Essential Gear for Belaying and Rappelling

Belaying is one of the most important climbing skills you will learn and your belay device is the indispensable tool that makes it all happen. Sure you could use an old-style hip belay with the rope wrapped around your waist and clipped through a carabiner on your harness, but after you hold your first leader fall and burn your palms as the rope slips through your hands, you’ll step up and find a good belay device to hang your rope on.

Belay Devices Work by Friction

Belay devices, sometimes called BDs, come in a surprising number of shapes and sizes. They also double as rappel devices, which allow you to rappel or descend down a rope. Belay devices are designed to allow a belayer to control a loaded or weighted rope by creating friction and drag when the rope is threaded through the device. When you look at what belay device to buy, the number of designs is almost bewildering. As a beginner, it’s best to stick with the tried-and-proven designs since these are usually the most versatile and the easiest to use.

4 Types of Belay/Rappel Devices

There are four basic belay/rappel devices:

• belay plate
• belay tube
• self-locking device
• figure eight

Belay Plate

The belay plate, evolving from an early Austrian device (Sticht plate) that was simply a flat aluminum plate with a slot in it, is easy to use for belaying but can be a pain when rappelling. To use a belay plate, a bight or loop of rope is pushed through the slot and clipped into a carabiner on your harness. This arrangement creates a lot of friction when both sides of the rope are pulled in opposition. If you pick up a plate, make sure it has two slots to allow the use of two ropes for rappelling. These devices are suitable for all types of climbing.

Belay Tube

The belay tube is the most popular and common belay/rappel device used today. They’re generally light, compact, and easy to use. They also accommodate either one or two ropes of varying diameters. The tube operates like the plate, except the length of tube allows the belayer to easily and smoothly control the friction of the rope as it passes through the device. Tube devices, with twin holes, are also superior to plates for rappelling since they allow precise control of your descent speed. Lightweight climbers often find it difficult to rappel with tube devices, having to feed the rope through it until their body weight is able to do the job. These devices are suitable for all types of climbing. Some of the best designed belay tubes are the popular ATC (Air Traffic Controller) devices made by Black Diamond Equipment.

Self-Braking Belay Devices

Self-braking belay devices, like the Petzl GriGri, are excellent choices for single pitch routes and for sport climbing. These expensive devices have a rotating cam inside that locks down on the rope as it passes through. They work automatically by locking the rope when the cam is engaged by a sharp tug as the rope is weighted by a fall. One of the benefits is that climbers can be held in place on the rope with little effort. All that said, these devices are not foolproof. They are complicated mechanisms that require use and familiarity to be used safely. If you load the rope backwards, brake with the wrong hand, or use a thin rope then accidents can happen. Best to pay attention, read all instructions, and practice using the device in a safe environment like an indoor gym. These devices have limited use when rappelling since they can only accommodate a single rope. They’re also difficult to use on wet or icy ropes. These devices are best suited for sport climbing.

Figure-8 Rappel Device

The figure eight device has long been the standard unit used for rappelling. The device is shaped like a figure eight with a large hole and a small hole. To rappel, a bight or loop of rope is passed through the big hole, passed around the small hold, and snugged between the holes. A locking carabiner clipped through the small hole attaches the device to your harness. To belay with a figure eight, a bight of rope is threaded through the small hole and clipped through a carabiner on your harness. While somewhat popular, this method of belaying offers less precise control of the rope and less friction. The devices are also bulkier, do not have a keeper cord, and tend to kink and twist the rope during use. These devices are best used for rappelling, caving, and search and rescue work rather than belaying.

Use a Locking Carabiner

Besides buying a belay device, also purchase a beefy locking carabiner to attached the device to your harness and to avoid the risk of the carabiner opening under load.

Climbing Rope Care Tips

Your rope won’t last forever. Follow these tips to increase the service and life of your climbing rope.

Don’t Step on Your Rope!

Besides climbing and lowering, nothing wears out your rope faster than stepping on it. Besides possibly cutting the sheath on rocks underfoot, stepping on the rope also grinds dirt and dust into the sheath and core, which increases unseen internal damage to the rope. At the cliff base, especially if you have a bunch of newbies with you, impress upon them the importance of not stepping on your rope and damaging their lifeline. Show some respect brotha!

Use a Rope Bag

Use a good rope bag that unfolds into a spacious tarp for your precious rope to lie on. A good rope bag keeps dust and dirt from finding its way inside your rope. Dirt impairs the strength, safety, and performance of your rope. It wears it out faster too. A rope bag increases the life of your rope. Buy one and use it. Most of them also neatly fold up and can be carried over the shoulder with a strap or secured to the top of your pack. It’s especially important to use a rope bag at popular cliffs where lots of people stand around, leaving fine pulverized dust on the ground, or at sandstone climbing areas where lots of sand blankets the ground below the routes.

Run Your Rope Freely

Make sure your rope runs freely whenever possible. There’s nothing that will trash a rope like sharp edges or rough corners. If you’re leading, use lots of slings to keep the rope well away from the cliff face. If you’re top-roping, make sure the master point that the rope is looped through is extended well over the edge of the cliff. Also remember that a fall onto a sharp edge can seriously damage or slice through a rope.

Switch Ends After Falling

If you sport climb a lot, alternate which end of the rope you use to lead and fall on. Avoid taking frequent falls at the same end of a rope if you’re working it. Falls stretch it out. Switch ends and allow the rope become more elastic again. Also allow the rope to take a rest if you’ve taken a big whipper on it. Alternating rope ends will prolong its life.

Washing Your Rope

When your rope gets dirty, wash it. Washing your rope increases its life by getting abrasive dust out of the sheath. It also helps the handling of the rope. If you climb a lot, aluminum oxide is deposited on a rope’s sheath from running through all those aluminum carabiners. Your hands will get filthy black just belaying. Regular washing helps alleviate that black-hand syndrome.

How to Wash a Rope

To wash a rope, I put it in a mesh bag and seal the top with a drawstring. Pop it in the washing machine and wash it in cold water on a long cycle. Afterwards, I take it out and drape it loosely in a washbasket and let it air dry in a cool dark place for a few days. Don’t put it in sunlight to dry. Some folks use a mild non-detergent soap to wash their rope.

Climbing Festival Held on Greek Island of Kalymnos

Last week was the 5^th annual Kalymnos Climbing Festival on the Greek island of Kalymnos in the eastern Aegean Sea. Kalymnos, once the island of the sponge divers, is now the island of the climbers, with numerous limestone cliffs offering hundreds of bolted sport routes.
Aris Theodoropoulos, an Athens climber and author of the Kalymnos guidebook and many of the island's routes, sent me a report of the festivities at the five-day climbing event. The festival featured special guests Nico Favresse, winner of the coveted Piolet d'Or award, and Basque climber Patxi Usobiaga who has onsighted and flashed routes as hard as 5.14.

The duo, besides swimming and diving, also climbed the multi-pitch route Uomo Senza Qualita (5.13c or 8a) at the Ocean Dream sector as well as climbed lots of other routes along with almost 300 other registered climbers.
Aris reports that one day at Sector Odyssey, the Greek deputy minister of tourism George Nikitiadis, the mayor of Kalymnos, and other local politicians trekked up to the cliff to watch Patxi and Nico climb. They were, says Aris, "greeted by the puzzled smiles of climbers who aren't used to seeing men in suits at the crags." The minister's visit was also covered by Greek national television. Nico cruised Marci Marc (5.13a or 7c+) for the audience, skipping the last clip and lower-off by jumping from the anchors.
There was also a bouldering competition at the main square in Pothia, the largest city on Kalymnos. Many difficult boulder problems were set by climbers Zafiris Kamaropoulos and Dimitris Papageorgiou, making for a suspenseful competition with German Alexander Hill winning the men's event and Greek climber Argyro Papathanasiou taking the women's prize.
The Municipality of Kalymnos plans to establish this climbing festival as an annual May event to get better sponsorship and more organization. Aris reports that there is "a pending collaboration with The North Face for the next festival in 2012."
If you're planning a European climbing vacation, visit Kalymnos either during the festival or any other time. The climbing is fabulous. The food is great. And the locals are friendly and generous. For more information about climbing at Kalymnos visit Climb Kalymnos or check out my book Rock Climbing Europe, which features a large section of routes, topos, and travel information for Kalymnos.

