Big wall climbing

Big wall climbing is a type of rock climbing where a climber ascends a long multi-pitch route, normally requiring more than a single day to complete the climb.[1] Big wall routes require the climbing team to live on the route often using portaledges and hauling equipment.[2] It is practiced on tall or more vertical faces with few ledges and small cracks.

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Description

Big wall climbing is rock climbing on large routes that often take a day, if not several days, of continuous climbing to ascend. Big wall climbing is a form of multi-pitch climbing but there is no definition of how many pitches are needed for a route to be a big wall climb; however, a minimum of at least 8–10 pitches (i.e. a route of over 400-500 metres) is typically required. Big wall climbing is usually done in pairs as lead climbing, however, because of the length of the climbs, the second climber usually ascends via a fixed rope to save energy and time.[3][4]

Big wall climbing can be performed as free climbing, however, it is common for big wall climbers to use some level of aid climbing on the route, as it is often impossible for very large multi-pitch routes to have a uniform level of difficulty (i.e. there may be some particularly difficult sections that are well beyond the difficulties of the rest of the route). Most big wall routes require traditional climbing techniques for climbing protection however some routes have bolted sections (or pitons) like sport climbing routes. Big wall routes have also been free solo climbed.[3][4]

Big wall routes are typically sustained and exposed, where the climbers will be required to remain suspended on the rock wall during their entire ascent, with limited availability to sit down (e.g. few large ledges), or to escape from the wall other than by abseiling back down the entire route (which is itself a risky process). Big wall climbing is therefore considered a more serious undertaking than even multi-pitch climbing, and climbers will generally only attempt big wall routes at grades they can comfortably manage as multi-pitch routes.[3][4]

The duration and sustained exposure of big wall climbs require a significant increase in equipment and in equipment-handling skills, over and above what is required for multi-pitch routes. Big wall climbers need to be able to haul gear and supplies up the route as they climb (using pulleys and haul bags), ascend on fixed ropes (the non-leading climber), build major anchor points (for hanging belays), hammer in bolts and pitons as required, and set up portaledges for resting and sleeping. Given the length of the routes, this must happen efficiently.[3][4]

Hauling

In order to haul portaledges and other gear such as ropes, food, and water up a rock face, the gear is put in a bag ("haul bag" or "pig") and pulled up to the next belay station. There are many different mechanically advantageous systems, such as counterweighting, that are utilized to make pulling up the "haul bag" easier than simply dragging it up the face.[5]

Gear is usually spread over many haul bags (usually packed so that they weigh between 30 and 40 kilograms) in order to maximize efficiency and limit loss of equipment if a bag is lost.[6] The hauling system usually consists of a self-locking pulley in order to capture the motion and prevent the bag from descending once hauling stops. Next, an ascender clamped to the haul rope is used to pull the haul line through the pulley.

See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Big wall climbing.

References
  1. John Middendorf. "Big Wall Climbing Home Page". Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  2. John Middendorf. "Basic Big Wall Gear". Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  3. Synott, Mark (23 February 2022). "Everything You Need to Know for Your First Big Wall". Climbing. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  4. Bishart, Andrew (20 December 2017). "What Is Big-Wall Climbing?". National Geographic. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  5. Heinz (Henry) Wurzer. "Hauling with a mechanical advantage". Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  6. "Hauling a bag: preparation and technique" (PDF). Petzl Sport Catalog 2011. Petzl. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 11, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2011.

Further reading
  • Ogden, Jared (2005). Big Wall Climbing: Elite Technique (1st ed.). Mountaineers Books. ISBN 978-0898867480.
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