Climbing

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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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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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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