Rock Climbing
Table Of Contents
- Introduction
- The History of Climbing
- Types of Climbing
- The Million Different Techniques
- What´s the Gear?
- Holds, Holds, and More Holds!
- How Climbing is Rated
- Glossary
Introduction
Climbing is a very dangerous sport for all ages. Climbers can get seriously injured or even die from a number of things that they face while climbing. Even though climbing is dangerous, it is a fun and exciting sport. It requires a lot strength in all parts of your body and requires common sense. Climbers have to react fast when they climb to dodge falling rocks or recover from a fall. But one thing that climbers believe is “that it is wiser to fail than to die.”
The History of Climbing
Rock climbing is a sport that started a long time ago. It started in 1897 and was originally called mountaineering. It all started when some people started climbed up big rocks or boulders just for fun. Then people started climbing up mountains that’s how the name mountaineering became rock climbings first name.
By 1903 there were almost 500 active climbers, and by 1930 there were about 200 climbing clubs. After that people were trying to get to the summit (top of the climb)of every climb. They also tried to onsight, flash or red point the climbs. Onsite means to climb the climb without falling on your first try. Flash means to climb without falling not on your first try. Red point means to finish the climb not on your first try. However when you red point a climb you can fall more than once.
Then rock climbing became a known sport and people changed it little by little until it was like it is today. People are still changing climbing to this day. One of the unique things about climbing is that unlike most sports there is no team score like in football, hockey, baseball or soccer and you don’t work together to complete a climb you climb what you want and don’t worry about others. That is how climbing began.
Types of Climbing
There are many different types of climbing. All of them are different in some ways and the same in others. But not every type of climbing is on rocks.
Ice climbing is considered a type of climbing too! To ice climb you stab ice picks into the ice, and pull yourself up. You have to do this consistently till the top. Ice climbing can be done indoors and outdoors. But it is not common for ice climbing to be done indoors. Ice climbing is the most dangerous type of climbing because when ice climbing climbers face slippery ice, ice avalanches, frostbite, bone chilling winds, and freezing temperatures. Although ice climbing is extremely dangerous it is extremely fun!
Another type of climbing is called crack climbing. Even though crack climbing is not the most common that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun! In climbing people usually say “the bigger you are the better because you can reach further” that isn’t true with crack climbing. In crack climbing that statement is not true because when you are crack climbing the smaller you are the easier you can fit your arm and hand into the crack. Crack climbing climbs however only have a few holds on them because you are mostly climbing up the cracks.
A third type of climbing is called speed climbing. Speed climbing is very different from other types of climbing because usually in climbing you climb at a medium steady pace. But speed climbing is a different story! In speed climbing you climb up as fast as you can. That is why it is called SPEED climbing. When speed climbing in a competition, competitors compete to have the fastest speed. Speed climbing requires a lot of movement, it is like running up a wall!
A fourth type of climbing is called lead climbing. To lead climb you have to start out not attached from the top. Your belayer has all the rope and the end of the rope is attached your harness. As you climb every few moves you clip into a carabiner. A carabiner is a special clip that has a lock that you have to twist all the way. Once twisted all the way you should not be able to open the carabiner. At the top you have to clip into the ending carabiners. If you fall when lead climbing you fall to last carabiner you clipped into. So if you fell at the sixth carabiner you’d fall to the fifth. To lead climb you have to be lead certified. That means you can clip well and know when you clipped back clips or Z-clips. A back clip is when the rope is clipped in backwards and a Z-clip is where the rope is clipped into two clips that are shaped like a Z. That is what lead climbing is.
A fifth type of climbing is called multi pitch climbing. Multi pitch climbing is when a climber can only climb as high as the rope is. The climbs are usually higher than the rope so they are splitted into pitches. Pitches are the segments of a climb in which you have to move the bolts to keep climbing. Pitches are only done outside because the rock wall would have to be really long for it to be splitted into pitches.
A sixth type of climbing is called aid climbing. Aid climbing is when you climb outside with a partner or without, but it is a lot safer to aid climb with a partner. While aid climbing you have to place gear on the rock for safety as you climb.
A seventh type of climbing is called roped solo climbing. When you are rope solo climbing you are attached to a rope at the beginning of a climb and the end is anchored to the ground allowing you to self belay. Self belaying is where as you climb you keep pulling the rope as you climb.
Lastly there is the last two common types of climbing top roping and bouldering. Top roping is where you are attached from the top and your belayer is attached with the bottom. Bouldering is a type of climb that does not require a harness or a rope. Bouldering is a shorter climb that is mostly done on a overhang. An overhang means that wall slants towards you. Since there is no rope or harness needed while bouldering you have to have a mat under you. That is some of the types of climbing.
The Million Different Techniques
There are about a million different techniques you could use in just one climb! A few of those techniques are called open hand crimp, closed hand crimp, drop knee, heel hook, smearing and matching. In climbing different techniques are for different ways you have to reach the holds.
Open hand crimp is when you put your fingers into the hold, straighten them and don't incorporate you thumbs. Your thumb should be touching the side of your hand when doing open hand crimp. When doing a open hand crimp your hand should be open and straight.
Closed hand crimp is almost the same thing as opened hand but the tips your fingers are are closed. Closed means the very tips of your fingers should curved. A closed hand crimp shouldn’t be done a lot because when doing a closed hand crimp you are putting pressure on the ligaments on the in your fingers. If a ligament pops then you would not be could climbing for a while or ever again.
Another technique is called drop knee. Drop knee can be a very helpful technique. When doing drop knee you have to drop you kne down allowing you to reach further in the opposite direction. When you drop your knee down you should push in the opposite direction then drop your knee down.
