Marylebone Mountaineering Club Climbing Safety

Climbing and mountaineering are hazardous activities with risk of serious injury or death. The MMC takes no responsibility for the accuracy or safety of the offered information Reading these notes is no substitute for instruction by a qualified person

Hazard Assessment and Route Choice You need to think carefully and plan ahead when selecting your objective for the day. What are the dangers or difficulties that need to be overcome? Loose rock lack of protection long traverses tidal approaches Is the route the right grade for your and your partner's ability? Do you have the right selection of equipment for this route? Is your guidebook up to date? Routes change with time (especially sea cliffs) and grades change. A good example is Exit Chimney at Guillemot Ledge sea cliff in Swanage. It was VDiff until one side fell down. Now it is E4. Where exactly does the route go? Getting off-route can lead on to hard, dangerous ground. How do you plan to get down? Is an abseil required? Which way is the walk off? What's the weather forcast? Mountain Routes There are many fantastic climbs situated on and around Britain's highest mountains. The weather can change very quickly in the UK. What will you do if it starts raining half way through a multipitch route? Descents can be tricky to find, especially in low clowd or fog. Wet grass is treacherous in rock shoes. If you run out of daylight (very easy in the winter) then a headtorch can make the difference between getting down for last orders and getting down for breakfast. Sea Cliffs Climbing on sea cliffs adds several factors to consider. Many cliffs are approached by abseil. So either leave the ab rope in place or have some other escape plan (e.g. an easy route, but see above). Route access is often tidal. You must know the times of high and low tide. Belay yourself at the start of the route as soon as possible. Freak waves can wash you off your stance even on calm days. Consider carrying your gear on a bandolier (or sling over your shoulder) so that you can jettison it quickly if you fall in. UK sea cliffs can be very loose at the top. Swanage and Pembroke are good examples. Continue to place runners even though the climbing is relatively easy, and take care not to dislodge rocks. In some areas of Swanage it is necessary to belay a long way above the end of the climb by scrambing up a steep and insecure grassy slope. Consider leaving a rope in place to protect this part of the climb. Take care not to let your ropes dangle in the sea. They can be sucked under ledges and snag against rocks. Wash your gear in fresh water as soon as possible after climbing to prevent corrosion. Be aware and respect bird bans (climbing though a colony of nesting sea birds would be a very unpleasant experience!) Winter storms can radically change routes or remove them all together. Sport Climbing Sport climbing on bolted routes differs from traditional climbing. The climber will normaly lower off from the top of the route and then the second may either top rope, or pull the ropes through and lead. Make sure that your rope is long enough to lower off. Many sport routes will require a sixty metre rope. Some require even longer ropes. Guidebooks normally (but not always) warn of this. Always either tie a knot in the free end of the rope or have your belayer tie in to the free end to avoid being lowered off the end of the rope. The loweroff point of the route will normall have two bolts joined by a chain with a ring or karabiner to lower from. If there is a ring then you will have to untie from the rope to be able to thread it through. However, the rope should remain securely attached to your harness at all times. There are at least two ways of doing this. If you dont know, then ask (preferably before you start) Belaying The belayer should... Always pay attention. Stand close to the rock. If you stand far out from the rock then if the leader falls you will either be pulled towards the rock at high speed or the angle of the rope will pull out the leader's runners. Don't lie down. You will neither be able to lock off the ropes properly or jump out of the way of falling rocks. Know how to use your belay device correctly. Anticipate when your leader will need slack to clip or move. The leader should not have to struggle to pull up rope. Inexperienced belayers normally keep the rope too tight which is unsettling for the leader. Leaders often place gear above or at eye level. This means that you can normally take in some rope when they start to move up (and payout on the other rope if using twin ropes). Help the leader to select the correct rope by calling out the rope colour if necessary. They may ask, "Which rope?" Choose your belay stance carefully. Try not to belay directly below the leader as they may hit you if they fall off. You will also be in the firing line of any loose rock or dropped gear. When ice climbing, it is essential not to belay directly below the leader. This will soon become very obvious. The Climber should.. Check that your belayer is set up properly. Is the rope through the belay device? Is the karabiner done up? Is the karbiner attached to their harness Is the rope tied on to their harness (or have a knot in the end) When clipping a runner don't pull up rope in a quick jerk: this can cause previous runners to lift out and makes it harder for your second to pay out slack because it causes the ropes to lock in the belay device. Check that they are paying attention. If not, shout at them. If that doesn't work, climb with someone else. When setting up a belay you should... not rely on a single anchor (even if it is a bolt). Use at least two equalise your anchors keep below the anchor points take all slack out of the system place anchors to deal with all anticipated forces on the belay (e.g. downward pull when bringing up your second, possible upward pull if the leader falls off, or sideways pull on a traverse) not put three way loads on karabiners use screwgate krabs (do them up!) or two snap krabs with