can often be flared outwards. Lots of slings. 

For Avon I usually rely on a few ancient in-situ pegs, saplings and the odd spike or thread. Occasionally place a nut. Cams would be a long way down my shopping list, but Tricams can be useful. Round there, not falling off is generally the best form of protection 😏

totally agree with Hooo. Avon is not a place to be able to safely push the grade. Protection can be sparse and poor. Lower grade routes are also often polished to a fine sheen. Goblin Combe is a better bet for first trad leads.

I‘ve never climbed at Avon, maybe the OP would be curious too - are the recommended lots of slings more for spikes/threads, or for extending gear?

You only need a triple fisherman's if you're flash enough to be able to afford 5.5 mm dyneema cord. Us proles with our cheapy bog standard 8 mm nylon cord just need a double fisherman's! ;⁠-⁠)

Starting out trad leading with a new rack of gear in Avon Gorge?

No

I've always thought, the more fishermen, the better the catch.

T.

Plus, I just like the knot.  It satisfies me in some deep way beyond the power of words to describe.  

(I never said I was normal, that's just a mistake people make.)

A variety of small nuts / micros are pretty useful. A mix of standard nuts and offsets.

Tricams are also very handy. They often give you options for protection when nothing else will. When you're not climbing at Avon, a lot of the local crags (Wye Valley, FCQ) have a lot of tricam placements.

The unquarried rock on suspension bridge buttress has lots of threads. Everywhere else you want to put a sling on every bit of vegetation you pass, just because it's better than nothing. With double ropes there's no more need to extend than anywhere else.

If Avon is your local crag then Goblin Combe and Shorncliffe are close enough for you not to bother with it. 

you definitely dont need cams. DMM wall nuts and offsets are highly recommended. That being said I would also very highly recommend totem cams. Sadly they are eye wateringly expensive. So maybe add them to your christmas list. Definitely dont worry about big or micro cams but if you could get maybe 2. Either a yellow/purple or purple/green combo. I reckon you'd very rarely arrive at a belay with either.