Sport Climbing Basics First Edition. December 2017
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Contents
Introduction
Belaying
14
Leading
27
Anchors
36
Descending
65
Technique
80
Knots
98
Next Steps
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105
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Sport Climbing Basics: Anchors
Climb: Julian Heath on The Spider, Cheedale, England. Photographer: Chris Fox (see more here)
Anchors Part 1: What To Do at the Top Many climbs have bolted anchors at the top. This is the standard for sport climbs worldwide, but is also common at many North American trad climbing venues. These bolted anchors will usually be equipped with mallions (quick links) or lowering rings, sometimes connected with chains. You won’t be able to simply clip your rope through this type of anchor like you would at the gym. Instead, you’ll need untie from the rope and thread it through. After that, you can either abseil, or have your partner lower you down. It’s important to learn how to do this in the correct order. If you thread an anchor incorrectly, you could drop your rope and beeeeeee
be ‘stranded’ at the anchor, or even become completely detached from the bolts.
Lower, Abseil or Walk Off? This depends on the type of anchor, how it is positioned and what you plan to do after the climb. Lowering from a sport anchor is quicker than abseiling. It’s also much easier to retrieve gear on your way down when lowering. However, abseiling puts much less wear on the rings. This could be the best option if the rings are already showing signs of wear. If the next climber is going to top rope the route, you should make an anchor from yyyyy Learn more: www.vdiffclimbing.com
your own gear and lower down from that. If you are the last person to climb the route, you’ll need to ‘clean’ all your gear from the anchor before you descend. For anchors which are in a poor position for lowering or abseiling (e.g: far back across a ledge), it is much better to belay your partner from the top of the climb. You can then walk off. Each of these scenarios requires a different anchor setup. These are described on the following pages.
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Anchors Part 4: Cleaning a Sport Anchor Cleaning a sport anchor means removing all of your gear from it. Three of the main ways to do this are described on the following pages.
Which you choose depends on the type of anchor and whether you plan to lower or abseil.
Method 1 – Feed a Bight of Rope Through You will remain ‘on belay’ during this whole setup. You Will Need * Two spare quickdraws * One screwgate carabiner
Best Situation To Use This Method - When you are the last person to lead the route - When the anchor has a central point which is big enough to feed a bight of rope through
Step 1 Clip your rope through a quickdraw on one of the anchor bolts.
Step 2 Clip another quickdraw into the other anchor bolt and clip it directly to your belay loop. Rest your weight on this quickdraw.
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Step 3 Pull up a little slack and push a bight of the rope through the main anchor point as shown.
Step 4 Tie a figure-8 on the bight (see page 102) and clip this to your belay loop with a screwgate carabiner.
Step 5 Untie from the end of the rope.
VDiff – Sport Climbing Basics > Anchors
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Step 6 Pull the end of the rope through the main anchor point.
Step 7 Remove the quickdraw which isn’t holding your weight. Ask your belayer to take you tight.
Step 8 Rest your weight on the rope, then remove the other quickdraw. You are now ready to lower.
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Descending Part 2: Lowering Lowering is faster than abseiling. It is the most common form of descent whether you have cleaned the anchor or not.
Best Situations To Lower - If someone else will climb after you. - If you need to remove the quickdraws. - If you need to set ‘directionals’ on your descent.
Removing Quickdraws If you have cleaned the anchor, but your quickdraws are still in the route, you’ll need to retrieve them on your way down. This is easy on a straight-lined, vertical route. Simply lower down and unclip them from the bolt and the rope. The belayer will need to stop lowering you at each bolt so you have time to do this.
On overhanging or traversing routes it can be more difficult. To make it easier, clip one end of a quickdraw to your belay loop and the other end to the rope. This ‘lowering quickdraw’ keeps you in the same line as the route while you descend. On your descent, unclip the lead quickdraws from the rope and then from the bolts.
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Be careful when removing the last quickdraw. If you remove it in the same way as the others, you’ll swing out from the rock and pull your belayer with you. If it is a safe swing (i.e: you wouldn’t hit anything or anyone) unclip your lowering quickdraw from the rope and attach it directly to the bolt. Then allow your weight to hang on this quickdraw.
Remove the other quickdraw from the bolt and the rope. Give your belayer time to take in the extra slack which is created.
Next, remove the last quickdraw from the bolt. To make this easier, use holds on the rock to pull yourself in. Be ready to swing out! If it isn’t a safe swing, one option is to lower to the ground, and then ‘boulder’ up to retrieve it. This works best if you have a bouldering pad and the first bolt isn’t very high. Another option is for the belayer to be anchored to the ground. In this case, you can keep your lowering quickdraw attached until you’re on the ground. VDiff – Sport Climbing Basics > Descending
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Clipping into Quickdraws If you have top roped an overhanging or traversing route, and someone else wants to top rope after you, you’ll need to clip the rope to some of the quickdraws on your way down as ‘directionals’. These directionals stop the next climber from swinging wildly across the rock if they fall. Simply clip your rope into the quickdraws as you lower. Depending on the route, you may need to clip them all, or just a couple.
