Improvised Quick Draws
Sometimes you may find that on a long pitch of climbing you are running low on gear and might have to make improvised quick draws to make up for a shortfall. To put this tip in context, you are most likely to be on a low to middle grade route, multi-pitch, with very long pitches.
The sudden realisation hits you that you are running short of quick-draws, or you have just used your last one, and there’s still a long way to go before the next belay. Do you be bold and ‘run it out’? Or can you improvise?
One way of improvising is to take a ‘hex’ on its long piece of tape or cord, and clip one side of the loop to the gear (e.g. a wire in a crack). Then, using another karabiner, clip your climbing rope to the hex’s loop. The loop of your hex has just become a sling to act as a quick-draw. This tip works even better with extendable loops such as on the DMM Torque Nut.
