1.
Rope
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A rope is a group of yarns, plies, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting, as a result, they cannot be used for pushing or similar compressive applications. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly constructed cord, line, string, fiber rope is made from fiber, whereas wire rope is made from wire. Rope may be constructed of any long, stringy, fibrous material, synthetic fibre ropes are significantly stronger than their natural fibre counterparts, but also possess certain disadvantages, including slipperiness. Common natural fibres for rope are manila hemp, hemp, feathers, linen, cotton, coir, jute, straw, synthetic fibres in use for rope-making include polypropylene, nylon, polyesters, polyethylene, Aramids and acrylics. Some ropes are constructed of mixtures of several fibres or use co-polymer fibres, wire rope is made of steel or other metal alloys. Ropes have been constructed of fibrous materials such as silk, wool, and hair. Rayon is a fibre used to make decorative rope. The twist of the strands in a twisted or braided rope serves not only to keep a rope together, without any twist in the rope, the shortest strand would always be supporting a much higher proportion of the total load. Rope is of paramount importance in fields as diverse as construction, seafaring, exploration, sports, theatre, and communications, to fasten rope, many types of knots have been invented for countless uses. Pulleys redirect the force to another direction, and can create mechanical advantage so that multiple strands of rope share a load. Winches and capstans are machines designed to pull ropes, such ropes normally use a kernmantle construction, as described below. Static ropes, used for example in caving, rappelling, and rescue applications, are designed for minimal stretch, the UIAA, in concert with the CEN, sets climbing-rope standards and oversees testing. Any rope bearing a GUIANA or CE certification tag is suitable for climbing, climbing ropes, however, do cut easily when under load. Keeping them away from sharp rock edges is imperative, rock climbing ropes come with either a designation for single, double or twin use. A single rope is the most common and it is intended to be used by itself, single ropes range in thickness from roughly 9mm to 11mm. Smaller ropes are lighter, but wear out faster, double ropes are thinner ropes, usually 9mm and under, and are intended for use as a pair. These ropes offer a margin or security against cutting, since it is unlikely that both ropes will be cut, but they complicate belaying and leading
2.
Rock climbing
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Rock climbing is an activity in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Due to the length and extended endurance required and because accidents are likely to happen on descent than ascent. It is very rare for a climber to downclimb, especially on the larger multiple pitches, professional Rock climbing competitions have the objectives of either completing the route in the quickest possible time or attaining the farthest point on an increasingly difficult route. Scrambling, another activity involving the scaling of hills and similar formations, is similar to rock climbing, however, rock climbing is generally differentiated by its sustained use of hands to support the climbers weight as well as to provide balance. Rock climbing is a physically and mentally demanding sport, one that often tests a climbers strength, endurance, agility and it can be a dangerous activity and knowledge of proper climbing techniques and usage of specialized climbing equipment is crucial for the safe completion of routes. Because of the range and variety of rock formations around the world. Paintings dating from 200 BC show Chinese men rock climbing China woop woop, in early America, the cliff-dwelling Anasazi in the 12th century were thought to be excellent climbers. Early European climbers used rock climbing techniques as a required to reach the summit in their mountaineering exploits. In the 1880s, European rock climbing become an independent pursuit outside of mountain climbing, Rock climbing evolved gradually from an alpine necessity to a distinct athletic activity. However, climbing techniques, equipment and ethical considerations have evolved steadily, today, free climbing, climbing using holds made entirely of natural rock while using gear solely for protection and not for upward movement, is the most popular form of the sport. Free climbing has since divided into several sub-styles of climbing dependent on belay configuration. Over time, grading systems have also created in order to compare more accurately the relative difficulties of the rock climbs. In How to Rock Climb, John Long notes that for moderately skilled climbers simply getting to the top of a route is not enough, in rock climbing, style refers to the method of ascending the cliff. There are three styles of climbing, on-sight, flash, and redpoint. To on-sight a route is to ascend the wall without aid or any foreknowledge and it is considered the way to climb with the most style. Flashing is similar to on-sighting, except that the climber has previous information about the route including talking about the beta with other climbers, redpointing means to make a free ascent of the route after having first tried it. Free climbing is typically divided into styles that differ from one another depending on the choice of equipment used
3.
