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Rappeling
Abseiling ( ; ), also known as rappelling ( ; ), is the controlled descent of a steep slope, such as a rock face, by moving down a rope. When abseiling the person descending controls their own movement down the rope, in contrast to lowering off in which the rope attached to the person descending is paid out by their belayer. This technique is used by climbers, mountaineers, cavers, canyoners, search and rescue and rope access technicians to descend cliffs or slopes when they are too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection. Many climbers use this technique to protect established anchors from damage. Rope access technicians also use this as a method to access difficult-to-reach areas from above for various industrial applications like maintenance, construction, inspection and welding. To descend safely, abseilers use a variety of techniques to increase the friction on the rope to the point where it can be controlled comfortably. These techniques range fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belay Device
A belay device is a mechanical piece of climbing equipment used to control a rope during belaying. It is designed to improve belay safety for the climber by allowing the belayer to manage their duties with minimal physical effort. With the right belay device, a small, weak climber can easily arrest the fall of a much heavier partner. Belay devices act as a friction brake, so that when a climber falls with any slack in the rope, the fall is brought to a stop. Typically, when the rope is held outward, away from the body, it moves relatively freely, so the belayer can take up or pay out slack. When the rope is brought backward, to the side of the body, the rope is forced into tight bends and rubs against the device and/or against itself, allowing the belayer to arrest the descent of a climber in the case of a fall. This rubbing slows the rope, but also generates heat. Some types of belay devices can arrest a fall without the belayer taking any action, while others require the belayer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rope
A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly constructed cord, string, and twine. Construction Rope may be constructed of any long, stringy, fibrous material, but generally is constructed of certain natural or synthetic fibres. Synthetic fibre ropes are significantly stronger than their natural fibre counterparts, they have a higher tensile strength, they are more resistant to rotting than ropes created from natural fibres, and they can be made to float on water. But synthetic ropes also possess certain disadvantages, including slipperiness, and some can be damaged more easily by UV light. Common natural fibres for rope are Manila hemp, hemp, linen, cotton, coir, jute, straw, and sisal. Synthetic fibres in use for rope-making include polypropylene, nylon, polyesters (e.g. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protective function are sometimes worn. Soldiers wear combat helmets, often made from Kevlar or other lightweight synthetic fibers. The word ''helmet'' is derived from ''helm'', an Old English word for a protective head covering. Helmets are used for recreational activities and sports (e.g., jockeys in horse racing, American football, ice hockey, cricket, baseball, camogie, hurling and rock climbing); dangerous work activities such as construction, mining, riot police, military aviation, and in transportation (e.g. motorcycle helmets and bicycle helmets). Since the 1990s, most helmets are made from resin or plastic, which may be reinforced with fibers such as aramids. Designs Some British gamekeepers during the 18th and 19th centuries wore he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autoblock Knot
An autoblock (or autobloc or "third hand") is a rope device used in climbing and caving for both rappelling (downward) and ascending (upward). While rappelling, it slides freely down the rope when pushed downward by the hand, allowing a controlled descent, but jams in the event of a sudden drop or loss of control, stopping the descent. This prevents uncontrolled falls in the event of an accident in which the abseiler loses control of the rope. For ascending, it likewise can be pushed up the rope manually when unweighted, but jams and holds when weighted by the body. It is made using a friction hitch around the rope, connected by a carabiner to the climber's harness, and may be combined with other climbing equipment for further safety. For instance, it is typically used as a backup while rappelling using a tube belay device. The term autoblock is also used for a specific type of friction hitch, which is also known as a French prusik or Machard knot, named after its inventor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Klemheist Knot
The klemheist knot or French Machard knot is a type of friction hitch that grips the rope when weight is applied, and is free to move when the weight is released. It is used similarly to a Prusik knot or the Bachmann knot to ascend or descend a climbing rope. One advantage is that webbing can be used as an alternative to cord. The Klemheist is easier to slide up than a Prusik. The klemheist is also a way to attach a snubber to the anchor rope of small boats, with the advantage that it is easy to undo.Eric Vola, ÂLe nĹ“ud Machard et son histoire », site du CAF-Marseille, 2015 Sometimes the knot name is misspelled as kleimheist, with an extra i. Technique Make a secure loop of a cord (see Double fisherman's knot) that is definitely narrower than the rope. Wrap from one end around the rope two or three times in a direction that will be down. The loose end is then threaded through the starting end, and carefully tightened to leave the wraps neat. In use, strain must be taken on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prusik
A Prusik ( ) is a friction hitch or knot used to attach a loop of cord around a rope, applied in climbing, canyoneering, mountaineering, caving, rope rescue, ziplining, and by arborists. The term Prusik is a name for both the loops of cord used to tie the hitch and the hitch itself, and the verb is "to prusik" (using a Prusik to ascend). More casually, the term is used for any friction hitch or device that can grab a rope (see autoblock). Due to the pronunciation, the word is often misspelled Prussik, Prussick, or Prussic. The Prusik hitch is named after its putative inventor, Austrian mountaineer Karl Prusik. It was shown in a 1931 Austrian mountaineering manual for rope ascending. It was used on several mountaineering routes of the era to ascend the final summit, where a rope could be thrown over the top and anchored so that climbers could attain the summit by prusiking up the other side of the rope. A Prusik made from cord does little or no damage to the rope it is attached t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Friction Hitch
