Climbing Systems: People
Scroll down to view the following topics related to the people called climbers.
Who are climbers?
Why do people climb?
Different types of climbers.
Experience Levels
Climber communication
Belay Signals
The anatomy and physiology of a climber
Who are these people we call climbers?
Why do People Climb?
Verily the lust for comfort murders the passion of the soul, and then walks grinning in the funeral.
Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
Khalil Gibran wrote extensively about what it means to be human and our relationship with nature and our existence. While not referencing climbing directly the quote above certainly provides an example of why many climbers insist that we do so to feel more alive. Some enjoy the technical process of protecting the climbs. Others prefer the freedom of unencumbered movement. Many climbers find a special feeling in the quiet views of the wilderness and others the boisterous encouragement of community. There are those of us that thrive while sharing what we have learned with others and those that prefer to remain solely a student of the art.
Some climb big mountains and others small boulders, many focus solely on one type of terrain and many spread their time widely. There are those of us that believe sport climbing is neither and others who believe it to be the best of the modern styles. Skiing down may be the sole reason why people climb up and others avoid snow like a sickness. Climbers exist who are happiest when on an objective requiring weeks and others who perform speed climbing so they can have lunch with family after each objective.
Climbers often believe their style is best. Other climbers believe otherwise.
We are all correct. We are all climbers.
Who are climbers?
Climbers are people who challenge the comfort of everyday life by moving over mountains, cliffs, crags, boulders and artificial walls.
Different types of climbers.
Climbers use a wide range of descriptive terms to communicate differences between themselves. These terms facilitate easier understanding about each others participation in the activity. The climber types are in great part related to the style of climbing and the terrain over which is climbed.
Below are a select list of climber types:
Belayer- A person who is securing a rope for a climber in order to prevent ground falls.
Mountaineer- A person who climbs in "large" terrain, often remote, frequently over very changing terrain such as rock, snow and ice.
Traditional (Trad) climber- A person who climbs, usually rock, in a style requiring placement of removable anchors for protection from falls.
Sport Climber- A person who climbs, nearly exclusively on rock, in a style where anchors for protection from falls has been pee-placed.
Ice climber- A person who climbs on ice, usually made of frozen waterfalls.
Boulderer- A person who climbs on "smaller" terrain, boulders, usually made up of large rocks which have detached from nearby cliffs.
Free climber- A person who uses rope and anchor systems to prevent ground falls but not for facilitating upward movement.
Aid Climber- A person who uses anchors to facilitate both protection from ground falls and upward movement.
Lead climber- A person climbing with the rope secured by belay from below and places the rope in anchors during the climb for fall protection.
Top rope climber- A person climbing with the rope secured by belay from above.
Soloist- A person who climbs alone. Solo climbing can be done in both free and aid as well as roped and unroped.
Speed Climber- A person who prioritizes time reduction and efficiency higher than most other aspects of climbing style.
Gym Climber- A person who nearly exclusively climbs indoors on manufactured climbing walls.
Climbing instructor- A person who focuses primarily on the education of people who wish to become better climbers.
Climbing Guide- A person who focuses primarily on the experience of people wishing to achieve a specific climbing objective, usually a peak or route.
Professional- A person who is compensated financially to some degree for performing climbing related tasks.
Dirtbag- A person who prioritizes climbing over every other aspect of life and sacrifices things such as comfort, relationships and security.
These terms often overlap. The words "mostly a" are often used prior to describing a climber with these definitions. For example, "I am mostly a sport climber but like to hike up an easy mountain summit a few times a year".
Experience Levels
Climbers frequently discuss themselves and others using terms describing experience and achievement levels. These words are even more subjective than the climbing style definitions.
Below will be discussed a group of descriptive terms related to climbing experience and achievement levels.
Avid: Climbers are often described as an "Avid Climber". This term is usually used to describe someone who climbs frequently and is "experienced".
Safe: "She is a very safe climber". The term safe often refers to a climber who is known to be very conservative with risk taking and who is less likely to push past their comfort zone. It may also relate to someone who frequently studies and discusses the most current trends in protection systems.
