What should I pay attention to after stepping into the rock climbing field?

A qualified rock climbing field will definitely have "use specifications" or "safety rules" posted in conspicuous places. Due to different sites, each climbing field will have its own specially formulated safety rules, and everyone must read it carefully.

In addition, there are some safety rules that need to be followed no matter which rock climbing venue you go to, which are the common rules of rock climbing.

The following four safety rules are listed for you, which are general rules for all rock climbing fields. You can understand them first and refer to them first. Have some basic safety concepts before entering the climbing field.

Safety Rule 1: Do not climb without authorization

Whether it is a "rock climbing field" with a height of more than 5 meters and ropes to ensure, or a "bouldering hall" with a height of less than 5 meters and a soft cushion on the ground, this rule is an iron law and must be strictly followed .

Generally speaking, there will be notices on rock climbing sites that clearly state "please climb under the guidance of professionals", and there should be enough security personnel and qualified equipment. Otherwise, we are not allowed to climb even if we are only at low altitudes.

The regulations of the bouldering hall are much looser. The bouldering hall will be covered with professional soft cushions, and the height of the rock wall is low. As long as you ask the coach to know the scope of the bouldering area, you can try it freely.

Compared with artificial rock fields, natural rock fields need to strictly abide by this regulation. Because natural rock fields are generally a whole piece of cliffs, unfamiliar people can't tell which areas have hard rocks and can be climbed; which areas have loose rocks and are prone to falling rocks.

The artificial rock field has been carefully designed by professionals, and the safety is definitely higher than the naturally formed cliffs. This is why we all want newbies to practice on the artificial rock field first, and then come into contact with the natural rock field.

Safety Rule 2: Prepare professional gear

If you want to climb a climbing wall with a height of more than 5 meters, you need to prepare a power rope, a safety device, a safety harness, and climbing shoes.

If you want to climb a bouldering hall with a height of less than 5 meters, you need to prepare climbing shoes.

If it is a natural rock field, you need dynamic ropes, static ropes, securing devices, rappelling devices, discarding hooks, safety harnesses, climbing shoes, safety helmets, bouldering mats...

Do not perform rock climbing activities without complete or unprofessional equipment!

In rock climbing activities, equipment is the first line of defense to protect your life. If the equipment is not complete, the guarantor will not be able to perform even the superb security skills, let alone ensure your safety.

Likewise, please don't take anything else in place of professional climbing gear. For example, use other ropes to replace the main rope, use motorcycle helmets to replace professional safety helmets, and so on. why not? I explain with a hard hat:

Motorcycle helmets protect people from head impacts after falling. The main protection range is on the side of the head, forehead, back of the head, etc.

A safety helmet for rock climbing, it mainly protects various things that fall from a height, such as hooks, stones, etc., and the main protection range is on the top of the head.

Safety helmets for rock climbing are not the same as the key protection areas of motorcycle helmets.

Of course, a high-quality motorcycle helmet can also protect the top of your head, but can you be sure that all motorcycle helmets have the same effect? Or, you are willing to buy a motorcycle helmet worth tens of thousands of dollars to replace a helmet worth thousands of Taiwan dollars.

What's more, the safety helmet has a buffer design on the top of the head, which can buffer the large rocks and protect the cervical spine when falling from a height. And does the motorcycle helmet worth tens of thousands of yuan also have such a design on the head? Then you have to take a special look to make sure you didn't buy the wrong one.

Therefore, I still recommend that you use equipment specially designed for rock climbing. It may be feasible to replace professional climbing equipment with other things, but there is no guarantee. Any accident is at your own risk, and I don't recommend it.

Generally, rock climbing gyms have equipment rental services. You can directly use the equipment provided by the venue, so you don’t have to worry about not knowing how to buy equipment when you are new to rock climbing. After we climbed a few times and got to know some more professional coaches, we can refer to the coaches' opinions and buy the equipment that suits us.

In fact, people in Taiwan's rock climbing industry are very friendly. Generally, you only need to prepare your own safety harness, climbing shoes, and safety equipment. Everyone is very happy to share the rope with you, and many people are even willing to share all the equipment with you who did not buy it at all. Equipment newbie.

It's just because safety harnesses, climbing shoes, safety helmets, and safety devices are all worn directly on the body. If they are shared, there will be hygiene problems, so I suggest that if you really want to do rock climbing regularly, you should buy one. It would be more appropriate to have your own set of equipment.

Safety Rule 3: Don't stand under other people's climbing routes

In the climbing field, we always need to pay attention to whether we are standing under someone's climbing route. Make sure that when the other person falls, it doesn't fall on you.

Falling is a common situation in rock climbing. As long as safety precautions are taken, everyone can challenge the difficulty of climbing to the fullest and fall with confidence. It's just that the climbers on the wall are facing the rock wall most of the time, and they can't see if there is anyone under the wall when they fall from the wall.

And if you're resting, or watching someone else climb the route, it's hard to predict when the climber will fall off the wall, so the best way is to make sure you avoid the climber's route completely. No matter how he fell, he wouldn't hit himself.

So what position do you need to stand in to completely avoid the climber's route?

If you are on a rock climbing field, someone is climbing on the rock wall, and someone is securing it on the ground, the best viewing position is more than 3 meters behind the securer. The farther away, the safer.

This 3-meter distance has to be changed according to the design of the rock field. For example, if the rock wall of a certain rock climbing field has a ceiling terrain, then our best viewing angle cannot be based on the guarantor, but to stand Go to the side or behind the ceiling to view.

If it is in the bouldering hall and there is no guarantee, we just sit 3 or 4 meters away from the rock wall to observe. The only thing to watch out for is if the climber's route has any protruding terrain, or needs to jump out, and if so, need to avoid it sideways, or retreat further away.

Generally, bouldering halls in Taiwan do not cover the entire floor of the bouldering hall with soft cushions, and often reserve space in the middle of the bouldering hall. Some bouldering halls will put some chairs or stools in this area, which is very suitable for everyone to sit on and rest and observe.

The most complicated situation is when you are in a natural rock field.

Nature will not be so coincidental. It naturally generates a cliff for you, and also naturally generates a large platform that can be guaranteed and can be observed under the cliff.

Moreover, even if such a terrain is really formed, there are often many stones, roots or cracks on the ground. For example, the Golden Valley and the Concert Hall in Longdong have very beautiful terrain. There is enough space under a large cliff. However, due to various erosions of nature, the ground is uneven and there are various cracks, so although the space is large enough , but for the insurer, there are still many security risks.

In this case, all the people who rest and observe must cooperate with the guarantor on the spot to the maximum extent, and give enough space, so that the guarantor does not have to worry about the climbers and the cracks on the ground, but also distracted Check to see if you can hit someone.

Generally, in various rock climbing venues, people will persuade people who interfere with the climbing route or ensure the route to leave. If the situation is urgent or repeatedly persuaded, people will be louder or fiercer to call people away. Because if it interferes with the guarantor or climber, it is likely to cause an accident for 2 or 3 people at the same time. Everyone quickly leaves the dangerous area and apologizes.

Safety Rule 4: Do what you can

There is a saying in Taiwanese: "It's good to be strong, don't pretend to be strong"

And I am actually more extreme when it comes to rock climbing:

It is better to only exert 60% of the strength, rather than 100% to spare.

Beforehand, this concept is suitable for beginners who are new to rock climbing, as well as friends who simply treat rock climbing as a general sport. If you want to become a national player and want to participate in competitive competitions, of course, you have to train with all your strength, and even force yourself to play 150% or 200% of your strength every day.

Because rock climbing is different from other sports, it requires more attention, and only with sufficient safety conditions, you can push your limits to the fullest.

For example, a person runs out of strength in the process of climbing, but he wants to try his best to break through once, so he chooses to jump directly on the rock wall, trying to jump to catch a higher moving point.

This jump may be very bloody and passionate for him. But it was a test for the guarantors below.

Because the climber will rise up because of the jump, if he does not catch the move and falls directly, the weight will be heavier than if he does not jump and just let go. If the fall distance exceeds 2 meters, it will even exceed 3 times the climber's own weight.

Therefore, if you want to challenge the limit, you must first ensure that the guarantor has such strength, otherwise your passionate jump will become a dangerous move in the eyes of others.

Another common situation is that when rock climbers can't find a comfortable grip point on the rock wall, they try to grab something other than the artificial special rock block such as iron lugs/screw holes on the wall.

In the artificial rock field, the walls are covered with iron lugs, screw holes and other things that look easy to grasp. These things have their functions. The screw holes are used to lock the rock blocks, which is convenient for the climbing field to regularly change the climbing route. ; The iron lugs are used in pioneer climbing, and the climber's hook is used to temporarily secure the point. They are very hard and sharp, and it is likely to directly tear or break the climber's fingers.

Therefore, I often choose to give up before I run out of strength. After returning to the ground, drink some water, think again, and climb again. It is better than hanging on the wall and shaking and unable to break through.

Relatively speaking, I think bouldering is more suitable for everyone to train and challenge their limits. Because of the low height, even if you give up jumping directly, you can quickly return to the level that you could not break through. But here I would like to advise everyone, it's the same Taiwanese sentence: "It's good to be strong, don't pretend to be strong."

Because the only time I was injured by rock climbing was when I thought I was strong, and played the explosive rushing method of running, jumping, and grabbing points in the bouldering field. As a result, when I fell, my posture was wrong, and my right elbow was dislocated.

Summarize

The above four safety rules include three parts: site, personal, and concept, covering areas such as rock climbing, bouldering, natural rock fields, etc., which are relatively basic safety concepts in rock climbing activities. The safety rules of rock climbing gyms in various places are mostly based on these, and then they are strengthened according to the site conditions. Of course, there are some special regulations, which are only available in individual rock climbing gyms.

No matter what, we should ask professional people about professional matters, and we will follow the advice of the coaches when we go to various rock climbing venues. This will not change.

I hope you can gain something from reading my article, and you can feel at ease and have fun when participating in rock climbing.