Posts tagged as:

Carabiner

Types of Carabiners and What kN Ratings Mean

by The ITS Crew on September 30, 2009

Today we offer a post to try to clear up some of the confusion surrounding carabiners, and what that kN thing means.

Carabiners come in many shapes and sizes and are purpose built for many different climbing applications.

We’ve highlighted the main variations of climbing carabiners as well as what we feel the positives and negatives are. [Read More…]

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Learn How to Ascend: Part 3, Ascent

by The ITS Crew on August 13, 2009

Today we wrap up the last installment of our “Learn How to Ascend” series, with the ascent.

If you’ve just joined us, please take the time to read our other two articles on ascending equipment and setting up an ascent before continuing.

We left off with just having attached our Metolius Easy Aiders to our feet, and preparing to start the ascent. [Read More…]

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Learn How to Ascend: Part 2, Setup

by The ITS Crew on August 7, 2009

In this article we’ll be putting everything together and show how to connect the ascender setup to the rope.

Ascending is arguably another one of the most dangerous procedures in climbing, so pay attention to your setup because an improper one can get you killed.

The reason it’s one of the most dangerous procedures is the fact that much like rappelling, it forces you to rely on your equipment and anchors 100%. [Read More…]

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Learn How to Ascend: Part 1, Equipment

by The ITS Crew on July 29, 2009

Now that we’ve covered getting down a rock face in our “How to Rappel” series, we’ll look at how to use ascenders to get back up the rope.

Situations that would involve having to ascend back up a rope you’ve just rappelled down, would most likely be in caving, or spelunking, depending on your training level.

Ascenders function much like friction knots, or prusiks, by providing a grip on the rope. With a mechanical ascender, the grip is set with a cam, allowing it to only move in the intended direction of travel (up). [Read More…]

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Learn How to Rappel: Part 3, Descent

by The ITS Crew on July 22, 2009

3 of 3 in the series How to Rappel

Welcome to the final article of our “Learn How to Rappel” series.

If you’ve just joined us, please take the time to read our other two articles on rappelling equipment and setting up a rappel before continuing.

We left off with throwing the rope over the edge to finish our setup of the fixed rappel. [Read More…]

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Fastest 100m Abseil/Rappel

by The ITS Crew on July 19, 2009

We stumbled on a YouTube video not too long ago by Guinness World Records showing the fastest 100m Abseil (or rappel).

The record setting 8:99 seconds by Steve Truglia is impressive nonetheless, but when watching the video, a few things stood out to us as red flags.

First off, in the first picture it shows Truglia suspended over Centre Point Tower in London, which is at least 100 feet away from the building. It’s understandable that he’d be that far away from the building just in case he started swinging on the way down. [Read More…]

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