Have you heard of the anti-cam? + cool video

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Have you heard of the anti-cam? + cool video

Post by squamish climber » Thu Mar 04, 2010 4:09 pm

Came across this web climbing video project called The Seasonsand I thought I'd share because Episode 6 released last week features Squamish local Matt Maddaloni.

The Seasons is a 22 episode web television project that follows five athletes from BC and Washington through a season. Episode 7 profiles Matt Maddaloni and his goal to climb Up from the Skies free. Matt makes an experimental piece of climbing gear called the anti cam to protect a massive hollow flake.

Here are some stills from the video

Matt deep water soloing
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Matts Anti-cam
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On the rack
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Last edited by squamish climber on Fri Mar 05, 2010 3:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by erock » Thu Mar 04, 2010 4:45 pm

It's a pretty creative idea! Must be scary as hell to fall on.

Seriously though, no one else is going to free climb it again unless it gets a bolt. Not too many people are making their own "anti-cams". Still, I like how the route stays in the same condition as it was as an aid climb. Actually that makes me wonder: When you climb it on aid is it just body weight cam placements in the expando?

mmmm Seasons...

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Post by Dru » Fri Mar 05, 2010 9:08 am

I know there was a guy from Bellingham who was making something similar - a spring loaded flake pincher - and I believe even applied for a US patent for it about 6-7 years ago.

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Post by Optimally-Primed » Fri Mar 05, 2010 2:54 pm

I made an anticam (actually 3 different prototypes), with Jay Burbee, during my undergrad degree as a project. That was 2002 (8 years ago). That said I got the idea from John, who had come up with it with Matt. If you google "anticam climbing", we are the first hit (we won first prize in the senior engineering physics project for it).

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Post by squamish climber » Fri Mar 05, 2010 3:18 pm

I guess the idea isn't new. Do you still have the proto-types Jeremy? A cool idea with a very specific use. How well do they work?

Does anybody know if Matt made completed a free ascent of Up from the Skies?
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Post by Optimally-Primed » Fri Mar 05, 2010 9:56 pm

I do still have our third prototype (the other two were reduced to scrap... test to failure). How well do they work? Depends on what you want them to do. Matt's flake is the easiest sort of thing to pinch because it has a big space behind it. Flakes with narrower spaces between them and the wall pose a greater problem. The failure mechanism is complex; it took us several pages and a lot of physics to explain it. Bu the bottom line is that if space behind the flake is a concern, then failure occurs by slipping and the materials of the frame are critical. Ours held 900 lbs when it slipped off. But again, it all depends on the flake.

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info

Post by matt maddaloni » Thu Apr 15, 2010 11:12 pm

Hi guys. John Millar and I came up with the idea of the Anticam about 10 years ago.

Jeremy Frimer and Jay Burbee did a project on it in school. Their machine very did well but it wasn't highly expandable or allowed for one handed operation. It was these two very specific problems that stumped me for those 10 years until recently.

The Guillotine Flake has never been aided or freed because cams will make the flake break off, even body weight!!! but it is such an obvious trad climb feature... there had to be something that would allow one to protect it without bolting... Voila, solutions to an engineering problem and a place to test the ideas, so the game began.

Now hopefully time for the first ascent... we'll see. Stay tuned on the Season to see the finish to this story. Cheers.
mm

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Post by squamish climber » Fri Apr 16, 2010 8:50 am

Matt,

Thanks for dropping by. The anti-cam sounds very cool. I'd like to hear more about Guillotine Flake and it's history. Has this route been climbed before? And it would be great to see some pictures of the anti-cam and the of the flake.

Good luck!

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Re: info

Post by Brendan » Fri Apr 16, 2010 5:14 pm

the_other_Dave_Jones wrote:Has this route been climbed before?
matt maddaloni wrote:The Guillotine Flake has never been aided or freed...

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