Tuesday, March 09, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Many ins and outs to rock climbing

Rock climbing is not synonymous with mountaineering.

The latter is a sport that focuses on reaching summits of peaks.

Rock climbing -- though its skills can be used in mountaineering -- is a separate discipline that focuses on ascending rock surfaces, but not to the height that altitude sickness, lack of oxygen or avalanches become an issue.

Rock climbing itself has several subcategories: Bouldering, in which no safety ropes are used because the climber is close to the ground, although some people use mattresslike crash pads on the ground in case they fall; sport climbing, in which a climber in a harness clips his rope into bolts previously installed along a climbing route; trad climbing, in which a climber in a harness installs temporary protection -- called "pro" -- such as removable, spring-loaded wedging devices that are placed into cracks as anchors.

In these forms of rope climbing, the rope is just a safety back-up. If he falls, he will only fall a small distance, then be caught by the next bolt or piece of "pro" below. The climber will dangle until he regains his footing and resumes climbing.

Aid climbing is a form of climbing in which the rope is not just a back-up but an active part of the system for ascending.

A boulderer can climb alone, though it's best to have a someone on the ground to serve as "spotter." The other types of climbing require a climbing partner. One person is the "leader climber" who goes up first; the other person mans the safety rope first -- called belaying -- and then climbs up after the leader has secured the safety rope to an anchor at the top of the route.

Printed climbing guides detail routes including their difficulty levels.

Bouldering routes are ranked by a system denoted by the letter "V." V1 is the easiest, V14 is the hardest.

Climbing routes are ranked by class, and also within each class. Technical rock climbing, in which ropes are used, begins with class five. Class two, by contrast, is hiking up steep slopes. Class three involves using both the hands and feet on rocky terrain.

The easiest rope climbing routes are designated class five, difficulty one. The difficulty levels rise from one through 15. Starting with class five, difficulty 10, the rank is followed by a small letter -- 5.10a designates the easiest 5.10; 5.10d designates the hardest routes in that difficulty level. (5.10 is not equivalent to 5.1.) Red Rock National Conservation Area's most difficult routes to date are rated 5.13c.

Climbers challenge themselves in ways besides the difficulty of a route.

Whoever is the first to identify and climb a route gets to name it, rate it. And, in the case of some male climbers, pee on it, according to local female climbers. Women who identify a route don't do the urination ritual, they add with smiles.

If a climber practices a route several times and then climbs it without falling or using the safety rope to rest on, he can brag about "redpointing" the route.

If on the first attempt a climber completes a route without falling or resting on the rope, but uses either written descriptions or spoken coaching -- such as from his belayer -- he can claim to have "flashed" it.

The most demanding game is to "onsite" a route, which means to climb it without falling or resting on the rope, with no visual preview or advice.

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