Next there is a technique called heel hook. When doing a heel hook you have to hook your heel in the low part of your ankle and pull in the other direction allowing you to have really good support on your heel. Heel hook can be helpful when a hold is turned in the wrong direction.
Fifth there is a technique called smearing. To smear you have to use the wall as a foot hold. To do that you have hit a really good hold. Then you have get good support on your foot and pull up. You can use this technique when you can’t reach a hold but there are no foot holds that would help, you could try smearing.
Sixth there is a technique called matching. To match you have to hit a really large hold. Having two hands on a hold is more helpful than just having one because having to hold your body weight with one hand uses a lot more strength than is necessary. So you just put two hands on a jug or a slopper to match. A jug is a really large hold that is not as secure, so it would be easier to put both hands on the jug. A slopper is also a big hold that is secure. That is why you would match hands.
Seventh there is something called downclimbing, when downclimbing you just climb down. Downclimbing is not necessarily a technique though. But downclimbing is good to practice.
That is just some techniques you can use.
What’s the Gear?
One of the nice things about climbing is the gear. This is because their is not a lot of it. A lot of gear in climbing would be hard because it is a lot more weight to pull up the wall. In climbing you use a harness, climbing shoes, a belay device, chalk bag, and sometimes even a helmet.
With a harness you tie into a rope and belay. With a harness you can also clip carabiners into the harness. Carabiners are a special clip for climbing. It has a lock that you twist, once it is twisted all the way you shouldn’t be able to open it. Not being able to open it is a good thing because it can most unlikely open when you are belaying. A harness however is not needed for bouldering because bouldering does not require a rope.
Climbing shoes have rubber from the heel of the shoe to the toe. The rubber allows it to stick onto the wall when you are smearing. Climbing shoes should fit a little tighter than a sneaker. A pair of advanced climbing shoes are very curved in the middle and have a strong pointy tip. However a pair of not advanced climbing shoes a flat and a rounder tip. You need climbing shoes for every type of climbing except for ice climbing.
A belay device is a device used for belaying. There are two different models of a belay device. Those models are called an ATC and a Gri Gri. An ATC and Gri Gri are both served for the same purpose but a Gri Gri is a older model and a little more complex.
Sometimes people use a helmet for when they climb outside to protect their heads from falling rocks or any other object that might fall.
A last piece of gear is a chalk bag. A chalk bag is just a bag of chalk that you can clip to yourself. A chalk bag is helpful when your hands are slippery so you can “chalk up” to prevent your hands from slipping.
People can also have a lot more gear when the climb outside. But they don’t climb with all that gear! They attach it to the rock or ice. That is the necessary gear used for climbing.
Holds, Holds, and More Holds
There are different types of holds and all of them feel different. The holds are called jugs, slopers, and crimps.
Jugs are really big holes that are not so secure. But Since jugs are so large they are good holds to match on. Matching is when you put two hands on a hold instead of holding all your body weight with one hand. Not only can jugs be good handholds if they are used when needed they can also be good foot holds. Another type of hold is called a sloper. A sloper can be big or small but a sloper is always very secure no matter how big it is.
Lastly there is a hold called crimp. A crimp is definitely not a secure hold. It is a very small hole that doesn’t have a lot of room to hold onto. You will find crimps on harder climbs. However even though crimps are very bad hand holds they can be great foot holds. In climbing the flatter the foot hold the better and the more sloped in the hand hold the better. That is all the types of holds that you will find in climbing.
How Climbing is Rated
In climbing climbs are rated by difficulty. The rock wall shows the level of the climb you are doing. However top roping and bouldering are rated differently too.
Top roping climbs rates start with 5.4 and go through to 5.16. There are also 5.14A climbs. The A stands for aid climbing. Aid climbing is always outdoors. As the second number gets higher the climbs get harder, the holds get really bad and farther apart.
Bouldering rates start with V0 and go to V9. However in bouldering there is also Vfun and Vdyno. On a bouldering climb not only are the rates and levels important, the tape is just as important. On a bouldering climb the tape tells you the holds you can use for the climb. So if you use the green as your starting hold you would climb the green route till the ending hold. If the starting hold has two tapes then you only start with one hand on the hold. If their are only two tapes on a starting hold then there would be two starting holds each with two pieces of tape. If there are three pieces of tape their will only be one starting hold that you put both of you hands on(match).
Ending holds are on both on top rope climbs and bouldering climbs. But a ending hold on a bouldering climb can be the top of the wall because bouldering walls are really short. This is because you are not using a rope. An ending hold can either be a hold or a tape square at the top of the wall that you need to touch. Top roping climbs only have tape to show you the color of the climb and how to start. So if the tape was green the holds would all be green to the top.
However in competitions the climbs are rated very differently. In competitions the climbs are rated by points in difficulty. So a V0 would be 500 points and a V9 would be rated as 1,900 points. In top roping it is rated same as bouldering. In competitions the easiest climb is 5.6 which is 600 points. Whoever gets the most points in just three climbs wins.
That is how climbing is rated in a competition and not in a competition.
Glossary
Onsite- to complete a climb on your first try without falling
Flash-to complete the climb not on your first try, but complete it without falling
Carabiners-a special clip for climbing that you can lock while belaying
Hand holds-holds where for your hand that are secure
Foot holds-hold for you feet
Starting hold-where your hand starts on a climb
Ending hold-the hold at which the climb ends with
Route-the climb you are doing and the path to take up the wall
Belay-the person you holds onto the rope to keep you from falling
Rock Wall-the wall which has the climbs
Summit-the top of the climb
Pitches-sections of a climb
Self Belay-belaying by yourself
Red Point-to finish a climb but fall more than once on it and you can try it more than once
Back Clip-when the rope is clipped in the carabiner backwards
Z-clip-when the rope is clipped into two carabiners making the rope form a Z shape.
No comments:
Post a Comment