Sport Climbing Basics

First Edition. December 2017 Donation Only

Contents

Introduction 6

Belaying 14

Leading 27

Anchors 36

Descending 65

Technique 80

Knots 98

Next Steps 105

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 Sport Climbing Basics:
Anchors

Climb: Julian Heath on The Spider, Cheedale, England. Photographer: Chris Fox (see more here)
Anchors Part 1: What To Do at the Top
Many climbs have bolted anchors at the
top. This is the standard for sport climbs
worldwide, but is also common at many
North American trad climbing venues.

These bolted anchors will usually be

equipped with mallions (quick links) or
lowering rings, sometimes connected with
chains. You wont be able to simply clip
your rope through this type of anchor like
you would at the gym. Instead, youll need
untie from the rope and thread it through.
After that, you can either abseil, or have
your partner lower you down.

Its important to learn how to do this in the be stranded at the anchor, or even
correct order. If you thread an anchor become completely detached from the
incorrectly, you could drop your rope and bolts.
beeeeeee

Lower, Abseil or Walk Off?

This depends on the type of anchor, how it
is positioned and what you plan to do after
the climb.
Lowering from a sport anchor is quicker
than abseiling. Its also much easier to
retrieve gear on your way down when
lowering.
However, abseiling puts much less wear on
the rings. This could be the best option if
the rings are already showing signs of
wear.
If the next climber is going to top rope the
route, you should make an anchor from
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your own gear and lower down from that.
If you are the last person to climb the
route, youll need to clean all your gear
from the anchor before you descend.
For anchors which are in a poor position
for lowering or abseiling (e.g: far back
across a ledge), it is much better to belay
your partner from the top of the climb. You
can then walk off.
Each of these scenarios requires a
different anchor setup. These are
described on the following pages.
37
Anchors Part 4: Cleaning a Sport Anchor
Cleaning a sport anchor means removing
all of your gear from it. Three of the main
ways to do this are described on the
following pages.
Which you choose depends on the type of
anchor and whether you plan to lower or
abseil.

Method 1 Feed a Bight of Rope Through

You will remain on belay during this whole Best Situation To Use This Method
setup. - When you are the last person to lead the
route
You Will Need - When the anchor has a central point
* Two spare quickdraws which is big enough to feed a bight of rope
* One screwgate carabiner through

Step 1
Clip your rope through a quickdraw on one
of the anchor bolts.

Step 2
Clip another quickdraw into the other
anchor bolt and clip it directly to your belay
loop. Rest your weight on this quickdraw.

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Step 3
Pull up a little slack and push a bight of the
rope through the main anchor point as
shown.

Step 4
Tie a figure-8 on the bight (see page 102)
and clip this to your belay loop with a
screwgate carabiner.

Step 5
Untie from the end of the rope.

VDiff Sport Climbing Basics > Anchors 44

Step 6
Pull the end of the rope through the main
anchor point.

Step 7
Remove the quickdraw which isnt holding
your weight. Ask your belayer to take you
tight.

Step 8
Rest your weight on the rope, then remove
the other quickdraw. You are now ready to
lower.

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Descending Part 2: Lowering
Lowering is faster than abseiling. It is the
most common form of descent whether
you have cleaned the anchor or not.
Best Situations To Lower
- If someone else will climb after you.
- If you need to remove the quickdraws.
- If you need to set directionals on your
descent.

Removing Quickdraws
If you have cleaned the anchor, but your
quickdraws are still in the route, youll need
to retrieve them on your way down.

This is easy on a straight-lined, vertical

route. Simply lower down and unclip them
from the bolt and the rope.

The belayer will need to stop lowering you

at each bolt so you have time to do this.

On overhanging or traversing routes it can

be more difficult. To make it easier, clip one
end of a quickdraw to your belay loop and
the other end to the rope. This lowering
quickdraw keeps you in the same line as
the route while you descend.

On your descent, unclip the lead

quickdraws from the rope and then from
the bolts.

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Be careful when removing the last
quickdraw. If you remove it in the same
way as the others, youll swing out from the
rock and pull your belayer with you.

If it is a safe swing (i.e: you wouldnt hit

anything or anyone) unclip your lowering
quickdraw from the rope and attach it
directly to the bolt. Then allow your weight
to hang on this quickdraw.

Remove the other quickdraw from the bolt

and the rope.

Give your belayer time to take in the extra

slack which is created.

Next, remove the last quickdraw from the

bolt. To make this easier, use holds on the
rock to pull yourself in. Be ready to swing
out!

If it isnt a safe swing, one option is to

lower to the ground, and then boulder up
to retrieve it. This works best if you have a
bouldering pad and the first bolt isnt very
high.

Another option is for the belayer to be

anchored to the ground. In this case, you
can keep your lowering quickdraw attached
until youre on the ground.

VDiff Sport Climbing Basics > Descending 68

Clipping into Quickdraws
If you have top roped an overhanging or
traversing route, and someone else wants
to top rope after you, youll need to clip the
rope to some of the quickdraws on your
way down as directionals. These
directionals stop the next climber from
swinging wildly across the rock if they fall.

Simply clip your rope into the quickdraws

as you lower. Depending on the route, you
may need to clip them all, or just a couple.

Pulling the Rope Down

Untie any knots from the rope before you
pull it down.

Shout 'rope' before it falls. This is so that

everyone around you is expecting it a
falling rope in the head hurts!

Make sure to pull the rope through so that

the falling end drops down through the
clipped quickdraws (if you are leaving them
in). This will slow it down and make it safer.

Rope!

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Abseiling - Check the System
Before you unclip your attachment point
from the anchor, check:

Rope threaded Both ropes

through main through
Solid
point of anchor belay device
anchor

Prusik knot

Holding
both ropes Knots
beneath added
belay device to rope
ends

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Technique Part 4: Rock Steepness
Slab Climbing
Climbing slabs (rock which is less than
vertical) requires less strength and more
balance than steeper angles of rock.
Your body should remain in the same
upright position as when youre walking.
With gravity forcing the weight onto your
shoes, you have more friction on the rock.
Essentially, you will hold onto features for
balance while pushing up with your legs.
Friction slabs are generally devoid of any
positive features to crimp or edge on. To
climb a friction slab, you must rely on the
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Climb: Patrick Deacon on The Marmolada, Italy. Photographer: James Rushforth (see more here)
surface contact beneath your palms and
feet.
Small steps are generally more efficient.
High steps tend to disrupt the delicate
balance needed to stop you from sliding
off.
On sustained slab climbs, where most of
your weight is on your feet, its common to
get calf pump or disco leg. Make use of
any good footholds by standing with your
heel on the hold and your leg straight, so
that your center of gravity is over your heel.
Vertical Rock
It is invariably more strenuous on the arms
to climb a vertical rock than it is to climb a
slab of the same grade.
Its much more efficient to keep the weight
off your arms as much as you can. This is
done by pushing your hips and chest close
to the wall and by using the minimum
amount of energy to complete each move
as possible.
Remember that your feet provide the
upwards thrust, while your hands primarily
pull you into the rock.
Keep your hips perpendicular to the rock
by standing on the inside edge of one foot
and the outside edge of another. This is
kkkkkkk
Climb: Lynne Hempton on Mondviole, Frea, Italy. Photographer: James Rushforth (see more here)
known as back-stepping. It allows you to
use footholds on either side of your body
with either foot.
Take advantage of any rests. Opposing
your feet against each other across a
corner (stemming) allows you to keep the
weight off your arms.
If you cant get a two-hands rest, then
alternately shake out your arms when you
find a good handhold.
Its often better to do a series of small
moves, instead of a long one. Being
stretched out tends to disrupt your balance
and often makes the next move more
strenuous.
Overhanging Routes
To climb efficiently on overhanging rock,
you need to keep your hips close to the
rock and your arms straight whenever
possible. Bent arms will tire out much
faster.
One way to do this is to use the dropknee.
Place the outside edge of your shoe on a
hold and twist your knee downward. Be
careful though, dropknees put a lot of
tension on the ligaments in your knee.
Climb: Jason Piper on Into the Blue, Mt Ettalong, Australia. Photographer: Chris Fox (see more here)
As with other angles of rock, it is more
efficient to pull yourself into the rock with
your arms and push yourself up with your
legs.
This is much more physically demanding
on steep routes, but even the poorest
footholds will help ease the strain on your
arms and give you something to push from.
Technique Part 5: Summary
Climbing is like a dance. The aim is to soon begin to develop your own style and
choreograph these different types of holds move on to more advanced techniques.
and moves into one fluid movement.
After climbing each route, review the
It is much more efficient and enjoyable to techniques that you used. Ask yourself
move up fluidly, methodically and in what worked, what didnt and what you
balance. Frantic, jerky movements are could do to climb the route more efficiently.
clumsy and will tire you out faster.
Practise makes perfect!
Once this becomes second nature, you will
nnnnn

Climb: Martin McKenna on Artemisia, Italy. Photographer: James Rushforth (see more here)
Bolt Quality
Bolts are either adhesive or mechanical.
Adhesive bolts are glued into the hole with
specially formulated epoxy.
Mechanical bolts work either by expansion
or compression, though expansion bolts are
most common on sport routes. The bolt is
placed into a drilled hole and tightened. This
expands the rear part of the bolt into the
hole.
Both types of bolt are incredibly strong. A
new, well-placed bolt will not break or fall
out in a normal sport climbing situation.
However, there are no qualifications needed
to bolt a route, and there are no regulations
on what type of bolt must be used.
Photographer: Chris Fox (see more here)
Dont trust bolts that are:
- Rusty or corroded
- Smaller than 3/8 inch (approx 10mm) in
diameter
- Loose (e.g: the hanger can spin around)
- In bad rock
- Have an obviously homemade hanger
The same goes for anchor chains or
lowering rings. It is your responsibility as a
climber to inspect every bolt and anchor
that you clip.
If you come across a badly bolted route or
a worn out anchor, it is often safer to
downclimb to the ground instead of
lowering.
Get the Full Version
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You can download it for free, or show your
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Get your copy here:
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Learn How To: Further Information:

- Use assisted-braking belay devices * Perfect for those who want to start sport
- Lead sport climbs climbing.
- Set up top ropes * 200+ accurately drawn, full-colour
- Clean sport anchors illustrations and photos.
- Abseil safely (including using a prusik * 115 information-packed pages.
knot) * Easy to print or view on your mobile.
- Use advanced belay techniques Take it to the crag; when in doubt, whip it
- Climb with better technique out!
- Assess bolt quality * New for December 2017
Plus much more.