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alpnclmbr1
Aug 29, 2004, 6:57 AM
Post #51 of 63
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Downclimbing and placing gear (instead of rapping)?
Downclimbing is one of the foremost skills that can get a climber out of trouble that folks seem to never practice. Downclimbing can save you from a fall and help you retrace your steps if you get off-route.
If you are out top-roping climbs sometime, or say you have a rope on a climb, practice some downclimbing. It's fun, goes with gravity, and might save you butt sometime
Peace
Karl
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Downclimbing and placing gear (instead of rapping)?
If you wind up resorting to 'lead downclimbing" it's important to remember to forget the 'rules'.
For example, the second guy down might want to keep a couple cams and nuts that might fit in the crux areas. She could clip one to her daisy chain and slide it down with her or place it, make the move and take it out before it gets out of reach. Down aiding is no shame if it comes to that. If you think deviously, there's plenty of tricks that can get you down safer. Remember, when push comes to shove, gear is cheap compared to hospitals
Peace
karlbaba
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Downclimbing and placing gear (instead of rapping)?
http://www.rockclimbing.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=703716#703716
As others have said, if you are climbing in remote areas or are on climbs with bad weather potential, down-leading is a skill that belongs in your bag of tricks. Most of the back-country climbers I know have had to do this on occasion.
Herb and Jan Conn, the climbing pioneers of the Needles in South Dakota, believed that rappelling was just another aid technique and an ascent wasn't a free ascent if the descent required aid. Consequently, they climbed down everything they climbed up as a matter of principle.
At the crag, if it isn't too crowded, down-leading climbs is an excellent way to get comfortable with the process, work out the kinks, and add variety to the day. I and many of my friends have done this regularly in the Gunks on well-protected routes 1 to 2 grades below what we can onsight on the way up. (I've always gone down routes I have gone up at other times, so routefinding has not been one of the issues.)
Cruxes on the downclimb can be different from those going up. Anything that involves long reaches and lockoffs on the way up is usually easier going down. Stepping down over overhangs can be extra stenuous, because the footholds do not appear until you have lowered yourself over and are more or less hanging on your arms. It is harder to place the feet and properly weight footholds going down. Friction moves are desperate going down. Most climbs are going to seem harder when downclimbed, and the first person down will, in general, place more pro than might have been used for leading the same pitch.
Downleading is one of the ultimate tests of a partnership. One the way up, the leader decides how much protection he or she needs, but on the way down, the first person down places pro for the "leader." Pro has to be placed as close as possible to hard moves but just below them, hopefully in a spot that won't be too trying to extract. (If it is in a tricky spot, then a lower piece should be placed to protect the "leader" while he or she is getting out the higher pro.) The whole process requires one partner to think carefully and empathically about the needs of the other.
If someone doesn't do a good job of this, I wouldn't go on a long or remote climb with them, whether or not I though there was any possibility of having to downclimb.
rgold
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alpnclmbr1
Aug 29, 2004, 6:59 AM
Post #52 of 63
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How do I stop kicking the wall?
I've got a practical suggestion for you. I used to have a lot of trouble with this and while everyone is right about the technique issues it does also just become a habit. That is, most of the time you're doing it you'd probably be fine without.
So, to break the habit, here's what I ended up doing it. "Scumming" as I was taught to call it is hell on your shoes, right? You get holes over the big toe maybe even before you've worn down the edge. The solution: keep climbing in them. First you go through the rubber, then eventually the leather underneath. Now your big toe is exposed. This does two things: one, scumming stops having any useful effect and two, it starts to hurt. Aversion training at its best.
dalguard
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edge
Sep 2, 2004, 1:06 PM
Post #53 of 63
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Common Injuries
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edge
Sep 2, 2004, 1:35 PM
Post #54 of 63
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Knots and the Rope
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jammer
Sep 2, 2004, 2:16 PM
Post #55 of 63
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All this information is excellent, but i thought you were going to have your own Climbing FAQ segment of this site :?:
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alpnclmbr1
Sep 2, 2004, 2:19 PM
Post #56 of 63
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^ look under the help tab at the top of the screen. That is where this stuff is going to end up.
d.
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jammer
Sep 2, 2004, 2:42 PM
Post #57 of 63
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This has to be the best idea I've seen on the site in a long time. Keep up the great work!
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alpnclmbr1
Sep 6, 2004, 6:28 AM
Post #58 of 63
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What should I buy for a beginner's rack?
1 Green Alien
1 Yellow Alien
1 Red Alien
1 .75 Camalot
1 #1 Camalot
1 #2 Camalot
1 #3 Camalot
1 1/2 sets BD stoppers #4-11,4,5,6,7,8.
10 24" spectra slings
1 24' Tied 1-inch webbing
2 12" spectra slings
30 carabiners
2 lockers
1 gear sling
1 Nut tool
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alpnclmbr1
Sep 6, 2004, 6:30 AM
Post #59 of 63
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What is and what is not Booty?
Booty = Found gear that is appropriate to take and keep.
Ten draws on a sport climb is not booty.
One draw on a sport climb is pretty much booty.
Fixed biners at the top of a sport climb are not booty
A single stopper or cam in the middle of a trad route is booty.
An entire pitch worth of gear. Try to find the owner, it may have been an accident?
Be aware that some fixed gear is there for a purpose. If you use it for that purpose, then it is nice to leave it. If you didn’t need it, then it is booty.
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alpnclmbr1
Sep 6, 2004, 6:32 AM
Post #60 of 63
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Why is the second carrying a rope on his back?
The second rope is for doing full length rappels off of a route set up for that type of descent. They are also useful in the mountains for emergency retreats, with or without pre-placed rap anchors.
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alpnclmbr1
Sep 6, 2004, 6:33 AM
Post #61 of 63
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A trad draw is a compact way to carry a shoulder sling on your harness gear loops without it dangling down to far.
To make a trad draw, you take a 24 inch sling with two biners. Grab the sling just below the upper biner. Take the lower biner and feed it through the center of the upper biner and then clip the part of the runner that you first grabbed hold of. You should end up with a tripled sling. To open it up, just unclip the lower biner and reclip it to one strand of the runner. It should cleanly extend to full length if you have done everything the right way.
alpnclmbr1
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alpnclmbr1
Sep 6, 2004, 6:35 AM
Post #62 of 63
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alpnclmbr1
Sep 6, 2004, 6:37 AM
Post #63 of 63
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