61
votes
Accepted
Why is it bad to use your whole foot in rock climbing
It's a matter of practice, but also a matter of feel: When stepping with the front of your foot you have a smaller contact area, so the pressure is higher than using the whole foot. This increases ...
- 3,394
59
votes
Accepted
Should overweight people ever climb?
Should overweight people climb? If they want to, then yes of course they should.
I don't have any hard fact to back it up, but I do know a few climbers that are slightly overweight and have ...
- 21.8k
46
votes
Accepted
Is belaying a lead more difficult than a top roped climber
Yes. No question.
With top-roping, the belayer can be spacing-out quite a bit and still do their job with a minimum of risk. With one hand on the belay tool, and another sensing the tension of the ...
- 10.7k
39
votes
What should one do when climbing if someone above you yells ROCK?
How you react will depend on the situation.
If you're climbing and you hear someone yell "ROCK" then your default reaction should be to hug the rock, brace for impact, and hope the rock misses you, ...
- 53.7k
36
votes
Accepted
Why would you climb hard bigwall projects in Yosemite in winter?
I just finished Caldwell's book Push. The big walls in Yosemite are essentially vertical deserts. Even in winter they're in the full sun much of the day. It would drop below freezing at night, but ...
- 3,032
36
votes
Why is it bad to use your whole foot in rock climbing
Apart from the reasons already stated, namely getting used to doing it that way as it will help you on smaller footholds, there's also maneuverability: If you step with the entire foot, it is really ...
- 21.8k
34
votes
How can someone fall 3m to the ground while top-roping & how to prevent it?
If you're top roping on a 14.5m climb, 10% stretch* in the 29m of rope between you will be up to 2.9m. In practice there's less rope than that between you, but if there's a little slack in the rope on ...
- 8,097
32
votes
How do forest fires affect rock climbing?
In addition to what the other answer says, a fire burning near a crag could weaken bolts; so if there is fire damage anywhere nearby, the bolts should be considered suspect and replaced (at least the ...
- 5,143
32
votes
Should overweight people ever climb?
I'm fat, and I climb.
Now to be fair I climb indoors and not up the side of a mountain, but some of the problems I face would tend to be the same. Also I climb for fun. It's a much better workout ...
- 2,800
32
votes
Accepted
What are the benefits of learning to climb outdoors rather than indoors?
In your specific situation where it is either start climbing now indoors or in spring outdoors, that alone is reason enough to prefer indoors.
Then there are the following already mentioned benefits ...
- 21.8k
31
votes
Accepted
What is the point of belay glasses?
Like it says in the other comment, these glasses are to be used when belaying so that you don't have to tilt your head up. The lenses are made of a prism-shaped glass that bends the light in such a ...
- 3,492
30
votes
Accepted
In outdoor sport climbing, why are bolts placed so far apart?
Bolting an outdoor route is an example of a cost and risk analysis.
Each bolt/hanger combo costs on average $10. The anchor will add in around another $30. So for a typical 80 foot pitch with 10 ...
- 992
27
votes
Accepted
Why are climbing hangers/anchors that thin?
They are that thin because there isn't really a need or desire for them to be thicker. Having them thin makes them lighter and cheaper to manufacture (meaning more people willing to pay for them and ...
- 4,073
26
votes
Should overweight people ever climb?
You could ask the similar question "Most runners I see aren't fat, so is it wrong to start running as a massive guy?"
Of course the good and really good climbers are most likely on the thinner side ...
- 12.2k
26
votes
Is it okay to “free solo” in popular climbing spots?
Climbing is an assumed risk activity, put simply that means all your point always apply. You might fall and die, you might have to be rescued, if you post a video other people might try the same thing....
- 8,097
25
votes
Accepted
Is it okay to “free solo” in popular climbing spots?
While free solo climbing is receiving a lot of attention, there are other ways of climbing that are just as risky.
In mountaineering it is common to go unroped on easier terrain to move fast. While ...
- 7,850
25
votes
Accepted
What prevents indoor climbing gyms from making a v18 boulder even if one hasn't been found outside?
There are two reasons:
so far nobody really agrees what V18 would look like We only have a handful of V17 boulders, so it will take some time to agree on where the upper limit of V17 is. Route setter ...
- 7,850
24
votes
How do forest fires affect rock climbing?
A forest fire can definitely affect the rocks and cause hazards (in addition to the hazards in the forest).
Hot burning fires destabilize rock. This can result in removal of rock coatings,
flaking, ...
- 69.4k
24
votes
Accepted
Can anyone just go ahead and install a rock climbing bolt?
Yes and no. Of course anyone can go and drill a hole in some rock, but without the land owner’s permission you risk getting into trouble, possibly even prosecution for criminal damage or, if where you ...
- 2,443
23
votes
Accepted
Do sharpies or markers damage soft rock climbing gear?
It's possible that it could damage the soft gear,
Tests done by the UIAA Safety Commission and some rope manufacturers have shown that marking
ropes with liquids such as those provided by felt-...
- 69.4k
21
votes
In outdoor sport climbing, why are bolts placed so far apart?
Most of the existing answers seem to be approaching this question from a standpoint of why outdoor routes are sparsely bolted, rather than addressing the other half of this comparison: climbing gyms ...
- 4,242
20
votes
Accepted
How do you tie in to the centre of a rope?
The easiest way is to tie a fixed loop in the middle of the rope (figure 8, alpine butterfly, bowline on a bight, etc) and then clip the climber in to that loop using two locking carabiners. Two ...
- 1,020
20
votes
Accepted
What extra gear to take up a multipitch climb?
There are two main schools of thought: the "fast and light / light is right / rope, rack, shirt on your back" camp and the "be prepared / safety first" crowd. When taken to ...
- 4,242
20
votes
What is the point of belay glasses?
Belay glasses are (in Europe) so common that they are basically now part of the standard gym/crag equipment, just like an autolocking belay device. In some places, it can be rare to see someone ...
- 6,879
20
votes
What’s the main appeal for climbing outdoors?
To me, and I'm no climber, this is about outdoor activities in general. You could equally ask why people kayak in the wilds rather than going to the artificial whitewater centre that's always reliable,...
- 26.9k
19
votes
Accepted
Why is (almost) no one climbing hard routes on Half Dome?
Reading the comments and discussing with other users helped me get a much better idea of the possible causes why we hear of so many hard (sometimes free) ascents on El Capitan and almost none on Half ...
- 907
18
votes
If the Dawn Wall had been climbed before, why was the 2015 attempt so difficult?
Liam's answer is spot-on, but I would like to add some details.
"Dawn wall" is actually not the name of a route, but of a portion of the south-east face of El Capitan, which you can see in the figure ...
- 907
18
votes
Accepted
Why are climbing shoes usually a slightly tighter than the usual mountaineering shoes?
Climbing shoes need to be extremely tight* because they frequently have to support a lot of weight on extremely tiny footholds, often on the tip of the toes:
Any free space inside the shoe could ...
- 5,143
18
votes
How can someone fall 3m to the ground while top-roping & how to prevent it?
Not aiming to repeat what Separatrix has said; So assuming he's going to be hitting the floor just because of the stretch, you want to minimise slack.
To do this, firstly you want to see if there's a ...
- 280
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible