Top tips from AMI for safe mountaineering.
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Have you ever taken a good look at the state of wear and tear of the quick draws you use on your runners? Not just whether or not the gate closes with a pleasing snick, but also the state of repair of the parts of the karabiner where the rope actually runs?
The majority of the bolt hangers that are found in place on both indoor climbing walls and outdoors on the crags are manufactured from very robust stainless steel and many of the designs have sharp tight-radius corners where karabiners sit when clipped into the eye of the hanger (DMM Eco-bolts being an exception). This sharp edge can damage the softer aluminium alloy from which most karabiners are made, particularly when sports routes are ‘worked’ and when a lot of ‘hanging on the rope’ is taking place. In these situations in particular the krab is twisted back and forth resulting in cuts and grooves on the inside corner of the krab – exactly where the rope would also run in the krab. The BMC’s Technical Committee has researched this problem in the past and found that these scars on karabiners can result in significant rope damage in the event of a fall taking place with the rope running through a scarred krab.
In order to avoid this possibility many climbers have their quick draws set up with a straight gate krab at one end and a bent gate at the other. The straight gate end is always clipped into the bolt hanger (or other runner for that matter) and the climbing rope is clipped to the bent gate end; thus ensuring the krab with potential scars is kept away from the rope that could be damaged. Using bent gate krabs anywhere other than for clipping the climbing rope is a waste of their value.
If you have quick draws with a wire-gate krab at both ends, think about colour coding the krabs so that the rope is always clipped into the same krab, and the runner, bolts or not, is always clipped into the other end.
Having set up your quick draws it is important that you then stick with using them the correct way round, which means racking them with a little care each time and maybe reminding climbing partners who might borrow them. It’s not an end of the world scenario, but it will help to keep your rope in as good a condition as possible.
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Do you ever get fed up with the karabiner on your belay device turning around so that the active climbing ropes are then running over the back bar of the krab, or worse still the gate itself? We seem to have been fed the idea that we must use HMS or ‘pear-shaped’ karabiners in virtually every situation in climbing – particularly in conjunction with belay devices – yet in practice they do not actually work very well in this particular role.
The idea of having a karabiner with a large radius turn at the end is so that the karabiner does not get too close to the actual ‘plate’ section of the belay device and is held away from it by the circular (DMM Bug, for example) or square (Black Diamond ATC, for example) ‘tube’. This stops the device locking up at vital moments such as when leaders are desperately pulling up rope to clip a vital runner. An HMS karabiner obviously provides the large radius turn, but for some reason often swivels and ends up with the ropes running over the side bar, or even the gate.
Despite this common problem, we often still persevere with this arrangement, while often not really knowing why we do. ‘D’ shaped karabiners combined with belay devices are not the best solution either as they let the sharper corner of the krab enter further into a tubular belay device and this can cause unwanted extra friction and even jamming with some rope diameters.
One solution to this problem is the Belay Master (DMM) karabiner and black plastic locking clip. This holds the rope and belay device at the desired end of an HMS shaped karabiner and stops any swivelling into an undesirable geometry. While working well with students, the plastic clip can feel a little pedestrian in experienced hands and some climbers find it downright irritating to the point of spectacular loss of temper!
Maybe a better all-round answer is to return to the classic oval karabiner; rather unfashionable though it has been outside of caving and aid-climbing circles for many years. Not quite as strong a shape inherently as the ‘D’, it is nevertheless stronger than an HMS or ‘pear-shaped’ krab, particularly in a gate open situation. (Gate closed; none of them are ever likely to break in normal circumstances anyway).
The semi-circular end profile stops the krab from entering tubular devices and in use belaying there is negligible swivelling. Petzl make a fine version, the ‘OK’, that has a red band that appears as a warning when the gate is unscrewed. Rated strength is 24kN end-to-end and 7kN with the gate open. Camp also market a very suitable version. Give an oval screwgate a try and you might find yourself wondering how we all succumbed to the irritating and just plainly incorrect ‘HMS is best for everything’ idea in the first place.
