Sport Climbing Basics - VDiff Climbing

Sport Climbing Basics First Fi rst Edition. December 2017

£ Donation Only

Trusted by over 1 million members

Try Scribd FREE for 30 days to access over 125 million titles without ads or interruptions! Start Free Trial Cancel Anytime.









Contents

Introduction

6

Belaying

14

Leading

27

Anchors

36

Descending

65

Technique

!

"nots

#









Sport Climbing Basics: Anchors









Anchors (art 1) *hat To Do at the To' To' 'any climbs ha(e bolted anchors at the to. This is the standard )or sort climbs *orld*ide! but is also common at many +orth ,merican trad climbin# (enues. These bolted anchors *ill usually be e-uied *ith mallions %-uic lins& or lo*erin# rin#s! sometimes connected *ith chains. /ou *ont be able to simly cli your roe throu#h this tye o) anchor lie you *ould at the #ym. nstead! youll need untie )rom the roe and thread it throu#h. ,)ter that! you can either abseil! or ha(e your artner lo*er you do*n. ts imortant to learn ho* to do this in the correct order. ) you thread an anchor incorrectly! you could dro your roe and beeeeeee

be 3stranded at the anchor! or e(en become comletely detached )rom the bolts.

Lo+er,, A-seil or *al. /00 Lo+er This deends on the tye o) anchor! ho* it is ositioned and *hat you lan to do a)ter the climb. o*erin# )rom a sort anchor is -uicer than abseilin#. ts also much easier to retrie(e #ear on your *ay do*n *hen lo*erin#. Ho*e(er! abseilin# uts much less *ear on the rin#s. This could be the best otion i)

your o*n #ear and lo*er do*n )rom that. ) you are the last erson to climb the route! youll need to 3clean all your #ear )rom the anchor be)ore you descend. For anchors *hich are in a oor osition )or lo*erin# or abseilin# %e.#4 )ar bac across a led#e&! it is much better to belay your artner )rom the to o) the climb. /ou can then *al o)).









Anchors (art 4) Cleaning a &'ort Anchor "leanin# a sort anchor means remo(in# all o) your #ear )rom it. Three o) the main *ays to do this are described on the )ollo*in# a#es.

8hich you choose deends on the tye o) anchor and *hether you lan to lo*er or abseil.

ethod 1  eed a Bight o0 o'e Through /ou *ill remain 3on belay durin# this *hole setu. Yo !ill "eed 6 T*o sare -uicdra*s 6 One scre*#ate carabiner

Step 1 "li your roe throu#h a -uicdra* on one o) the anchor bolts.

Step 2 "li another -uicdra* into the other anchor bolt and cli it directly to your belay loo. 5est your *ei#ht on this -uicdra*.

#e$t Sitation %o &$e %hi$ 'ethod  8hen you are the last erson to lead the route  8hen the anchor anchor has has a central oint *hich is bi# enou#h to )eed a bi#ht o) roe throu#h









Step 3 ;ull u a little slac and ush a bi#ht o) the roe throu#h the main anchor oint as sho*n.

Step ( Tie a )i#ure9 on the bi#ht %see %see a#e 102& and cli this to your belay loo *ith a scre*#ate carabiner. carabiner.

Step 5 :ntie )rom the end o) the roe.











Step / ;ull the end o) the roe throu#h the main anchor oint.

Step 7 5emo(e the -uicdra* *hich isnt holdin# your *ei#ht. ,s your belayer to tae you ti#ht.

Step  5est your *ei#ht on the roe! then remo(e









Descending (art 2) Lo+ering o*erin# is )aster than abseilin#. t is the most common )orm o) descent *hether you ha(e cleaned the anchor or not.

eoing 8uic.dra+s ) you ha(e cleaned the anchor! but your -uicdra*s are still in the route! youll need to retrie(e them on your *ay do*n. This is easy on a strai#htlined! (ertical route. Simly lo*er do*n and uncli them )rom the bolt and the roe. The belayer *ill need to sto lo*erin# you at each bolt so you ha(e time to do this.

#e$t Sitation$ %o Lower  ) someone else *ill climb a)ter you.  ) you need to remo(e the -uicdra*s.  ) you need to set 3directionals on your descent.









5emo(e the other -uicdra* )rom the bolt and the roe. >i(e your belayer time to tae in the e$tra slac *hich is created.

+e$t! remo(e the last -uicdra* )rom the bolt. To mae this easier! use holds on the roc to ull yoursel) in.








Cli''ing into 8uic.dra+s ) you ha(e to roed an o(erhan#in# or tra(ersin# route! and someone else *ants to to roe a)ter you! youll need to cli the roe to some o) the -uicdra*s on your *ay do*n as 3directionals. These directionals sto the ne$t climber )rom s*in#in# *ildly across the roc i) they )all. Simly cli your roe into the -uicdra*s as you lo*er. Deendin# on the route! you may need to cli them all! or Aust a coule.

