Equipment for Single Pitch Award – Making the right choices

This is the second in my series of “Making the right choices” articles on what equipment you should take for your assessment in a range of qualifications. This segment is for the Mountain Training Single Pitch Award (SPA).

After I completed my Mountain Leader, my SPA was the next qualification I wanted to work towards. I love climbing, I love the thrill of it, but what I love more is getting young people out on the crag. In my work with the Air Cadets I have been privileged to work with some truly talented young climbers, taking them out and getting them interested in climbing was only possible through doing my SPA. Whilst (in my opinion) easier than Mountain Leader, SPA still demands a huge amount of work and effort to prepare for your assessment, and in no other area is that more crucial than getting the right equipment. This article focuses on the equipment required for your SPA assessment:

Your rack

For your SPA assessment you will to take a full climbing rack including everything you will need to lead and set up climbs (with the exception of ropes). Below is a summary of what I would recommend for your SPA assessment, and what got me comfortably through my assessment.

Protection

Nuts – 2 sets 1-11, also consider taking a set of DMM offset nuts too.

Hexes – 1 set, hexcentrics or similar depending on personal preference.

Cams – optional, range of sizes.

120cm sling – 3, each with a screwgate karabiner

240cm sling – 2, each with a screwgate karabiner

Other

Quickdraws – around 8

Slingdraws (quickdraws with a 60cm sling instead of a standard quickdraw sling) - 3

Small screwgate karabiners – at least 3 for building belays.

Large HMS screwgate karabiners – 3, use for building belays, releasable abseils, and setting bottom ropes.

Prussik loops – 2, 1.5m of 5-6mm cord tied with a double fisherman’s  knot, with a screwgate.

Belay plate – 2, each with a screwgate.

Nut key – You will get stuff stuck.

Harness/Helmet/Rock boots – obviously

Whilst the above may seem straight forward, it represents a substantial investment of money, so getting it right is crucial. As with any equipment lists, this is my recommendation, that isn’t to say I am the foremost authority on this matter and you shouldn’t diverge from what I list, quite the opposite, I would encourage you to build you rack the way you want! I will now discuss a few of the items above….

DMM Alloy Offsets

Nuts/Wires

Wallnuts vs Rocks vs Stoppers vs Curve nuts vs Spectrum Wires vs ProNuts….this debate is not new in the climbing community. But which ones are best? Simply? They are all good, and you need to decide which are best for you, based on cost, range of sizes, weight etc. However some facts for you:

Biggest range of sizes: Wild Country rocks are available in sizes 1-14 making them the biggest range available on the market, however you will need to buy these in 2 sets (1-8 and 9-14) costing you at least £60 a set (if you find an offer!). Black Diamond’s Stopper pro set is 1-13 and costs less at around £100.

Cheapest Nuts: The cheapest set of wires on the market are Zero G’s Spectrum Wires at £49. I have a set of this and really like them, the shapes are nice, and for the price you really can’t argue!

Lightest nuts: The lightest nuts on the market are Metolius’s Ultralight Curve nuts which come out at 360g for a set of 10. However there is not a massive saving on weight when compared to DMM Wallnuts for example, which come out at 429g for a set of 11, so whilst being 69g heavier, you do get an extra nut for that weight.

Strongest nuts: All similar really….most honest opinion I could give! There isn’t much point me discussing minor differences in operational limits.

Best nuts: Each to their own, I love DMM wallnuts and have 2 sets of them. I also have a set of Zero G spectrum wires which have never let me down!

DMM alloy offset in action

Anything else worth knowing: Yes, buy a set of DMM alloy offsets! They are the most incredible set of nuts you will ever buy. Buy them as a supplement to your full sets of nuts not instead of. They are a set of 5 wires that fit in places where other nuts simply can’t. The unique shape (based on the original HB design) fits into offset and odd sizes cracks, and are simply fantastic. I used these more on my SPA than ever before, and was so glad for having them with me! I actually own 2 sets now, which I have combined into 1 set, simply because I place them so much!

Cams

One piece of advice, if you take them, know how to place them, and certainly don’t use them for rigging. One lad on my assessment got a slating for placing them incorrectly, and was fighting against that negative comment in his head the whole assessment. Cams are useful we all know that, I am not going to go into detail on cams since I believe they are something people should make their own mind up on. Your options are wide in terms of brands and types. Personally I use DMM 4CU’s, they are cheap, and work well.