Ice climbing
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Ice climbing is the activity of ascending inclined ice formations. Usually, ice climbing refers to roped and protected climbing of features such as icefalls, frozen waterfalls, for the purposes of climbing, ice can be broadly divided into two spheres, alpine ice and water ice. Alpine ice is found in an environment, usually requires an approach to reach. Water ice is found on a cliff or other outcropping beneath water flows. Alpine ice is frozen precipitation whereas water ice is a liquid flow of water. Technical grade is, however, independent of ice type and both types of ice vary greatly in consistency according to weather conditions, Ice can be soft, hard, brittle or tough. Mixed climbing is ascent involving both ice climbing and rock climbing, a climber chooses equipment according to the slope and texture of the ice. On short, low angled slopes, one can use an ice axe to chop steps, for longer and steeper slopes or glacier travel, crampons are mandatory for a safe climb. Vertical ice climbing is done with crampons and ice axes, climbers kick their legs to engage the front points of the crampons in the ice and this technique is known as front pointing. The strength of the ice is often surprising, even if the axe goes in only a centimeter or so it is enough to pull up on, if a climber is leading, they will need to place ice screws as protection on the way up. Most mountaineers would only consider the last scenario true ice climbing, some important techniques and practices common in rock climbing that are employed in ice climbing include knowledge of rope systems, tying in, belaying, leading, abseiling, and lowering. Beginners should learn these techniques before attempting to ice climb and it is highly recommended that one acquire knowledge from experts and experienced ice climbers. Single, double, and twin rope are the three main rope systems used in ice climbing, the single rope system, which is suited for straight climbing routes, is the most commonly used rock climbing system in the world. Also often used in climbing is the rope system which is a more flexible system than the single rope system. Lastly, the rope system, which uses two twin ropes in a single rope system, is used for longer multi-pitch routes. Impact force on ice is an issue, with double ropes gaining popularity over twins, tying in entails attaching the rope to the climbing harness. This technique is a must particularly when leading a climb or belaying, a commonly used tie-in knot is the Figure-of-eight follow through, but the Bowline and Thumb knot is often preferred, since it is easier to untie when frozen. This technique should be done properly to ensure safety when ice climbing
4.
Mountaineering
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The term mountaineering describes the sport of mountain climbing, including ski mountaineering. Hiking in the mountains can also be a form of mountaineering when it involves scrambling, or short stretches of the more basic grades of rock climbing. All require experience, athletic ability, and technical knowledge to maintain safety, mountaineering is often called Alpinism, especially in European languages, which implies climbing with difficulty such high and often snow and ice-covered mountains as the Alps. A mountaineer with such great skill is called an Alpinist, historically, many cultures have harbored superstitions about mountains, which they often regarded as sacred due to their proximity with heaven, such as Mount Olympus for the Ancient Greeks. In 1492 Antoine de Ville, lord of Domjulien and Beaupré, was the first to ascend the Mont Aiguille, in France, with a team, using ladders. It appears to be the first recorded climb of any technical difficulty, in 1573 Francesco De Marchi and Francesco Di Domenico ascended Corno Grande, the highest peak in the Apennine Mountains. During the Enlightenment, as a product of the new spirit of curiosity for the natural world, in 1741 Richard Pococke and William Windham made a historic visit to Chamonix. By the early 19th century many of the peaks were reached, including the Grossglockner in 1800, the Ortler in 1804, the Jungfrau in 1811, the Finsteraarhorn in 1812. In 1808 Marie Paradis became the first female to climb Mont Blanc and this inaugurated what became known as the Golden age of alpinism, with the first mountaineering club - the Alpine Club - being founded in 1857. Well-known guides of the era include Christian Almer, Jakob Anderegg, Melchior Anderegg, J. J. Bennen, Michel Croz, in the early years of the golden age, scientific pursuits were intermixed with the sport, such as by the physicist John Tyndall. In the later years, it shifted to a more competitive orientation as pure sportsmen came to dominate the London-based Alpine Club and this ascent is generally regarded as marking the end of the mountaineering golden age. By this point the sport of mountaineering had largely reached its modern form, with a body of professional guides, equipment, mountaineering in the Americas became popular in the 1800s. In North America, Pikes Peak in the Colorado Rockies was first climbed by Edwin James, though lower than Pikes Peak, the heavily glaciated Fremont Peak in Wyoming was thought to be the tallest mountain in the Rockies when it was first climbed by John C. Frémont and two others in 1842, pico de Orizaba, the tallest peak in Mexico and third tallest in North America, was first climbed by U. S. military personnel which included William F. Raynolds and a half dozen other climbers in 1848. Heavily glaciated and more technical climbs in North American were not achieved until the late 19th, in 1897 Mount Saint Elias on the Alaska-Yukon border was summitted by the Duke of the Abruzzi and party. But it was not until 1913 that Mount Mckinley, the tallest peak in North America was successfully climbed by Hudson Stuck, Mount Logan, the tallest peak in Canada was first summitted by a half dozen climbers in 1925 in an expedition that took more than two months. In 1879-1880 the exploration of the highest Andes in South America began when English mountaineer Edward Whymper climbed Chimborazo, the summit of Aconcagua was finally reached on January 14,1897 by Swiss mountaineer Matthias Zurbriggen during an expedition led by Edward FitzGerald that began in December 1896. The Andes of Bolivia were first explored by Sir William Martin Conway in 1898 and it took until the late 19th century for European explorers to penetrate Africa
5.