Pulling the Rope Down Untie any knots from the rope before you pull it down. Shout 'rope' before it falls. This is so that everyone around you is expecting it – a falling rope in the head hurts! Make sure to pull the rope through so that the falling end drops down through the clipped quickdraws (if you are leaving them in). This will slow it down and make it safer. Rope!
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Abseiling - Check the System Before you unclip your attachment point from the anchor, check:
Solid anchor
Rope threaded through main point of anchor
Both ropes through belay device
Prusik knot
Holding both ropes beneath belay device
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Knots added to rope ends
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Technique Part 4: Rock Steepness Slab Climbing Climbing slabs (rock which is less than vertical) requires less strength and more balance than steeper angles of rock. Your body should remain in the same upright position as when you’re walking. With gravity forcing the weight onto your shoes, you have more friction on the rock. Essentially, you will hold onto features for balance while pushing up with your legs. Friction slabs are generally devoid of any positive features to crimp or edge on. To climb a friction slab, you must rely on the ssssss
surface contact beneath your palms and feet. Small steps are generally more efficient. High steps tend to disrupt the delicate balance needed to stop you from sliding off. On sustained slab climbs, where most of your weight is on your feet, it’s common to get ‘calf pump’ or ‘disco leg’. Make use of any good footholds by standing with your heel on the hold and your leg straight, so that your center of gravity is over your heel.
Climb: Patrick Deacon on The Marmolada, Italy. Photographer: James Rushforth (see more here)
Vertical Rock It is invariably more strenuous on the arms to climb a vertical rock than it is to climb a slab of the same grade. It’s much more efficient to keep the weight off your arms as much as you can. This is done by pushing your hips and chest close to the wall and by using the minimum amount of energy to complete each move as possible. Remember that your feet provide the upwards thrust, while your hands primarily pull you into the rock. Keep your hips perpendicular to the rock by standing on the inside edge of one foot and the outside edge of another. This is kkkkkkk
known as back-stepping. It allows you to use footholds on either side of your body with either foot. Take advantage of any rests. Opposing your feet against each other across a corner (stemming) allows you to keep the weight off your arms. If you can’t get a two-hands rest, then alternately shake out your arms when you find a good handhold. It’s often better to do a series of small moves, instead of a long one. Being stretched out tends to disrupt your balance and often makes the next move more strenuous.
Climb: Lynne Hempton on Mondviole, Frea, Italy. Photographer: James Rushforth (see more here)
Overhanging Routes To climb efficiently on overhanging rock, you need to keep your hips close to the rock and your arms straight whenever possible. Bent arms will tire out much faster. One way to do this is to use the dropknee. Place the outside edge of your shoe on a hold and twist your knee downward. Be careful though, dropknees put a lot of tension on the ligaments in your knee.
As with other angles of rock, it is more efficient to pull yourself into the rock with your arms and push yourself up with your legs. This is much more physically demanding on steep routes, but even the poorest footholds will help ease the strain on your arms and give you something to push from.
Climb: Jason Piper on Into the Blue, Mt Ettalong, Australia. Photographer: Chris Fox (see more here)
Technique Part 5: Summary Climbing is like a dance. The aim is to choreograph these different types of holds and moves into one fluid movement. It is much more efficient and enjoyable to move up fluidly, methodically and in balance. Frantic, jerky movements are clumsy and will tire you out faster.
soon begin to develop your own style and move on to more advanced techniques. After climbing each route, review the techniques that you used. Ask yourself what worked, what didn’t and what you could do to climb the route more efficiently. Practise makes perfect!
Once this becomes second nature, you will nnnnn
Climb: Martin McKenna on Artemisia, Italy. Photographer: James Rushforth (see more here)
Bolt Quality Bolts are either adhesive or mechanical. Adhesive bolts are glued into the hole with specially formulated epoxy. Mechanical bolts work either by expansion or compression, though expansion bolts are most common on sport routes. The bolt is placed into a drilled hole and tightened. This expands the rear part of the bolt into the hole. Both types of bolt are incredibly strong. A new, well-placed bolt will not break or fall out in a normal sport climbing situation. However, there are no qualifications needed to bolt a route, and there are no regulations on what type of bolt must be used.
Photographer: Chris Fox (see more here)
Don’t trust bolts that are: - Rusty or corroded - Smaller than 3/8 inch (approx 10mm) in diameter - Loose (e.g: the hanger can spin around) - In bad rock - Have an obviously homemade hanger The same goes for anchor chains or lowering rings. It is your responsibility as a climber to inspect every bolt and anchor that you clip. If you come across a badly bolted route or a worn out anchor, it is often safer to downclimb to the ground instead of lowering.
Get the Full Version The full version of this e-book is available on a pay-what-you-want pricing system, starting at ÂŁ0.
You can download it for free, or show your support with a small donation. Get your copy here: https://gumroad.com/l/VDiff-Sport
Learn How To: - Use assisted-braking belay devices - Lead sport climbs - Set up top ropes - Clean sport anchors - Abseil safely (including using a prusik knot) - Use advanced belay techniques - Climb with better technique - Assess bolt quality Plus much more.
Further Information: * Perfect for those who want to start sport climbing. * 200+ accurately drawn, full-colour illustrations and photos. * 115 information-packed pages. * Easy to print or view on your mobile. Take it to the crag; when in doubt, whip it out! * New for December 2017