Adventure Sports

Archive for the ‘Rock Climbing’ Category

Rock climbing can be one of the most rewarding sports out there. The sense of personal fulfillment when you get to the summit of a particularly difficult climb is indescribable. Overcoming this mental and physical challenge is an amazing experience.

However, this should never be done at the expense of safety. Rock climbing may be rewarding, but it is also one of the most dangerous sports in existence with an enormous numbers of injuries and fatalities each year.

This is not intended to scare you off. It is just important to be aware of the dangers involved.

So how do you avoid these dangers? In part, having good quality safety equipment will help a great deal. And one of the most important features of your safety equipment is the pair of rock climbing shoes that you take with you on a climb.

Your choice of shoes could save your life or help you to avoid an injury.

Shoes for Rock climbing are specially designed footwear made specially for rock climbing. These shoes are usually not very thick so that the climber has maximum control over the movement of their feet. Also, these shoes fit very tightly around the climber’s feet, because you do not want your shoes falling off when you are a hundred metres from the ground. This may lead to them being slightly uncomfortable, but the point is that they create enough friction to stay firmly on your feet and to allow maximum foot control.

Rock climbing shoes are usually covered in a vulcanized layer of rubber. This increases the friction between the rock wall and the shoe and hence increases the climber’s grip, leading to a safer, and hopefully incident free, climb.

There are a wide range of rock climbing shoes to choose from. Some brands might include La Sportiva, Evolv, Patagonia, Five-Ten, Vasque, Kayland and Millet Everest.

The price will vary according to the brand and the type of shoe you are buying. For example, the La Sportiva Exum Pro Approach for Men will cost around $US100. However, for the La Sportiva Nepal EVO GTX Mountaineering Boot for Men you might pay closer to $US500. Alternatively, the Lowa Expedition 8000 GTX Boot for Men will cost around $US1500.

Shop around and find the right rock climbing shoes to suit your needs. Remember, when it comes to your own personal safety, you should always get equipment you can trust.

Rock climbing is a sport where people climb up natural rock formations with the goal of reaching the summit. Alternatively, people can climb man-made climbing walls, with the same goal of reaching the summit.

This is a sport which can be done for fun or competitively. In competitions, the goal is to reach the summit in the shortest amount of time possible.

Rock climbing is an incredibly difficult sport which requires a great deal of mental and physical strength, as well as balance, endurance and agility.

What are the different types of rock climbing on offer?

The most simple, and generally the safest form of climbing is bouldering. This simply involved climbing a boulder that is not too far off the ground, and generally does not require too much safety equipment or specialized climbing techniques. As you get higher and higher off the ground, you will find that you need more safety equipment, and you might need some specific climbing techniques too.

Top roping is when you feed a rope through an anchor at the top of the climb. As one person climbs the rock face with the rope attached to their body, another person called a belayer stands at the bottom keeping the rope taught in case the climber falls.

These are just two of the main types of rock climbing methods. Other styles include aid climbing, sport climbing, free climbing, free soloing, solo aid, indoor climbing, scrambling, rope soloing, mixed climbing, simul climbing and lead climbing,

What type of equipment will you need?

Because you are climbing to death defying heights, this can be an incredibly dangerous sport and the climber’s safety is of the utmost importance. It is necessary to have a range of safety equipment, such as the safety harness and the climbing rope.

The shoes that you wear are also important. They are very tight and uncomfortable, but this is for the climbers safety so they do not fall off.

Also, the carabiners are significant safety equipment. These are rings of solid aluminium that hold your climbing rope.

So how do you get started?

There are a few things you will need. If you have never climbed before, you should find someone who is experienced. It might be an idea to find a respectable rock climbing company for your first experience. Then, all you need is a place to climb, the right equipment and the right attitude to fun and safety.

Picture Credit: adventure-tours.tourtravelworld.com/adventure-sports/climbing/