Traditional climbing
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Traditional climbing, or trad climbing, is a style of rock climbing in which a climber or group of climbers place all gear required to protect against falls, and removes it when a passage is complete. Traditional bolted face climbing means the bolts were placed on lead and/or with hand drills, the bolts tend to be much farther apart than sport climbs. For example, a trad bolted routes may have bolts from 15–75 feet apart, a sport route may have bolts from 3–10 feet apart, similar to a rock climbing gym. The term seems to be coined by Tom Higgins in the piece Tricksters, a trad climber is called a traditionalist. Characterizing climbing as traditional distinguishes it from bolted climbing-either trad bolted or sport climbing, in trad climbing, a leader ascends a section of rock placing his or her own protective devices while climbing. John Longs 1989 technique manual How to Rock Climb used the sport climbing repeatedly in reference to what is now considered traditional climbing. This evolution in climbing ethics has been attributed to the efforts of Yvon Chouinard and many others, the term gear in climbing generally refers to equipment used during climbs. Gear or protection are mechanical devices that provide safety, either by allowing greater stability in making a move or by dampening force, the suitability of individual types of gear depends on the surface and formation of the rock face. The phrase placing gear denotes the act of setting a piece of gear into the rock face, in the event of a fall, the gear acts as a catch-point for the rope, thus preventing the climber from hurtling to the ground. Being run out refers to the situation where the distance from the position to the last piece of gear is far enough that the climber will receive little, if any. Nuts started being developed in the 1950s in the UK, with the pieces being made from discarded machine nuts with slings threaded through them. These gradually developed into purpose built nuts, prior to about 1970 in the United States, climbing relied mainly on pitons, other types of gear such as nuts, Hexcentrics, Tricams and spring-loaded cams were largely unknown or did not exist. As other variants of climbing were not nominally in existence as well, all climbing was in effect trad climbing until the early 1980s when sport climbing emerged in Europe, since the 1970s, developments in protective gear have made climbing much safer and more dynamic. Modern traditional climbs only occasionally have fixed gear, except in the case where cracks are lacking to place adequate removable gear and it is also considered bad style to install new protection bolts or pitons on existing climbs that can be completed without them. Many of the existing pitons, pegs and bolts from the first ascents of routes done many years ago, are now considered to be in bad condition having suffered from the weathering. This is especially present on sea cliffs where the nature of the air has sped up the oxidisation to create rust. A number of knots are required for climbing, to create anchors, to tie in the climbers. Water knot is used for connecting two pieces of webbing together, double bowline is used for tying in, or anchoring around a fixed object
6.
Abseiling
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An abseil, also called a rappel after its French name, is a controlled descent of a vertical drop, such as a rock face, using a rope. Climbers use this technique when a cliff or slope is too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection, many climbers use this technique to protect established anchors from damage. Rope access technicians also use this as a method to access difficult-to-reach areas from above for various applications like maintenance, construction, inspection. Rescue teams are known for using this method as a way to access injured or stranded victims. The origin of the abseil is attributed to Jean Charlet-Straton, a Chamonix guide who lived from 1840–1925, Charlet originally devised the technique of the abseil method of roping down during a failed solo attempt of Petit Dru in 1876. After many attempts, some of them solo, he managed to reach the summit of the Petit Dru in 1879 in the company of two other Chamonix guides, Prosper Payot and Frédéric Folliguet, whom he hired, during that ascent, Charlet perfected the abseil. Ropes, Climbers often simply use their climbing ropes for abseiling, for many other applications, low-stretch rope called static rope is used to reduce bouncing and to allow easier ascending of the rope. Anchors for abseiling are sometimes made with trees or boulders, using webbing and cordellete, or also with rock climbing equipment, such as nuts, hexes, some climbing areas have fixed anchors such as bolts or pitons for rappelling off of without having to leave other gear behind. A descender or rappel device is a device or friction hitch that allows rope to be payed out in a controlled fashion, under load. The speed at which the abseiler descends is controlled by applying greater or lesser force on the rope below the device or altering the angle at which the rope exits the device, descenders can be task-designed or improvised from other equipment. Mechanical descenders include braking bars, the eight, the abseil rack, the bobbin, the gold tail. Some improvised descenders include the Munter hitch, a wrap, the basic crossed-carabiner brake. There is an older, more uncomfortable, method of wrapping the rope around ones body for friction instead of using a descender, a climbing harness is often used around the waist to secure the descender. A comfortable climbing harness is important for descents that may take many hours. A prusik, Klemheist knot, or autoblock knot may be used as safety back-up, commonly referred to as an autoblock, and is used as a back-up in the case of the abseiler losing control of the abseil. One of these friction hitches is wrapped around the rope below the device, using a short loop of smaller diameter cord or webbing. The prusik loop is attached to the belay loop or leg loop of the harness. Helmets may be worn to protect the head from bumps and falling rocks, a light source may be mounted on the helmet in order to keep the hands free in unlit areas
7.
