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Jean-Christophe Lafaille
Jean-Christophe Lafaille (31 March 1965 – 27 January 2006 resumed was a French climber noted for a number of difficult ascents in the Alps and Himalaya, and for what has been described as "perhaps the finest self-rescue ever performed in the Himalaya", when he was forced to descend the mile-high south face of Annapurna alone with a broken arm, after his climbing partner had been killed in a fall. He climbed eleven of the fourteen eight-thousanders, many of them alone or by previously unclimbed routes, but disappeared during a solo attempt to make the first winter ascent of Makalu, the world's fifth highest mountain. Early career Born in Gap, Hautes-Alpes, Lafaille's background was in sport climbing, and as a teenager he climbed extensively at Céüse and played a part in turning it into one of the world's best known climbing venues. In 1989 he became the first Frenchman to solo a climb graded 7c+, and one of the first to climb 8c graded routes. In the early 1990s, Lafaille q ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Callaway
David James Edward Callaway is a biological nanophysicist in the New York University School of Medicine, where he is professor and laboratory director. He was trained as a theoretical physicist by Richard Feynman, Kip Thorne, and Cosmas Zachos, and was previously an associate professor at the Rockefeller University after positions at CERN and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Callaway's laboratory discovered potential therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease based upon apomorphine after an earlier paper of his developed models of Alzheimer amyloid formation. He has also initiated the study of protein domain dynamics by neutron spin echo spectroscopy, providing a way to observe protein nanomachines in motion. Previous work includes the invention of the microcanonical ensemble approach to lattice gauge theory with Aneesur Rahman, work on the convexity of the effective potential of quantum field theory, work on Langevin dynamics in quantum field theory with John R. Klauder, a monograph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Pilier D'Angle
The Grand Pilier d'Angle (4,243 m) is a buttress on the southern side of Mont Blanc in the Mont Blanc massif in the Aosta Valley, Italy. The first ascent from the valley was by James Eccles with guides Michel Payot and Alphonse Payot on 30 July 1877 during an ascent of the Peuterey ridge, although the summit had been visited on 20 August 1822 by F. Clissold with guides J. M. Couttet, M. Bossonney, D. Couttet, P. Favret and J. B. Simond on the descent from their first ascent of Mont Blanc de Courmayeur. The first ascent of the pillar (the north-east face) itself was by Walter Bonatti and Toni Gobbi on 3 August 1957. Bonatti said after the climb that "the mixed terrain of the face was without doubt the most sombre, the most savage and the most dangerous of any that I have ever encountered in the Alps." The first winter ascent of the ''Bonatti-Gobbi'' route was by A. Dworak, J. Kurczab, A. Mróz and T. Piotrowski between 5 and 9 March 1971. The first solo ascent of the route was by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, which is part of the Mediterranean Sea. Slovenia is mostly mountainous and forested, covers , and has a population of approximately 2.1 million people. Slovene language, Slovene is the official language. Slovenia has a predominantly temperate continental climate, with the exception of the Slovene Littoral and the Julian Alps. Ljubljana, the capital and List of cities and towns in Slovenia, largest city of Slovenia, is geographically situated near the centre of the country. Other larger urban centers are Maribor, Ptuj, Kranj, Celje, and Koper. Slovenia's territory has been part of many different states: the Byzantine Empire, the Carolingian Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Republic of Venice ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tent Peg
A tent peg (or tent stake) is a spike, usually with a hook or hole on the top end, typically made from wood, metal, plastic, or composite material, pushed or driven into the ground for holding a tent to the ground, either directly by attaching to the tent's material, or by connecting to ropes attached to the tent. Traditionally, a tent peg is improvised from a section of a small tree branch, if possible with a small side branch cut off to leave a hook, driven into the ground narrower end first. Tent peg use A tent will typically be pegged to the ground by a combination of both direct attachment to the tent's material and via ropes. Tent pegs are used to help maintain the tent's shape, and to hold the tent in place against wind. Tent pegs are preferably pushed into the ground by hand. However, hard ground, or bigger tent pegs, will require a tent peg mallet to drive them into the ground. A tent peg provides the greatest holding ability when it is inserted into the ground so tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bivouac Shelter
A bivouac shelter or bivvy (alternately ''bivy'', ''bivi'', ''bivvi'') is any of a variety of improvised camp site or shelter that is usually of a temporary nature, used especially by soldiers or people engaged in backpacking, bikepacking, scouting or mountain climbing. It may often refer to sleeping in the open with a bivouac sack, but it may also refer to a shelter constructed of natural materials like a structure of branches to form a frame, which is then covered with leaves, ferns and similar material for waterproofing and duff (leaf litter) for insulation. Modern bivouacs often involve the use of one- or two-person tents but may also be without tents or full cover. In modern mountaineering the nature of the bivouac shelter will depend on the level of preparedness, in particular whether existing camping and outdoor gear may be incorporated into the shelter. Etymology The word ''bivouac'' is French and ultimately derives from an 18th-century Swiss German usage of ''Beiwacht ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Degree (angle)