A friction hitch is a kind of knot used to attach one rope to another in a way that is easily adjusted. These knots are commonly used in climbing as part of single-rope technique, doubled-rope technique and as "ratchets" to capture progress on a moving rope, most typically in a mechanical advantage system such as a Z-drag. These hitches are a simple and cheap alternative to mechanical ascenders. List of friction hitches See also *List of hitch knots *List of knots This list of knots includes many alternative names for common knots and lashings. Knot names have evolved over time, and there are many conflicting or confusing naming issues. The overhand knot, for example, is also known as the thumb knot. The ... References Son of a Hitch: A Genealogy of Arborists’ Climbing Hitches External links {{Knots Hitch knots Climbing knots ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suspension Trauma
Suspension trauma, also known as orthostatic shock while suspended, harness hang syndrome (HHS), suspension syndrome, or orthostatic intolerance, is an effect which occurs when the human body is held upright without any movement for a period of time. If the person is strapped into a harness or tied to an upright object they will eventually suffer the central ischaemic response (commonly known as fainting). Fainting while remaining vertical increases the risk of death from cerebral hypoxia. Since there is no evidence that these effects are specifically due to trauma, or caused by the harness itself, climbing medicine authorities have argued against the terminology of suspension trauma or harness hang syndrome and instead termed this simply "suspension syndrome".Hawkins SC, Simon RB, Beissinger JP, Simon D. Vertical Aid: Essential Wilderness Medicine for Climbers, Trekkers, and Mountaineers. New York: The Countryman Press, 2017. People at risk of suspension trauma include people u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Climbing Harness
A climbing harness is a device which allows a climber access to the safety of a rope. It is used in rock and ice climbing, abseiling, and lowering; this is in contrast to other activities requiring ropes for access or safety such as industrial rope work (such as window cleaning), construction, and rescue and recovery, which use safety harnesses instead. Overview While an improvised harness can be created out of length of rope or nylon webbing, commercially produced harnesses specific to climbing rock and ice are the norm. These characteristically include a dedicated tie-in loop, padding, and amenities such as gear loops. Most commercial climbing harnesses meet the guidelines and manufacturing standards of organizations such as the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UiAA) or European Committee for Standardization. Harnesses of users involved in climbing should be attached to dynamic (kernmantle) rope, which has natural shock-absorbing stretch. In via ferrata, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Climbing Equipment
A wide range of equipment is used during rock or any other type of climbing that includes equipment commonly used to protect a climber against the consequences of a fall. Rope, cord and webbing Climbing ropes are typically of kernmantle construction, consisting of a core (kern) of long twisted fibres and an outer sheath (mantle) of woven coloured fibres. The core provides about 70% of the tensile strength, while the sheath is a durable layer that protects the core and gives the rope desirable handling characteristics. Ropes used for climbing can be divided into two classes: dynamic ropes and low elongation ropes (sometimes called "static" ropes). Dynamic ropes are designed to absorb the energy of a falling climber, and are usually used as belaying ropes. When a climber falls, the rope stretches, reducing the maximum force experienced by the climber, their belayer, and equipment. Low elongation ropes stretch much less, and are usually used in anchoring systems. They are al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piton
A piton (; also called ''pin'' or ''peg'') in climbing is a metal spike (usually steel) that is driven into a crack or seam in the climbing surface using a climbing hammer, and which acts as an anchor for protecting the climber against the consequences of falling or to assist progress in aid climbing. Pitons are equipped with an eye hole or a ring to which a carabiner is attached; the carabiner can then be directly or indirectly connected to a climbing rope. Pitons were the original form of protection and are still used where there is no alternative. Repeated hammering and extraction of pitons damage the rock, and climbers who subscribe to the clean climbing ethic avoid their use as much as possible. With the popularization of clean climbing in the 1970s, pitons were largely replaced by faster and easier-to-use clean protection, such as nuts and camming devices. Pitons are still found in place (as "fixed" pitons) on some established free climbing routes, as fixed bela ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bolt (climbing)
In rock climbing, a bolt is a permanent anchor fixed into a hole drilled in the rock as a form of protection. Most bolts are either self-anchoring expansion bolts or fixed in place with liquid resin. Description While bolts are commonplace in rock and gym climbing there is no universal vocabulary to describe them. Generally, a ''bolt hanger'' or a ''fixed hanger'' is a combination of a fixed bolt and a specialized stainless steel hanger designed to accept a carabiner, whereas in certain regions a ''bolt runner'' or a ''carrot'' describes a hangerless bolt (where the climber must provide their own hanger bracket and sometimes lock nut). A ''ring bolt'' has a loop on one end so it presents as a U-shape embedded in the wall. A climbing rope is then clipped into the carabiner. Generally quickdraws or slings are employed between bolt hangers and the rope to reduce drag when ascending, belaying and rappelling. Use Bolts are used in sport climbing as a backup to catch a fall, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
