In the past years, I have been advancing in terms of mountaineering skills and climbing abilities and I have constantly been progressing to climb tougher routes. In order to do so, one needs to be physically and mentally trained, but most of the times needs to be equipped with the most adequate gear in order to have a safe and pleasant outdoor adventure.

One of the most important items for mountaineering activities is the quickdraw, and specifically the alpine quickdraw.

Why using an alpine quickdraw

Imagine a trad route that traverses before turning vertical, or one that zig-zags back and forth. This is fairly common, especially in multi-pitch climbing. Combine a wandering line with long pitches, and you have a recipe for crippling rope drag.

Extending the point of attachment decreases the distance from a piece to the line that your climbing rope wants to take. On a zig-zagging line, it means that the rope has to cover less horizontal distance and stays closer to plumb.

Camp Mach Express Dyneema 60 cm

Prior of deciding which alpine quickdraws I would buy, I had to keep in mind some of the following points:

• Light – they are being carried a long way
• Compact – sometimes you need to carry a lot of them
• Versatile – you never know what big routes will throw at you
• Functional – easy to use in any situation

Upon that, a fellow climbing partner, informed me that an online store was selling the Camp Mach Express Dyneema in a great price, and thus, my decision became much easier.

The Camp Mach Express Dyneema 60 cm is designed to be ‘the ultimate trad draw’, featuring the low profile Nano 22 carabiner on the bolt-end combined and the Photon Wire on the rope-end. The Nano 22’s low-profile takes up less space on your harness and reduces weight, whilst the full-sized Photon Wire, the lightest full-sized carabiner on the market, makes for easier and faster clipping and unclipping of the rope, even when wearing gloves.

Check out some of the routes I have used the Mach Express Dyneema Alpine Quickdraws:

• Mixed and Alpine Climbing in Vardousia Mountain | Aris II 2 M2 – 400m.
• Tsirio To Proto | Trad Multipitch Climbing on Mount Onia (Oneia) | V 170 m.
• Alpina V 300 m. | Climbing on Pyramida – Mount Giona (Aselinon)
• Diaberis Pothos | Trad Climbing at the top of Profitis Elias – Asini
• Monsters of the Wind | Climbing the South-West Ridge of Mount Ortholithi
• Climbing the Ridge of Horned Owl – Mount Pateras (Kopsi Boufou)
• Via Ferrata and scrambling in Arma – Parnitha Mountain

Not only is the Mach Express Dyneema 60 cm from Camp superlight, compact and functional, but it’s also larger than others on the market. This is due to the long Dyneema sling that will always come in handy in the Alps or when setting new routes: use the full length, half or any way you want! For example, it is ideal for alpine climbing far from plaisir routes when building a belay station or for intermediate protection points to keep the path of your rope straight and reduce friction between the rope and the rock.

A long Dyneema sling is ideal when using a rock horn or rime mushroom as anchor points. Basically, the possibilities are endless for those who improvise in the icy heights of the mountains.The unbelievable lightness of the Mach Express Dyneema 60 cm from Camp is due not only to the light, thin Dyneema sling but also the Photon Wire and Nano 22 wire-gate carabiners from Camp.

How to Build an Alpine Quickdraw

Building an alpine draw is one of those things you would never think to do until you’re shown, but it’s simple once you know how.

The steps are these:

1. Clip both carabiners to your sling
2. Pass one carabiner through the other
3. Clip the passed-through ‘biner onto both strands of the sling

And that’s it.

Camp Mach Express Dyneema in Action

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