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Chris McNamara
SuperTopo staff member
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Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 28, 2009 - 02:00pm PT
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NOTE: THIS IS AN OLD VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE - THE NEW UPDATED VERSION IS HERE:
http://www.supertopo.com/a/How_to_Big_Wall_Climb_-_Following_2_Vertical_and_Overhanging_Terrain/a10539n.html
This is part of my How To Big Walls book project.
Click here to see what is currently on my El Capitan rack
Basic following on vertical and overhanging terrain
Brief intro
Ascending overhanging terrain is much more psychically demanding than low angle terrain. On low angle terrain you weight your legs. On overhanging terrain you must use your arms. The trick is to use you arms as little as possible
Skills to learn
 don’t rest on your top arm
use your arms as little as possible
get over lips
Basic gear you need
2 ascenders, 2 Daisy chains, 2 Aiders, 3 Locking biners, Helmet, rope, gear for anchor, belay device, fifi hook
Optional gear: Gloves, fixed-rope self belay device
Where to practice
A vertical or overhanging wall at the climbing gym works well. Alternately, a 30-50 foot steep cliff works. I learned on a 20-foot-long horizontal tree branch in my back yard which worked ok.
Ascending a vertical or overhanging wall
There are many techniques for jugging a free hanging rope or a steep wall. I’ve tried a bunch of them and they are all equally exhausting so I go with the simplest setup:
First, re-examine your daisy length: make sure it is not too long. You don’t want any weight on your top arm when you hang on the top ascender. Experiment with a few different lengths to make sure you have it right.
1. Remove the top aider from the top ascender.
2. While on the ground, pull all the slack and stretch out of the rope so you can hang on the top ascender
3. Put your foot in the third step of an aid ladder or the second step of a standard aider (this is on the aider attached to the bottom ascender)
4. In one motion, push with the foot in the bottom aider and slide the top ascender up.
5. Rest on the top ascender (make sure the daisy is not too long. You want a bend in the elbow).
6. Push up the bottom ascender until the top of the bottom ascender is an inch or two below the bottom of the top ascender.
7. Repeat.
Most pitches on a route like The Nose are not so overhanging that the whole time you are out in space. So I usually leave the top aider on but DO NOT put my foot in it. Having a foot in the top aider and the bottom aider while jugging overhanging terrain is the fastest way to get tired on a big wall.
The most important thing is to rest entirely on the top daisy and not on your top arm at all. It helps to have the lightest weight locking biner possible on the top ascender (I like the Trango SuperFly Screwlock). If you want, ask a friend to show you the Frog technique or the Texas Kick but I have found these more exhausting than useful.
HOW TO JUG OVER A LIP
Jugging over a lip is tricky because the weight on the bottom ascender pulls the rope tightly against the rock and makes it hard to pass the top ascender. There are two techniques to deal with this. One is to take the top ascender off the rope, pass it over the lip and clip it back on. If this is not possible, or you want to save time, there is a more subtle technique: in one fluent motion you pull away from the rock with both ascenders and then pop the top ascender up a couple inches. Often you can only move it up an inch at a time. After a few of these motions you should pull the lip.
MASTER CHECK LIST
Session 7
Where; set up a free hanging rope at a cliff, climbing gym or tree
[ ] Jug once timing yourself to get a benchmark time
[ ] jug 10 times. Focus on smooth but consistent movement
[ ] on the 10th time, time yourself and try get 50-75% faster than your first benchmark time
[ ] now adjust the lenth of daisy chain and go 5 times. Time the 5th one and compare it to the time before. Go with the daisy length that is most comfortable and gives the best time.
[ ] now adjust the height of your feet in the aiders and go 5 times. Time the fifth lap and compare it to the time before. Go with the aider height that is most comfortable and gives the best time.
[ ] once you figure out the best place for your feet, do another 10 laps. Time yourself on the last lap and try to get 25% faster than your 10th time.
[ ] get a good arm pump
[ ] recover for two days
[ ] anchor a free-hanging rope 20-30 feet up and the rope length is at least 200 feet. Build your juging muscles so they wont lock up with cramps on day 3 of the big wall.
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The Wolf
Trad climber
Martinez, CA
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Nov 11, 2009 - 01:49am PT
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How about a chapter on roped soloing?
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Nov 11, 2009 - 04:00am PT
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In addition to the fifi hook, having at least one rock hook is nice. You can use the hook to grapple yourself from swinging around. This is perhaps more useful on following a traverse, but on overhangs can also be used.
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deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
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Nov 11, 2009 - 04:56am PT
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Looking good, Chris.
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duncan
climber
London, UK
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Nov 11, 2009 - 06:13am PT
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"Ascending overhanging terrain is much more psychically demanding ..." Do you mean physically demanding? Or physically and psychically!
A fifi hook is mentioned in your basic gear list but I can't find it in the text. You might need to explain to the dumber reader (me) what it's for.
I don't understand the last point on your check-list: "anchor a free-hanging rope 20-30 feet up and the rope length is at least 200 feet."
You could also mention an important advantage of the bounce-round-the-lip technique: it scratches your ascenders nice and quick for that essential Big-Wall Veteran look.
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Unforgiven
Mountain climber
Dirt
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Nov 11, 2009 - 06:58am PT
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more useless spew
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| Messages 1 - 6 of total 6 in this topic |
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