Clean climbing

Clean climbing is a style of rock climbing that avoids damage to the rock by eschewing the drilling of bolts and the hammering of pitons. The style became practical with the invention of clean protection: nuts in the 1930s and spring loaded camming devices in the 1970s. The 1970s also saw the introduction of the Leave No Trace concept, which, among similar ethics for other outdoor activities, stipulates that climbers should follow these clean climbing notions.

Clean climbing is the preferred style of climbing in most parts of the United Kingdom where it is more commonly known as traditional climbing (trad); British climbers tolerate bolts and pitons on only a few cliffs. In other parts of the world it co-exists with sport climbing.

Clean climbers can carry and place protection by hand, removing them just as easily and cleanly.

Pitons and bolts are rarely used (almost exclusively in aid climbing) due to the damage they cause to the rock. This ethic has evolved such that on most modern climbs, any bolts and pitons installed are left in place (known as "fixed") for all future parties to use, in order to prevent multiple damaging placements.

Clean climbing differs from Sport Climbing, a popular form of climbing in many parts of Europe and the United States (as well as other countries), in that protection for Sport Climbing is provided entirely by fixed bolts, and clean gear is rarely used. Sport Climbing typically involves shorter routes (usually 100' in height or less) focusing on overhung, strenuous movements, and does not require the considerable skill of placing and removing clean protective gear.

Some routes are partially bolt protected and partially gear protected. These are most commonly referred to as "mixed protection" routes.

The debate between Traditional, or Trad Climbers, and Sport Climbers continues to this day over what the acceptable usage of bolts for protection is. Most Traditional climbers believe that bolts should not be used on any route where clean protection is possible, in order to preserve the rock. Some sport climbers believe that all routes should be bolted completely so that gear placement skills are not necessary to attempt the climb.

The general ethic is very dependent upon the area in question and varies widely by region. Generally speaking, the traditional ethic holds in most areas, and bolts are not used for protection unless there is no other option.

Left to traditional clean climbers, major UK climbing areas—Malham Cove, for example—could have been climbed and still remain clear of expansion bolts. Despite this, bolting was permitted by the BMC on this Site of Special Scientific Interest

campus board

A campus board is a training tool that has been widely adopted to improve rock climbing performance. Typically, a user ascends or decends the campus board using only their hands. Campus boards can take a variety of different forms and may incorporate a variety of materials. As one example, a campus board may comprise horizontal thin slats or rails of wood attached to an inclined board in a ladderlike configuration. However, some implementations may utilize bolt on climbing holds or sections of pipe. A campus board is generally set at overhanging angle of inclination that is between vertical and 20 degrees. One consideration for selecting the angle of inclination is the avoidance of any interference that may result between the user's legs and the campus board or wall.

The campus board was invented by Wolfgang Güllich in 1988 while he was training for a new route, Action Directe, which required extreme dynamic finger strength. The first campus board was hung at a university in a gym called The Campus Centre. Hence the term "campus" has been applied to the name of the training board, training method, and style of climbing, or "campusing" in which only the user's hands and arms are used.

There are a variety of training approaches that may be used with a campus board. As one example, a user may alternate the use of specific fingers to increase finger strength when ascending or descending the board. As another example, upper-body strength may be increased by utilizing large lunges between specific rails or holds of the campus board. Reactive training may be used to increase muscle recruitment by dynamically moving between the campus board rails simultaneously with both hands. Training on a campus board may result in better performance due to the improvement of motor training, increased finger strength on a variety grips, and greater power and lock-off strength of the arms. However, it should be appreciated that many top climbers do not utilize campus board training, nor does campus board training necessarily translate directly to improved performance on the rock.

In general, campus board training should only be attempted by climbers who already have a threshold level of strength, as the physical intensity of campusing can easily result in injury. While there is no right time to begin a campus board training regime, some have followed a general approach which requires the user to first be capable of bouldering at least V5, or climb at least French 6c

Alpine butterfly knot

The Butterfly Loop, also known as the Lineman's Loop or alpine butterfly loop, is a "non-jamming loop on the bight": a loop which may be tied in a rope with two fixed ends, and can take loads on both ends of the original rope, and on the loop. The alpine butterfly loop is a symmetrical and more secure version of the butterfly loop.

Usage

The Butterfly Loop has a high breaking strength and is regarded by mountaineers as one of the strongest knots to attach climbers to the middle of a rope, such that they have room to move around even when the main rope goes tight, and they can be supported in either direction from the main rope. The loop is typically attached to a climbing harness by carabiner.

It can also be used to isolate a worn section of rope, where the knot is tied such that the worn section is used for the centre of the loop (which of course does not receive a carabiner or bears any loads in this case).

Advantages

* Does not reduce the strength of the rope by very much
* Will not slip (after initial settling)
* Allows for the knot to be loaded three ways (each end of the main line and by the loop)
* Relatively easy to undo after loading (more difficult if wet)
* Very easy to adjust the size of the bight

Disadvantages

* Difficult to tie one-handed
* Difficult to casually inspect
* Requires some training/practice to master

Survival skills

Survival skills are skills that may help everyone to survive dangerous situations (such as storms or earthquakes), or in dangerous places (such as the desert, the mountains, and the jungle). Useful skills include lighting a fire, finding shelter, making water safe to drink, finding and identifying food, treating injuries, and climbing, swimming, and using specific or makeshift tools.

Each type of wilderness challenges a person with a different range of dangers (see hazards of outdoor activities). An environment may be dry, wet, hot, cold, high altitude, low altitude, desert, rural, urban, wilderness, subterranean, or an island. There are four basic necessities of life which apply in all of these cases: shelter, water, fire, and food. A fifth is oxygen for high altitudes and subterranean environments, and also specific survival situations such as drowning and landslide/avalanche.

