vertical hold rock climbing?

Question

Do you have to always belay with somebody or how can you do it inddividually, im goind but have no one to bellay me! so i dunno

Answer 1

Some ignorant answers here.

You can get belay devices for solo climbing. I think the most popular is called The Soloist.

Simply, you can set up a fixed line from the top, rappell or hike down, and then climb. As you move up, the device, attached to your belay loop, smoothly moves up the rope, and will lock up if you fall. You need at least a cordollete loop to tie in a prussic and attach another loop to stand up in, in case you cannot complete the climb. I would say this is pretty basic and would be fine for a beginner if they have the knowledge to set up an anchor, and safely rappel and ascend a rope. Well worth the $80 or whatever it costs. It's on my wish list.

You can lead with these devices, by building a bottom anchor, and sticking to 30m pitches. Then, for multipitch, you can come back down, retrieve your gear, ascend the rope back up to your new belay, and climb the next pitch.

You can also do "roped solo" technique without the special device, but it's not as fun. It involves tying in with figure 8 knots (on a bight) to back you up. Climbers have completed some of the longest and hardest climbs with this method.

Do yourself a favor, and get a good book or 2 on climbing. Read, read, read!

If you're a gym climber, then sorry, there is no way they'll let you use this device. Rather, just show up and start bouldering and traversing, until you find a partner. Groups with odd numbers of climbers will usually appreciate another climber because then everyone has a partner and can get more climbing in. A good way to meet new people, hopefully someon who would invite you outdoors some time to do the real thing. I would encourage any gym climbers to get some books and some help and do the real thing. Gym climbing only adresses abut 50% of the fun!

Answer 2

Cori, you ignorant **** what are you trying to do, get someone killed????!!!??? Lead sport climbing still requires a belay. what, do you think the quickdraws stop your fall for you? if there's a pile of rope under you, WHO'S HOLDING ONTO THE ROPE DUMMY? For someone who claims to have been climbing for years, you don't seem to know an ascender from your a.sshole.

That being said, take advice from c_kayak and don't do any soloing. if your really looking for something you can do on your own without a belay, try bouldering. pick up a crashpad and scale away on the boulders.

Answer 3

Only the best and most experienced climbers can climb "solo" without being on belay by another person. it is extremely dangerous, deadly in fact. I have lost 4 friends in my life to climbing accidents (one died solo climbing even though he was very good and had a lot of experience) and have helped to rescue several badly hurt people who fell climbing without a belay.

Your question indicates that you have little or no experience so you should ALWAYS climb with other people who have equipment, experience and training. Don't you remember the story a couple of years ago about the young guy who got his arm trapped between two rocks while climbing alone in the desert? After a few days of being trapped he had to cut his own arm off and walk several miles before being rescued. He lived, but he was very tough and very lucky. Solo climbing is not something to mess around with.

Answer 4

If you are climbing more than 10-15 feet above the ground, you should be belayed and wear a helmet. It's a safety thing.

Answer 5

The discipline of rock climbing that you need to learn more about is called "bouldering."

Once considered a sub-discipline of sport climbing, nowadays bouldering is considered by many to be a sport in its own right. In a nutshell, bouldering consists of un-roped climbing of walls, objects and surfaces that are fairly close to the ground. It may also include traversing (lateral movement, parallel to the ground) from fairly low heights.

In general, the techniques are analogous to sport climbing, but typically characterized by a lot of dynamic movement. If you're used to roped sport climbing or top-roping, you will probably get really sore the first few times you try it out.

Most indoor rock gyms include bouldering "problems" (specific sequences/locations are called problems, not routes) which are graded on a V# scale. (The easiest is V0, which probably equates to about 5.8, and they go up from there.) You can also typically boulder any route at the gym, as long as you stay under a certain line (often about 15 feet up).

An unusually high boulder problem is called a "highball" and the line between highballs and free soloing is kinda fuzzy.

It's safest to do any form of climbing with a partner, even bouldering. A good partner will "spot" you, attempting to ensure any falls take place in the safest manner possible. That said, many safety-conscious climbers (myself included) frequently boulder alone.

If you plan to boulder frequently outside, consider investing in a crash pad, which is a specially designed mattress used to break your falls. In the gym, the floors are soft and there are often crash pads available that you can drag over to the area where you're working a problem. Other essential gear includes climbing shoes and chalk.

I hope this helps. Check out rockclimbing.com for more information. I think they might even have a forum devoted solely to bouldering. A lot of dedicated climbers do nothing else.

Answer 6

Ok, I've been climbing for three years, and I think the person who said it's dangerous doesn't know what shes talking about...

I know a way to climb without a belayer, and still be safe! (It would be best to have a spotter if you are outdoors though)

The name of the climbing is Sport Lead Climbing. If you are indoors, in a climbing gym, you may see some clips hanging from the wall. These are quickdraws.
You start off with a bundle of rope underneath you, and as you climb up, you clip the rope into a quickdraw, so if you fall, the last spt you clipped into catches you. About every 6 feet is a quickdraw to clip into.

If you do outdoor climbing, it's pretty much the same thing, only you nail the quickdraw into the rock. You have to make sure it is sturdy, though.

I hope this helped you out!

Answer 7

It is no good for man to be alone. You may climb alone. just be sure, you have a buddy.