Basic Bouldering Equipment

Bouldering is simplicity itself. The beauty of bouldering is not just doing hard moves but also its minimalism. You don’t need to spend lots of money on equipment to have fun on the boulders. Here are the 3 essential pieces of climbing equipment that you need to go bouldering.

Good rock shoes are essential to have fun and crank hard problems on the boulders.

Bouldering Requires Minimal Gear

Bouldering requires less gear than other types of climbing. All you really need for a successful bouldering session is a pair of well-fitted rock shoes, chalk for sweaty palms, and a chalk bag on a waist belt. Besides these three essentials, boulderers often use a crash pad to lessen the risk of foot and leg injuries when they fall, a toothbrush for cleaning chalk and dust from holds, and sometimes a short length of climbing rope to use as a protective top-rope on problems with rocky landings.

Rock Shoes are Most Important

Rock shoes are the single most important piece of climbing equipment that you need to go bouldering. Sure a pair of athletic shoes can work—but only on the easiest of the easy boulder problems. If you’re going to be successful on the boulders, you need a good-fitting pair of rock shoes. The soles of rock shoes are composed of smooth sticky rubber that keeps your feet on the rock. The soles are smooth so that you have lots of rubber molecules contacting rock molecules rather than a lug-type of sole which has less contact with the rock surface and lots of air between the rubber pads.

Buying Rock Shoes for Bouldering

What rock shoes you wear is up to you. If you’re new to climbing, you’ll want an all-purpose shoe for all-purpose bouldering. Pick a shoe that is flexible enough to smear on smooth surfaces but also stiff enough to stand on tiny crystals and edges. Before you buy a pair of shoes, read 10 Rock Shoe Buying Tips. At your local mountain shop, ask which shoes would be best for bouldering. Most shops also have a small wall where you can test the fit out on. Just remember that a tight fit is best, with you toes slightly curled. The shoes should also be uncomfortable to walk in.

What Kind of Chalk?

If you boulder much, you’ll find your hands are going to sweat and sweaty hands often grease off the rock, especially if you’re crimping small holds or crystals. Climbers usually use chalk, which is magnesium carbonate, to keep their hands dry and sticking on the rock. What kind of chalk should you buy? My advice is to use whatever is available. I often buy blocks of gymnastic chalk because it’s relatively cheap and readily available at sporting good stores. Climbing companies like Metolius offer chalk formulated for climbers, which comes in bags from 2.5 ounces to five pounds as well as blocks.

Chalk is Controversial

Chalk, of course, is also controversial. Some climbers don’t use it because they see chalk use as a form of cheating. The best argument, however, not to use chalk is because its long-term use damages the rock surface. There are lots of boulders, especially overhanging ones in dry climates, where chalk stays for years. The build-up of chalk creates a slippery surface, so even more chalk is used. Chalk stains are also unsightly, which ticks off land managers who then want to close bouldering areas or ban the use of chalk. Some climbing areas, like the Garden of the Gods in Colorado, require climbers to use colored chalk that matches the tone of the rock surface. An alternative to chalk is the Eco Ball from Metolius. It’s highly absorbent and leaves no stain on the rock surface.

You Need a Chalk Bag

Lastly, you’ll need a chalk bag to keep the white stuff in. These nylon bags come in a wide variety of sizes and colors. If you’ve never owned a chalk bag, you’ll probably want a medium-sized bag that you can easily slip your hand in and out of. Test it out in the store. You don’t want your hand fumbling or catch inside too small a bag when you’re on some heinous boulder problem. Some boulderers use chalk pots, big fat bags that sit on the ground and are used by a communal group of climbers. You'll also need a nylon waist belt, preferably lightweight and snapped closed with a fast buckle, to hang the chalk bag around your waist.

Essential Sport Climbing Gear

Sport climbing doesn’t require loads of equipment to have loads of fun. Take a minimalist approach to gear and, after a few months of climbing in the gym and then top-roping outside, you’ll probably have everything you need to get vertical.

 A rope, quickdraws, and your personal gear are all you need to get out cranking.

Here is your essential sport climbing gear list:

• Rope A good rope is your most important piece of equipment. Don’t skimp and buy a cheap rope. Invest in the best you can afford. Buy a UIAA-rated and certified rope that is made specifically for rock climbing. It’s best to get either a 10.5mm or 11mm cord. The thinner ones wear out faster and unless you’re an elite climber cranking hard routes, you’ll never feel the weight difference. Buy a 200-foot (60-meter) rope since so many sport routes now are as long as 100 feet from base to anchors. Don’t buy a dry rope; they cost more and they’re made for mountaineering routes so they keep dry on ice and snow. Also splurge for a rope bag to protect your rope from dust and dirt when it’s lying on the ground at the base of your newest project. Price Rope: $110 to $250. Price Rope Bag: $25 to $35.
  
  
• Quickdraws The quickdraw, simply a piece of sewn webbing attached to two carabiners, is essential for sport climbing protection. Each quickdraw is made from webbing between four and six inches long. The two carabiners should have two different gates—the biner at the end that clips into a bolt should have a straight gate while the opposite end, which the rope clips into, should have either a bent gate for easy clipping or a wire gate.
  Consider also buying a couple long quickdraws or using a couple two-foot slings with carabiners for bolts that are awkwardly placed or below overhangs where your rope will drag. I also put locking carabiners on at least two of the quickdraws I carry so that I can clip the first bolt with a locking biner and avoid having the rope possibly come unclipped. The lockers are also convenient to clip onto the anchors to set up a slingshot belay for a top-rope.
  You’ll only need to buy 12 to 16 quickdraws, although, depending on your local sport crag, you may need as many as 25. Also remember those extra locking carabiners and a couple slings. Price: $15 to $30 each.
  
  
• Belay Device A good belay device that you’re familiar with is very important. I recommend a tube-shaped device like the Black Diamond ATC or the Trango B-52. Later if you get serious about climbing, you’ll want to invest in a Petzl GriGri, a self-locking belay device. Lots of sport climbers consider this the ultimate belay device, since, with use and experience, it’s easy to hold a hangdogging climber who is working hard moves or to catch a fall. But you need to learn to use one in the safe confines of a gym because the rope can be loaded backwards in it and the self-locking cam can seize up when you least expect it.
  Besides buying a belay device, also purchase an auto-locking carabiner to attach the BD to your harness. Belay gloves, a pair of lightweight leather or work gloves, are something else you may like. They keep your hands clean while rope handling. Ropes tend to pick up lots of dirt as well as aluminum oxide from carabiners, which blackens your palms. Belay Device Price: $15 to $25. Locking Carabiner Price: $12 to $26. GriGri Price: $85. Belay Gloves: $5.
  
  
• Harness A lightweight harness is fine for sport climbing. You don’t need a beefy big wall harness with a wide waist belt and thick leg loops since you’ll only be hanging in your harness after you fall, when you’re working tough moves, or lowering back to the ground. Try to get a harness with four gear loops; each loop holds seven quickdraws. Price: $45 to $125.
  
