Information On Sport Climbing And Sport Climbing Gear
In sport climbing, the ascension is based on the safety of permanent anchor points (usually bolts). The distance between two bolts is not long and if a fall happens, it will be small. The only thing a climber has to do for his safety is to put the quickdraws on the bolts and the rope in the carabiners. So he can concentrate on the difficulty of the route and climb fearlessly using the maximum of his capabilities. That's the reason why sport climbing routes are relatively difficult.
Sport climbing accidents
The most serious accidents in sport climbing happen because of mistakes which are made before you start climbing. Before starting your attempt to climb the route always check the following things: Is the strap on the harness of the belayer correctly placed? Is the knot of the rope on the leader's harness correct? Is the rope put in the belay device the right way? Is the device fastened on the belayer's harness with a locking carabiner? Is the gate of the locking carabiner locked? Is the rope long enough to bring the follower down like a bucket if needed?
Common sport climbing problems
A problem you may face when sport climbing is the bolts which are not placed right. These are bolts which are placed way out of the route's line or after a difficult passage and you can't reach them. You can do the difficult movement and then put the quickdraw on the bolt or try to put it while you are on the limit. In both cases you are risking a big fall.
Every safety point is important, even the first one. The most important safety point is the second one particularly in low rocks. In case the second safety point is high a fall may end on the ground if it occurs while the climber is trying to place the quickdraw on it. Such accidents have happened and now at sport climbing fields certain attention is paid to the placement of safety points. A solution to sparsely permanent safety points is to use nuts and/or cams between them. However the placement of nuts needs experience and often the rock isn't suitable for them, especially in some difficult sport climbing routes.
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