Basics
Rock climbing can be done
in the beautiful outdoors or indoors in special gyms.
Outdoor climbing involves a
lead climber, who goes up first on the face of the
mountain, and a belayer who follows the leader.
They wear special harnesses and are connected by a rope.
The belayer carefully feeds
the rope out to the leader who climbs to a certain spot on the rock.
He can only climb the length of the rope.
Rock climbing is done in sections or pitches.
Once the lead climber reaches the end of a pitch, it is the belayer’s
turn to climb up.
In order to be safe while
he waits for the belayer to come up, the leader ties himself to the rock using
safety devices called chocks, pitons, carabiners, and ropes.
The chocks or pitons go into the rock, the carabiners attach to chocks or
pitons, and the ropes go through the carabiners.
The leader makes sure the rope is tight and secure and then the belayer
climbs up.