Experienced: This word is frequently used in accident reports. "The climber who fell was reported to be very experienced and slipped descending the slabs below the cliff". The term experienced quite often is applied to a climber who has spent numerous years enjoying the activity with no consideration for time spent during those years or the diversity of experiences. A "very experienced" climber could as an example have twenty years of experience in which they climb four times a year at the same cliff on the same four routes.
Well rounded: A climber is generally referred to as "well rounded" when they are known to have experienced an above average number of climbing styles and terrain.
Good/Strong: These and several other descriptors generally apply to the difficulty level at which the person being described climbs. These terms seldom take into account climbing related topics such as anchor building, route finding and descending.
Grade Descriptions: Often a climber is described using the grade of difficulty at which they are climbing. "He is a 5.14 climber" describes the climber as a person who is currently climbing at that difficulty level.
Climber Communication
How climbers communicate is worthy of study. It is helpful to understand the levels of human communication to better understand climbers in general.
Here we will look at the depth and meaning of human communication with a comparison to the commitment level of a climbing adventure.
The higher on a climb one goes the more important the communication between partners become.
Ground level communications: Rituals, Pleasantries and Cliche
While meeting at the trailhead, approaching the climb and setting up at ground level the traditional greetings and introductions are conducted. These include, "How are you? " followed by, "fine, how are you?" These ice breaking exchanges have little to no true meaning, generate little trust and provide only the most basic format by which human beings begin deciding whether to continue a relationship/belayshionship.
Single Pitch communications: Facts, truths and shared opinions.
After the ground level communications are complete it is important for a climbing party to advance to some facts, truths and shared opinions about the climb and maybe about life itself. This facilitates a base level of trust due to mutual agreement about at least some rudimentary plan for the adventure. If the communication does not proceed to this point it is worth considering this climbing partnership as inoperable.
Multi-pitch communication: Disagreements, agree to disagree, negotiation
Heading up into terrain beyond a rope length requires a deeper level of communication in order to increase the margin of safety. A party of multi-pitch climbers should have progressed to the point of trust necessary to allow disagreements to be worked through and negotiation to occur. Agreements to pursue a given path as a team after conflict is imperative. Occasional reports of climbers stranded by a partner after an argument exist.
Big climb communication: Emotions and Feelings
This level of exchange often represents that "gut feeling" about safety of the party when the facts and negotiations fail to clearly represent the situation. Being able to share an unclear sense of fear or unease requires a communication level in which the ego is not dependent on impressing the partner. Sharing emotions and feelings often takes time generated over multiple climbing adventures.
Expedition communication: Intimacy
Spending multiple days in confined quarters, smelling every odor and hearing every snort demands the deepest level of communication. An expedition is seldom successful if the exchange of ideas can not resolve disputes about the most personal of issues. It is often challenging to move through expedition level adventures without sharing views of anatomy that are otherwise considered private. Feeling connected enough to your partner to safely communicate about the deepest held thoughts may be the difference between success and failure in the most challenging of circumstances.
Belay Signals
Belay Signals
Belay Signals, often called commands are used to communicate intentions during the climbing process.
Pre-agreed communication signals help avoid accidental death and disability.
Special attention should be given to communication during transitions while climbing. Down to up and up to down are key times of transition.
Listed below are common communication signals between climbers.
On Belay? A questions from climber to belayer asking if the belayer is prepared.
Belay on. A response from belayer to climber indicating preparedness.
Climbing. A statement from climber to belayer indicating the start of climbing.
Climb. A response from belayer to climber acknowledging the start of climbing.
Tension. A request from climber to belayer for all slack to be taken out of the rope.
That's me. A statement from climber to belayer indicating that all slack has been taken out of the rope.
Lower. A statement from climber to belayer indicating a readiness to be lowered.
Lowering. A response from belayer to climber indicating impeding lowering.
Off Belay. A statement from climber to belayer indicating that the belay is no longer necessary.
Belay off. A response from belayer to climber indicating that the belay has been terminated. Usually after the device has been detached from the rope.
Falling! An exclamation from climber to belayer indicating a fall.
Rock! An exclamation from any member of the climbing team that an object of any sort is falling from above.
Check back later to learn more about non-verbal signals such as rope tugs and whistle blows!
Check back later to learn about radio and satellite communication while climbing.
Crisis Communications
Check back later for a new section on crisis communications including team dynamics and using interpreters for patient care.