Updated: What’s On My Climbing Rack And Why?

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Updated: What’s On My Climbing Rack And Why?

My climbing rack is one of my basic tools of the trade. Every piece of gear on it has been used many times and is very familiar to me. What I actually select for my rack on a day out depends on the rock type and grades of the routes I am expecting to climb. When on granite or gritstone I carry more cams, and sometimes doubles of common sizes like 1 and 2. When on slate or harder Lake District routes on rhyolite I take more small wires. Here’s a summary of anything I might carry, and why.

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My Favourite Climbing Helmet: the Petzl Meteor (And How To Choose A New Helmet)

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My Favourite Climbing Helmet: the Petzl Meteor (And How To Choose A New Helmet)

I have never got on very well with climbing helmets, so this is a review from someone who would really rather not wear one. My first helmet was a Joe Brown fiberglass bowl, which was really strong and would probably still pass all the safety tests today. However, it was heavy and not very comfortable. I had a few other helmets over the years, but didn’t like any of them very much.

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How To Use Prusiks

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How To Use Prusiks

Some years ago, I was sea-cliff climbing at Gogarth in north Wales. My second was on a tricky overhanging pitch, and he was really struggling. We couldn’t communicate because of the background noise from the sea, and I couldn’t lower him back down as the tide was coming in. My only option was to escape the system using a prusik loop, climb down the rope using a prusik loop, build another belay and haul my second up to it using – you’ve guessed it – a prusik loop.

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My Top Five Approach Shoes and Why I Like Them

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My Top Five Approach Shoes and Why I Like Them

Anyone who spends a lot of time walking in the mountains will agree that a good pair of boots or shoes is absolutely essential for safety and enjoyment. I talked about boots in general, and specifically about the boots I currently use, in this post. There are times and places where I prefer shoes over boots, particularly when I’m heading up to a crag to climb, or when doing a day’s scrambling. Here’s the inside info on what’s currently on my shoe rack.  

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