(This article is still slightly work in progress as regards to proof reading and photos, but this draft is up here for your pleasure, keep checking back!)
A little caveat before we start here: hauling sucks.
Furthermore there aren’t really any tricks or flashy gear that I can write about here to make it any easier. I do however, like to write about gear and so here is a brief coverage of the items that I like to use for the perfect junk-show. Sadly I don’t get any of this stuff for free and have bought it all over the last few seasons. My suggestions here are very specific but that’s just how I like to roll, everything has been over considered to an almost unhealthy degree. Obviously personal preference has a lot to do with any set-up that you might use but this would be an excellent basis for any system.
The gear you choose will be very dependant on the route, rope and amount of rubbish you are moving. Below is a standard sunny Grade VI rig that will also be effective on most major walls of the world without much adaptation.
I’ll write some articles to complement this on how to actually use all the items most effectively but if in doubt all you have to do is clip the rope in and pull harder!
And so from the top of the rig down, and without further ado we have:
Hauling Device: Petzl Pro-Traxion with Petzl O-Wall locking biner.
It is compact, efficient and very simple to set up. Being rated for live loads allows the third to ascend on a rope mounted in the device if required and can assist greatly in rescue scenarios.
The only advice with the Pro-Traxion that every wall climber should heed is what many call the ‘oh-shit’ biner that goes through the hole in the base. This small task is one of the most vital you will perform on a wall and MUST be done before EVERY haul. You wouldn’t believe it but given the right (wrong?) pull you can get the haul line to jump off the pulley and through the button. Haul enough loads and this WILL happen. If the biner isn’t there you have a haul bag (or worse a casualty) taking a massive screamer onto a static rope attached to your anchor which as you can assume will lead to bad things for everyone. These will range from having to haul the bag again (if you’re very very lucky) to a snapped haul line and no bag or perhaps even being ripped off the wall by your bag (not great). ALWAYS put that biner in.
The Petzl Oval biner is great as it is designed to let the Pro Traxion sit properly and has a very obvious red mark if it is unscrewed which allows you to keep a simple eye on the gate while you’re hauling.
Haul line: Static 10.5mm 60m rope.
Here is one place that I struggle to prefer one brand over another. It seems to me that most ropes will last a surprising number of walls unless you get unlucky. Furthermore they seem to wear out very suddenly. In a matter of pitches you can go from perfectly healthy to very fluffy when its their time. This can be particularly unnerving while soloing and having to take those high free-hanging haul line descents! 10.5 is my preference for nearly all hauling routes. It lasts longer and feels more resilient when you are really yarding on it.
Unless you know there is a specific requirement for massive lower-outs or pitches over 60m then a 60m haul line will be adequate and save you having to carry extra rope down at the end of the route. 95% of the time it will have enough tail for you to use it for lower outs and thus negate the requirement for a separate lower out line.
My advice for all ropes applies here regarding removing the marker tape from the ends of the ropes. If you don’t do this there will come a time when it will snag up on something that you really rather it didn’t!! Also when dropping the tail of the rope into space the extra momentum of the tape can blow the end off the rope leading to premature and darn unsightly fraying of the end.
Knot Protector: Plastic bottle wonder
Take a 2 litre soda bottle, chop off the bottom, leaving as much bottle as you can and slot it onto the haul line above the knot, it’ll cover the knot, biner and the rotor. Choke a 3mm cord clip in loop round the neck to clip it off if you have to untie the bag. A duck tape trim round the base means it might last a little longer but if perhaps a little too serious.
Swivel: Black Diamond Rotor and DMM Shadow Tri-Act
Putting a swivel into this list feels a little indulgent to me. Having only bough one recently for the coming season and only having climbed with one once I have little experience with their use. I am however hugely conversant in the problems that they solve having experienced all of them on many occasions. Without wanting to go into too much detail, if you can afford to add one to your system you should most certainly embrace the chance.
The Black Diamond version is as good as any on the market and a factor cheaper than the equivalent Petzl Swivel I. They both accept three biners in both the top and the bottom which is very useful for a number of situations. The Petzl has sharp edges and costs lots so buy the BD.
The haul line is clipped into the top of the swivel by one or two screwgates depending on how scared you are at the base. Personally I would choose the smallest auto-locking biner you can find. Screwgates can shake loose in the process of a single haul and the auto mechanism removes the need for checking this connection every pitch. DMM do a good triple action gate on the Shadow biner if you can find one – perfect.
Main haulbag biner: DMM Boa Screwgate
Big is the key here. A lot of rubbish hangs from here and its good if you can see the wood for the trees sometimes! The Screwgate is lighter than any auto fanciness and once the biner is all loaded up you should put a wrap of finger tape round the bezel to prevent any movement.
The Boa comes in I-Beam which makes it pretty light for such a big biner and that helps me sleep at night!