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Are walking poles worth the money?
There is no doubting the popularity of walking poles with all kinds of mountaineers and hillwalkers; the range of models available is pretty comprehensive. There are poles that have asymmetrical and ergonomically designed handles, and there are poles which have a cunning suspension system which takes the shock out of each step and protects the wrists, elbows and shoulders from unnecessary impact. Many designs now sport both asymmetrical grips and suspension. It is also possible to buy them singly or in pairs, and they all have a locking system that allows the pole to be adjusted for the height of the user and shortened for convenience when not being used. But why use them at all?
The main reason for using walking poles is that they help reduce the impact and loading of each step taken on the knees and back of a walker by using the arm muscles to assist with the overall effort of movement. They appear to be at their best when carrying a heavy rucksack or when stiff mountaineering boots are being worn. In the latter case, even small pebbles underfoot can throw the foot and lower leg sideways and the poles help to moderate this movement. They are useful in all cases to reduce sideways stumbles in snow or other unstable terrain and can be easily tucked away down the side of a rucksack when more tricky ground requiring the use of both hands is contemplated.
Are there any negative connotations connected with their use? There are a few. They can be very noisy if used on metalled surfaces and it is extremely easy to trip oneself, or other innocent companions, with careless use. They might also be accused of adding to erosion damage in some types of terrain, although the odd hole in grassy sward is apparently fine when it s in one s own lawn. There are also serious doubts as to whether one pole is a good idea anything that causes unbalanced loading on the body is usually not a good plan in the long term, and could lead to back problems at the very least. The major problem with poles might be the judgement of knowing when to put them away. They can be a real nuisance on rocky scrambling ground and could be lethal on hard or steep snowy ground where the mountaineer should have an ice axe in their hand and not a walking pole. Self-arrest with poles is a pretty tricky performance!
Top tip
It’s well known that Thermos flasks left for a few days with once-warm coffee or tea inside produce a fair approximation of a biological weapon.
In order to get rid of this without a frustrating amount of effort - rinse out the flask, fill with water and drop in a Denture Cleaning Tablet. A few hours later your flask will be gleaming; rinse out and away you go.
The tablets can be purchased, in a plain wrapper (!), from most reputable chemists; Numark do an effective and cheap version. Non-skanky flasks will shine with half a tablet’s use.
Top tip
Is your mouth dry? Is your urine yellow? Or even orange? Dehydration is an insidious thing; lying in wait to make sure that your body can’t perform to it’s potential. Are you already dehydrated before you set out for the hills? A little too much partying the night before maybe?
It is suggested that in order to function properly our bodies need at least two and a half litres of water a day. That s without sweating and heavy breathing as we climb up hills. Add to that the additional effort and fluid loss from carrying a heavy rucksack, ropes, climbing gear and even camping equipment; the fluid requirements keep adding up.
When exercising heavily a good deal of fluid is lost through breathing via the large surface area of the lungs. This happens in winter too, not just in the warm summer months. A sip in a clean high mountain stream often wets the lips but does it provide real water intake? How much fluid do you actually consume on a day out? Water bottles are good but it is easy to forget to drink from them when they are hidden in a rucksack. How often do we end up carrying water down from the mountains at the end of the day?
Activists who used to travel for hours without a drink have noticed the benefits from remaining hydrated performance improved and comments such as its taken years off my age are common. Many people now swear by the bottle and tube system where a plastic bottle is kept in the rucksack and the mountaineer is supplied with water through a plastic tube, clipped to a shoulder strap, and terminating in a demand valve that allows re-hydration on the move. Some rucksacks even have built-in flaps for the tube, but if cost is an issue, any rucksack will do. Sure, water is heavy, but the improved performance is worth the effort your body will thank you for it.
One last point; don t put orange juice in your posh hydration system unless you are going to enjoy removing the problematic black smelly gunk which results when it s been left for more than 24 hours!
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