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Extending Cam Slings

• July 2012
• Climb Gear Dogs

Hi Steph:
I enjoy reading your highinfatuation web site. Loads of good and interesting stuff (good to eat too).

I have a question regarding your thoughts on clipping cam slings directly vs using a runner to extend them out. I live in the Mid west and really do not get many chances to talk to climbers that get on a lot of cracks.
Here in the mid west the climbs are short and we typically zip them up pretty good to avoid a ground fall if one piece blows.

I have been told that I am a little old school. I’ve been climbing for 15 yrs, Back when I first learned, I found most of my information from reading books from John Long, Lynn Hill, Mark Twight, and Reinhold Messner (people that grew up without cams).

I usually extend the cam sling using an alpine quick draw made out of a dyneema sling and 2 biners. If the crack is really plumb (there are just a few in Minnesota) then I tend to just clip the cam sling directly but I am very careful to not pull up on the cam as I move past it. Sometimes just rope drag through the biner makes the cam move around some but usually not too much. However, in the case of a fall when the cam sling is clipped directly, it seems to me that this may make the cam walk a bit more since the rope pulls out on sling slightly as you fall past it. Here in MN you never take too big of a fall since the route is zipped up pretty well since the cracks are so short (50 ft or less).

Anyway, what is your take on the subject. Do you think clipping the cam sling is acceptable or do you always extend them. I know there are many situations when extending them is required but I am talking about cams in pretty much straight on plumb vertical cracks. (I am sure you know where to find those).

Thanks,
Dean

Hi Dean,
Thanks for writing 🙂 Like you said, there are several different scenarios with extending cams (or any gear, really). If the rope is going to run very straight, you are fine to clip directly to the sewn sling on the piece. An exception to this can be the first piece you placed off the ground. It’s important to have the belayer stand directly below that piece (as opposed to stepping out backward to see you better, pet dogs, stand in the shade, get a Clif bar out of the pack lid, etc), because if the rope is pulling out on that cam at an angle it can either walk from where you placed it and possibly pull out when weighted, or walk itself in and become stuck. Especially if it is a small cam. If the first piece is a nut, treating it like this can cause it to just yank out. So make sure the belayer stands directly under the first piece when belaying you, and consider extending that piece also, even if the rope will run very straight up the route.

If the climb is more wandery or low angle, and the rope is not going to run perfectly straight, you should definitely extend the slings. Doing this will reduce rope drag, and prevent the rope from pulling the gear in undesired directions.

Bear in mind that some small tricks can be helpful too: if you are placing a cam on the fly or from a pumpy position, you may not be able to afford the extra 4 seconds of strength it will take to add an extension. Sometimes I just slam in a piece, clip it and get through the next move or two. If I think I’ll be able to stop and reach back down to it, I’ll deal with extending it after charging through a crux.

Another tip is to keep several shoulder length slings looped over your shoulder, on the opposite side that your gear sling is worn. Hang a single biner on each of the shoulder-lengths. Now when you place a cam in the crack, you can just pull one of the slings off your shoulder, clip it to the biner that’s on the cam, and voila, you just clip the rope to the biner on the sling. Now you have an extended piece without having to undo a folded-up alpine draw and put away the spare biner. It’s the fastest possible way to get a piece extended, and you don’t need a full hands-off stance to do it, so this is how I always rack. I also carry a few regular/pre-rigged draws on my harness loops for nuts, bolts and fixed pins.
Steph