Belay anchors
A standard anchor set-up for an ice belay takes two ice screws. Place the first screw in the ice in front of you, a bit to one side, at about waist to chest level. Clip in a carabiner and tie into it with the climbing rope as it comes from your seat harness. Use a clove hitch or figure-8 knot. Unclip from the hand tool that was placed as a temporary anchor and replant that tool above and to the outside of the ice screw. Clip the tool to the screw via the wrist leash or a runner as a backup to...
Bigwall Multiday Techniques
Big walls, the saying goes, are 90 percent big walls are easy. There's no question that proper work and 10 percent fun. Not everyone agrees conditioning is essential for the hauling of heavy with those percentages, but few climbers will say loads and the scaling of multiple aid pitches. Big walls also call for a high degree of mental composure. Inexperienced wall climbers easily find themselves the victim of heightened fears brought on by prolonged and severe exposure. If you're new to the...
Snow Travel And Climbing
Climbing in snow is a fundamental part of mountaineering. Snow adds beauty and challenge but even if you wanted to avoid snow, it wouldn't be easy. Climbers work in a world in which their medium, the mountains, is sculpted by the action of snow, ice, and water. To avoid snow would mean climbing in only a select few mountain ranges or for only a few months each year. Climbers like snow for at least a couple of reasons. First of all, it makes many climbs a lot easier by providing a pathway over...
Accidents
One way to prevent accidents is to study incidents that have happened and try to learn from them. The American Alpine Club does just that in its annual publication Accidents in North American Mountaineering. The publication includes only actual climbing accidents, as distinguished from other mishaps that occur in mountainous regions. It describes only those accidents that are voluntarily reported, so it doesn't include numerous unpublicized incidents. The accidents represent only a fraction of...
Hanging Belays
Upon reaching the end of the pitch, the leader establishes an anchor as a new belay station fig. 11-27 . Place this anchor, when possible, to the side of the route especially if you are sack hauling so that your second can easily climb through. Also try to place at least one aid piece at the start of the next pitch to give the second a stance while changing leads. When establishing your anchor, make sure all anchor points including the haul anchor are connected to all other anchor points. If an...
Acclimatization
The body needs time to acclimate to higher altitude. However, the time it takes to adapt varies from person to person. Ascend at a moderate rate, averaging 1,000 feet a day in net elevation gain. If you are doing double carries, this may mean establishing camps at 2,000-foot intervals so that you carry one day and move camp the next, for a net gain of 2,000 feet every two days. If the suitable campsites are 3,000 feet apart, you can carry one day, move camp the next, and rest the third day, for...
Winter And Expedition Climbing
Climbers enter a new world of effort and commitment when they take on winter or expedition climbing. There are big differences between the weekend alpine climbing practiced by most climbers and the winter and expeditionary mountaineering of the serious amateur climber or the professional alpine mountaineer. Winter climbing brings severe conditions that require specialized equipment, a high level of skill, and a tremendous will to succeed. Expedition climbing demands the skills of winter...
Techniques Of Protection Leading A Pitch
After you get to know the tools for protection and how to place them, it's time for the next move literally. It's one thing to recognize a Stopper and a hex and a Friend and to be able to use them in individual placements. You can learn all this at home or while standing safely at the base of a cliff. It's another thing to get up on the cliff and take the lead. You now need to learn the protection techniques that let you use these tools safely in mapping strategy for an entire pitch. You'll...
Stopping In Midrappel
If it's ever necessary to stop partway down a rappel, wrap the rope two or three times around one leg fig. 8-19a . The friction around your leg, increased by the weight of the hanging rope, is usually enough to hold you and to free your hands. Keep a braking hand on the rope until the wraps are completed and tested with your weight. Make the wraps tight, or you could end up a foot or two Fig. 8-19. Stopping in mid-rappel a, with rope wrapped around leg b, with a carabiner brake or other...
Training Goals And Regimens
A training program should be designed to develop and maintain strength, endurance, balance, and flexibility. Added benefits will be greater confidence and fluidity on the rock. The energy required for muscular contraction is derived from three energy-producing systems each of which produces adenosine triphosphate ATP , the final common source of chemical energy for muscle . The primary source of energy for sustained or repeated muscular contraction requires oxygen and is referred to as the...
Rockfall hazard
Snowfields and glaciers are prime targets for rockfall from bordering walls and ridges espe cially on volcanic peaks, where the rock is often rotten and unstable. Climbers can reduce rockfall danger by wearing hard hats in hazardous areas and by timing climbs for less dangerous periods. Early-season outings usually face less rockfall than summer climbs because snow still helps cement loose rock in place. Whatever the season, the general rule for glacier climbs is early on and early off....
Aid Climbing And Pitoncraft
Aid climbing is the technique of using gear to support your weight as you climb. It can be as simple as using a bolt as a single handhold, or as complex as climbing an entire route with your full weight on pieces of specialized gear you have placed. Aid climbing is clearly a sharp departure from free climbing, where weighting the rope or the protective hardware is poor style. Free ascents are one of the goals of the sport of climbing, while aid climbing is a valuable skill for ascending...
Searching with avalanche rescue beacons
The small electronic device known as an avalanche rescue beacon is the principal tool for finding buried victims. A rescue beacon can be switched to either transmit or receive signals at a set radio frequency. Rescue depends on each member of a climbing party carrying a beacon, which during the climb is left switched on to the transmit mode. Searchers switch their beacons to the receive mode to zero in on the automatic transmission from a victim. A rescuer who has taken the time to practice...
Physical and mental conditioning
Training for an expedition involves both physical and mental preparation. For the body, emphasize cardiovascular training and strength training equally. Cardiovascular conditioning is important for physical activity at high altitudes. Powerful leg muscles are needed to walk heavy loads up the mountain, and upper-body strength is needed to hoist and carry the large expeditionary packs. Climbing itself is the best training. Climb often and in all weather conditions, carrying a heavy pack. If you...
Mountaineering
1960, 1967, 1974, 1982, 1992 by The Mountaineers All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, without permission in writing from the publisher. 1001 SW Klickitat Way, Seattle, Washington 98134 Published simultaneously in Canada by Douglas amp Mclntyre, Ltd., 1615 Venables Street, Vancouver, B.C. V5L2H1 Published simultaneously in Great Britain by Swan Hill Press, 101 Longden Road, Shrewsbury SY3 9EB, England...
The Ice Axe
The tool is called an ice axe, but it's really an invaluable all-purpose item that often goes to work long before snow or ice is reached. The axe has a lot of unsuspected uses. It pro vides a third leg during stream fording. It gives a brief touch-and-go balance point while you hop across talus. It also helps with balance on steep trails, serving as a heavy-duty cane going uphill and a brake going down. The axe held diagonally across the body, spike touching the slope, will help you hold a...
Tents
The choice of a tent depends on what you like and what you plan to use it for. Will it be used only in the summer, or for three or four seasons of the year Above or below timberline For you alone, or for two people, or three, or four Are you after luxurious space, or just the bare minimum How much weight are you willing to carry How much money are you able to spend Manufacturers offer almost any combination of size, weight, and design. The choice is yours, after consulting catalogs, stores,...
Other mechanical systems
Several mechanical rappel systems require no special device, just a locking carabiner. It can be worthwhile insurance to learn at least one of them. To set up the carabiner wrap system fig. 8-7 , clip a locking carabiner into the locking carabiner or doubled carabiners that are clipped to your seat harness. Run the rappel rope through the outer end of the outside carabiner, and wrap it around the carabiner's solid back, giving it more turns if you want more friction. Two turns are usually just...
Footholds
Climbers use most footholds by employing one of two techniques, edging or smearing. On many holds, either technique will work, and the one to use depends on your own preference and type of footwear. We'll take up a third technique, called the foot jam, in a later section. In edging, the edge of the boot or rock shoe is placed over the hold fig. 9-5a . You can use either the inside or outside edge, but the inside is usually preferred for greater ease and security. The ideal point of contact may...
Cornices
The shape of a ridge crest helps determine the extent of cornice-building fig. 12-41 . A ridge that slopes on one side and breaks into an abrupt cliff on the other is a good candidate for a gigantic cornice. A knife-edge ridge or one gentle on both sides will have only a tiny cornice, if any at all. When the physical features are right for building cornices, wind direction decides their exact location. Because storm winds have definite patterns in each mountain range, most cornices in the same...
Shovel
A broad-bladed shovel is a utility and safety tool for snow travel fig. 12-13 . It's the only practical tool for uncovering an avalanche victim. Shovels are also used for digging snow shelters and leveling off tent platforms and have even been used as a climbing tool to shovel a pathway up a particularly snowy route. A good snow shovel has a blade large enough to move snow efficiently and a handle long enough for good leverage but short enough for use in a confined area. It should strap easily...
Hauling
After anchoring yourself and fixing the climbing rope for the second, it's your job as the leader to begin hauling fig. 11-32 1. Attach a pulley, through which the haul line passes, to the anchor. 2. Attach an upside-down ascender to the haul line on the haul-sack side of the pulley. The end of the ascender closest to the pulley normally the bottom is clipped into the anchor, while the end pointing toward the haul sack is counterweighted with the remains of the rack or another weight . 3....
Rappel Anchors
You will often be hanging your full weight on the rappel anchor, which is simply some point of attachment to the rock, snow, or ice. Set up the anchor as close as possible to the edge of the rappel route providing you can get a solid anchor . This provides the longest possible rappel. It also makes it easier to pull the rope down from below after the rappel, and often reduces the danger of rockfall as Think about possible effects on the rope as you are looking for an anchor. Locate the anchor...
Preparing For The Pull Of A Fall
There are two general approaches to belaying, depending upon whether the forward pull of the fall goes first to your body, or directly to the anchor. Belaying from the anchor Belaying directly from the anchor fig. 7-2a requires, at a minimum, complete confidence that the anchor is bombproof in short, it will not fail under any conceivable force. If you are using one of the many available belay devices for applying friction to the rope, you must be able to assume a specific brak Fig. 7-2....
Leading And Placing Protection
Climbers who have learned the basic techniques of rock climbing and who know how to belay and rappel are ready to take up the study of leading and of placing protection. Leading is the skill of climbing first up a pitch, utilizing a belayer, rope, and intermediate protection for added safety. To many climbers, leading is one of the most satisfying activities in all of climbing. As leader, you're not just following you've taken on the challenge and responsibility of determining the direction of...
Natural Protection
Some of the very best protection is already in place, just waiting for you. It's natural protection trees and bushes, horns and flakes, chockstones, boulders, and other natural features. The leader can save the fancy hardware for later in the climb. Only the simplest tools runners and carabiners are needed to take advantage of these gifts from Mother Nature. The basic technique for using all natural protection is identical position a runner around the natural feature, clip a carabiner to the...
Single bowline
The single bowline fig. 6-15 makes a loop at the end of the climbing rope that will not slip, and it can secure the rope around a tree or other anchor. Tie off the loose end with an overhand knot. The free end of the rope should come out on the inside of the loop, because the knot is much weaker if this end finishes on the outside.
Skis
Mountaineering has becomc a popular four-season pursuit with the widespread use of Nordic and mountaineering skis fitted with climbing skins. The Nordic ski, light and skinny, is worn with a special boot held in a toe binding that leaves the heel free fig. 12-1 la . Depending on the design Fig. 12-10. Adjustable-length ski poles that can be fastened together to create an avalanche probe and purpose of the ski, it may be referred to as a cross-country, touring, or telemark ski. Because the heel...
Adzes
With the adze of an ice tool, you can chop steps, clear ice to make a good surface for screw placement, and cut footholds at belays. As with picks, adzes come in an array of shapes and sizes fig. 14-5 . Many ice tools accept interchangable adzes, letting you replace a broken adze or change adzes depending on ice conditions. You can even Fig. 14-5. Side and end views of three adze designs The most common adze is straight, extending perpendicular to the shaft or drooping somewhat downward. The...
The lowering device
The best lowering device for use by a small party without specialized rescue gear is the standard carabiner brake system, as used in rappel-ling but doubled fig. 17-5 . Simply construct two carabiner brakes, and join them with a locking carabiner. Chapter 8 gives details on putting together a carabiner brake. Each brake should in clude two braking carabiners the crosswise cara-biners . The rescue rope runs through both brakes, providing increased friction for holding weight during lowering. The...
Shortdistance Carries
Four-hand seat This technique, useful for very short distances, requires two carriers who are the same height. The carriers grasp their own right wrist with their left hand, palms down. With the right hand, they grasp their partner's left wrist, forming a seat for the incapacitated person fig. 17-6 . Ice-axe carry This method permits longer carries than the four-hand seat. Carriers wearing rucksacks stand side by side, with the bundled shafts of two long-shaft ice axes supported between them in...
First Steps
Mountaineering is more than climbing, panoramic views, and wilderness experience. It is also challenge, risk, and hardship. And it is not for everyone. Those drawn to the mountains can find them exhilarating and irresistible, as well as frustrating and sometimes even deadly. There are qualities to mountaineering that inspire us and bring us to revel in a pursuit that is more than a pastime, more than a sport a passion, certainly, and sometimes a compulsion. What was the force that impelled me...
The Munter hitch
The Munter is a simple hitch in the rope that is clipped into a carabiner to put friction on the line. It provides an excellent method of belaying a leader or lowering a climber because the hitch is Fig. 6-25. Klemheist knot a-b, winding and threading Klemheist knot c, Klemheist tied off with a sheet bend d, Klemheist tied around a carabiner. Fig. 6-25. Klemheist knot a-b, winding and threading Klemheist knot c, Klemheist tied off with a sheet bend d, Klemheist tied around a carabiner....
What Determines The Forces In A Fall
The simplest belay is the one the word originally meant. The sailor wraps rope around a cleat so that it cannot be pulled the earliest climbers wrapped rope around or over a boulder or rock horn or the like, hoping for the same result. The only difference between this and tying the rope directly to an anchor was that the rope could be fed out or taken in without untying and retying a knot. Today, a firm grip on the rope, coupled with a sufficiently small protected fall, produces the same...
Descending Snow
One mark of a skillful snow climber is the ability to go downhill efficiently and confidently. Many otherwise competent and aggressive climbers blanch at the prospect of going forward down a steep snow gully. Why Because there's a superb view perhaps too superb of the exposure. And because on steep snow the axe must be placed very low to move down, leaving the climber without the comforting stance and handhold that was there on the way up. You can minimize those downhill jitters by mastering a...
Knowledge
A beginner ignorant of mountaineering gains knowledge from books, courses, mountain climbers and from climbing. At the start, beginners won't even know they don't know a novice might look at an avalanche-prone slope warming in the sun and not even be aware the party needs to ask itself whether there is a risk. But as they study and as they climb, beginners can add to their knowledge by keeping alert and asking questions. A climber won't learn much by simply tagging along without paying...
How Altimeters Aid Mountaineers
The altimeter helps in deciding whether to continue a climb or to turn back, by letting you calculate your rate of ascent. Let's say you have been keeping an hourly check on time and elevation during a climb. It has taken the party 4 hours to climb 3,000 feet, an average of 750 feet per hour. But you know that the actual rate of ascent has been declining with each hour. In fact, the party gained only 500 feet in the past hour, compared with 1,000 feet the first hour. You know that the summit is...
Negotiating Overhangs And Roofs
Depending on the situation, overhangs and roofs require a variety of techniques such as man-teling, face climbing, or crack climbing. There are two important points to remember maintain balance and conserve strength. Fig. 9-31. Chimney techniques in a moderate-width chimney To maintain balance, look for good footholds and make the most of them. This often means keeping feet high and hips low to help press weight against footholds fig. 9-33 . In some situations, it means pressing your hips into...
Brute force
Here's a technique we can all understand. Just grab the rope and pull. This is an excellent method for large groups because it's fast, uncomplicated, uses minimal equipment, and requires little or no help from the fallen climber. It works best when perhaps half a dozen strong rescuers can haul on the rope and when the working platform for the pullers is flat or downhill. After the rescuers have established an anchor, checked the fallen climber, and padded the rope at the lip of the crevasse,...
The belay anchor
As the ultimate security for any belay, the anchor should be able to hold the longest possible fall and the full weight of both climbers. Anchors are essential on rock, snow, and ice for belaying and rappelling. You'll get a few tips here on selecting good anchors for belays, but for full details on finding and using natural features, and on using artificial protection on rock, snow, and ice, study Chapters 10, 12, and 14. This chapter will concentrate on ways to tie in to one or more anchors...
Personal Responsibility
ETHICS AND STYLE OF PLACING PROTECTION Local climbers at each area have usually settled on some basic rules to play by, including standards for placing protection. Some climbing areas are more traditional, encouraging leading and placing protection from the ground up. Other areas have embraced newer techniques, such as inspecting a route on rappel before climbing it, or placing bolts on rappel. You'll have your own opinions regarding protection, of course, but be sensitive to the climbing...
Group Gear
Expedition-quality tent I Snow stakes and or tent flukes I Sponge and whisk broom I Snow shelter construction tools large snow shovel for moving lots of snow small snow shovel for delicate trimming snow saw for cutting blocks I I Hardware snow and ice gear pickets, flukes, ice screws rock gear pitons, spring-loaded camming devices, chocks carabiners runners fixed line extra climbing equipment spare ice axe or tool, spare crampons I I Stove gear stove wind screen and stove pad fuel containers...
Objective Hazards The Mountain Environment
Objective hazards are the natural processes that exist whether humans are involved or not. Darkness, storms, lightning, cold, precipitation, high altitude, avalanches, and rockfall are powerful, impersonal environmental conditions that can easily overwhelm humans. These objective hazards of the mountains are eternally persistent and changeable. We cannot control these forces, but we can learn to recognize them and act to minimize their dangers. You will find detailed information throughout this...
Seconding long pendulums
All long pendulums require at least one rope in addition to the climbing and haul ropes. There are a number of ways to second a long pendulum, but the method shown in figure 11-30 will handle all such cases. Figure 11-30a All pendulums begin with a leader, of course, who rappels off a bombproof pendulum point using either one rope or two ropes tied together, depending on the width of the pendulum. The rappel rope should be clipped into the anchor so there's no danger of losing it. While on the...
The single pulley Cpulley
Smaller groups without enough muscle to pull the climber out by brute force need a more sophisticated system. The single pulley gives rescuers a 2-to-l mechanical advantage, doubling the amount of weight that each puller can raise although friction somewhat lowers this ratio . Several considerations enter into a decision to use the single-pulley also known as the C-pulley . The fallen climbcr must be conscious in order to help by clipping into the rescue pulley. A separate length of rope is...
The belay stance
If you belay from your harness or body rather than directly from the anchor, you usually will brace against the forward pull of a fall with a solid stance. The stance can help keep the anchor from being fully tested. You will usually support the stance with a short, tight rope to a strong anchor to greatly increase your stability. But for the moment we will consider the strength of the stance alone, based in part upon studies by the Sierra Club. Although the club's experiments used the hip...
Climbing mixed terrain
If your winter goal is normally a summer rock climb, be prepared to climb in crampons. Although considerable rock may be showing, the surface could be slick with a thin veneer of snow or ice. Even more than in the summer, climb deliberately. Search for small holds or level spots on which the crampon points can rest. This mixed climbing rapidly dulls crampon points, but they should be able to withstand the abuse. Consider carrying a small file to sharpen points if difficult ice climbing is...
Routefinding Aids
Crossing a snowfield or glacier, especially at night or in a white-out, can feel like being at sea, without landmarks. However, mountaineers have a couple of navigational opportunities denied to mariners. Mountaineers have a solid surface for planting their own landmarks wands , and they experience changes in elevation that can be measured by an altimeter as a way to show progress. The thin bamboo wands topped with tiny flags are left to mark the return route. Try to place wands so that on the...
Ski Poles
Ski poles aren't only for use with skis. They beat an ice axe for balance when you're trudging with a heavy pack over level or low-angle snow, slippery ground or scree, or when you're trying to cross a stream or boulder field. They also can take some of the weight off your lower body. And the basket at the bottom keeps the poles from slipping deep into soft snow, a favorite trick of ice axes unless they're fitted with a special snow collar. A variety of ski poles have features helpful to the...
Belay methods
You have the choice of using a mechanical belay device, a Miinter hitch, or a hip belay. The anchor set-up is the same in any case. Your choice will probably depend on what you're accustomed to and on your degree of confidence in the anchor. The hip belay tends to be somewhat dynamic, with a bit of movement at the belay resulting in a slower stop to a fall but less force on the anchor and intermediate protection points. Belay devices and the Miinter hitch, on the other tend, tend to be less...