Rack recommendations for first trip to Chamonix

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 mmmhumous 22 Jul 2019

In an attempt to avoid just taking 'the lot' I'm interested in what people would ditch to save weight.  Here's our planned tick-list (Going in August): https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/set.php?id=3499  and here's the gear we have to play with:

Wires: standard and offsets

Cams: Mainly 4CUs, Dragons and Camalots plus a few micro cams and small Totems.

Full set of  tricams

Medium to large hexes

Lots of slings

Ice screws 

Dead boy.

 walts4 22 Jul 2019
In reply to mmmhumous:

Ditch the hexes & the dead boy. Just take more tat for retreating.

In reply to mmmhumous:

Out of your list I've only done cosmiques and lachenal so take my advice with a pinch of salt. But for those you dont need anything more than slings and a small set of nuts.

 EwanR 22 Jul 2019
In reply to mmmhumous:

For alpine routes up to D I'd take:

Cams: Dragons/Camalots blue to yellow and maybe a few micros (they're surprisingly useful on recently exposed ground due to glacial retreat).

A few slings and between 3 and 6 quickdraws depending on how many bolts/pitons there are. Obviously take more if it's an equipped route.

Ditch the nuts, tricams and hexes and dead boy. 

You'll want an ice screw each as part of the crevasse rescue kit and maybe another one or two if you really feel like front pointing up rock hard ice.

Take some old rope cut into 3 to 5m lengths for replacing any in situ stuff that looks past its best.

 Mark Haward 23 Jul 2019
In reply to mmmhumous:

As a first timer you may be tempted to place more gear than an experienced alpinist might, which is fine on your first short routes as you develop your skills . Usually, with increasing experience, competence and technical climbing ability you will find you can carry / use less gear and make more accurate judgements as to what gear may be needed for any given route / conditions.

    Some of those routes can be partially protected by deft rope handling ( weaving around solid (!) spikes and blocks ), well placed slings, clipping into existing pitons / bolts ( though these can be hard to spot )using alpine draws , and for the odd trickier section having 2-3 mid range cams ( I believe Camalots have the greater range per device  ) and half a dozen mid to large wires can be useful. The only exception may be the Index Route where a few more wires and possibly an extra cam or two may be useful.

    Your list of routes is great but I'd suggest having other options too, check route conditions in the OHM office and be flexible. For example, Index is a much longer walk than usual as the Flegere chairlift is out of action - you may find Mic et Mousse and / or La Simone good alternatives - these are close to the Brevent chairlift. The snow routes may be very soft / out of condition by August. The main pitch on the Lachenal Traverse, as the snow / ice melts, can become very loose and dangerous but you can traverse round it and then move up on snow ( if it is firm ) or drop down onto the glacier from the saddle before that pitch.

   Obviously an ice screw each for crevasse rescue and some extra tat. Enjoy!!

 Misha 23 Jul 2019
In reply to mmmhumous:

Set of cams up to yellow. Ones with extendable slings are preferable.

Set of wires, half offset half standard.

Don’t need micro cams or nuts. 

Lots of slings.

If you can have all your extenders as slings (60cm and a couple 120cm) that’s perfect. Long QDs are ok. Don’t bother with short QDs. 10 extenders overall.

16-19cm screw each for glacier travel.

Couple of prussiks each for abseiling and crevasse rescue.

A few metres of 6mm tat is a good idea. Better than chopping bits off your rope.

That’s more than enough for the rock / easy mixed routes you’ve mentioned.

Wouldn’t bother with any north face type stuff. It’s been too hot so they wont be in condition. So don’t need lots of screws. 

Post edited at 18:08

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