Sport Climbing Fundamentals Safely Transitioning from Gym to Crag
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SPORT CLIMBING FUNDAMENTALS SAFELY TRANSITIONING FROM GYM TO CRAG LESSON #1 Tom Cecil | American Alpine Club Regional Education Director The first step in making a safe transition from indoor to outdoor climbing is understanding the fundamental differences between the two. When leading a sport climb in an indoor climbing gym you can SAFELY MAKE FOUR ASSUMPTIONS. One should NOT MAKE THOSE SAME ASSUMPTIONS while leading a sport climb outdoors. INDOOR SPORT CLIMBING 1. IT IS UNLIKELY THE PROTECTION, BOLTS, OR ANCHORS WILL EVER FAIL THE AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB – GYM TO ROCK 1 By accepting liability, climbing gym owners take every precaution to ensure that the bolts and anchors in their gym(s) never fail. Commercial climbing gyms also use ‘Climbing Wall Industry’ standards and regularly inspect/replace critical safety components. You have every reason to expect the bolts and anchors are up to date, and as safe as possible. 2. THE BOLTS IN AN INDOOR CLIMBING GYM WILL BE CLOSE TO EACH OTHER The bolts in a climbing gym are usually close together. This is purposely designed to keep you from hitting the ground or taking a long fall. There is no incentive for gyms to design climbs that result in climbers taking long falls. 3. LEAD FALLS IN A CLIMBING GYM WILL BE RELATIVELY SHORT Because the bolts will be relatively close together in a gym lead, falls are relatively short. There is no incentive for gyms to design climbs that create high impact forces. 4. THE IMPACT FORCES THE LEADER CREATES DURING A FALL WILL BE RELATIVELY LOW Because the bolts are close together in a gym, the impact forces you create are low. Even though the impact forces are relatively low you still need to consider the weight difference between the belayer and lead climber as well as where you stand when belaying in a gym. THE AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB – GYM TO ROCK 2 OUTDOOR SPORT CLIMBING 1. THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THE PROTECTION WILL NOT FAIL No one has legal liability for the bolts on most outdoor sport climbs, this is part of the risk we all accept as outdoor climbers. With very few exceptions most climbing areas are located on federal and state lands such as the National Forest Service, National Park Service and BLM (Bureau of Land Management). When you clip a bolt outside, you cannot assume that a seasoned expert placed the bolt. It may have been placed by a beginner with no knowledge or experience. You may not even be able to tell if the person used the correct type of hardware. There is a myriad of reasons why the bolt may fail. Weathering, which causes rust, and repeated falls could weaken the bolt. When we sport climb outdoors we often assume that the individual who placed the bolts had the skills and experience to keep us all safe. Climbing is a calculated risk. The only reason to believe the bolt will not fail is because it hasn’t failed, yet. In other words, you are not simply going on blind faith that the bolts will not fail. It is very likely others have hung, fallen and rappelled from these bolts so there is no reason to think the bolts will fail. As a climber you will make decisions based on calculated risks all the time. You want to make these choices with your eyes wide open! 2. THE BOLTS ON OUTDOOR SPORT CLIMBS COULD BE SO FAR APART YOU COULD HIT THE GROUND, HIT A LEDGE OR DURING A LONG FALL, SLAM YOUR BELAYER INTO THE ROCK Remember, anyone with a few hundred dollars can buy a drill and bolts and put up sport climbs. The number of bolts they place may have nothing to do with the distance to the ground or the distance between bolts. Often you will find climbs which protect the crux well but don’t protect the “easy” sections. The reasons for this vary as much as the climber’s personalities and body types. I’ve set up hundreds of sport climbs and heard many rationales, here are a few… “I only had 20 bolts and I wanted to put up 4 climbs,” “you don’t need to protect the first thirty feet, it’s only 5.9,” “people would have thought I was a THE AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB – GYM TO ROCK 3 wuss if I put another bolt in.” Never assume the first ascensionist tried to engineer a route with your personal safety in mind. You need to be aware of the hazards and remember you can always back off a climb. 3. THE LEAD CLIMBER COULD TAKE EXTREMELY LONG FALLS CLIMBING OUTSIDE Because the person “designing” the sport climb outside may place the bolts many feet apart you could take extremely long falls. Unlike indoor sport climbing, you need to be aware of your surroundings (ledges, trees, rocks, etc.) and “fall plane” whenever leading outdoors. 4. WHEN SPORT CLIMBING OUTSIDE THERE IS ALWAYS THE POSSIBILITY OF TAKING A VERY LONG FALL RESULTING IN VERY HIGH IMPACT FORCES What do I mean by impact forces? “During fall arrest, this energy is dissipated by elongation of the rope, displacement of the belayer and the climber's body. Energy is transmitted to the belay chain in the form of force. This is the impact force. For the climber, it's the impact experienced during fall arrest.” (GOOGLE DEFINITION) Since you are falling on a bolt the assumption is the increased force will not likely cause your protection, the bolt, to fail. However, those impact forces could affect your belayer's ability to “catch” the fall. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TAKE AWAY FROM THE INFORMATION PRESENTED ABOVE 1. The “soft catch” method of belaying used in climbing gyms may not be the best technique outdoors. 2. Anchoring the belayer to the ground when possible should always be seriously considered when belaying outside. THE AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB – GYM TO ROCK 4 THE AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB – GYM TO ROCK 5 .