  
• Daisy Chain While not necessarily essential, I like a daisy chain, a length of webbing with small sewn loops on it, for clipping into the anchor after I climb a sport route. I get to the anchor and can immediately and securely clip into it with an auto-locking carabiner. A lot sport climbers use a couple quickdraws, which are generally fine, but when I’m untying from the rope to thread it through the anchor for lowering, I want to make sure I’m safe. If I’m in with just draws, there is the possibility that a gate can open and the carabiner can become detached from either me or the anchor. Suit yourself. Price: $20 to $30.
  
  
• Rock Shoes Rock shoes are essential to your performance. Lots of specialty sport climbing shoes are out there, but if you’re just starting out then buy a good all-around shoe. They’ll be comfortable. They’ll last a long time. And they won’t break your bank account. A lot of sport climbers like to wear slippers, which fit your feet like tight gloves. Price: $70 to $150.
  
  
• Chalk and Chalk Bag Most sport climbers like chalk. When you climb a lot your hands get sweaty. Chalk helps dry them and allows you to grip those tiny handholds better. A chalk bag on a nylon strap around your waist allows you to pull the bag to either your right or left side for better hand entry. Just remember that chalk is not allowed at some climbing areas. Some climbers will bring a stout toothbrush or a denture brush to whisk chalk and grime off key handholds before their red-point ascent. Price: $14 to $35.

Top-Rope Climbing Equipment

Top-rope climbing doesn’t require as much gear as other types of climbing. This makes it a good way to start out climbing, since you don’t have to invest a lot of money to get out on the rocks.

 Rock shoes, a harness, and a helmet are all you need to take the kids top-rope climbing

Basic top-rope anchor gear:

1. Rope: One 165-foot (50-meter) or 200-foot (60-meter) 10.5mm or 11mm rope.
   
   
2. 9/16-inch sewn slings: 6-10 24-inch slings; 2-4
   48-inch slings. Used to
   create anchor system.
   
   
3. 1-inch tubular webbing:
   1 tied in a 10-foot loop;
   1 tied in a 20-foot loop. Use to create anchor system; ideal for tying off trees.
   
   
4. Oval carabiners: 6-10. Always double them up with gates opposed for safety.
   
   
5. Locking carabiners: 2-6. I prefer to always use locking carabiners on my entire top-rope anchor system rather than regular ovals.
   
   
6. Locking steel carabiners: 2. Steel carabiners are the strongest gear to thread the rope through. Aluminum wears much faster, leading to grooves in the carabiner.

Personal top-rope gear:

1. Rock shoes: 1 pair per climber. Snug sneakers can also work for beginners.
   
   
2. Harness: 1 per climber. Ideally each climber wears their own harness. If not, make sure you have harnesses for the belayer and the climber.
   
   
3. Belay and rappel device: At least 1 with a locking carabiner to attach it to your harness.
   
   
4. Helmet: 1 per climber. Essential cranial protection when climbing, belaying, or standing at the cliff-base.
   
   
5. Chalk bag and chalk: Optional for sweaty hands. Dip your hand in the chalk in your chalk bag and problem solved.

Climbing Helmets Save Lives

If you regularly wear a climbing helmet you will live long and prosper. It’s best to get in the habit of wearing a helmet on your first day of climbing.

Rock is Unforgiving

So many climbing areas, especially sport climbing areas, seem safe and benign. We’re out climbing on the cliffs, joking and laughing with friends. We’re having fun. That’s how it should be. But climbing as we know, and as I reiterate again and again here on About.com, is not safe. We get lulled into a false sense of security and well-being, while potential dangers lurk everywhere. The rock we play on is a very unforgiving medium. It doesn’t yield. And it doesn’t care if it hurts us.

Helmets Protect Heads

If you wear a helmet while you’re climbing, it ensures that your soft head doesn’t become mush when it’s hit by a falling rock or when you bang your skull into a rock face while falling. A helmet helps mitigate the dire effects of gravity and tilts the odds in your favor so that you’ll be home after an accident rather than in a hospital bed or worse, a body bag.

Head Injuries Change Lives

The consequences of not wearing a climbing helmet and sustaining a head injury can be severe and life changing. A climbing head injury could lead to impaired motor skills and paralysis, loss of your memories, an altered personality, speech difficulty, and a life without climbing or even walking. Many climbing fatalities, as evidenced by long-term statistics in North American Accidents in Mountaineering, occur as a result of head injuries. If you read the accident reports, you’ll find over and over again that a victim survived because they were wearing a climbing helmet.

U.S. Brain Injury Statistics

In the United States, every 21 seconds someone sustains a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and over 50,000 people die from these injuries every year while 235,000 are hospitalized. Another 1.1 million are treated and released from emergency rooms annually. While 50% of the injuries occur in auto and bicycle accidents and another 20% are from violence. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports an estimated 313,726 sports-related head injuries treated in U.S. emergency rooms in 2007. The highest number of injuries was, not surprisingly, to bicyclists. Climbing was not included as a separate category on their list. The American Association of Neurological Surgeons reports that 21% of traumatic head injuries occur in sports and recreation. Males are twice as likely as females to have brain injuries.

Dissecting Your Harness

Your climbing harness, which basically connects your body to your climbing rope, is a complicated piece of equipment. It has lots of parts—straps, buckles, and loops. Here’s a breakdown of all the parts of a climbing harness so you know what you’re looking at when you go out to buy a new harness.

1. Waist Belt The waist belt is the thick slab of webbing that wraps around your waist. It’s usually sewn and padded for comfort, especially on big wall harnesses where you will be hanging in your harness for days at a time. Some harnesses, like those made for alpine climbing, have a no-frills waist belt with no padding but less weight.
   
2. Leg Loops The leg loops are the two wide, padded loops of webbing that encase your upper thighs. They can be adjusted by tightening or loosening the webbing which run through buckles. The leg loops are attached to the front of the waist belt at the belay loop and by adjustable webbing straps on the rear of the waist belt. The leg loop cross piece also attaches the leg loops to each other at the front of the harness. The leg loops work in conjunction with the waist belt to distribute your weight between your legs and pelvis in the event of a fall.
   
3. Buckle Harnesses have either one or two buckles attached to the front of the waist belt. A single buckle is usually threaded with a length of webbing on the waist belt and then doubled back on itself through the buckle. This ensures that the harness will not accidently come undone when it is weighted. It is extremely important to always double-check that your harness belt is doubled back through the buckle. Many harnesses also have double buckles that are prethreaded, which allow you to easily tighten or loosen the harness waist belt.
   
4. Tie-In Loop The tie-in loop is exactly that—a loop of strong, rigid webbing sewn onto the front of the waist belt. The length of webbing that secures the buckle is attached to the loop. When you tie your rope into your harness (using the figure-8 follow-through knot), the rope is threaded through the leg loop cross piece at the bottom and then up through the tie-in loop, which tightly secures the rope to both parts of the harness and distributes your weight on both parts if you fall or hang.
   
5. Belay Loop The belay loop is a strong, rigid loop of webbing that attaches the leg loops to the waist belt. The belay loop is also one of the most important parts of the climbing harness since a locking carabiner is attached to the loop when you are belaying or rappelling. The belay loop is extremely strong so it can withstand all the energetic forces of climbing, including severe falls. Still, belay loops have been known to fail, especially if they are old and worn, so always back it up to create redundancy in your chain of safety if you have any doubts about the loop’s strength and integrity.
   
6. Gear Loop The gear loops, either soft or rigid loops attached to the waist belt, are used to rack your climbing gear, including nuts, cams, and quickdraws, to your harness for easy carrying while you climb. Harnesses usually come with either two or four gear loops, depending on the weight of the harness. Small harnesses for women or kids often have just two gear loops, while bigger harnesses have four. Usually it’s better to have four gear loops, unless you’re using your harness for gym climbing, top-roping, or sport routes. Most gear loops are not strong enough to support anything more than body weight.
   
