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Cam failure discussion 27-Apr-2015 At 7:58:02 PM rightarmbad

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Having done Erg a few times and fallen twice just near the top of the pillar doing the direct, I can say that there are plenty of great placements on the climb.
There are also plenty of bad ones..
The problems?

Black shiny rock and twisty cracks.

It is easy to see the problem if you get you head right in close, the cams sit a bit twisted and engage the edges of the lobes with uneven opening.
Move it a few mm or cm and all is fine, but slam it in in desperation without looking as that is what the route begs you to do and you will more than likely have a bad placement.

Always be wary of the black slippery rock at Frog.
But also be aware of the twisty nature of some of the cracks.
Linkcams do not work well there, if on the tighter side of the range, they will simply not bite.
Larger aliens can also be unstable with their narrow heads.
Ballnuts can also be problematical there.

There is simply too much blind faith in cams atthe moment and not enough fundumantal knowledge of how they work.
In general, Frog is bomber rock with great protection, but as with any crag, it has its own perculiarities.