Planning to do North Pal via the chimney (and Starlight if time allows) next weekend via the U-notch and just looking for a few pointers on gear from those who've done it before. How does it compare to the climbing on Polemonium from the U-Notch? I know the grade in that area in general is somewhat subjective so I am trying to decide if I will need rock shoes or just go it in my mountaineering boots.
Rope - 50m or should I go longer? My options are a 8.8mm x 50m (single strand of a double rope) or 8.9mm x 70 m single rope (or I can always bring the full set of doubles but seems overkill) I think this is mainly relevant for rapping and not down climbing, unless the down climb is trivial and not worth the added rope.
Pro - just planning to bring a set of stoppers, will i need/want anything bigger for the chimney? I don't imagine using any pro on the U-notch unless there is ice, which seems unlikely right now and if so will prob just place rock pro on the side rather than bringing any screws.
Axe - going to bring my mountaineering axe and a single tool, a few years ago we topped out the U-notch and I measured the slope at 60 degrees the last hundred feet or so (drifting near the top, most of the route was standard 40 degrees or so) and had there not been a boot track, a second tool would have really made a difference.
Any thoughts on the above? Obviously I will have a helmet, slings, and the other usual stuff, just looking at the technical items that are route dependent.