7. Haul Loop A haul loop is a loop of webbing on the back of the waist belt. The best haul loops are sewn and are full strength. These are used for hauling a second rope on long climbs, aid climbing, and big walls. Some harnesses have a low strength haul loop, often a loop of plastic tacked onto the waist belt. These are usually used only for clipping a chalk bag or other gear onto the rear of the waist belt.
   
8. Leg Loop Cross Piece The leg loop cross piece is a length of webbing connecting the two leg loops on the front of the harness. It is usually adjustable with a small threaded buckle. This webbing, along with the tie-in loop on the waist belt, is one of the points where you attach your climbing rope to your harness.

Different Harness Styles for Different Climbing Styles

Harnesses are specifically made for different types of climbing, including sport, gym, and competition climbing, general all-around climbing, big wall climbing, alpine and ice climbing, caving, and kids climbing. Specific harnesses are made for women and children.

What Kind of Harness Do You Need?

What kind of harness you purchase and use depends on what you plan to climb. Before buying a harness, the first thing you need to decide is how you’re going to use it, what kinds of climbs you plan to do, and what features are important to you and your climbing style.
To determine what kind of harness you need, ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you a beginner and just planning on climbing in the gym and doing occasional top-ropes outside?
• Do you want a super lightweight harness or a big beefy one?
• Are you just hanging occasionally on sport routes or do you need an ultra-comfy harness that you can sit in all day without cramping your calves?
• Do you want padded leg loops and a plush padded waist belt?
• Do you want detachable leg loops to easily answer the call of nature?
• Do you need an easily adjustable harness because you’re alpine climbing or want to use it for friends of varying body types?
• Are you buying the harness for a child to wear climbing?
• Do you need four gear racking loops or are two enough?
• Which is more important to you—weight or comfort?
• Do you need a woman’s harness with a smaller waist belt, larger leg loops, and longer rise than a man’s or unisex harness?

The 5 Harness Styles

Five basic styles of harnesses are manufactured for specific types of climbing and climbers.

1. Gym and Competition Harnesses. These thin specialized harnesses are used for hard sport routes, gym training, and competition climbing where light weight and free movement is essential. They have narrow leg loops and waist band; just enough padding for falls, hangdogging, and belaying; and are very lightweight. They are generally uncomfortable for most general climbing. Prices for sport harnesses range from $50 to $125.
   
2. All Around or Multi-Purpose Harnesses Multi-purpose harnesses are exactly that—harnesses for all kinds of climbing, including crack climbing and multi-pitch routes. These are ideal if you’re just starting out climbing as well as if you’re an experienced climber. They come in a wide variety of styles to fit all kinds of body types as well as budgets. Almost all of them feature padded leg loops and padded waist belt; detachable leg loops so you can answer’s nature’s call without taking it off; either two or four gear loops for racking carabiners, quickdraws, and gear on the waist belt; and a sewn dedicated belay/rappel loop on the front, connecting the waist belt and leg loops and allowing you to belay or rappel from it. Prices for all-around harnesses range from $50 to $150.
   
3. Big Wall Harnesses Big wall harnesses are big beefy harnesses intended for climbing multi-pitch routes on big walls that might take several days. Comfort on these long steep walls is very important so these harness have thickly padded waist belts and leg loops, which relieve pressure on the climber’s upper legs and waist when they are at hanging belays or standing in aiders while aid climbing. Big wall harnesses also have multiple gear loops so lots of equipment can be racked on them, as well as a sewn haul loop on the back of the waist belt and a thick sewn belay loop on the front. Prices range from $75 to $200.
   
4. Alpine Harnesses Alpine harnesses, designed for mountaineering, are lightweight bare-bones harnesses that are easily adjustable so they fit over a variety of bulky clothes since alpinists often change layers of clothes for different weather conditions. Leg loops are usually easily detached for bathroom breaks or to change pants. Look for ones with a padded waist belt for extra comfort. They are also constructed from durable water-repellent nylon so they can handle all kinds of wet and snowy mountain conditions. Alpine harnesses make a good beginner harness or an extra harness to bring to the crags for a friend since they are adjustable for various body types. These no-frills harnesses are inexpensive. Expect to pay around $50 for a good one.
   
5. Chest and Body Harnesses Chest and body harnesses are harnesses that either accompany a seat harness or are an integrated seat and chest harness. Chest harnesses are typically not worn by climbers, but are essential equipment for caving. The usual situations where a climber might wear one are on routes where there is a chance of flipping upside-down in a fall such as falling into a crevasse on a glacier or ascending fixed ropes with a heavy pack. A chest harness is always worn with a seat harness. Prices range from $35 to $75 for a chest harness.
   A body harness, incorporating the leg loops and waist belt of a seat harness with a chest harness, are made specifically for children and adults with narrow waists and hips. When kids climb, they have a tendency to turn upside down when they fall since they are top-heavy. Body harnesses have a higher tie-in point than a seat harness, reducing the chances that a climber will flip upside down during a fall. It’s highly recommended that you always use a chest harness and a helmet on kid climbers under the age of 10 to avoid injury. Prices range from $50 to $125.

Taking Care of Rock Shoes

Dry Your Shoes After Use

After every climbing session, take your climbing shoes out of your pack and thoroughly air dry them. This keeps bacteria from creating thriving colonies, avoids mildew, and helps keep the rank smell of sweaty feet to a minimum. It’s also a good idea to use an odor-eating shoe powder every few weeks. Just buy something at the local drugstore, even baby powder, and dust the inside of the shoe. You can also use deodorizing sprays.

Don’t Store Shoes in Sunlight

Don’t store your shoes in hot places like the trunk of a car or in direct sunlight. The heat weakens the glues that bind the rubber sole and rand to the upper, while sunlight dries and damages the shoe’s upper, particularly if it’s leather. It’s best to store your shoes and the rest of your climbing equipment in a cool dry place. I use a nylon shoe bag, which came with my La Sportiva Mythos, to store my shoes in.

Clean Your Soles

Clean the soles with soapy water if they’re dirty. Bits of sand and grit grind into the sole if you wear your shoes on a descent or if you’re walking around at the base of a cliff. To clean them, take a wet rag and scrub the sole, then wipe dry. If grit is impacted in the sole, take a small wire brush or coarse sandpaper and brush the sole. It’s best to start from the shoe’s toe and work back to the heel. Don’t brush too vigorously or you’ll remove too much rubber. You can also wash the entire shoe from time to time. Put them in soapy water, wash by hand, and air dry.

Rock Shoes Will Make You Climb Better

As the old Michael Jordan Nike ad used to say: “It’s the shoes, man, it’s the shoes!” Well, that’s not completely wrong when it comes to climbing and rock shoes. A good pair of rock shoes, heck any pair of rock shoes, will make you a better climber.
A lot of folks start out climbing in a pair of sneakers, which can work fine on juggy routes but put a beginner in tennies on a sandstone slab and he will flounder like a fish out of water. His feet will slip and slide. His ankles will bend over. His shoes won’t stick to the rock. He won’t be a happy climber. Instead he’ll wonder if there’s something wrong with him.

Rent a Pair to Start

But put him in a pair of basic entry-level rock shoes like we do with all our clients at Front Range Climbing Company and he’ll be dancing up the rock like a ballerina. Well, maybe not quite that gracefully, but climbing will be a heck of a lot easier and he’ll have a lot more fun.
If you’re just starting out climbing, check with your local climbing shop, gym, or guide service to see if they offer rock shoes for rent. It’s worth the few bucks to rent because a pair of rock shoes will always give you a better first-time experience—and your feet will thank you.