Belaying
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Belaying refers to a variety of techniques climbers use to exert tension on a climbing rope so that a falling climber does not fall very far. The term belay also means the place where the belayer is anchored, this is typically a ledge, but may be a hanging belay, where the belayer is suspended from protection in the rock. In a typical climbing situation, one end of the rope is fixed to the harness of the climber, using either a Rewoven Figure Eight, bowline, the rope then passes through climbing protection, which is fixed into the rock. Attachment to the rocks may be via bolts that are fixed into the rock, or by traditional protection that the climber places. The rope runs through the protection to a person called the belayer. The belayer wears a harness that has a device attached. The rope threads through the belay device, by altering the position of the end of the rope, the belayer can vary the amount of tension on the rope. In one position, the rope runs freely through the belay device, in another position, it can easily be held without moving, because the tension on the rope is so great. This is called locking off the rope, if the climber climbs three feet higher than the last piece of protection in the rock, and then falls, the rope allows him to fall the three feet to the protection, and another three feet below that. If they fall any further, rope is pulled upwards through the protection from the belayer below, because the belayer generally keeps the rope locked off, the climbers fall should be arrested and they are left suspended, but safe, somewhere below the protection. A dynamic rope, which has some stretch in it, is used so that the climber is not brought to a sudden jarring stop. Some climbers choose static ropes for abseiling/rapelling because its easier to use, while the task of belaying is typically assigned to a companion who stays at the bottom, self-belaying is also possible as an advanced technical climbing technique. The person climbing is said to be on belay when one of these methods is used. Belaying is a part of the climbing system. A correct belaying method lets the belayer hold the weight of the climber with relatively little force. By using a mixture of belaying angle and hand-grip on the rope, the belayer should keep the rope locked off in the belay device whenever the climber is not moving. As the climber moves on the climb, the belayer must make sure that the climber has the amount of rope by paying out or pulling in excess rope. If the climber falls, they free-fall the distance of the slack or unprotected rope before the friction applied by the belayer starts to slow their descent
8.
Belay device
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A belay device is a mechanical piece of climbing equipment used to control a rope during belaying. It is designed to improve safety for the climber by allowing the belayer to manage their duties with minimal physical effort. With the right belay device, a small, weak climber can easily arrest the fall of a much heavier partner, belay devices act as a friction brake, so that when a climber falls with any slack in the rope, the fall is brought to a stop. Belay devices generally have two modes of operation, in the first mode, the rope is relatively free to be paid in/out by the belayer and this rubbing slows the rope, but also generates heat. Some types of devices can transition between these modes without the belayer taking any action, others require the belayer to hold or pull the rope in a particular direction to arrest a fall. Belay devices usually attach to the harness of the belayer via a carabiner, some belay devices can also be used as descenders for a controlled descent on a rope, that is abseiling or rappeling. Many belay devices can be used to either one rope. There are many reasons why the option might be chosen by a climber. There are also devices on the market which allow a climber to climb solo in his or her climbing gym and this is a device that you feed a bight of rope through a hole or aperture and then hook it into a locking carabiner on the harness. The Sticht plate was the first mechanical brake, named after its designer. It consists of a metal plate with a slot that allows a bight of rope to pass through to a locking carabiner. This locking carabiner is clipped to the belayer who is able to lock the rope at will. Some plates had two slots for double ropes, the slots could also be different sizes for different diameter ropes e. g. 9mm and 11mm. A wide wire spring may be attached on one side to keep the plate away from the brake carabiner to ease feeding and taking in rope. A smaller hole is present for accessory cord to carry the device. Sticht plates are typically forged from aluminium alloy in a disc shape. Sticht plates have become popular since more modern designs provide smoother control over the rope and are less prone to jamming. This type of device generally has a tubular or rectangular shape, as a result, this is generally the most common type of belay device used
9.
