Climb ZA Forum | South Africa Climbing & Bouldering

Hi everyone,

Please can someone offer some guidance on what size cams, nuts or combination will be best for use on the easier routes around Table Mountain?

Currently do a lot of hiking/scrambling in the area, and my buddy and I are starting to look into doing some slightly more challenging C+/D scrambles where a rope will add some comfort and ease the nerves. The idea being to still be mainly hiking focused and carry as little gear as possible, just to clear the harder sections, whilst still being safe.

On a tight budget so looking for advice on what size cams to get that will cover most scenarios on TM, or rather look to get a bigger selection of nuts?

Thanks!

Get a standard set of nuts, you can ignore the micros and the brass ones.

Cams: 0.3 or 0.4 to 1 (blue or grey to red) are the most used, with 2 (gold) and 3 (blue) next. You can get away with hexes in the upper sizes above 1, but they're a big more tricky to place so that they actually cam. The smaller micro cams are great, but for most easier stuff you won't need them or can use a nut instead.

Slings and alpine draws are really useful to reduce rope drag, but experience will help with that too. I'd advise climbing short pitches while you gain experience.

I don't climb with a cordellette for building anchors, I just use the excess rope, but that is because I switch leads with my climbing partner.

Join the MCSA. Go on a trad meet with Megan Beaumont.
Borrow one of the MCSA trad racks. Then shop.

there's quite a lot of issues to consider. nuts give you more placements for your buck and weight, but Table Mountain rock is not awash with good nut placements. you can take a few of the most common-sized cams but the risk is always there that you're on an off-size section of cliff. if you're going into territory that risks serious falls, rather go overkill on gear and whittle your rack down as you gain experience. affordable second-hand racks/pieces are being advertised occasionally; there is no need to buy new gear.