Find Comfortable Snug Shoes

When I outfit beginner climbers with rock shoes, I tell them to find a pair that’s comfortable and snugly fits their foot. It doesn’t have to be uncomfortably tight with their toes crammed in the toe box. Also consider the width. The shoe should fit snug across the foot as well as offer some arch support. Since your footwork will be sloppy, buy a pair with leather high-tops to protect your ankles and a stiff sole so you can learn how to edge with your foot. Read 10 Rock Shoe Buying Tips for all the beta on purchasing your first pair of climbing shoes.

Should I Wear Socks?

Socks or no socks? Most experienced climbers don’t wear socks so their shoes will fit tightly and their foot can better feel the rock beneath their sensitive soles. That said, it is probably better to wear a thin pair of socks when you’re starting out, especially if you’re wearing a pair of rental shoes that some sweaty guy wore the week before.

Buying A New Pair of Rock Shoes

Buy the wrong pair of shoes and your feet will hurt and you’ll probably give up climbing. But buy the right pair of rock shoes and you’ll be dancing up the walls. Follow my 10 tips below to make smart buying decisions.

1. Buy at a Reputable Mountain Shoes

It's always best to buy rock shoes, especially your first pair, at a reputable mountain shop with an experienced sales staff that is knowledgeable about climbing. One of the big advantages is that you can try them on and test them--ensuring you get a great fit.

 

 

2. Buy an All-Around Rock Shoe

Buy a comfortable all-around, all-purpose shoe with a stiff sole and high-cut leather upper to protect your ankles. As a beginner you'll do all kinds of climbing--get a shoe that lets you experiment and improve.

3. Get a Snug Comfortable Fit

Get a snug but comfortable fit—not too tight but not sloppy. Make sure the toe box is big enough for your foot. A tight pointed toe box is uncomfortable and useful only on extreme climbs.

4. Rock Shoes Will Stretch

Remember that rock shoes stretch, but mostly in width, not in length. Shoes with rubber rands and linings won’t stretch much. If the shoe is painful and your toes are cramped, don’t buy it.

5. Improper Sizing is a Common Problem

Try on lots of shoes to find a pair that fits your feet. Improper sizing is the most common problem when buying new rock shoes. Rock shoes come in US, UK, and European sizing, which makes size conversion difficult. It’s always best to try them on in person and wear them around the shop for at least five minutes. Some shops have small walls where you can test them on a vertical surface.

6. Great Deals are Found On-Line

Great deals are available from on-line vendors, but be aware that you may not pick the right size and if you buy them, you might be stuck with a shoe that doesn’t fit. Before buying, make sure you can send them back unused for a size exchange.

7. Buy Used and Save Big

Look for bulletin boards in shops and gyms to buy a used pair of rock shoes. Great deals are also found on E-Bay.

8. Buy Last Year's Models Cheap

Buy new rock shoes in the late winter and spring when last year’s models are passé and heavily discounted. Most mountain shops and on-line retailers will have close-out specials. Shop early for your size, otherwise they will have only really big or super small sizes.

9. Do a Test Run at a Shoe Demo

Look for shoe demos, usually at local climbing gyms, to try out different rock shoes and see what works for your foot, experience, and climbing style. The shoe rep can help you decide what kind of shoe and size will work for you.

10. Rent Before Buying Rock Shoes

Consider renting shoes for the first few times that you go climbing, whether outside or in a rock gym. That way you will know if climbing is a sport you will stick with as well as have an understanding about how you climb and how the shoes you’re renting perform at the cliff.

 

 

Lowering Back Down

Lowering Back to the Base

Okay, you’ve grabbed the big finishing handhold and reached the top of the wall. The rope, which trails straight down 30 feet to your belayer, is looped through a locking steel carabiner or is wrapped around an iron bar. Your arms are burning. You want to come down. But before you slump onto the rope, let your belayer know that you’re ready to come down. You don’t want to lean back on the rope until you’re absolutely sure that you’re being held by your belayer.
You shout down, “I’m at the top! I’m ready to lower.”
Your belayer pulls the rope tight in his belay device. He can feel you on the end of the rope up there, like a fisherman feels a fish on a hook. “Okay, lowering.” He begins letting the rope slowly slide through the belay device, keeping his brake hand on the rope. Be sure not to lower your partner too fast. It’s easy to lose control and drop him to the ground, spraining or twisting an ankle.
You’re back down on the ground. You forearms are tight but you made it. You smile and say, “Wow, that was fun. I wanna go again!”
Now it’s your turn to belay and your partner’s turn to climb.

Climbing Up

You're geared up and you’re tied into the end of the rope. Your partner has you on belay. You’re ready to climb. You use the basic climbing commands.
You look at your partner. He says, “On belay.” He’s ready for you to climb, with the rope threaded through his belay device.
You check your Figure-8 Follow-Through knot and reply, “Ready to climb.”
He orders, “Climb on.” You start climbing.
Gym walls are usually vertical to overhanging. Since you’re just starting out, it’s best to stay on the vertical walls. Ask one of the gym instructors about their best routes for beginners. They’re usually the ones with lots of big handholds and footholds. Indoor climbing walls are designed to accommodate manmade holds of innumerable shapes and sizes, which are attached to the wall with long bolts.

Different Handholds

You free climb upward, using your hands and feet to make upward progress. The holds, marked with tape of the same color, offer good purchase for your hands and fingers. Try different ways to grip different handholds. Some holds will be crimps with just your fingertips crunching down on the top of the small hold. Others are jugs that your can comfortably wrap your whole hand around; holds that you can pinch; or pockets which you can cram a few fingers into. No matter what the holds though, your forearms are burning and your upper arms are getting pumped.

Use Your Feet Effectively

The problem is that you’re trying to power up the wall with your arms, and you’ve inadvertently discovered one of the keys to successful climbing, either indoors or outside—use your feet effectively. Legs are not only stronger than arms, but they’re also better for bearing your body weight than your arms. Moving from your feet and legs on footholds helps keep the weight off your arms. You’re able to move with economy and balance rather than with sheer strength since with vertical posture your weight stays over your feet and you maintain a natural balance. Remember too that you will use your climbing shoe-clad foot with many specialized techniques, including edging, smearing, heel-hooking, back-stepping, and stemming, that will help you reach the top of the wall.

Yippee! You're at the Top

You power with your arms and keep in balance with your legs and now you make the final reach up and grab an iron bar at the top of the 35-foot wall. You shout down, "Wow! I'm here! I made it! Yippee!"
You look down. Your belayer seems so far down there at the base. You're ready to go down, but how will you do that? Your belayer will lower you back, that's what you'll do. Go to the next part to learn how to lower back down.

Belaying Basics

Belaying is one of the most important climbing skills you will learn and master in the indoor climbing gym. Belaying is the basis of climbing safety, of ensuring both your and your partner’s safety. Belaying, simply put, is a simple process of holding the rope and the climber in the event of a fall. The rope links both the climber and the belayer together in a safety partnership, allowing the climber to fall without fear of hitting the ground and suffering injury or worse.

The Mechanics of Belaying

In the controlled gym situation that you are now in, one person will be the belayer while the other person will be the climber. The rope, which is anchored to safety gear at the top of the wall, is attached to both the climber and the belayer (this type of climbing is called top-roping). The climber is tied directly into the end of the rope (with a Figure-8 Follow-Through knot), while the belayer is attached to the rope with a belay device, a mechanical device which enables the belayer to safely and efficiently hold the climber’s weight with the rope. It is the belayer’s responsibility to keep the rope snug on the climber as he ascends the wall, to hold him in case he falls, and to lower him back to the base after reaching the top of the wall.

