RSS Feed (xml)
Aid climbing is a style of climbing in which fixed or placed protection is used to make upward progress. In the Yosemite Decimal System used in the US, it is sometimes called "6th class" climbing.
The term contrasts with free climbing in which no artificial aids are used to make progress. In aid climbing, the climber ascends by hanging on, and climbing on, his or her equipment; in free climbing the climber ascends by holding onto, and stepping on, natural features of the rock, using rope and equipment only to catch them in case of a fall, and to hang on at belay stations. In general, aid climbing places less emphasis on athletic fitness and physical strength but more on technical skill, though the physical aspects of hard aid climbing should not be underestimated. Aid techniques are most often utilized on extremely steep and long routes, demanding great endurance and stamina, both physical and mental.
Technique
In a typical ascent with aid the climber places pieces of equipment ("protection") in cracks or other natural features of the rock, then clips an aider (a ladder-like device, also called stirrup or étrier) to the protection, stands up on the aider, and repeats the process. Just as in free climbing, the usual technique involves two climbers, a leader and a belayer. The leader is connected by a rope to the belayer, who remains at one spot (the "belay station") while the leader moves up. As the leader advances, the rope is let out by the belayer, and clipped by the leader into the pieces of protection as they are placed. If the leader falls, the belayer locks off the rope and, assuming the protection doesn't rip out, catches the leader's fall on the rope. When the leader, moving up, reaches the end of the rope, or a convenient stopping point, he or she builds an anchor, hangs on it, and fixes the rope to it. This then becomes the next belay station. The belayer then ascends the fixed rope using mechanical ascenders, retrieving the protection that was placed by the leader. Meanwhile, the leader sets up a hauling system and, using another rope brought up for that purpose, hauls up a bag (the "haul bag" or "pig") containing the climbers' food, water, hammocks or "Porta-ledge", sleeping bags, and so on. Many variations on this basic technique are possible, including solo aid climbing and climbing with a team of three.
Until the 1940s the only protection was the piton, driven into a crack in the rock with a hammer. Today, aid climbing uses a considerably larger array of hardware than the pitons used by the first climbers although the primary technique of ascension has not much evolved. The typical gear of an aid climber includes pitons, hooks, copperheads, nuts, camming devices, ascenders, hauling pulleys, aiders, daisy chains and wall hammers. The invention of camming devices or "friends" and other non-damaging rock gear has resulted in the practice of clean aid, where nothing is hammered, a great bonus for popular routes which could be disfigured from continual hammering.
The hardest aid routes are poorly protected and the climber must make long sequences of moves using hooks or tenuous placements. On these routes, a climber may have to commit to moving up onto the most marginal of placements. For example, if a copperhead is pounded into a shallow crease in a rock, and if it rips, the climber is in for a wild ride, as a whole string of tenuous pieces rip out one by one.
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Technique on Mountaineering. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Technique on Mountaineering. Tampilkan semua postingan
Kamis, 14 Februari 2008
Rabu, 23 Januari 2008
Technique on Mountaineering
Snow
While certain compacted snow conditions allow mountaineers to progress on foot, typically some form of mechanical device is required to travel efficiently over snow & ice. Crampons are device having 10-12 spikes which are attached to a mountaineers boots, are used on hard snow (neve) and ice to provide additional traction & allow very steep ascents and descents. There are many different varieties, ranging from lightweight aluminum models intended for walking on glaciers to aggressive steel models intended for vertical and overhanging ice and rock. Snowshoes can be used to walk through deep snow approaching the mountain or on lesser slopes up the mountain. Skis can be used almost everywhere snowshoes can and also in steeper, more alpine landscapes although it takes more practice to develop sufficiently strong skiing skills for difficult terrain. The practice of combining the techniques of alpine skiing and mountaineering to ascend and descend a mountain is a form of the sport by itself, called Ski Mountaineering. Ascending and descending a snow slope involves many different techniques of the feet and an ice axe which have been developed over the last hundred years, originating in Europe. The progression of footwork from the lowest angle slopes to the steepest terrain is first to splay the feet to a rising traverse, to kick stepping, to front pointing the crampons. The progression of the ice axe technique from the lowest angle slopes to the steepest terrain is to use the ice axe first as a walking stick, then a stake, then to use the front pick as a dagger below the shoulders or above, and finally to swing the pick into the slope over the head. This also involves different designs of ice axe depending on the terrain to be covered, and even whether a mountaineer uses one or two ice axes.
