Planning to climb Denali next June and was looking at buying an ascender for climbing the fixed lines on the headwall but then the thought occurred to me that I'll already be carrying my micro traxion for crevasse rescued and it's lighter than an ascender and multi-purpose.

Is there any reason not to just use the micro traxion with a large carabineer (petzl william) for ascender? Tried it for kicks last night with my alti mittens on and it seemed to work just fine (slides really nice).

Thoughts??

Depends...

The Micro Traxion was not actually designed as an ascender. But it can be used (in emergency) as one.

I would first ask how comfortable are you with minimal gear especially on the slope above the 14k camp? If that slope is not a problem, then minimal support ascender might be ok. If you want to have 100% security, bring an ascender that is designed for fixed rope movement. Depending on the style of your ascent, the extra weight might or might not be an issue.

I have used full size ascender, both as a crevasse rescue and fixed rope ascender. It was always very safe and I didn't mind the slight extra weight. But that was some years ago when the micro devices were not available.

Hopefully, some other people will comment on this.

Good luck on the mountain.

Cheers, Alois.

The truth is that you would need a good grip to make your ascent safer. I recommend you take a look at this climbing equipment store. There you will find the best climbing accessories for your adventure. Greetings and good luck!

The only issue I foresee is that on the fixed ropes you will need to pass a number of fixed pickets (around six on the headwall and more on the ridge), which means when you run up against a fixed picket you will have to detach the device, move it past the picket, and reattach it.

The safest way to do this is by using an additional leash with a carabiner that you first clip to the rope past the fixed picket so if you fall while changing the ascender you will not go anywhere.

I have seen and used microtraxions for crevasses rescue, but I don't recall how easy/difficult it was to attach/detach/re-attach to the rope. If that is easy enough to do with big gloves/mitts, then it should work fine.

I used a standard Petzl expedition ascender and it worked very well and I incorporated it into my crevasse rescue kit. In the big picture, the addition of an ascender and a microtraxion makes little difference as you will be carrying/hauling 100 lbs of clothes, food, fuel, gear anyway. You will be going nowhere fast nor light. Bring that travel chess set, backpacking fry pan, and FUN novels.

Also, Denali is like prison in some regards. Things like chocolate, cigarettes, and alcohol are fungible, and worth their weight in gold.

thankk you so much i was havinng same issuee

Kodi Lucky Patcher nox