Nylon
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Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers, more specifically aliphatic or semi-aromatic polyamides. They can be melt-processed into fibers, films or shapes, the first example of nylon was produced on February 28,1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPonts research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station. Nylon polymers have significant commercial applications in fibers, in shapes. Nylon is made of repeating units linked by bonds and is a type of polyamide and is frequently referred to as such. Nylon was the first commercially successful synthetic thermoplastic polymer, commercially, nylon polymer is made by reacting monomers which are either lactams, acid/amines or stoichiometric mixtures of diamines and diacids. Mixtures of these can be polymerized together to make copolymers, Nylon polymers can be mixed with a wide variety of additives to achieve many different property variations. Nylon was invented accidentally by Julian W. Hill, a chemist for DuPont under Wallace Carotherss supervision and it was only given this name at the 1939 New York Worlds Fair. The patents were owned by DuPont, Nylon was intended to be a synthetic replacement for silk and substituted for it in many different products after silk became scarce during World War II. It replaced silk in military applications such as parachutes and flak vests, after initial commercialization of nylon as a fiber, applications in the form of shapes and films were also developed. The main market for nylon shapes now is in auto components, in 1940, John W. Eckelberry of DuPont stated that the letters nyl were arbitrary and the on was copied from the suffixes of other fibers such as cotton and rayon. A later publication by DuPont explained that the name was intended to be No-Run. Since the products were not really run-proof, the vowels were swapped to produce nuron, for clarity in pronunciation, the i was changed to y. Most nylons are made from the reaction of an acid with a diamine or a lactam or amino acid with itself. In the first case, the structure is so-called ABAB similar to polyesters and polyurethanes, in the second case, the repeating unit corresponds to the single monomer. It is difficult to get the proportions exactly correct, and deviations can lead to termination at molecular weights less than a desirable 10,000 daltons. To overcome this problem, a crystalline, solid nylon salt can be formed at room temperature, using an exact 1,1 ratio of the acid, the salt is crystallized to purify it and obtain the desired precise stoichiometry. Heated to 285 °C, the salt reacts to form nylon polymer with the production of water, Wallace Carothers at DuPont patented nylon 66, but overlooked the possibility to use lactams. That synthetic route was developed by Paul Schlack at IG Farben, leading to nylon 6, the peptide bond within the caprolactam is broken with the exposed active groups on each side being incorporated into two new bonds as the monomer becomes part of the polymer backbone
10.
Rock-climbing equipment
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A wide range of equipment is used during rock or any other type of climbing. The most popular types of climbing equipment are briefly described in this article, the article on protecting a climb describes equipment commonly used to protect a climber against the consequences of a fall. See also the Glossary of climbing terms for more equipment descriptions, climbing ropes are typically of kernmantle construction, consisting of a core of long twisted fibres and an outer sheath of woven coloured fibres. The core provides about 80% of the strength, while the sheath is a durable layer that protects the core. Ropes used for climbing can be divided into two classes, dynamic ropes and low elongation ropes, dynamic ropes are designed to absorb the energy of a falling climber, and are usually used as Belaying ropes. When a climber falls, the rope stretches, reducing the force experienced by the climber, their belayer. Low elongation ropes stretch much less, and are used in anchoring systems. They are also used for abseiling and as fixed ropes climbed with ascenders, modern webbing or tape is made of nylon or Spectra/Dyneema, or a combination of the two. Climbing-specific nylon webbing is generally tubular webbing, that is, it is a tube of nylon pressed flat and it is very strong, generally rated in excess of 9 kN, or about 2,020 pounds of force. Dyneema is even stronger, often rated above 20 kN and as high as 27 kN, in 2010, UK-based DMM performed fall factor 1 and 2 tests on various Dyneema and Nylon webbings, showing Dyneema slings can fail even under 60 cm falls. Tying knots in Dyneema webbing was proven to have reduced the amount of supported force by as much as half. When webbing is sewn or tied together at the ends, it becomes a sling or runner and these loops are made one of two ways—sewn or tied. Both ways of forming runners have advantages and drawbacks, and it is for the climber to choose which to use. Generally speaking, most climbers carry a few of both types and it is also important to note that only nylon can be safely knotted into a runner, Dyneema is always sewn because the fibers are too slippery to hold a knot under weight. Webbing has many such as, Extending the distance between protection and a tie-in point. An anchor around a tree or rock, protecting a rope that hangs over a sharp edge. Carabiners are metal loops with spring-loaded gates, used as connectors, once made primarily from steel, almost all carabiners for recreational climbing are now made from a light weight aluminum alloy. Steel carabiners are much heavier, but harder wearing, and therefore are used by instructors when working with groups