A degree (in full, a degree of arc, arc degree, or arcdegree), usually denoted by ° (the degree symbol), is a measurement of a plane (mathematics), plane angle in which one Turn (geometry), full rotation is 360 degrees. It is not an SI unit—the SI unit of angular measure is the radian—but it is mentioned in the SI Brochure, SI brochure as an Non-SI units mentioned in the SI, accepted unit. Because a full rotation equals 2 radians, one degree is equivalent to radians. History The original motivation for choosing the degree as a unit of rotations and angles is unknown. One theory states that it is related to the fact that 360 is approximately the number of days in a year. Ancient astronomers noticed that the sun, which follows through the ecliptic path over the course of the year, seems to advance in its path by approximately one degree each day. Some ancient calendars, such as the Iranian calendar, Persian calendar and the Babylonian calendar, used 360 days for a year. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annapurna South Face
Annapurna (; ) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the 10th highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficulty and danger involved in its ascent. Maurice Herzog led a French expedition to its summit through the north face in 1950, making it the first eight-thousander to be successfully climbed. The entire massif and surrounding area are protected within the Annapurna Conservation Area, the first and largest conservation area in Nepal. The Annapurna Conservation Area is home to several world-class treks, including Annapurna Sanctuary and Annapurna Circuit. For decades, Annapurna I held the highest fatality-to-summit rate of all principal eight-thousander summits; it has, however, seen great climbing successes in recent years, with the fatality rate falling from 32% to under 20% from 2012 to 2022. This figure places it just under the most recent fatality rate estimates for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spring-loaded Camming Device
A spring-loaded camming device (also SLCD, cam or friend) is a piece of rock climbing or mountaineering protection equipment. It consists of two, three, or four cams mounted on a common axle or two adjacent axles, so that pulling on the axle forces the cams to spread further apart. It is then attached to a sling and carabiner at the end of the stem. The SLCD is used by pulling on the "trigger" (a small handle) so that the cams retract together, then inserting it into a crack or pocket in the rock and releasing the trigger to allow the cams to expand. A pull on the rope, such as that generated by a climber falling, will cause a properly placed SLCD to convert the pulling force along the stem of the unit into outwards pressure on the rock, producing massive amounts of friction and preventing the removal of the unit from the rock. Due to the large forces exerted on the rock when an SLCD is fallen on, it is very important that SLCDs are only placed in solid, strong rock. History V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Climbing Protection
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) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Climbing Equipment
Climbing equipment refers to a broad range of manufactured gear that is used in the activity or sport of climbing. Notable groups include: * Alpine climbing equipment as is used in alpine climbing and mountaineering * Deep-water soloing equipment as is used in deep-water soloing * Ice climbing equipment as is used in ice climbing and mixed climbing * Mixed climbing equipment as used in mixed climbing and dry-tooling * Mountaineering equipment as is used in mountaineering and alpine climbing * Rock-climbing equipment as is used in aid climbing, bouldering, competition climbing, free solo climbing, multi-pitch climbing (including big wall climbing), rope solo climbing, sport climbing Sport climbing (or bolted climbing) is a type of free climbing in the sport of rock climbing where the Lead climbing, lead climber clips their climbing rope, rope — via a quickdraw — into pre-drilled in-situ bolt (climbing), bolts for their ..., traditional climbing and top rope climbin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Fixed Rope
In climbing and mountaineering, a fixed-rope (or fixed-line) is the practice of installing networks of in-situ anchored Climbing rope#Static rope, static climbing ropes on climbing routes to assist any following climbers (and Porter (carrier), porters) to ascend more rapidly—and with less effort—by using mechanical aid devices called Ascender (climbing), ascenders. Fixed ropes also allow climbers (and porters) to descend rapidly using mechanical devices called Descender (climbing), descenders. Fixed ropes also help to identify the line of the climbing route in periods of low visibility (e.g. a storm or white-out). The act of ascending a fixed rope is also called jumaring, which is the name of a type of ascender device, or also called jugging in the US. Fixed ropes are put in place by the lead climbing, lead climbers, and the ropes may or may not be removed as the climbers descend after completing the route. For popular Himalayan climbing routes, extensive networks of fixed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
