About Rock climbing
Rock climbing is an adventure sport that has become very popular in the recent years. As the game is both physically and emotionally challenging, many people enjoy it. There are basically three types of climbing sports; rock climbing, mountaineering and indoor climbing. The most common forms of climbing are rock climbing and mountaineering. Unlike what most people think, rock climbing is a rather safe sport, considering the safety equipment that is used while climbing.
Some basic climbing equipment has to be bought to pursue the sport of rock climbing. One needs climbing shoes, ropes, carabineers, belay devices, a harness, webbing, ascenders and protection devices. The climbing shoes are the most important of the lot. The shoes have to be firm fitting with a stiff rubber sole, through which the climber gets a better grip on the rock surface. Not only that, climbing shoes also protects the feet from sharp points on the rock surface. The climber uses a harness to attach him to the rope and is usually a wide nylon belt that wraps around the waist and two leg loops, which in turn encircles the tops of the thighs.
Another important piece of equipment for climbing is the climbing rope. It is made of two layers of braided nylon fibers through kermantle construction, and is much stronger than the regular rope. Climbing ropes are usually 165 feet long and under ½ inch thick and somewhat elastic so that in the case of a fall, the abruptness of the fall is eased on reaching the end of the rope. Another type of rope used in rock climbing is webbing, which is flat and strong to serve many purposes.
The carabineer is a metal loop that has a spring-loaded catch used to connect a rope to an anchor placed on the rock. The belay device is a device that is used to lock the rope at certain points so that the climber has a slow descent down the rock face or mountain. These two devices are used as descenders and are mainly used to control the descent by the climber down the rope. The ascenders are used for ascending the mountain or rock face on the rope. There are protection devices placed in narrow crevices in the rock to act as temporary anchors.
The helmet is also a very important piece of rock climbing equipment whose sole purpose is to protect your head from falling debris. Not only that, it also guards you against any bumps and bruises you may get on banging against a wall. However, before buying one, make sure to try it on to see that it fits comfortably on your head! It is very useful using chalk rubbed on your hands as it provides a better grip on rocks. It is found in both powdered and ball form. To hold chalk while climbing, it is better to buy a chalk bag, which is easily attached to your harness.
Rock climbers use one of two methods when rock climbing. They are free climbing and aid climbing. The difference between the two is that in free climbing, equipment is used for safety purposes and not to assist the climber, who uses her hands and feet to reach her destination. In contrast, with aid climbing, the climber uses the help of equipment to reach his or her destination.
For a person interested in rock climbing, it is very important to know where to start in rock climbing by doing some research. Read the many books available on rock climbing or the many articles found on the Internet to learn more about rock climbing.
However, the best step for the novice is to take lessons with the experienced instructor as whatever theoretical knowledge there might be about rock climbing, only practice makes perfect! Not only will the instructor instruct you on the right steps to rock climbing, he or she will also help you if you are unsure on the safety and use of your rock climbing equipment. It is much better spending some money on an instructor, than getting seriously injured by not knowing what you are actually doing!