Hexes

Hexes are very useful, and should always be carried. The larger range of sizes fit in bigger cracks and gaps, and learning how to place them to take full advantage of the camming action they provide is a crucial tool to the aspirant SPA holder. In terms of advice, again there isn’t much to offer here. You have 2 choices; Black Diamond Hexcentrics, and Wild Country Rockcentrics. The Hexcentrics are on wire, whilst the Rockcentrics are on sling. Decide whether you would rather have hexes on wire or sling, and buy accordingly. I own Hexcentrics since I have always felt the durability of wire outweighs the benefits of the flexibility of sling.

A word on slingdraws

Carry a few slingdraws. For those of you who have a blank expression on your face when reading this term; a slingdraw is a quickdraw made up of a 60cm sling and 2 snapgate karabiners. The sling is attached to each karabiner and doubled up,  which leaves the slingdraws at 15cm, they can be used in this format as normal. However they provide a 60cm extension where you need to extend a gear placement out to counter rope drag (for example when moving up an overhang). Slingdraws are very versatile and many climbers exclusively use slingdraws for the flexibility they offer.

A final word on kit

By the time you attend your SPA assessment you should have done at least 40 leads, therefore you will already have a good idea of what kit you need. Make sure that you can justify every choice of kit, your assessor will scrutinise anything out of the norm. This may include GriGri’s, quicklock karabiners (particularly Magnetrons), safety lanyards etc. In addition to all this kit, it is definately worth getting a couple of books on the subject, I would recommend "Rock Climbing" by MLTE. I did a post on my SPA assessment back when I did it if you are interested in reading what SPA assessment is like click here

Easter climbing at Windgather

At the top of the first lead of the day

My beautiful girlfriend Emma is currently making her final preparations to attend her Single Pitch Award training. So to get some leading in we headed out for a spot of camping and climbing. We decided to head to Windgather near Buxton, a nice, small, group friendly crag. After giving Emma her Easter present of a set of Mammut crag indicator quickdraws, we headed out. Despite being infested with children (Emma had some thoughts on that here), we had an excellent day of climbing. I am so proud of how well Emma is climbing, considering how quickly she has learn to lead, place gear, build belays, she is an excellent climber. I watched Emma lead several routes, and was impressed with how smoothly she lead and

Em on High Buttress Arete (D**)

placed gear. Her gear placements were excellent (as you will see from the difficulty I had in removing some of them on the video!). Highlight of the day was seeing Emma on High Buttress Arete (D**), she confidently and professionally lead the route, having watched someone floundering around on one move for over 10 minutes. Considering the difficulty of building belays at the top of some of the climbs on Windgather, Em did incredibly well to build efficient belays after only been shown once, and I was so confident in her abilities that I didn't even feel the need to run around to the top and see what she had done. Overall an excellent day climbing, we got plenty done then headed over to the Cat and Fiddle for a well earned toasty and a brew.

#ProudBoyfriend

Return to duty! Birchen Edge trip Jan 2015

Emma gearing up!

Well it's been a long time since I wrote anything on here, in fact May 2012 was the last time I took the time to write anything on my blog. Why the long absence? I suppose in part it was due to going into teaching, the long 60 hour weeks, endless marking, and copious amounts of planning left little time for a social life, or even anything resembling fun, I lost interest in climbing, mountains, gear and many other things I had previously loved. Recently however I have rekindled my love of the outdoors, due in no small part to meeting Emma, who is not only the most incredible person I have ever met, but also the source of my current outdoors revival. Me and Emma made an agreement; I would learn to ski, and she would learn to lead climb. So to that end we set out to Birchen Edge in the Peak District, in search of Emma's first lead climb. Despite the snow in the Peak District the conditions weren't too bad, if a little cold! After arriving, me and Emma did some last minute gear placement practice, before Emma decided on climbing "Stokers Wall" a VD located on Stokers Wall. Em geared up and

Concentrating face!

zipped up the initial part of the climb, placing a couple of pieces of gear as she did. Towards the top it appeared there were a couple of tricky moves, but despite this Emma climbed up the final part of the climb and finished. It was only later that we discovered the reason for the tricky crux moves towards the top was that she had in fact climbed onto "Stoked" an S 4a climb, oops! But I was incredibly proud to see Em almost effortlessly climb a Severe for her first ever lead, Emma was naturally very happy to have her first lead out of the way, and we can now work towards getting all the leads she requires for her SPA training in April, something which we will both look forward to. For those of you who are interested in reading more about Emma's adventures, she now has a website/blog which can be found at www.Mountaingirl.org.uk . We are heading out with a group of cadets on Sunday 8th Feb, so