(ulling the o'e Do+n :ntie any nots )rom the roe be)ore you ull it do*n. Shout ?roe? be)ore it )alls. This is so that e(eryone around you is e$ectin# it @ a )allin# roe in the head hurts=









A-seiling 9 Chec. the &yste
Solid anchor

0ope threaded throgh main point of anchor

#oth rope$ throgh bela4 device

Pr$i not

olding both rope$ beneath bela4 device

6not$ added to rope end$











Technique (art 4) oc. &tee'ness Slab Climbing "limbin# slabs %roc *hich is less than (ertical& re-uires less stren#th and more balance than steeer an#les o) roc.

/our body should remain in the same uri#ht osition as *hen youre *alin#. 8ith #ra(ity )orcin# the *ei#ht onto your shoes! you ha(e more )riction on the roc. Essentially! you *ill hold onto )eatures )or balance *hile ushin# u *ith your le#s. Friction slabs are #enerally de(oid o) any ositi(e )eatures to crim or ed#e on. To climb a )riction slab! you must rely on the ssssss

sur)ace contact beneath your alms and )eet. Small stes are #enerally more e))icient. Hi#h stes tend to disrut the delicate balance needed to sto you )rom slidin# o)). On sustained slab climbs! *here most o) your *ei#ht is on your )eet! its common to #et 3cal) um or 3disco le#. 'ae use o) any #ood )ootholds by standin# *ith your heel on the hold and your le# strai#ht! so that your center o) #ra(ity is o(er your heel.









)ertical 0oc t is in(ariably more strenuous on the arms to climb a (ertical roc than it is to climb a slab o) the same #rade.

ts much more e))icient to ee the *ei#ht o)) your arms as much as you can. This is done by ushin# your his and chest close to the *all and by usin# the minimum amount o) ener#y to comlete each mo(e as ossible. 5emember that your )eet ro(ide the u*ards thrust! *hile *hile your your hands rimarily ull you into the roc. Bee your his erendicular to the roc by standin# on the inside ed#e o) one )oot and the outside ed#e o) another. This is 

no*n as bacstein#. t allo*s you to use )ootholds on either side o) your body *ith either )oot. Tae ad(anta#e o) any rests. Oosin# your )eet a#ainst each other across a corner %stemmin#& allo*s you to ee the *ei#ht o)) your arms. ) you cant #et a t*ohands rest! then alternately shae out your arms *hen you )ind a #ood handhold. ts o)ten better to do a series o) small mo(es! instead o) a lon# one.








verhanging 0ote$ To climb e))iciently on o(erhan#in# roc! you need to ee your his close to the roc and your arms strai#ht *hene(er ossible.
One *ay to do this is to use the dronee. ;lace the outside ed#e o) your shoe on a hold and t*ist your nee do*n*ard.
,s *ith other an#les o) roc! it is more e))icient to ull yoursel) into the roc *ith your arms and ush yoursel) u *ith your le#s. This is much more hysically demandin# on stee routes! but e(en the oorest )ootholds *ill hel ease the strain on your arms and #i(e you somethin# to ush )rom.









Technique (art 5) &uary "limbin# is lie a dance. The aim is to choreo#rah these di))erent tyes o) holds and mo(es into one )luid mo(ement. t is much more e))icient and enAoyable to mo(e u )luidly! methodically and in balance. Frantic! Aery mo(ements are clumsy and *ill tire you out )aster ) aster..

soon be#in to de(elo your o*n style and mo(e on to more ad(anced techni-ues. ,)ter climbin# each route! re(ie* the techni-ues that you used. ,s yoursel) *hat *ored! *hat didnt and *hat you could do to climb the route more e))iciently. ;ractise maes er)ect=

Once this becomes second nature! you *ill nnnnn









Bolt 8uality
Dont trust bolts that t hat are4  5usty or corroded  Smaller than C9 inch %aro$ 10mm& in diameter  oose %e.#4 the han#er can sin around&  n bad roc  Ha(e an ob(iously homemade han#er The same #oes )or anchor chains or lo*erin# rin#s. t is your resonsibility as a climber to insect e(ery bolt and anchor that you cli. ) you come across a badly bolted route or a *orn out anchor! it is o)ten sa)er to do*nclimb to the #round instead o) lo*erin#.











Get the Full Version The full version version of this e-book is available on a pay-what-you-want pricing system, starting at £0.

ou can !ownloa! it for free, or show your support with a small !onation. 3et your copy here4 https455gumroa!.com5l56(iff-port

Learn How To:

Further Information:

- se assiste!-braking belay !evices - +ea! sport climbs - et up top ropes - lean sport anchors - bseil safely /inclu!ing using a prusik knot

* Perfect for those who want to start sport climbing. * 200 accurately !rawn, full-colour illustrations an! photos. * ""# information-packe! pages. * $asy to print or view on your mobile.

Sport Climbing Basics - VDiff Climbing

Recommend Documents