Rock Climbing Techniques - Spotting Boulderers
In rock climbing, the discipline of bouldering has grown massively in importance over the last 15 years or so.
Of course, some rock climbers have always bouldered; witness the sepia photographs of august Victorian gentlemen competing on boulders in England's Lake District and North Wales' Snowdonia.
And bouldering is an activity which certainly pre-dates climbing with ropes.
What young child doesn't want to clamber over rocks, lurching from handhold to handhold, transposed with joy? In the world of rock climbing, bouldering has undoubtedly benefited from two relatively recent innovations - bouldering mats and spotters.
With bouldering mats, all you have to do is position them correctly underneath the boulder problem.
(Although please be careful - a lot of people have fallen off, missed the edges of bouldering mats and still managed to hurt themselves.
) However, with spotting, I've lost count of the number of photographs I've seen featuring world-class climbers with armies of concerned spotters underneath, who are - pardon my bluntness - doing it all wrong.
Almost 100% of rock climbing spotters have their fingers separated, outstretched and splayed.
Should a falling body land on such an outstretched finger, it stands a good change of snapping like a twig.
The anguished howls of the owner will be of scant solace to the boulderer, who will be free to continue an unimpeded descent.
I find that the best way to spot a boulderer is to close my fingers together, tuck my thumb beside them and cup my hands slightly.
This way, a falling boulderer will land on my cupped hands, not on my splayed out fingers.
There's far less chance of damage to my fingers (they're already damaged enough, thank you!) And cupped hands are a far better instrument for diverting a fall.
Actually, that past point is massively important.
You're not necessarily trying to stop a fall (which will often only be a metre or so), you're trying to avoid the fall having dangerous consequences by landing on something nasty or just landing badly.
Most of the time, you're simply aiming to guide a falling boulderer back to a place of almost total safety - i.
e.
the bouldering mat.
The last thing any rock climber wants are broken fingers.
If you break your nose, well, that's not very nice but, pain permitting, you can still climb.
If you break your fingers though, climbing becomes pretty tricky.
So believe me, any tip which spares your fingers from danger is well worth checking out.
Of course, some rock climbers have always bouldered; witness the sepia photographs of august Victorian gentlemen competing on boulders in England's Lake District and North Wales' Snowdonia.
And bouldering is an activity which certainly pre-dates climbing with ropes.
What young child doesn't want to clamber over rocks, lurching from handhold to handhold, transposed with joy? In the world of rock climbing, bouldering has undoubtedly benefited from two relatively recent innovations - bouldering mats and spotters.
With bouldering mats, all you have to do is position them correctly underneath the boulder problem.
(Although please be careful - a lot of people have fallen off, missed the edges of bouldering mats and still managed to hurt themselves.
) However, with spotting, I've lost count of the number of photographs I've seen featuring world-class climbers with armies of concerned spotters underneath, who are - pardon my bluntness - doing it all wrong.
Almost 100% of rock climbing spotters have their fingers separated, outstretched and splayed.
Should a falling body land on such an outstretched finger, it stands a good change of snapping like a twig.
The anguished howls of the owner will be of scant solace to the boulderer, who will be free to continue an unimpeded descent.
I find that the best way to spot a boulderer is to close my fingers together, tuck my thumb beside them and cup my hands slightly.
This way, a falling boulderer will land on my cupped hands, not on my splayed out fingers.
There's far less chance of damage to my fingers (they're already damaged enough, thank you!) And cupped hands are a far better instrument for diverting a fall.
Actually, that past point is massively important.
You're not necessarily trying to stop a fall (which will often only be a metre or so), you're trying to avoid the fall having dangerous consequences by landing on something nasty or just landing badly.
Most of the time, you're simply aiming to guide a falling boulderer back to a place of almost total safety - i.
e.
the bouldering mat.
The last thing any rock climber wants are broken fingers.
If you break your nose, well, that's not very nice but, pain permitting, you can still climb.
If you break your fingers though, climbing becomes pretty tricky.
So believe me, any tip which spares your fingers from danger is well worth checking out.
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