Finding a Belayer

Remember that gyms do not supply belayers (although some might offer a belayer-for-hire). You need to be trained yourself to safely belay and to bring a properly trained belayer to climb with you. If you don’t have a belayer, you can often hook up with another partnerless climber on busy evenings and swap climbs and belays.

Gym Belay and Climbing Tests

Most climbing gyms require new climbers to take an introductory crash course that acquaints them with gym rules, how to tie into the rope with a Figure-8 Follow-Through knot, how to belay and lower, and basic climbing movements. Most also require a belay test that demonstrates your belaying competency as well as a knot-tying test.
You and your partner have passed the gym belay test, you're tied into the rope, and outfitted with shoes and harness. Now you're ready to rock and roll. Let's go climbing. Go to the next section on Climbing Up to learn the basics of climbing movement.

Tying into the Rope

The climbing knot you tie into the rope with is your literal lifeline. Without a proper knot that’s properly tied onto your harness, your rope is useless. The best knot is, of course, one that doesn’t come undone when it’s weighted.

Knots to Know

When you learn to climb, it’s best to learn only a few essential knots. It’s easy to get by with knowing how to tie only a handful of knots, as long as you know how to tie them and know what they are used for.
The six most important knots to learn are:

1. Figure-8 Follow-Through finished with a Fisherman’s Backup Knot
   
2. Clove Hitch
   
3. Figure-8 on a Bight
   
4. Prusik Loop
   
5. Double Fisherman’s Knot
   
6. Münter Hitch

Figure-8 Follow-Through Knot

There are lots of knots to tie into the rope with, but the best and only tie-in knot for your first climbing experience (as well as your climbing career) is the Figure-8 Follow-Through knot, also called a Figure-8 Trace or a Flemish Bend. This standard tie-in knot will not come undone if it’s tied properly. The Figure-8 Follow-Through, called a cinch knot, only gets tighter when it’s loaded with your weight when you rest on the rope, fall off the wall, or lower from the top.
To learn how to tie the Figure-8 Follow-Through knot, click on the link and follow the series of photos to learn how to tie the knot and then practice until you can tie it without looking. Just remember: this knot is what ties you into the rope, it’s the basis of a safe climbing system. After you tie into the rope, it is always a good idea to have your climbing partner check your knot to make sure it’s tied properly. The Figure 8 Follow-Through knot is perfect for visual checking since each side of the rope in the knot is a clone of the other.

Another Gym Tie-in Knot

Some climbing gyms pre-tie a Figure-8-on-a-Bight and have you clip that knot into a locking carabiner on your harness. While this eliminates your responsibility for properly tying into the rope, it also adds another link to the tie-in system. It’s fine to do this in a gym but when you begin climbing outside, always tie the rope directly into your harness rather than clipping it into a carabiner.
You and your partner are tied in. Now you have to learn to belay, a necessary and important climbing skill that protects the climber from falling to the ground. Go to Belaying Basics to learn how to belay each other.

Gearing Up

Putting on Rock Shoes

First, slip the climbing shoes on your feet. The shoes should be snug on your feet and toes, but not tight. I rarely wear socks in my shoes so the fit is tighter and I can feel the rock better, but you may want to wear socks and decide later what feels right for you. If your gym doesn’t rent shoes, then bring a pair of snug running shoes, which will work fine on the easier climbs.

Stepping into the Harness

Next, pull the harness on by first stepping into the leg loops and then pulling it up so the waist loop is above your hips. These harnesses, especially designed for climbing, transfer the forces of a fall onto your pelvis rather than on your waist. Again, the harness should fit snugly on your body. Make final fit adjustments by tightening the adjustable leg loops as well as the riser on the back of the harness.
The most important thing to do after putting on your harness is to properly tie the waist strap through the buckle. For most harnesses, you pass the strap through the buckle and then double it back through a second time. If done this way, the harness will not come undone but if you don’t pass the strap through the second time, the possibility exists that the waist strap can come undone after a fall. Lastly make sure the end of the strap extends at least two inches beyond the buckle when you’re finished. After putting on your harness, ask a gym employee to check your harness to make sure it’s fitted correctly and safely. Later, after climbing a few times and you’re comfortable putting on your harness, you can ask your climbing partner to double-check your harness.

Your First Time Climbing

Your Local Climbing Gym

If you’ve never climbed before, a trip to the local gym with a friend is your best introduction to basic climbing movements, gear, and skills. Most gyms can outfit you with rental climbing shoes, a harness, and a belay device and then give you lessons in how to safely belay and climb. Just remember that the indoor climbing experience is very different from outdoor climbing, which requires an entirely different competency and skills for a safe experience.
Climbing indoors mirrors climbing outdoors—without the risks and objective dangers found outside. Indoor climbing is all about minimizing danger and having a safe and fun experience in a controlled setting.

Climbing Partners

Indoor gym climbing is usually done in pairs, although you can boulder, which is climbing the walls up to ten or so feet off the ground, by yourself. But it’s usually more fun to climb with a friend. As climbing partners you check each other’s knots; you belay each other; you give each other technical tips; and you have fun together. As a climbing team, one of you is the climber and the other is the belayer.

Climbing Safely is Your Responsibility

 

Climbing is a Dangerous Sport

Climbing is not something to be taken lightly. I warn everyone who wants to climb that every time you go out climbing, whether it be a quick bouldering session, a fun afternoon at a top-rope crag, or a technical scramble up a mountain peak, you or your partners may be seriously injured or die. That’s a fact. An uncomfortable fact, yes, but very true.

This Is Not a Complete Source

Remember that all the information presented here is not a complete source of climbing instruction, it’s only a finger pointing you in the right direction, nor does it provide the experience or knowledge gleaned from personal instruction by a guide or climbing school. Do not depend on any of the information here or any other climbing books or magazines that you read for your personal safety.

Your Safety Depends on You

Your safety depends solely and only on You, no one else. Take responsibility for getting proper climbing instruction in anchors, equipment use, rope handling, rappelling, movement, and all other aspects of climbing by taking classes, hiring a guide for a day, or going out with experienced climbers as their rock apprentice.

Using Good Judgment

Your safety depends on your good judgment. Your judgment is your responsibility. Climbing safety is a lot about judgment—deciding to turn around in bad weather or lightning; backing up bogus anchors; creating redundancy in anchors and climbing systems; climbing with someone who is experienced; and not letting ego dictate the right decisions. Your safety depends on your experience and having a realistic assessment and appraisal of your climbing ability and skills. These include your physical characteristics and overall fitness, your experience, your confidence, your technical ability, and your judgment.

Make Your Own Decisions

Remember that most climbing information is subjective and prone to personal interpretation based on your experience. Climbing routes can be underrated in both difficulty and danger. Information here or what you find elsewhere may be inaccurate, misleading, or just plain wrong. It’s up to you to filter through it all and make your own decisions. It’s all up to you. Exercise your judgment as to where a route goes, whether you’re up to its challenge, and if your experience and ability is enough to safely guard and protect you from the many hazards and risks of climbing.

Hazards and Risks of Climbing

The hazards and risks of climbing include lots of objective danger, including but not limited to:

• Falling rocks
• Falling objects
• Breaking hand- and footholds
• Your own equipment failure
• Anchor failure
• Falling because of technical difficulty
• Hitting ledges or the ground after falling
• Incorrect belay technique
• Inexperienced belayer
• Failure of fixed protection
• Absence of fixed protection
• Lightning and bad weather
• Avalanche

Hire a Guide to Learn Safe Climbing

You will be safer when you go climbing if you realize the limitations of your knowledge and experience. If you have any questions about climbing, then ask someone. Experienced climbers are always willing to answer questions, give advice, confirm ratings of local routes, and give you extra beta. Take advantage of their expertise. At Front Range Climbing Company, we take many newbie climbers out for intensive instructional sessions so they can learn all the basics of climbing as well as more advanced rope, anchor, protection, belaying, and rappelling techniques. Most climbing areas have guides and instructors available. I highly recommend that if you’re serious about climbing and being safe, that you hire a guide or instructor to learn the ropes and to become proficient in climbing safely. Your life depends on it!

