Abseiling > How To Increase Friction Whether you’re abseiling down a skinny rope at the sport crag, or retreating down a multipitch with rain-slicked ropes and a heavy pack, the following techniques will help you…
Abseiling > How to Deal with Stuck Ropes You try to retrieve your ropes after abseiling and they get stuck. What do you do? Stuck Ropes – Prevention If you are about to abseil down…
The Carabiner Brake – How To Abseil Without a Device Dropping your belay device at the top of a ten-pitch abseil descent isn’t recommended. But if you do, knowing how to use the carabiner brake…
Self Rescue > Prusiking Up a Rope Knowing how to prusik up a rope transforms a potential epic into a mere inconvenience. This article explains how to ascend a rope using prusiks, assuming that you…
Attaching to the Anchor – Slings, Daisy Chains and Common Mistakes Attaching to the Anchor: The Top Shelf To free up space at the central point, you can clip in to the ‘top shelf’ of…
How To Be a Better Belayer Just as people pick up ‘bad habits’ after they pass their driving test, climbers often get lazy with belaying once they have learnt the basics. Here are some tips…
Extending a belay device can be a lifesaver on tricky multi-pitch abseils. This article explains how to extend a belay device.
How To Belay In Guide Mode Guide Mode is an auto-locking belay technique. It is a safe way for the leader to bring up the second. Do not use this method for lead belaying. How…
Nylon or Dyneema Slings? Nylon Climbing Slings Usually around 16-20mm wide, nylon climbing slings are much bulkier (and more durable) than lightweight 6-14mm Dyneema slings. This makes them the best choice for situations such as…
How To Abseil On Two Ropes With a GriGri Sometimes you may want both hands free while abseiling to do things like clean a route, free a stuck rope or swing under an overhang. Using a…
Climbing Technique > Movement Climbing is like a dance. The aim is to choreograph different types of holds and moves into one fluid movement. It is much more efficient and enjoyable to move up fluidly,…
Climbing Technique > Handholds Climbing Technique > Handholds The weight on your arms increases as the rock gets steeper and the footholds get smaller. Beginners often ‘over grip’ the rock and burn out their forearms…
Climbing Technique > Footwork This section introduces the most common foot, hand and body positions used in rock climbing. How you grip handholds or stand on footholds depends on their shape, size and position. How…
Multi-Pitch Sport Climbing A multi-pitch route is one that is split into two or more pitches. This may be because it is longer than your rope, or it could be a wandering route that would…
Sport Climbing – How To Descend Lower, Abseil or Walk Off? There are basically three ways to descend; walk off, lower or abseil (rappel). You will either lower or abseil to get down from most…
Sport Climbing – Lead Skills Lead climbing a sport route is similar to lead climbing at the indoor wall, but with a few more factors to consider. These are described below. Quickdraw Ends Quickdraws have…
Sport Anchors – Belaying from the Top For most sport climbs, you will belay from the bottom – just like you would at the indoor gym. However, you should belay from the top of the…
Sport Anchors – Cleaning the Anchor ‘Cleaning’ a sport anchor means removing all of your gear from it. Three of the main ways to do this are described below. Which you choose depends on the…
Sport Anchors – Setting Up a Top Rope With the security of an anchored rope above, top-roping is the safest way to climb. A top-roped climber can rest on the rope whenever they are too…
Sport Anchors – Introduction Many climbs have bolted ‘sport anchors’ at the top. This is the standard for sport climbs worldwide, but is also common at many North American trad climbing venues. These bolted anchors…
How To Belay with a GriGri Belaying at the crag is more difficult than belaying indoors. Uneven ground, falling rocks, strong sunlight, wind, insects, stray children and dogs are just some of the factors which…
Sport Climbing Gear – What Do You Need? Sport Climbing Gear: Rope You’ll need a ‘single-rated’ rope for sport climbing. They are marked with a ‘1’ symbol at the end of the rope. A 70m…
What is Sport Climbing? Sport climbing is physical. It’s a relatively safe form of rock climbing in which you push the boundaries of your physical capabilities, often achieving goals that you previously thought were impossible….
