Abseiling
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 a static or fixed rope, in contrast to Belaying, lowering off, in which the rope attached to the person descending is paid out by their belayer. Description The technique is used by Climbing, climbers, mountaineers, Caving, cavers, Canyoning, canyoners, search and rescue and rope access technicians to descend cliffs or slopes when they are too steep or dangerous to descend without protection. Many climbers use this technique to protect established Anchor (climbing), 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 t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dülfersitz
The Dülfersitz (named after mountaineer Hans Dülfer who had developed a different but related technique), also known as body rappel, is a classical, or non-mechanical abseiling technique, used in rock climbing and mountaineering. It is not used frequently any more, since the introduction of belay devices. In the Dülfersitz, the rope is wound around the body, and the speed of descent is controlled using the friction of the rope against the body. The advantages of the Dülfersitz are that one can descend without a climbing harness A climbing harness is a piece of equipment that allows a climber to tie in (climbing), tie in to the safety of a rope. It is used in climbing, rock and ice climbing, ice climbing, abseiling, and lowering; this is in contrast to other activities r ... or belay device, and because the rope is not kinked or subjected to concentrated forces, it does not experience as much wear. The major disadvantage of this method is that intense heat is generated by ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Caving
Caving, also known as spelunking (United States and Canada) and potholing (United Kingdom and Ireland), is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology is the scientific study of caves and the cave environment.Caving in New Zealand (from Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Accessed 2012-11.) The challenges involved in caving vary according to the cave being visited; in addition to the total absence of light beyond the entrance, negotiating pitches, squeezes, and water hazards can be difficult. [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 rappeler 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 invent ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rope
A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly constructed cord, String (structure), string, and twine. Construction Rope may be constructed of any long, stringy, fibrous material (e.g., rattan, a natural material), but generally is constructed of certain natural fibre, natural or synthetic fibre, 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, an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Static Rope
A static rope is a low-elongation rope that is designed to stretch minimally when placed under load, typically less than 5%. In contrast, a dynamic rope is designed to stretch up to 40%. Static ropes have a wide variety of uses, for instance in fire rescue operations and caving. Static ropes have some applications in climbing, such as hauling gear, though lead climbing is always done with a dynamic rope, since a fall on a static rope is stopped too quickly and may lead to serious injury. Abseiling, however, is best done with a static rope or with a dynamic rope with low elasticity. Among other things, static ropes are often used for hauling up gear and other things. because of their low elongation and high weight limit, they excel at doing this job. See also *Kernmantle rope Kernmantle rope () is rope constructed with its interior core protected by a woven exterior sheath designed to optimize strength, durability, and flexibility. The core fibers provide the tensile strength ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 (also known as syncope or 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 syndrome includ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Friction Hitch
Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. Types of friction include dry, fluid, lubricated, skin, and internal -- an incomplete list. The study of the processes involved is called tribology, and has a history of more than 2000 years. Friction can have dramatic consequences, as illustrated by the use of friction created by rubbing pieces of wood together to start a fire. Another important consequence of many types of friction can be wear, which may lead to performance degradation or damage to components. It is known that frictional energy losses account for about 20% of the total energy expenditure of the world. As briefly discussed later, there are many different contributors to the retarding force in friction, ranging from asperity deformation to the generation of charges and changes in local structure. When two bodies in contact move relative to each other, due to these various ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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" or "prusiking" (i.e. 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, the 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 damag ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Climbing Harness
A climbing harness is a piece of equipment that allows a climber to tie in (climbing), tie in to the safety of a rope. It is used in climbing, rock and ice climbing, 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 a 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, whi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rock-climbing Equipment
Rock-climbing equipment varies with the specific type of climbing that is undertaken. Bouldering needs the least equipment outside of climbing shoes, climbing chalk and optional crash pads. Sport climbing adds ropes, harnesses, belay devices, and quickdraws to clip into pre-drilled bolts. Traditional climbing adds the need to carry a "rack" of temporary passive and active protection devices. Multi-pitch climbing, and the related big wall climbing, adds devices to assist in ascending and descending fixed ropes. Finally, aid climbing uses unique equipment to give mechanical assistance to the climber in their upward movement (e.g. aiders). Advances in equipment are a key part of the rock climbing history, starting with the climbing rope. Modern devices enable climbers to perform tasks previously done manually, with greater control – in all conditions – and with less effort. Examples of replacements include the harness (replaced tying the rope around the waist), th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Piton
A piton (; also called ''pin'' or ''peg'') in big wall climbing and in aid climbing is a metal spike (usually steel) that is driven into a crack or seam in the climbing surface using a Rock climbing hammer, climbing hammer, and which acts as an anchor for protection (climbing), protecting the climber from 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 (climbing), 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 nut (climbing), nuts and spring-loaded camming device, camming devi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |