UKC

Hi all. A friend and I have been climbing indoors regularly and want to try sport climbing outdoors; the quarries in the rockfax peak limestone to be exact. I'm guessing a 60 metre rope would be best, but we have no idea how many quickdraws we'd need, advice please!

Thanks, Matt.

In reply to mattfordcoys: 60 will do for most of the stuff in the quarries but not all. Not sure about quickdraws but 15 should be safe.

Don't forget slings, screwgates and helmets.

In reply to JimboWizbo: Someone can probably give a more educated guess regarding number of QDs

You should be fine with 10 QD's from my memory of horseshoe but an extra few are handy just in case you drop one.

As said above, 2 slings with screwgates as well to make you safe for the changeover at the top. Most lines are fine with a 50m rope but for the extra few quid getting a 60 will be better.

I seem to remember rockfax stating the number of clips per route. Could be a different guidebook i'm thinking of though.

In reply to antdav:

Take a dozen, as others have suggested, then when you get there count the number of bolts on each pitch and take a couple of extras. Also, at least one sling plus screw-gate krab to attach directly from the harness to the top bolts.

If you are new to this, make sure you thoroughly understand the safe way of threading the bolts or chains at the top of the pitch: the key points are that you should never be detached from the rope nor should your second stop belaying you until you are back on the ground. Think safety first!

In reply to John Stainforth:

echo this re tying in at top...practice a few times first on the ground! You might want to think about taking a mallion or an old screwgate with you just in case you need to bail out of a route.

In reply to mattfordcoys:

Also - why sports climbing? Don't believe that trad is out of your reach. You only need a bit of gear to be able to set up a top rope to start off with and trad will open up so many more routes on such great rock....