Haul Bag: Metolius
In my eyes there really isn’t any competition here as to the best haul bags on the market. The current range of Metolius bags are as close as you can get to perfect for pitches after pitches of foul weather granite abuse! Of course if they had asked me before they designed this years model then they would be completely perfect, but that, as ever, is another story.
Size is dependent on route but if you are only buying one buy the El-Cap, more space is never an issue, less is always a problem.
The haul bag has one hauling strap shorter than the other. All that is required here is to tie 2m of 5mm cord (Mammut Pro Cord is delicious) onto this strap using a barrel knot. When the bag is closed and its time to haul thread this cord through the main hauling biner, back under the strap, then round both once more and finally back through the biner. This effectively gives you a tiny 5:1 pulley, albeit with lots of friction. Simply pull on the loose end until the two straps are loaded equally and tie two or three half hitches round itself to secure it. This technique is very helpful as it makes getting a heavy bag open and resealed at the belay so much easier than using a carrabiner on the short strap, a technique that requires a Sharma like bicep.
Packing the bag is pretty simple when you get the hang of that, I’ll cover that in the next instalment.
So that covers the most basic of hauling set-ups, but as we all know there is a myriad more crap that you’d like to drag behind you and here is how to set up some of it:
Catch lines: 6mm Mammut Pro Cord
Catch lines let you suspend some of the more awkward or regularly accessed items under the haul bag. This is vital to prevent you having to dive into the main bag at the belay and also to make setting up the ivy much more simple.
To construct one tie an overhand knot in one end of some 6mm cord. This will clip into the main hauling biner. Hang the bag from this biner and measure enough cord to reach round to the straps at the base of the bag. Tie an alpine butterfly here. Now anywhere from 4” to 48” depending on the item tie another overhand knot with space for about three biners. Normally the poop tube catch line is the longest, the port-a-ledge line somewhere in the middle and the lunch bag is the shortest.
During the day you can clip the ledge and poop catch lines to the base of the bag with the alpine butterfly, tied so there is a little slack in the line above it, and a snapgate which prevents some of the tangles, on the last pitch of the day the second simply unclips the lines from this biner as he arrives at the top station. Different colours can make clearing the inevitable twists easier and looks super!
Poop Tube: Metolius Waste Case
Moving quickly over this section Metolius again have made the best item in this area. Clip it to the catch line with a tiny screwgate and thats all you need. Sharing WAG bags in the morning is fine, reopening them for a top-up because you didn’t pack enough is a challenge – count twice! Carry the fresh WAG bags along with extra paper in their own stuffsack somewhere near the top of the haulbag
Trash is normally carried in the first days water bottle with a slash cut in its side. Use a big screwgate to clip all the empty water bottles to the same catch line as the poop tube.
Port-a-Ledge: Black Diamond Cliff Cabana Double.
This ledge is very very well thought out, it simply has everything you could need and is big enough for all the most giant of giants. Granted it is a little heavier than some others on the market, but the additional bivi comfort is worth every gram, especially when storm bound for more than a moment. The Basic fly is perfect for Valley and Euro granite, while the Exped fly is a well thought out and very secure home for more serious excursions.
The product preference is not so crucial here, I just wanted to talk about the rigging for hauling. Have the ledge power point poking out of the top of the bag and clip it to the catch line. Using a large screwgate for the ledge gives you a helpful handle when setting it up and a place to hang more stuff at the bivi. Cinch the ledge bag round it and clip its straps to the catch line with a separate snapgate. This way when you get to the bivi it is near impossible to drop the bag, thus saving massive blushes and abuse.
Sub Bag: The North Face Toolbag
The article on this little wonder and how best to use it on a catch line is here. Just to reiterate; it’s great, so great.
When it does die however I’ll be replacing it with a Metolius Zodiac which will be almost as good I’m sure.
Now take a moment to imagine that your 180l haulbag along with all and sundry listed above still doesn’t close up when you’ve put the 14 gallons of water and 3 guys gear for a week, certainly not impossible. Either slim your team to two or read on for how to rig the second bag…
Two Haulbags
The principles for dragging two bags are the same as described as above. The neatest way to get them to hang nicely and have easy acces to them is to do as follows. In the main haulbag biner, instead of clipping the long strap of the haulbag put two short quickdraw slings with a mid-size screwgate at the end (I like to use DMM Sentinels). Put the long strap of the bags into these, make them safer with a wrap of tape if you like and cinch up the short strap to them in the same manor as you would for one. Your catch lines can now ride in one of three positions which can help to reduce confusion and tangles. Now all you have to do is pull even harder!!
So there you have some of the gear that is good to drag and the way I like to do it. Big wall techniques are however a wonderful smorgasbord (Charlottes Web anyone!?) so take simply what you like and leave the rest for someone else, just never be too afraid to try something new.