Engineering Your Climbing Rack (Part I)

Engineering innovations have transformed sporting equipment, allowing athletes to compete at levels never before thought attainable. In the world of rock climbing we have seen the current generation thwart the achievements made by pioneers of the sport a mere few decades ago. Since the birth of free-climbing, meaning "free from aid", where anchors and fall protection equipment is only to be used to protect climbers from injury as results of a fall and not to assist in the act of climbing, we have seen significant advances in equipment.

In line with Royal Robbins' philosophy from his publication of Basic Rockcraft in 1971 that emphasized the need for free climbing skills and a clean-climbing ethic where only minimal invasive equipment, such as pitons, were to be used as aids to ascent any given route, the sport was being revolutionized. The following generation would push the envelope by free-climbing routes that were previously seen as impossible. to compete at levels never before thought attainable. In the world of rock climbing we have seen the current generation thwart the achievements made by pioneers of the sport a mere few decades ago. Since the birth of free-climbing, meaning "free from aid", where anchors and fall protection equipment is only to be used to protect climbers from injury as results of a fall and not to assist in the act of climbing, we have seen significant advances in equipment.

What has been achieved is in large part due to the engineering of better footwear as Boreal's introduction of the first "sticky rubber" shoe, the Fire in 1980, would later allow Lynn Hill to free-climb the coveted Nose Route of El Capitan (5.14a/b) in 1993. Protection pieces were also being revolutionized in-line with Royal Robbins' philosophy. The invention of a lighter piece of fall protection equipment referred to as spring loaded camming devices (SLCDs) by Ray Jardine in the late '70s would replace the wide use of pitons. The idea of using protection pieces that did not deface the rock and were retrieved for re-use would set a standard that would gain wide appeal.

The modern climbing community now praises each minute advance in equipment. Tech savvy climbers, referred to as gear heads, voice the need for smaller, lighter, and more versatile protection equipment, such as Black Diamonds X4 cams, released in the spring of 2013. There is now a shoe, a rope, and protection piece for every purpose, but what do you need to suit your individual needs, and are all modern advancements worth the premium they come with? Should you sport the latest model climbing shoes or purchase a rope that is a few meters longer, a few tenths of a millimeter thinner, and few grams lighter per foot at a premium that costs more than double than what may be coined an all-purpose rope by the same brand? What embodies a climbing rack that allows new age climbers to safely ascend any given route while preserving the beauty of the rock itself?