opposed gates try not to belay directly below the leader as they may hit you if they fall off. You will also be in the firing line of any loose rock or dropped gear. When ice climbing, it is essential not to belay directly below the leader. This will soon become very obvious Make sure that there is enough elbow room to allow you to lock off the rope in the event of a fall make yourself comfortable. You may be there for some time! Runner Placements and Rope Management Long falls are avoided by frequent runner placements. Frequent runner placements also reduce the weight on your harness. Too frequent placements can result in becoming more tired or running out of gear. Try to place on easy sections just before you think it will get hard, otherwise you end up on the crux desperatly trying to place a runner above a long run out. On multipitch climbs place your first runner as soon as possible after leaving the belay. When placing runners think about: the direction of pull on the runner if you fall (especially important on traverses.) try to keep the ropes running in as straight a line as possible. position karabiners so that the gates will not be knocked open use screwgate karabiners on critical runners be aware of rope friction over edges and roofs, or jamming in cracks or behind flakes don't place camming devices behind thin or suspect flakes never trust fixed gear such as pegs and bolts, especially on sea cliffs Don't be afraid to ask a more experienced climber's opinion about your gear placements. Look after your climbing equipment. Your life depends on it.	Tides There are two tidal cycles a day (i.e. two low and two high tides). It is just over 6 hours between low and high tide which means that the tides get latter each day. The tidal range (i.e. the change in water level between high and low) changes through the lunar month. Spring tides (when the range is greatest, nothing to do with the time of year) occur just after full and new moons. Neap tides (when the range is least) occur approx 1 week after spring tides. The tidal range in the UK can be over 5m.
Falling Off Best avoided. If you really get stuck or run out of strength it is probably better to jump off than to hang on in desperation until you fingers finally fail. Falling off unexpectedly can throw you off balance and you will normally be close to the rock. If you jump you can keep clear and make sure you go feet first. Also, you can warn your second who can then take in any slack rope. As the rope comes tight you will probably swing back towards towards the rock face, so be ready. Always be aware of where the rope is running. If it is crossing behind your knee, then there is a good chance it will flip you upside down and give you a nasty rope burn. Try to keep the rope(s) between you and the rock. You will always fall further than you think owing to rope stretch and slack in the rope. Helmets The MMC recommends that you wear a climbing helmet when climbing or belaying. They provide a degree of protection against falling rock and ice, as well as against impacts with hard objects if you fall. Communication KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID!. On the side of a windy mountain it is almost impossible to make yourself heard over any distance and the leader may climb out of sight as well. If you want slack then shout "Slack!", not "Can you give me some rope". If you want a tight rope shout "Tight" or "Take in". "Take in Slack" is bound to cause confusion, but you hear it all the time! On busy crags append your partner's name to avoid confusion. There will be occasions when the leader will climb out of sight and out of ear shot. You will have to guess when they are on the belay. If in doubt dont take them off belay until they have pulled in all the rope. You will not hear "Climb when ready", so you have to take it on trust that they will put you on belay after they have taken in all the rope. Try to anticpate these situations and agree what you will do ("I'll give three pull on the rope when I want you to start climbing"). Top Roping Top roping should be safe, but carelessness and complacency lead to many accidents. because of rope stretch, the climber is likely to hit the ground if they fall off in the first couple of metres. Be attentive and keep the rope tight at the start . Always extend the belay point to below the top of the cliff to avoid the rope running over an edge be aware of environmental impact of top roping i.e. on soft sandstone Self-Rescue If things go wrong, do you know how to escape the system? Could you rig up an assisted hoist? Do you know how to ascend a rope safely? These skills can be learnt from books or on climbing courses and could save your or your climbing partner's life. Other People Watch out for other people, both for your own safety and theirs. Climbers accidently drop things and dislodge rocks. Boys throw stones from the top of cliffs. If you knock off a rock or are just throwing down your ropes for an abseil, warn others by shouting "Below!" Crag etiquette is an emotive subject and difficult to define, but hopefully the following is not to contentious. don't leave litter don't use abusive language don't damage the rock be considerate of others respect bird bans and other access restrictions	How do you measure the severity of a fall? The severity of a fall, from the ropes point of view, is measured by the Fall Factor. This is the distance fallen divided by the length of rope between the belayer and the falling climber. A fall factor greater than one is serious (and will result in hitting the ground on the first pitch of a route which should definetly be avoided). Long falls also increase you chances of hitting an obstruction such as a ledge or your belayer. The latter can result in a bad fall turning in to a very very bad fall. The maximum fall factor is 2. This happens if the climber falls off above the belayer without placing any gear (or if all the gear comes out), and can only happen on multi-pitch routes (or from the King's Walkway in El Choro).
Back to the Library