Michelle Vlasich's Ever Expanding Rack

My name is Michelle (@mvlasich44 on Instagram), and this is the story of my rack. To be honest I had a rocky start and I struggled a lot in the beginning not trusting my gear or myself but luckily, I stuck with this beautiful sport and it opened up a world of adventure I never thought possible.

It all started just over 4 years ago when I was just dipping my toes into sport climbing. I was a proud weekend warrior at the Red River Gorge and through friends and peers decided I wanted to try crack climbing. So naturally I went online and bought a single rack, luckily Backcountry had some great sales at the time and I snagged a set of Black Diamond C4 cams from 0.3 to 6 at an amazing price.

My first trad lead was on sandstone in the Red and it was quite the interesting experience; I was scared and didn’t really know what I was doing. It was a mixture of self-doubt, lack of experience, fear, and excitement. It wasn’t until I started to climb with my current partner that things really started to click. We both had such a hunger for crack and literally threw ourselves at routes to learn different techniques.

After building my confidence a bit more on southern sandstone I decided it was time to move into multi-pitch and headed to Stone Mountain in North Carolina. It wasn’t huge by any means but for me 500ft at the time was mind boggling. It was also at this time I learned I needed a bit more gear. A single rack and some nuts just wasn’t going to cut it and I went online again and bought some more trusty C4 cams which I still to this day think are fantastic.

With my new-found love of multipitching I decided it was time to head out west and Colorado was the next place to go. A friend mentioned snagging a few Black Diamond X4 cams and after using them a couple times they quickly turned into my favorite trad piece. I really cannot say enough good things about this cam, the flexible stem makes this the ideal piece for awkward and weird protection from placing in pods, horizontal breaks, or just finicky cracks. I highly recommend the X4’s especially in sizes 0.3 and 0.4. I used these pieces all throughout Colorado from the sandstone in Eldorado, granite in Estes Park, and Mt. Evans. I can’t say it enough: in my opinion the X4 is the way to go for small cams.

The next place I went to that inspired even more gear to my rack was beautiful Squamish. I have to admit that I am extremely biased to this amazing area, as I shared so many first times there. I climbed my first 5.10 gear route there, zippered my first gear there, and climbed my first double digit pitch climb there. The granite is so bomber and honestly eats any and all gear placed in the cracks. After climbing longer routes and starting to link pitches I learned I needed more alpine slings. Alpine slings are essentially for wandering routes to reducing rope drag as you climb, and also while you bring up your second. I personally use Black Diamond Neutrino wiregate carabiners and 120mm Dynex runners.

With all the wonderful gear I accumulated over that two year period the next logical step for me in my climbing was Big Wall. I felt confident enough leading most trad styles and decided I wanted to dip my toes into free/partially aiding a big wall. My partner and I set our sights on Lunar Ecstasy in Zion. We actually already had a Black Diamond Cliff Cabana Double Portaledge and Black Diamond Zion Haul Bag in preparation for this dream. However, we still needed a hefty amount of gear including pulleys for hauling, aiders for the aide pitches, and most importantly offset cams and ballnuts.

Aiding was relatively new to me but I knew especially in Zion that offsets and ballnuts were crucial for pin scars, flared cracks, and thin seams. I was very happy to have these pieces for the finicky pitches where my normal cams just wouldn’t fit. Climbing a multi-day rock climb in Zion was spectacular and opened my eyes to a new world of climbing. Falling asleep on a portaledge high up on a rock wall is exhilarating and just a little terrifying in a great way and I can’t wait to do more.

With all the time I have spent plugging gear into cracks I learned your climbing harness and shoes can either make or break your day. For single pitch climbs I love the Black Diamond Momentum Dual Speed harness, it is lightweight and has some cushion in the bushion which makes taking those big whips a bit more comfortable. However, for multipitch routes I really struggled finding a comfortable harness that was semi-comfortable while wearing a double rack for hours and hours. Luckily through the wisdom of friends I came across the Misty Mountain Titan and I haven’t looked back since. It has incredibly nice padding and six strong gear loops for all my trad gear. I wore this harness in Zion and found is extremely functional and comfortable even to sleep in.

As far as trad shoes go I swear all day by the La Sportiva TC Pros. The high ankle makes wide cracks just a little less painful, and the sticky rubber makes the slab portions of your climb that less terrifying. They are comfortable for hours and hours at a time and I cannot recommend them enough.

One of the other items I cannot live without is my Maxim 9.5mm Pinnacle Yellow Jacket 70m climbing rope. Personally, I always recommend having 70m ropes for multiple pitch routes because it gives you a better chance for linking pitches and possibly cutting down a rappel or two on your descent. I like the thinness of the 9.5mm and I love the very noticeable bi-pattern design so I know exactly when my partner reaches the halfway point. I have always liked Maxim ropes but this rope in particular gets the job done right.

With every trip I have taken over the years I have added a little bit more to my rack. I have the smallest of micro nuts and largest of C4 cams and everything in between. I have tried countless brands of trad gear and I have to say Black Diamond has been my favorite and what most of my rack consists. It is what I am used to and also what I find the most functional and easiest to place.

It has taken time and money but I am equipped to take on almost any rock climb there is. My passion for this sport grows with every route I climb and every adventure taken. Who knows what the future has in store but I sure would like to think I am ready.

A Few Gear Tips

• You can never have enough locking carabiners, I learned this on my first multi day climb in Zion and between hauling, jugging, and storing gear you literally can never have enough lockers such as my personal favorite the Petzl Attache Carabiner.
• Less is best, the lighter the better especially when you get into hauling. Be safe and bring the appropriate items but you don’t need every home amenity.
• Find the right harness and spend a little money if you need to. Your body will thank you in those uncomfortable hanging belays we all love
• You don’t have to have all the gear in the world, partners are great for combining racks.

Most Embarrassing/Hilarious moments

If you made it to the end of the post, you deserve some bonus laughs/cringes at my expense…

• I was climbing a newer multi-pitch route in Squamish with my partner/boyfriend and after we enjoyed our lunch on a nice but small ledge I started the next pitch not knowing it was all extremely loose and crumbly rock. I eventually slipped and the rock my last cam was in crumbled and popped out. I took my belayer for a ride picking him up then smacking him down in our pee spots when my cam blew. Needless to say after that pitch we bailed on that climb.
• I fell on a cactus 800ft up on a ledge in Red Rocks. Luckily my partner was wearing shorts under his pants as my pants and climbing shoes were covered in needles. Needless to say the 89 rappels back down were not fun.

  

Any gear questions? Ask in the comments!