Chapters VIII and IX of The
Complete Book of Big Wall Climbing
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Absolutely
the most comprehensive description of big wall rope management techniques in
existence. It includes the simplest
techniques to the most advanced, from siege tactics to speed methods. It covers both team travel and solo climbing. Each and every effective management method
is thoroughly explained and carefully diagramed, in great detail. This is the only book dedicated exclusively
to the application of ropes in big wall climbing. If you genuinely want to become a big wall climber, commanding an
understanding of every last skill that it really takes to do so (especially if
you ever wish to solo big walls), then you will want this book, because it will
show you how.
(Unlike The Complete
Book of Big Wall Climbing, this is a field manual. It can be taken to the rock (and up the
rock) as an “in-action” reference guide, where taking the four-and-a-half pound
Ground Manual might be rather impractical.
Excerpt…
Ropes are the primary tethers of big
wall travel. A rope is your connection
to "solid ground". It is the
"escalator up" to the next station or the "elevator down"
to the station below, and your only means of escape back to earth. Ropes are the fundamental tool with which
everything and everyone moves and upon which all other climbing technology is
based. Rope is an ancient invention and
happens to be the one tool that has allowed human beings to pioneer the
vertical surfaces of the planet.
Nothing else can do what a rope does except another rope!
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TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Preface . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i
VIII. SAILS [ROPES AND CORDS] . . . 259
Rope Bags and Buckets . . . . . . . . . 261
Middle Markers and End Markers . . . 262
Dry Ropes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 263
Washing
[Untreated] Ropes . . . . . . . . . 264
Designation
vs. Color, Diameter, or Weave . . . 264
Applications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 264
Lead
Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Spare
Lead Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Haul
Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Lower-Out
Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Using Haul Line as Lower-Out Line. . . . 269
Extending
Lower-Out Line With Lead Line . . . 269
Full
Length, Second, or Extra Long Lower-Out Line . . . 270
Tagging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 271
Tag
Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Free
Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Belay
Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Fixing
Only Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Docking
Tether . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Catch
Line(s). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Waste
Line(s) or Trash Line(s) . . . . . . . 279
IX. NAVIGATION [ROPE MANAGEMENT] . . . 285
Considerations
for Selecting Ropes . . . 286
Leading
Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Separate
Bivouacs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
The
Haul Line as The Free Line . . . . . 288
Extending
Haul Line With Lead Line. . 288
Extending
Lead Line With Haul Line. . 288
Extending
Lead Line With Tag Line. . . 288
Self Belay and the Continuous
Team Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
291
Guided
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 292
Alternating
Leads, Classic Method . . . . 293
Alternating
Leads, Speed Method . . . . . 295
Leading
in Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Leading
in Blocks, Two lead Lines . . . . 298
Leading
in Blocks, Single Lead Line. . . 300
Leading
in Blocks, Continuous Assisted Belay . . 302
Running
Belay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Continuous
Ascending Belay. . . . . . . . . 305
Single
Rope Speed Method . . . . . . . . . . 305
Teams
of Four . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Replacing
Assisted Belay With Self Belay . . . 308
Combining
and Modifying Strategies . .. 308
Unplanned
Self Belay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Solo Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 309
Bivouacking
Before Cleaning . . . . . . . . . 310
Single
Rope Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Traditional
Solo Method . . . . . . . . . . . .
313
Continuous
Solo Tagging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 315
Hauling
The Tag Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Tagged
Haul Line(s) – Free Line. . . . . . 318
Tagged
Haul Load (Partial Hauling) . . . 319
Unassisted
(Automatic) Lower-Out of Tagged Load . . . 322
Traditional
Solo Method with Tagging . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Continuous
Continuous
Assisted
Solo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Solo
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 333
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© 2008 Chongo
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