Hi, I'm looking to fulfill my dream of climbing Big Walls and I could use some advice and guidance on getting ready for the first wall.
First a bit about me and my situation...
I started climbing in the early 90's but I've had a long break (16 years?). I only got back into leading trad this year but I'm eager to get cracking again. Thankfully, it seems like it is a bit like riding a bike...

Since I grew up in Finland and did most of my climbing in northern Finland and Norway I am most familiar with ice, alpine, and trad rock... in that order. I am, however, working hard to hone my trad climbing and aid climbing skills. My favorite climbing partner is my 15 year old daughter Nina. Nina and I went for an awesome trad climbing road trip to the Black Hills, Vedauwoo, and Rocky Mountain National Park this summer. Out trip went very well and we are hoping to do our first big wall route, Moonlight Buttress, sometime in the near future. Looking for guidance to make sure we are well prepared in every way before we head out.
Specific things I would like help with...
RackFiguring out an adequate rack for the undertaking. Looking online as well as in various guidebooks I've seen enough variety in the "required rack" that I am not quite sure what we will need. I have a decent trad rack but I will definitely need to beef it up for big wall climbing. Considering my limited budget I am trying to make sure I invest my money as smartly as possible.
ReadinessIt is easy to try to imagine what it will be like to climb a big wall. It is less easy to know how well one's imagination matches reality. In other words, does anyone have any good pointers for making sure one is prepared? Or for knowing one is not? We are following Chris MacNamara's "How to Big Wall Climb" skills progression. Still, since I am going with my daughter I want to make sure we set ourselves up for success.
Weather / Time of YearSince Nina is in High School we can't just go whenever we want. If we are ready to roll by then I have been hoping we could give it a shot when she is on Spring Break, this means the first half of March. How likely is a good weather window to climb Moonlight Buttress at this time of year?
Thanks in advance for sharing your Big Wall wisdom.