Accidents Happen

If you have any doubts or misgivings about any part of climbing, then do not attempt it. It’s better not to do something than to do something wrong. Accidents happen. That’s life and that’s climbing. Be careful out there on the rocks and peaks and don’t do anything foolish if you want to live long and prosper.

Learn All About Climbing

What is Climbing?

Climbing is simply the activity of using your hands and feet to surmount a steep obstacle such as an artificial wall, boulder, cliff, or mountain. Usually done for recreational enjoyment, fun, and sport, climbing allows you to fully experience the great outdoors by giving you eagle-eye views from lofty summits, pushing both your physical fitness and mental health, and offering you a way to confront and control a couple of our greatest human fears—that of falling and that of heights. Climbing is a risky sport that requires both skill and nerve for success. Climbing tools and equipment such as ropes, harnesses, carabiners, cams, and helmets are all used to lessen the risks of climbing and gravity.

Why Go Climbing

Climbing is one of the fastest growing recreational activities in the world and one of the reasons is the artificial wall. Indoor climbing gyms, offering a safe and controlled environment, allow new climbers to quickly grasp the needed skills—belaying, rope management, equipment, and movement—to make the jump to the great outdoors. But climbing is, of course, serious business. Very serious business.

Climbing is Risky

Every time you go climbing outside, you are potentially risking your life and limb. Stuff happens at the cliff. Rocks fall off. Climbers fall off. Gear rips out. Ropes cut over sharp edges. Lightning strikes cliff-tops. Rain slickens descent routes. Belays are improperly rigged. Rappel anchors are old and worn out. I don’t want to scare you, to make you think that climbing is a death-defying feat, because it’s not most of the time.

Learn to be Safe

Everything a wise climber does outside on the rock is oriented toward being safe and ensuring both the climber and his partner’s safety. Every piece of gear a wise climber places in the rock mitigates the dire effects of gravity. I always stress to my beginner clients that your climb begins when you park your car and start walking to the cliffs and it doesn’t end until you and your partner are off the summit and safely back at the parking lot.

Outdoor Climbing Experience Needed

It’s really important to remember that indoor climbing on an artificial wall is no substitute for real experience outside on real rock. I always consider indoor climbing, while a worthwhile pursuit in its own right, as physical training for climbing outside in the wide world. Indoor climbing, even at the most realistic rock gym, does not provide all the preparation, experience, and judgment for a safe outdoor climbing experience.

Getting Outside

If, after getting started climbing at the gym, you want to venture outside and put those hard-earned gym skills to work on the vertical cliffs, the best thing is to find a reputable guide service and take a couple classes from a skilled instructor. This is something we often do at Front Range Climbing Company, the guide service I regularly teach classes and lessons for in Colorado.
After those classes, your guide might give you the go-ahead to set up some top-rope routes at a local crag or crank a few sport climbs. Or perhaps you will find a local climbing club like the Potomac Mountain Club in the Washington DC area or the Colorado Mountain Club and join one of their weekend outings or hook up with a more experienced climber for regular days at nearby cliffs. When I started climbing in the mid-1960s there were no indoor climbing facilities. Instead most budding climbers climbed with older, more experienced mentors, serving an apprenticeship to learn all the nuances of outdoor climbing skills, the tricks of rope management, and the ways to stay safe on the rocks.

Types of Climbing

Climbing naturally divides into several distinct categories, with each using its own particular techniques, tools, and environments.

1. Rock Climbing divides into three separate disciplines: traditional climbing, sport climbing, and bouldering.
   
2. Traditional Climbing is the art of ascending rock walls that are protected with gear that is both placed and removed by the climbing party.
   
3. Sport Climbing, using permanent anchors placed in rock, is a climbing style that emphasizes gymnastic movement, difficulty, and safety.
   
4. Bouldering is the ropeless pursuit of short difficult problems on boulders and small cliffs.
   
5. Top-Rope Climbing is scaling both cliffs and artificial walls with the safety rope always anchored above, creating a safe environment and minimal risk.
   
6. Aid Climbing is ascending steep rock faces with the use of specialized climbing equipment that allows mechanical upward progress rather than free climbing with hands and feet.
   
7. Indoor Climbing is climbing preplaced hand and foot holds that are bolted on artificial walls at indoor climbing gyms.
   
8. Mountaineering is climbing mountain peaks from the Rockies to the Himalayas using both rock and ice climbing skills.
   
9. Ice Climbing is the chilly winter pastime of scaling frozen waterfalls and icy gullies using crampons and ice tools.

Moving Over Stone

Climbing is all about movement. It’s about moving your body across vertical terrain, about moving over stone. It’s about staying in balance. It’s about finding equilibrium. It’s about using your hands and feet to make upward progress.

Climbing is Natural

Climbing, along with walking and running, is one of the natural activities that humans do. It’s a natural thing to do. We’re built to climb. We just climb. We climb trees, we climb hills, we climb mountains, we climb little rocks, we climb big rocks. Our ancestors climbed to get away from fierce predators and enemies, they climbed for safety.

Kids Know How to Climb

Little kids climb for the sake of climbing; of stretching their bodies and boundaries; of finding how high they can climb. They climb for the adventure and the view, to see what’s on the other side of the fence. Later the adults and parents tell the kids: “Don’t climb. It’s dangerous. You’re gonna fall and hurt yourself.” So we stop climbing and that natural innate sense of climbing begins to get lost as we keep our feet planted on sidewalks.

Climbing is Learning to Use Your Body

When we go climbing though, we re-find that ability to move across difficult and unfamiliar terrain and in the process we discover a new sense of adventure and joy in the human process of moving over stone and slope. Climbing then is about learning all about our body’s machinery and how it works and how we can use it in the vertical world. We learn its advantages and strengths. We learn its weaknesses. We learn how to compensate for weakness. We learn how to be strong and in control. We learn flow and grace and the joy of movement.

Climbing is Moving Over Stone

When a lot of people think about climbing, they tend to think about gear and safety systems and, of course, gravity and the consequences of falling. All the specialized climbing equipment, climbing systems, and judgments we make to stay safe climbing are very important, but climbing, when you get strip it down to its basics and its essence, is simply about movement over rock.

Our Ability to Climb

Our ability to climb is what gets us up a rock face. It’s that simple. It’s just a man or a woman using their hands and feet to climb a rock. The equipment is our back-up, what we rely on if we’re not skilled enough to progress upward with our human bodies or we’re too weak to climb higher.

The Art of Face and Crack Climbing

To become a climber, you have to learn the techniques of free climbing, you have to learn two different disciplines—face climbing and crack climbing. Each requires a different skill set that has been developed over the last 110 years by climbers around the world, who through trial and error developed lots of specific skills, techniques, and tricks to ascend faces and cracks. Learn them here then get out and practice on your local climbing gym walls or better yet, go outside and get vertical.

Ice Climbing

Never in my life have I been so cold or so hot in the same 10 minutes as I have been ice climbing. If you don’t like the cold, and cannot tolerate some level of being uncomfortable, become a rat for the winter. Otherwise, welcome to one of the most demanding, exhilarating, and beautiful forms of climbing. This article is intended to describe the what and the how as you move to the ‘sickle sport.