Survival skills used on a more permanent basis, or as a component of daily life are referred to as bushcraft.

Developments in outdoor equipment and survival techniques have skewed the scale towards man- if one is prepared, but there is nothing to replace experience in a survival situation. Those who are most prepared physically and mentally stand the greatest chance of survival.

We are the explorer

we are a mountaineer...
we are a climber...
we live on earth together
to climb..
the top of the world.

Geography of Grand canyon

The Grand Canyon is a massive rift in the Colorado Plateau that exposes uplifted Proterozoic and Paleozoic strata and is also one of the six distinct physiographic sections of the Colorado Plateau province. The Grand Canyon is unmatched throughout the world for the vistas it offers to visitors on the rim. It is not the deepest canyon in the world — both the Cotahuasi Canyon (11598 feet or 3535 m), Colca Canyon (10499 feet or 3200 m), both in Arequipa, Peru and Hell's Canyon on the Oregon-Idaho border are deeper — but Grand Canyon is known for its overwhelming size and its intricate and colorful landscape. Geologically it is significant because of the thick sequence of ancient rocks that are beautifully preserved and exposed in the walls of the canyon. These rock layers record much of the early geologic history of the North American continent.

Uplift associated with mountain building events later moved these sediments thousands of feet upward and created the Colorado Plateau. The higher elevation has also resulted in greater precipitation in the Colorado River drainage area, but not enough to change the Grand Canyon area from being semi-arid. The uplift of the Colorado Plateau is uneven, and the north-south trending Kaibab Plateau that Grand Canyon bisects is over a thousand feet higher at the North Rim (about 1,000 ft/300 m) than at the South Rim. The fact that the Colorado River flows in a curve around the higher North Rim part of the Kaibab Plateau and closer to the South Rim part of the plateau is also explained by this asymmetry. Ivo Lucchitta of the U.S. Geological Survey first suggested that, as the Colorado River developed before significant erosion of the region, it naturally found its way across or around the Kaibab Uplift by following a "racetrack" path to the south of the highest part of the plateau. Almost all runoff from the North Rim (which also gets more rain and snow) flows toward the Grand Canyon, while much of the runoff on the plateau behind the South Rim flows away from the canyon (following the general tilt). The result is deeper and longer tributary washes and canyons on the north side and shorter and steeper side canyons on the south side.

Temperatures on the North Rim are generally lower than the South Rim because of the greater elevation (averaging 8,000 ft/2,438 m above sea level).[2] Heavy rains are common on both rims during the summer months. Access to the North Rim via the primary route leading to the canyon (Arizona State Route 67) is limited during the winter season due to road closures. Views from the North Rim tend to give a better impression of the expanse of the canyon than those from the South Rim.

Caving

The challenges of the sport depend on the cave being visited, but often include the negotiation of pitches, squeezes, and water (though actual cave diving is a separate sub-specialty undertaken only by very few cavers). Climbing or crawling is often necessary, and ropes are used extensively for safety of the negotiation of particularly steep or slippery passages.

Caving is often undertaken for the enjoyment of the activity or for physical exercise, as well as original exploration, similar to mountaineering or diving. Physical or biological science is also an important goal for some cavers. Virgin cave systems comprise some of the last unexplored regions on Earth and much effort is put into trying to locate and enter them. In well-explored regions (such as most first-world countries), the most accessible caves have already been explored, and gaining access to new caves often requires digging or diving.

Caves have been explored out of necessity (for shelter from the elements or from enemies), out of curiosity or for mystical reasons for thousands of years. However, only in the last century or two has the activity developed into a sophisticated, athletic pastime. In recent decades caving has changed considerably due to the availability of modern protective wear and equipment. It has recently come to be known as an "extreme sport" by some (though not commonly considered as such by its practitioners, who may dislike the term for its perceived connotation of disregard for safety).

Many of the skills of caving can also be used in the nature activities of mine exploration and urban exploration.

Climbing in popular culture

Climbing in popular culture

Climbing has been featured in many popular movies, such as Cliffhanger and Mission: Impossible II, but is usually inaccurately portrayed by Hollywood movies and popular media. Exceptions include the films The Eiger Sanction and Touching the Void. The sport of rock climbing was swept up in the extreme sport craze in the late 1990s which led to images of rock climbers on everything from anti-perspirant and United States Marine Corps commercials, to college promotional materials. Both pole and rope climbing can be seen in circus performances, such as Cirque du Soleil. The sport of rope climbing was once an official gymnastic event in the Olympic Games, but was dropped after 1932. The Czech republic and France have resurrected it and contests are held in public gathering places, such as shopping centers, as well as in gymnasiums. Pole and mast climbing were popular in the 18th and 19th century in village festivals in certain parts of Europe, and were still part of the physical education curriculum at the United States Naval Academy in the 1960s.

Climbing Definition

Climbing

For other uses, see Climbing (disambiguation).
Rock climbers on Valkyrie at The Roaches in Staffordshire, England.
A competitor in a rope climbing event, at Lyon's Part-Dieu shopping centre.

Climbing is the activity of using one's hands or feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation (to reach an inaccessible place, or for its own enjoyment) and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.

Climbing activities include:
Mountain climbing (Mountaineering): Ascending mountains for sport or recreation. It often involves rock and/or ice climbing.
Rock climbing: Ascending rock formations, often using climbing shoes and a chalk bag. Equipment such as ropes, bolts, nuts, hexes and camming devices are normally employed, either as a safeguard or for artificial aid.