Posts tagged climbing
I've just recently gotten into climbing and so far the ropes have always been provided for me. I'm starting to look at getting my own rope for outside climbing, and am confused by some of the termi...
I was going through the REI website for some of the products and I stumbled upon this one here. It's called Y & Y VERTICAL Classic Belay Glasses The product punchline says: Stop wrenching...
What are common climbing techniques for strongly overhanging walls and roofs? In order to avoid a strength oriented climbing style and focus on technique.
What does it mean to cross load a carabiner? I know it's bad, and not to do it, but I don't really know what exactly it is.
When climbing single pitch routes, it makes sense to carry as little as possible while actually on the route, as almost every eventuality can be easily dealt with by simply lowering back to the gro...
I love free climbing but have never climbed with ropes. While reading through this question, I realized I would never have thought of these scenarios, but due to the answers on that post, the physi...
What is the difference between Sport Climbing and Traditional (Trad) Climbing? Is it just that Sport Climbing uses bolts?
Reposting this from a Facebook discussion. It's a picture taken from a retail store where they have attached a pin-tag through the rope to prevent theft; a common practice at this location. My gut...
Would amsteel blue rope be appropriate for use in anchor building for climbing or mountaineering? I expect it's not very abrasion resistant so it wouldn't be good up against some rock or an edge. B...
I used to be a regular climber, and unfortunately I have put on some serious weight over the last 4 years, and I have not been able to climb as much as would have loved to. While, I am still worki...
Does anyone know the strength of an ATC when used in a multi-pitch set up? It occurred to me that the entire weight of a climber is resting on the strength of the ATC clip and not on any carabiner....
I recently was given some old Chouinard hexes my uncle used back in the 70s. They look great, and I see no reason why I can't re-sling them and use them as perfectly safe protection. I've found so...
There is a local shop that sells small brand name gear for pretty good prices. I am looking at their harnesses and quickdraws and would like to know: 1) Whether the equipment is safe - say compar...
One of the more common knots in climbing is the figure eight on a bight (being tied on a bight means that it is tied without using the ends. How exactly would one tie this knot?
I see a lot of people on social media posting their first ascents. These people are usually professional climbers climbing new super hard routes and as a result their first ascents blow up on socia...
(This is related to "What hand and finger exercises help with climbing?" but asking for what can be done when not climbing/training.) Like most climbers, I don't get to do as much as I'd like, and...
I got a Whillans Harness for Christmas. As it does not have a belay loop (see picture), how do I connect it to the Autobelay's carabiner?
I've often heard that it is the altitude and exposure that makes Everest most challenging, but technically speaking, it's not a very challenging climb at all. Supposedly, if base camp for Everest w...
The more common way of belaying is called PBUS which stands for Pull, Under, Brake, Slide. What is the correct way to do this (including illustrations)?
This is possibly a little of a generalisation but, why are indoor grades easier than outdoor grades? Having climbed at many many indoor walls (all over the uk) and done multiple outdoor climbs (b...
So I am moving to Colorado in a little more than three weeks and super-pumped to elevate my experiences with the endless outdoor adventures! At this point in my life, I have six pair of shoes; thre...
I would say I'm a fairly experienced hiker, and would love to begin climbing some more challenging mountains, i.e. mountains that require actual climbing, rather than just hiking. I have next to no...
There is a notorious kind of crack called offwidths. Several friends of mine stated, that they were pretty devastated at first when they were not able to do 5.8 offwidths in the valley. Later they ...
My main problem when bouldering and sometimes while climbing is, that after some time the skin/flesh of my middle and lower phalanges start to hurt and the skin comes off so further climbing become...
This article says that Running shoes only last about a year regardless of mileage. Is there a similar time frame for climbing shoes? I searched the internet and it seems that most climbers wear thr...
In climbing what do the terms Redpoint, Pinkpoint, Flash and Onsight mean? Where does it come from?
If someone "flashes" a climb what does this mean?
Could the use of anti-perspirant give benefit in extreme cold climate where sweating can be a significant problem. I've read many articles regarding keeping warm when alpine climbing in the extrem...
Imagine a multi-pitch climbing situation where a lead climber has just finished belaying the second from a hanging belay position. The rope is coiled over the anchor cord (or clove hitched sharp en...
Recently I heard as a general rule of thumb that one should leave at most the width of your hand as space between the knot (a figure eight for instance) and the harness. Its quite obvious that one ...
I am planning to hike a section of the Bruce Trail next year with my German Shepherd. It's mostly low hills but every once in a while I run into vertical ladders. How can I carry my German Shepher...
The other day the strap on my helmet snapped. It's not the main strap but the one that sits across the back of you head and has a tightening dial. So the helmet doesn't fall off but it also doesn't...
I was going through anchoring techniques and I came across this well-received question: Anchor without cordelette? How should one decide when to go for a Cordelette or an Equalette?
I am watching a video about a climb of Annapurna. To acclimate the climbers head up from base camp to another camp higher up, stay for a day or two, then return to base camp. They repeat this pro...
I seem to often catch myself holding my breath during a difficult crux, which seems quite bad really. On the other hand, sometimes I actively breathe fast and deep repeatedly before starting a dif...
When trad climbing I have seen many people wrap their rope around a tree and then rappel, and then yank the rope down at the next belay station or tree. I have also seen the scarring as a result of...
When rappelling and using an autoblock consisting of a french prusik knot it seems there may be some options on how and where to attach the autoblock to my harness. Is there a correct placement ...
I recently started indoor rock climbing at a local spot. I got to the top and (after appropriate communication) my partner started to belay me down. I instantly starting swinging and spinning pre...
It happend to me a couple of times now that I've cross-loaded my carabiner when belaying; the frequent change from slack to tension and back, moving the carabiner up and down and all that, can easi...
When doing a multi-pitch and you reach a belay station (the top of a pitch) you can choose between belaying the lead climber from the body (like you do e.g. indoors where you aren't doing multi-pit...
I've been told that a Figure-of-8 descender cannot be used for SRT (single-rope technique) because the descender must be able to be removed from the rope, without being removed from the harness. Wh...
I seem to have accumulated a good number of carabiners that, while probably still safe, I won't climb on anymore. They might be worn, of questionable origin, or just plain made obsolete by an upgra...
It is commonly known that loading your carabiner in three directions is bad, as it reduces it's strength. This is apparent when talking about belay stations, as e.g. described in this blog post by ...
A recent question made me wonder how a running belay is really done. Suppose you are climbing an alpine route, maybe of difficulty UIAA 5. You encounter a stretch of 100m of UIAA 1 terrain with n...
Petzl have a diagram on their website for what they call a Double Mariner. It's identified on the site as having a 7:1 mechanical advantage, but I can only see it as having a 5:1. Can somebody con...
For reasons of time-saving and avoiding retie figure 8 knots all the time, can I clip the figure 8 knot via two carabiners each clipped to either loop of the harness? This way there will be no cros...
Why is the one-sided overhand bend also called the European death knot (EDK)? Is it safe for climbing and mountaineering purposes?
I broke my friend's ATC, and am trying to find a replacement, but I don't quite know what to look for. It was a somewhat unique unit, at least among those I've seen; it was a standard "basket" ATC...
I was having a debate with my friend on the definition of "Sport Climbing". We both agree it means rock climbing with no pre-setup ropes on a bolted route. I think regardless of whether this rout...
I have seen various grades for different climbs such as 5.14b, 8b+, 8b - 150m It seems there are different parts to the grade, e.g. the last one is it 8b for 150 metres? Do these grades only ...
