So you want to be a rock climber.  You’d like to climb a rock wall or maybe hang off the side of a rock formation somewhere.  Well, you’ll have several styles to choose from to do it.  It could be pretty easy and safe or you could seriously risk your life.  Either way, you’ll need to know exactly what you’re doing.

Rock climbing is climbing to the summit of a natural rock formation or climbing to the summit of a manmade rock wall.  It could also be climbing to a designated endpoint on a climbing route.  It doesn’t always mean that you’ve got to reach the very top.  A sectional climb like this is referred to as a pitch.  If you’re climbing several routes consecutively, it would be considered a multi-pitch climb. 

Rock climbing has been around for nearly a hundred years.  Climbers have encountered many kinds of rock formations all around the world.  It’s not surprising then that rock climbing has branched into several more distinct styles.  Most of the rock climbing done today is considered to be a form of free climbing.  This involves using solely one’s own physical ability to climb.  Equipment is used but only as a means of protection from falling. 

-  Aid climbing.  The safest method of rock climbing is aid climbing.  Equipment is used for all handholds and all footholds, meaning that the climber is assisted every step of the way.  When rock climbing first began, this method allowed for ascents that were believed impossible.  It was this fantastic enabling quality of aid climbing that helped to bring such interest to the sport. 

- Bouldering.  This style of rock climbing involves short climbing routes that are near enough to the ground that a fall should not result in the climber’s death.  There is no rope or harness but, preferably, there is a helmet.  The only other option for protection is to use a bouldering pad (protective mat).  The climbing partner (an absolute necessity) on the ground usually directs the location of this pad, aligning it with the climber’s location.  The climbing partner is also the all-seeing eye that warns the climber of hazardous areas.

-  Top Roping.  This is probably the easiest and safest way to free climb.  A rope is already secured through an anchor at the top of the climb.  A belayer, your climbing partner, holds onto the opposite end of the rope, controlling any give or take while keeping it taut.      

-  Lead Climbing.  This involves a lead climber who ascends with one end of a rope tied to his harness.  The belayer, the leader’s partner, holds onto the other end of the rope, giving or taking up slack as needed.  The lead climber sets up a belay system as she climbs, securing safety anchors for her partner to use, which is also the fail-safe system to catch the lead climber in case she falls.

If this is a multi-pitch route, the partner picks up the anchor points on the way up.  The climbers then proceed to the next pitch.  If it’s a single pitch, the anchor points are cleaned (taken out) on the way down by the last climber.  This is a great way to help keep criticisms at bay that rock climbers litter the natural landscape.  All climbers should live the creed:  Take nothing, leave nothing.

-  Traditional Climbing and Sport Climbing.  These methods of climbing are both styles of lead climbing.  The difference is in how the protection is placed.  In sport climbing, the anchors are already set.  You needn’t worry about placing them or removing them.  In traditional climbing, the anchors are placed as the climb progresses and then removed by the last climber.

-  Free Solo Climbing.  This is also called free soloing.  It is the most advanced form of rock climbing.  The climber uses nothing for protection.  No anchor points, no belay, no rope and no harness.  If he falls, he falls unencumbered all the way down.  It’s quite frightening.  Accidents, in this case, are tragic.  You’ve got to be fit, skilled and have great emotional and psychological control to do this successfully.  Be more than ready.  Be extremely more than ready.  Your life depends on it.

If you decide to free solo, be very weary of the weather.   The climbing may be going just fine and then it rains.  This could prove fatal to this kind of climber.  Dry, sunny days are what you want.  Don’t risk your life.

-  Deep water soloing.  The only “safe” method of free soloing is deep water soloing.  This is climbing done on sea cliffs over water.  While falling into the ocean beneath a cliff face seems better than falling on hard ground, it isn’t particularly safe.  You’ve got to be aware of the tides and of prevailing wave action, of submerged boulders or coral islands.  Not only that but, if you’re climbing more than 80 feet above the surface of the water, the impact alone could prove fatal.  Mind your elevation. 

-  Indoor Climbing.  This designation is for all rock climbing done indoors.  Climbing is done on man-made rock climbing walls.  Any style is permitted, although not free soloing.  You’re required to wear and use all safety gear.  This would be the safest and most recommended way to learn how to rock climb.    

There you have it, all the ways to rock climb.  It could be a highly dangerous activity where you risk your life at every moment.  Or it could be very safe and protected without worry.  Just use caution at all times.  And, please, don’t ever climb outdoors alone.  You know you’re just asking for it.

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Len Q. is a master blade sharpener and an adventurer who strives to protect the natural world.  If you would like to learn about

            -  Knife Sharpening:  How to Sharpen Knives, Maintain and Store Them

            -  The Fastest Way to Sharpen, Tests for Sharpness and more

            -  Sharpening Other Edges (Maintain and Store Them)

               (e.g. Chain Saws, Gardening Tools, Axes)

            -  Or maybe you could use a Free Guide on  Sharpening Lawn Mower Blades

Find it here at www.MakeKnivesSharp.com. 