Stoked S 4a

hopefully we will be able to squeeze a few leads in during that trip too! So Emma has been working hard on her leading what have I been doing on my side of the deal? Well I've had a few ski lessons, and aside from the fact I'm terrible I'm doing ok! I managed to zip across the entire slope, and the ski lift and wind up crashing on the tubing range however, but I will keep trying and we shall see how I go. Me and Emma have a number of trips this year, through the cadets and on our own, including both America and Morocco (Toubkal), so expect to see a fair bit more action on here than you have for the last 2 years. For those of you who have continued to visit, thank you very much. I haven't forgotten about the gear believe me! I will be reviewing the Black Diamond Magnetron, Grivel TwinGate karabiners, and SPOT GPS tracker system over the course of February so stay tuned!

SPA assessment

So it’s been a while since I posted anything. So I guess I should start with a post about my SPA assessment at Plas Y Brenin.

First of all...I PASSED! Woop! I am incredibly chuffed, but equally I can honestly say I deserved it, I have put so much effort into my climbing lately, working hard on the coaching side of things as well as pushing my personal leading. I came away from my assessment with a huge feeling of pride in myself, my skills, and my ability as an instructor. The guide who was running the course gave me a lot of positive feedback about my experience and said long term I should be looking towards my MIA. He also commented on my passion for climbing and working with kids, and that being a centre based instructor was an ideal place for me.

The assessment itself was straight forward, I lead 3 climbs, rigged a number of top ropes, bottom ropes, and abseils, at 2 different crags. There was also a climbing wall session. But how did my gear help? What gear did I take? Anything I would recommend? Any lessons learned?

Firstly, if you do not own a set of DMM offsets, buy a set now. The DMM offsets were the best bit of kit I carried with me, they just fitted so well. The assessor commented on how every time I used one it was a bomber placement. They were just excellent all weekend, and for the sake of £40 I think they are perfect for any rack!

Secondly, DMM Boa’s are ideal for top rope rigging, Italian hitch’s and setting up belays. If you do not own at least one Boa, then buy one, they are excellent for a number of things.

Gear I took on assessment:

1-11 DMM Wallnuts
1-11 Zero G Spectrum wires
5-11 DMM Offset wires
Black Diamond Hexcentrics 4-10
DMM 4CU cams: 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4

3 x 120 slings
2 x 240 slings
1 x 400 sling

8 x Wild Country Oxygen Quickdraws
3 x Slingdraws
1 x Screw draw

10 x Screwgates
2 x DMM Boa
1 x Reverso3
1 x DMM Fatboy locksafe

So standard rack really. I racked slings round my chest with a screw gate. I had wires racked on 2 biners (small wires and large wires).

Lessons learned that might help people going for SPA assessment:

These are points of discussion raised on my assessment that may be useful for anyone going for their assessment. These were either things I did, or things others on my course were pulled up on!

1) Italian hitch, ensure you are well below the Italian hitch and when lowered have both hands on the dead rope!
2) Larks footing slings as safety sling; I was told by the guide that larks footing through the belay loop is the best way to do this. Apparently over time larks footing through leg and waist loops (as per tie in) can erode away the loops and weaken them. He reference an accident in which a climber was killed by a weakened harness in this way.
3) Extending wire placements with a second wire. Using a second wire to extend a placement out is very useful to prevent rubbing on the wire.
4) Simple! Keep everything simple examples include:
Q: Climber stuck on a top rope system, you are in the system
A: Tie off, get out of harness, get a harness from group, abseil from above

Q: Climber stuck on bottom rope system, won’t budge
A: Abseil from above pull climber off, tell group to payout.

Q: Solo’ing climber cragfast
A: Abseil from above with a accompanied abseil setup

Q: Stuck client on group abseil
A: Tighten up safety rope to remove weight from abseil (note: I was asked on second time to tie off and release ab rope!)

5) Rating anchors out of 5, 5 being bomber, 4 being good, 3 being average etc this helps decide how many anchors to put in.

Ultimately consider that the assessor wants you to pass, you just need to demonstrate you are safe, quick, and simple. Don’t over complicate anything! Anyone who wants any info just message me!