Equipment
You are going to need a lot of stuff. There is no way around it. If you are a skier then you probably have a good start on the clothing. Think warm, layered. Think waterproof. Believe it or not, the ice forms from water, and I have even done climbs in the late season where a river of water cascaded down over my ice screws. Many climbers are moving over to Schoeller fabric which is very water resistant and very breathable. It’s also very expensive. Make sure you get a pair of gators to protect your pants and keep the snow out on the approach.

Ok, so you are dressed. Your hat fits beneath your helmet and your over-jacket is big enough to wear a fleece under it. You bought one of those cliché puffy jackets for belaying. Awesome.
Besides clothing, what are the four most important equipment items: Gloves, Tools, Crampons, and Boots.
The last three you can rent, but the Gloves you are going to need to buy. Don’t skimp out. You are going to need something that is reasonably warm, has a leather palm, and is waterproof. I have a set of Schoeller gloves, they are great. One trick to waterproof the leather is to treat it with Nickwax boot wax the night before every climb; you will find that this even makes the leather tacky. Many climbers use a liner glove inside their outer shell, myself included. This is handy if you like the technique of taking off your gloves to place a screw. You will find that a sweaty palm is pretty hard to put back inside your glove when you are hanging on your axes, pumped silly.

Ice Axes. There are a number of commercially available axes with flashy colors and even flashier names. Find a local shop and try them out. Many will lend you them for a day. Don’t skimp on the tools either. I broke the head off my first set, for which I paid a grand sum of $60. You are also going to need leashes for those axes, because going leash-less is sort of impractical if you are just starting out. I use leashes that easily detach from my axe which is great. Make sure you can get out of your leash in whatever method you choose under duress.
Crampons – Again, renting is a practical method to choose the right ones for you. Some people like mono, some go for the dual points. Most people start with the dual which makes a more stable platform for throwing your axes. Manufacturers make crampons which switch from one to the other, which may be a good long-term solution. Getting crampons that at least have replaceable front points is a good idea.
Boots – Like climbing shoes, fit is everything. There are plastics and leathers and all different fits, wide to narrow. Try to find something that has enough room in the toe box because you will be kicking into ice with these things, and you don’t want to bash your little toes to heck. It’s a good idea to have the socks you will be wearing out there when you try the boots on, a thin liner sock and a great big thick sock. I have a pair of Thinsulate socks that are great. Leathers tend to flex more and are easier in my opinion on approaches, especially if the approach is rocky rather than snowy. Plastics are stiffer and some people swear that this makes them more stable to kick and climb in.

How Now, Brown Cow?
Ok, so now you have all the gear. If you haven’t figured it out yet, you are going to need to actually live near ice to climb it. There are no gyms (yet) that offer climbing so you are just going to have to suck it up and go outside. Don’t worry, your Wii isn’t going anywhere, and besides, WI is much more interesting.
Due to the risk involved in ice climbing I chose to take lessons from a professional guide and it was worth every penny. I learned more about how to read the ice and actual climbing techniques than I could have learned in 1 or 2 years on my own. If you have someone who has been out there on the ice for years who wants to mentor you, that is probably also fine. What I wouldn’t do is head out there to lead Tuckerman’s ravine thinking you are such a good rock climber that your skills will translate. I don’t care if you are a 5.11 trad climber; ice is DIFFERENT.

So you are geared up, tied in, and axes are in hand. A professional is holding the rope for you. What is he likely to tell you? Swing seldom. Swing hard. Aim for concavities in the ice, not convexities. If you find nothing but convex ice, you are going to have to chuck a few dinner plates before your axe will sink in. For every one ice axe stick you should move both your feet up. Kick your feet in hard and with the same precision as your axes. Try to keep your body in a “tripod” stance with your legs at shoulder width and your axe(s) towards the center. Try to keep your feet at the same level when you throw your axe. Keep your heels down as much as possible.

You have reached the top of the formation and now you have to pull over the bulge at the top, this is often the hardest part. Get your tool up and above the bulge as high as you can. Step high and mantle to the top. This will feel awkward. Welcome to the club, you just finished your first ice climb. You are probably pumped silly, and your body reveals muscles you never knew you had. Your calves are pumped too, oddly.
Off on your own
So now you want to go out there and see what its really like, out from under the wing of a seasoned professional. The weird thing about ice is that it is a scarce commodity, and it degrades when you climb on it. Its funny, because if hunks of rock came off a rock cliff and hit you in the face you would never go back there and climb. For ice this is status quo.
Keep in mind that as a beginner, you are going to be throwing less accurately and insisting on more secure placements to move ever upwards. This may be hard on the ice that someone with a lighter hand would just zoom through. If the ice is constantly dinner-plating, do what I do, go for a hike. Find some other ice or just forget it for the day. Save the ice today so that tomorrow it will be in shape to climb. Much of ice climbing (at least for me) is aesthetics, and breaking off a curtain that is about to touch down is bad not only form, and ruins some of the beauty.
The scarcity of ice makes ice climbers somewhat secretive about their crags. If you do your best to keep the exposure to those special places down you will find that you will earn respect of those who can help you to succeed on ice. Publishing GPS coordinates of a lesser-known crag is probably bad form. Showing your buddy some backcountry ice in person, or describing a route to him with a topo map and a cup of coffee is probably a better idea. There are many mentor-level climbers out there who are willing to show you the ropes if you don’t stomp on their daisies.

Where does this bring us?
Ice climbing is an adventurous activity. Many crags are hard to get to, the rewards of a good climb are enormous. I personally see ice as a doorway to bigger and better ascents, as a way to get stronger in the winter without being plagued with flappers and annoyed by chalky holds. The beauty of movement on the ice and a good hammer throw relates well to the splendor of our natural world in its dormant state.

Samir Handanovic, The Best Penalty Stopper in Serie A

In matchday 36 (May 8) of Italian Serie A football league, Udinese managed to defeat Lazio by 2-1 in one of the most important matches to decide the league's 4th place, the last position who will advance to next year European Champions League. Besides striker Antonio Di Natale who scored both goals for the Zebrette, goalkeeper Samir Handanovic also labeled as a hero, after his penalty saved from Mario Zarate when the match's score was still 2-0.

This was the 6th penalty saves from 8 opportunities by the Slovenian goalkeeper. Before Zarate, Samir Handanovic has stopped shots from Samuel Eto’o, Edgar Barreto, David Di Michele, Marek Hamsik dan Edinson Cavani. Only two experienced players, Francesco Totti and Hernan Crespo who're able to beat Handanovic from the spot kick.

What makes it interesting, Zarate was trying to copycat Totti's penalty style to beat Handanovic. He kicked the ball with a chip shot straight into the middle, but Handanovic won't be fooled twice by the same way. The 1.92 m goalie standing still in the center and easily caught Zarate's shot, and made the Argentinian looked silly.

This is the video of Zarate and Totti penalties against Handanovic:

Until this May 2011, Samir Handanovic has saved 11 from 26 spot kicks in Italian Serie A, which makes 42% penalty stop ratio. This is the best record in Italy, beat the stats of two retired goalkeepers, Luca Marchegiani from Lazio (17/42 or 40%) and Napoli's legend Pino "Batman" Taglialatela (11/27 or 41%).

He has his own tips of stopping penalty. "I prepare for games by studying my opponents in the week, but when it comes to the match you just have to watch the player, stay still for as long as possible and rely on your instinct."

It's probably too early to put Samir Handanovic as a sport legend, considering he's still 26-year-old, and he can either fix his record or even destroy it. Nevertheless, stopping penalty is not an easy task. Statistic show that the ratio of a goalkeeper to deny spot kick is only around 10%-20%, but Handanovic manages to double that number.

Check out this video of Handanovic penalty saves from this season: