| Rope Handling Wall climbing is like any other climbing technique when it comes to safety systems. Of course, a dynamic rope is used to provide protection, but the diameter of such should be 10.5mm or better due to the abrasiveness of the rock and the rough conditions it will face on a wall climb. Wall climbing also employs static ropes. Those are used primarily for jugging and hauling from fixed locations. It is sometimes advantageous to climb and fix several pitches and jumar up the next day to finish, especially when faced with weather, fatigue or the need to haul heavy loads. I suggest that one should use statics when hauling heavy bags or descending with heavy loads. A dynamic rope stretches quite a bit and the sheath is easily abraded when the rope is moving. A good suggestion is to acquire a 100m or 300ft static 10.5 to 11mm rope for rapelling/fixing pitches. Another good suggestion is to bag your ropes bucket style and deploy them via the bag to prevent tangling and having them whipped into a flake on windy days. |
:: Knots and Rope Handling ::
::NM Climber.com ::
| Rope Handling The rope is the key point in the safety system. It is designed to keep forces below 12kn which is about all the human body can withstand. The trick to getting the rope to do it's job is to keep as much of it in the system as possible. It works best when it's core twisting and elongating can dissipate heat from transferring energy over a wide area. Along with allowing the rope to do it's job, you must assist it also in limiting the momentum of falls. One does this by attempting to shorten distances of the fall and placing protection accordingly to keep those forces off the main anchor and the belayer. Factors that mitigate force on the climber and belayer: 1) The dynamic nature of the rope 2) The friction of the rope running through carabiners 3) The friction of the rope running through the belay device 4) The dynamic action of the harnesses and of human bodies Factors that increase force in the system: 1) Distance and time that the fall gains momentum (Place protection frequently and avoid runouts) 2) Sections where the rope is in contact with the rock(Essentially shortening the available rope in the system) 3) Static belays(Belaying off the anchor,taking the belayer's body and tether out of the system) 4) Falling on daisy chains or a static sling when tied in(No dynamic braking to reduce force on the anchor) Steps to increase the margin of safety: 1) Always belay on a position away from the main anchor and give the belayer a separate anchor if possible. Make the distance about 1meter from the main anchor if possible. 2) Be aware of your rope's properties. A thinner rope will give a softer catch, but will stretch more, adding distance to the fall. 3) Try to place one piece of pro above the main anchor in case the leader slips or falls when beginning the lead. This will put more rope in the system 4) Since the topmost piece of protection takes the most force during a fall, try to make your placements secure and use load limiting runners where pieces are small and their potential loss will cause a large distance to the next lower piece |
| Knots There are many knots that are useful for climbing. However, the truly useful ones are those that one knows well and can utilize properly. It is better to know just 5 or 6 that can be used in many situations. Here is a list of what I recommend: Figure of Eight Clove Hitch Grapevine Knot Water Knot or Beer Knot Prussik Hitch Slip Hitch Alpine Butterfly Knot Munter Hitch Most of these can be self taught following the directions from this site. Animated knots by Grog. Here's the link for climbers. |
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