getting-started-5

Getting Started

having-the-gear

Essential Gear

Getting Ready to Climb

placing-protection

Placing Protection

being-a-competent-leader

Being a Competent Leader

building-anchors

Building Anchors

being-a-safe-belayer

Being a Safe Belayer

keeping-things-smooth

Rope Management

going-down

Rappelling

expecting-the-unexpected

Expecting the Unexpected

 <h2>Active Gear</h2> <shortcode type="jwplayer" props='{"jw_media_id":"HgWGa3wM"}'></shortcode> <h3>Cams</h3> <p>There are other active pieces (Ball-Nuts and Big Bros, for example), but many of those are specialized pieces of gear for certain routes. Climb long enough, and you might want some.</p> <p>For our purposes, though, let’s talk about “spring-loaded camming devices,” or SLCDs, or just “cams.” The original design for the cam appeared in the late &#8217;70s, when a visionary climber and engineer, Ray Jardine, secretly developed what became the Wild Country &#8220;Friend.” Jardine developed them for a project in Yosemite, and he was convinced his “Friends” held the key to climbing steep,...</p>