UKC

Dolomite days,

What rack do i want for a long old sport day on a classic big dolomite wall?! are they as run out as i have been told?

If youve been there some info would be great!

Thanks

In reply to Somerville:


Which then? And what sort of grades?

There are multipitch sport routes in the Dolomites but I don't have any personal experience of them. From what I've heard the bolting is ok.

Classic trad routes tend to have quite a lot of fixed pegs of rather variable quality. If you're climbing well within your grade and aiming at guidebook times then I'm told the thing to do is try to believe in them and not place much of your own gear. Less brave people, me for example, would generally want a set of wires, a few cams - and plenty of slings because threads are abundant. The locals have slings made of kevlar cord that are supposed to be easier to poke through than tape and more cut-resistant, might be worth picking up a couple of them.

In reply to Somerville:

When you say sport route, what are you referring to? There are long sport routes but not that many. If you mean classics which have been pegged to death, then that's a totally different kettle of fish, and I'd suggest you need to not think of them as sport routes. Neally all the "Classic" routes are the latter, and you need to be prepared with a small rack of mainly medium to large nuts and 4-5 cams. On grade V-VI (VS/HVS/soft E1) you may see 45-50m pitches, when you may need 8-10 quickdraws, maybe up to 14. I would say the rack doesn't change much as you get harder, bar that you tend to require the 14 quickdraws. You also need thin slings or Dyneema/kevlar cords for threads, of which there are many on certain routes. Kevlars are useful as the material is stiff and makes them easier to thread, aswell as being highly cut resistant. Edelrid now do sewn slings in it, or in certain places you can buy it as an open sling with a loop either end like a rabbit runner. I think it's Austrialpin who make them like that. If you genuinely mean sport routes, I'm not sure as I've never done any - they tend to be pretty tough with pitches of 7, and I'm a punter!

In reply to AlanLittle:

Nice one mate, interesting stuff! Thanks for that Alan.

HahIn reply to Casa Alfredino:

Hah, yep that seems to be the trend of conversations I've had with people. Thanks for the heads up on sling from Alan and yourself that's a definite buy. Thanks again

In reply to Somerville:

Hi,
my basic rack for 'classics' is about 12 quickdraws ( lightwight petzl ange ), 6 slings (shoulder/double shoulder length), 6 kevlar cordelettes for threads, one set nuts, aliens ( green to red) and camalots from .5 to 3 . if it's a seldom done route, a few pegs are worth carrying. depending on the type of climb, you have to adjust your rack. a route like the Cassin on cima ovest has generally lots of old ( bad) pitons, so you want to clip most of them, whereas a route like don quichote or vinatzer-messner on the marmolada have fewer pegs but need more nuts and cams.
for bolted sports multipitch routes, I would still take a few nuts and small to medium cams, as sometimes, on the easier sections bolts are far apart and hard to see.

In reply to alpinist63:

I have been going to the dolomites for a few years and never carried cordelettes for protection but just as some tat in the bag for abbing . I can see how they could be useful and have seen them on some routes ( I had assumed placed by guides).

Assume your just using threading these and tieing off with a fisherman's ? And are they primarily used for the cut resistance over a standard sling ?

Thanks

In reply to kingjam:

in some areas ( Pala, messner route on 2nd sella tower,Marmolada.., much less on 3 cime), you encounter a lot of 'hourglass' (Sanduhr) holes Sorry but for the moment I can't find the proper english word for these. a 5mm kevlar is easier to put through these than slings, which tend to be softer. on bigger ones, slings are perfect and quicker to use as you don't have to tie a knot. Sometimes, a nut-tool can be handy to 'catch' the other end of the sling. here's a link to a picture, so maybe you could tell me how you call these in english? Thanks
http://www.simongietl.it/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2.Abseilstelle-ein-nat%...

In reply to alpinist63:
Threads

In reply to alpinist63:

From the picture I would normally just call these slings, but I am no expert. I thought that you were using cord ?

In reply to jcw:

thanks

In reply to kingjam:

that picture was the only one I found, but yes, except when you have big threads, cord is generally easier to fiddle through.

In reply to Somerville:

Lots of good information already here but I'll add my 2 cents.

Buy the new Rockfax guidebook and all we be answered

No in all seriousness there are lots of good multi-pitch sport routes that are well bolted. I'm not sure what sort of grade you're after but I'd have a look at:

Porte Neigra - Great little crag in the Rosengarten with some nice low grade multi pitch sport.
Piz Ciavazes - Loads of superb multi-pitch sport here
Sella Towers - Have a look at Delenda Carthago
Torre Brunico / Mur de Pisciadù - Amazing sport multi-pitch
Sass Ciampac - Have a look at 'Via Cinquantenario GAM'
Oscura della Luna - Lots of easier sport multi pitch routes
Tofana di Rozes south face - Superb multi pitch sport (albeit more runout than those mentioned above).
Sass de Stria - Ultima Tule et al.

I'll stop there, but there are loads more! All of the above are well bolted and you'll only need a minimal rack outside of quickdraws.

If you're doing trad your rack very much depends on the route. Though I typically tend to go light with a set of nuts and 4/5 medium cams and a load of slings. I've yet to place a peg in the Dolomites...

Get used to running the easier pitches out or you'll never make the longer climbs. The crux pitches tend to be well protected by numerous pegs of varying quality.

Enjoy you're trip!

In reply to James Rushforth:

Thanks James, 2 cents and the rest.

Ill get the guide soon yep. Sounds to me that the rack just needs to be logical.

Thanks for the info.

In reply to James Rushforth:

The bit i concentrated on was the classic big wall... Maybe i'm applying the term too strictly, but to me big wall means Marmolada south face, pordoi nw face, brandler hasse, philip flamm type routes which are most definitely not sports routes... Maybe the op means just multipitch sport?

In reply to beardy mike:
Yes, me too. But I think in this age it means something quite different.

In reply to beardy mike:

anything thats takes over 5 hours is big for me. hah