So you want to be a mountain climber.  You want to be a mountaineer, do you?  Alright then.  Here are the very basics.  Mountaineering is the act of hiking, climbing and camping up mountains.  To most of us it is a sport, a hobby.  But to those for which mountaineering is like breathing, it is a true profession.  You must be athletically fit and have the technical ability for it.  One more thing many people don’t realize:  you’ve got to have the mental capacity for it.  It’s challenging for the mind and the spirit.  You need every part of yourself. 

There are three typical terrains encompassed by mountaineering.  They are snow, glaciers and ice—each requiring its own specific equipment.  Snow shoes are very useful for deep snow, such as what you may find in long fields of snow or on inferior slopes of a mountain where snow will pile up.  Glaciers pose no problem by themselves.  The greatest danger is in the common occurrence of a crevasse while crossing one.  These deep chasms are often well hidden from sight by a snowbridge that is often just a few inches thick.  A wrong step and it could be all over for you.  In glacial travel, a system of ropes is used, binding climbers to each other.  If necessary, a crevasse rescue to the rescue!  Basic glacial gear includes rope, crampons and an ice axe.  This will also be your basic gear for travelling over ice.  If you’re travelling over steep ice, however, you’ll also need ice screws (aka pickets) and an extra axe.  Now, if the ice is a vertical wall, you’ll need ice climbing skills to get up there.  Be ready for it.   

Climbing a worthy mountain requires days of camping out.  Time is needed to acclimatize to the high altitude conditions.  It often requires more than a day to descend to the base of the mountain once you’ve reached the top.  You’ve got a few choices for shelter on those forbidding slopes.  Base camps may be found on many popular, usually very dangerous summits.  These camps give you time to prepare for an attempt to reach the summit.  Additional camps may be found further up the mountain where the summit cannot be reached from base camp in a single day.  Mountain huts, with varying names based on location, have basic eating and sleeping facilities.  Some are abandoned during certain times of the year but, at favorable times, are fully manned and stocked.  Some huts offer booking in advance and, in these cases, cancellations are advised.  If cancellations aren’t given and the party doesn’t show, it could indicate that someone is stuck on a mountain and needs help. 

Much simpler, temporary shelters are often used up on a mountain.  The most common shelter on a mountain is a tent.  They’re easy to pick up, easy to take down.  If weather threatens, outcroppings of snow or rock are readily used to fortify them.  A bivouac (bivy) is an open encampment that can give you a rough-and-ready resting and sleeping arrangement.  Handmade shelters, such as a snow cave, may be dug out of the ground in at least four feet of snow—a very compact fit.  A quinzee, on the other hand, is carved out of a pile of snow above ground.  While these handmade shelters may not seem like much, they are so much warmer than being outside in the open freezing air.  Igloos are surely a possibility, but it takes quite some time to build one.  Time, while climbing a mountain, is always something you wish you had more of.      

Aside from knowing what types of terrain to expect and how to manage them, what types of shelter are available, you must know what dangers to look for.  The three main types of danger in mountaineering are things falling on you, yourself falling and bad weather.  Things falling on you include rocks, snow (avalanches), ice and even another climber, or his gear.  As a climber, you could loose your hold and drop into very thin air.  You may go careening down a mountainside.  If you survive the brutal tumble, hopefully you won’t land in a deep hole or a crevasse.  Good grief!  And a climber should never forget the ever-present threatening danger of the weather.  While many dangers may be avoided based on the route you choose going up and down the mountain, no climber can ever escape the weather.  You mustn’t ever ignore it.  It could mean your life and don’t ever allow yourself to doubt it.     I    

If you’re going to be a mountaineer, you’ve got to be serious.  A few months preparation is not being serious—unless, of course, you’re already athletically fit and adept at another climbing activity.  This is one of the most dangerous, most extreme nature sports there is. 

You must be fit.  You have to be smart.  Always be ready.  And, please, don’t ever climb alone.  You know you’re just asking for it.  Be careful up there!

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Len Q. is a master blade sharpener and an adventurer who strives to protect the natural world.  If you would like to learn about

            -  Knife Sharpening:  How to Sharpen Knives, Maintain and Store Them

            -  The Fastest Way to Sharpen, Tests for Sharpness and more

            -  Sharpening Other Edges (Maintain and Store Them)

               (e.g. Chain Saws, Gardening Tools, Axes)

            -  Or maybe you could use a Free Guide on  Sharpening Lawn Mower Blades

Find it here at www.MakeKnivesSharp.com.  your mountain.