Glaciers
When traveling over glaciers, crevasses pose a grave danger. These giant cracks in the ice are not always visible as snow can be blown and freeze over the top to make a snowbridge. At times snowbridges can be as thin as a few inches. Climbers use a system of ropes to protect themselves from such hazards. Basic gear for glacier travel includes crampons and ice axes. Teams of two to five climbers tie into a rope equally spaced. If a climber begins to fall the other members of the team perform a self-arrest to stop the fall. The other members of the team enact a crevasse rescue to pull the fallen climber from the crevasse.
Ice
Multiple methods are used to safely travel over ice. If the terrain is steep but not vertical, then protection in the form of pickets or ice screws can be driven into the snow or ice and attached to the rope by the lead climber. Each climber on the team must clip past the anchor, and the last climber picks up the picket. This allows for safety should the entire team be taken off their feet. This technique is known as Simul-climbing.
If the terrain becomes vertical then standard ice climbing techniques are used.
While certain compacted snow conditions allow mountaineers to progress on foot, typically some form of mechanical device is required to travel efficiently over snow & ice. Crampons are device having 10-12 spikes which are attached to a mountaineers boots, are used on hard snow (neve) and ice to provide additional traction & allow very steep ascents and descents. There are many different varieties, ranging from lightweight aluminum models intended for walking on glaciers to aggressive steel models intended for vertical and overhanging ice and rock. Snowshoes can be used to walk through deep snow approaching the mountain or on lesser slopes up the mountain. Skis can be used almost everywhere snowshoes can and also in steeper, more alpine landscapes although it takes more practice to develop sufficiently strong skiing skills for difficult terrain. The practice of combining the techniques of alpine skiing and mountaineering to ascend and descend a mountain is a form of the sport by itself, called Ski Mountaineering. Ascending and descending a snow slope involves many different techniques of the feet and an ice axe which have been developed over the last hundred years, originating in Europe. The progression of footwork from the lowest angle slopes to the steepest terrain is first to splay the feet to a rising traverse, to kick stepping, to front pointing the crampons. The progression of the ice axe technique from the lowest angle slopes to the steepest terrain is to use the ice axe first as a walking stick, then a stake, then to use the front pick as a dagger below the shoulders or above, and finally to swing the pick into the slope over the head. This also involves different designs of ice axe depending on the terrain to be covered, and even whether a mountaineer uses one or two ice axes.
Glaciers
When traveling over glaciers, crevasses pose a grave danger. These giant cracks in the ice are not always visible as snow can be blown and freeze over the top to make a snowbridge. At times snowbridges can be as thin as a few inches. Climbers use a system of ropes to protect themselves from such hazards. Basic gear for glacier travel includes crampons and ice axes. Teams of two to five climbers tie into a rope equally spaced. If a climber begins to fall the other members of the team perform a self-arrest to stop the fall. The other members of the team enact a crevasse rescue to pull the fallen climber from the crevasse.
Ice
Multiple methods are used to safely travel over ice. If the terrain is steep but not vertical, then protection in the form of pickets or ice screws can be driven into the snow or ice and attached to the rope by the lead climber. Each climber on the team must clip past the anchor, and the last climber picks up the picket. This allows for safety should the entire team be taken off their feet. This technique is known as Simul-climbing.
If the terrain becomes vertical then standard ice climbing techniques are used.
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)
