a. Rope type and thickness: The choice is between a ‘Single’ rope or a ‘Half’ rope. Strictly speaking half ropes should not be used by themselves – they are designed to be used as pairs, however many scramblers use half ropes of diameter 8.5mm – 9.00 because of their lower price and weight. The key disadvantage of skinny half ropes is not that they will break in the event of a fall (although the chances of them being cut is higher than with a single rope), but that any fall is harder to hold. Always make sure that your rope and belay device are compatible.

Single ropes are designed to be used by themselves and are tested/certified accordingly. In the good old days single ropes were thick (10.5-11.0 mm) and heavy, but these days you can get single ropes with a diameter of 8.9 – 9.2mm. Maximum safety, but expect to pay a premium for these cutting edge ropes.

10.0 mm single ropes are generally a lot cheaper, but you pay a weight penalty.

Dry ropes are always useful in the mountains – they don’t absorb so much water, hence stay lighter, and dry faster.

b. Rope Length: Anything between 30m and 50m goes. The shorter the rope the lighter it is, however a short rope also limits your options both in terms of pitch length, but also more importantly in retreat. A 30m rope only allows a 15m abseil…

A 9mm x 30m half rope is probably the most common specification used for personal scrambling, based on the theory that it won’t be used often and it minimises weight and cost. This can be used doubled up (folded in half) for leading pitches up to 15m, which is plenty for most scrambles. However this does limit your ability to run together or retreat from longer pitches – thus for harder, more remote scrambles it is worth using a longer, fully rated single rope i.e. 40 or 50m of Mammut 8.9mm Serenity or 9.2mm Revelation rope is pretty much perfect.

We normally use 50m of 8.9mm Mammut Serenity (lovely, but expensive) or 10.0 Mammut Galaxy ( good workhorse) ropes for our courses – both of which are dry treated, single ropes.

2. Climbing Harness: You can guarantee that you will need to put on your harness when standing on a tiny ledge in a horrible storm with cold, wet fingers – choose your harness accordingly.

The harness thus needs to be fully adjustable with either ’standard, buckled adjustable legs or with a ‘Nappy’ design. In general standard adjustable harnesses with fully padded waist and legs tend to cross over best into rock climbing, whilst ‘Nappy’ style harnesses with minimal padding are the easiest to put on and also work well for alpine mountaineering.

Examples of standard harnesses are the DMM Renegade or Petzl Calidris.

Examples of ‘Nappy’ harnesses are the DMM Super Couloir or the BD (Alpine) Bod.

3. Scrambling Equipment: Light and versatile is the order of the day.

a. You will need a belay device and HMS screwgate carabiners for each member of the party. The belay device / rope controller should work well with the ropes that you intend to use i.e. if you are using a skinny rope use a belay device that allows you to control/hold the rope in the event of a fall.

b. Two offset D screwgates are useful per each member of the party for attaching oneself./people to belays;

c. Slings are a mainstay of scrambling protection – choose 2 or 3 x 60cm (4ft) dyneema slings and 2 or 3 x 120cm (8ft) dyneema slings for placing over spikes and around boulders. a single 240 sling can also be useful. Dyneema is thinner, lighter and less bulky than nylon and the material of choice for slings.

d. A small selection of rock protection is useful on harder scrambles. A minimum amount of gear might be DMM Wallnuts or Wild Country Rocks in sizes 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 plus a selection of larger hexcentric nuts – DMM Torque nuts 1-4 or WC Rockcentrics , 8, 9 and 10.

A larger rack would supplement the nuts with a set of DMM Offsets or fill in the gaps in any range of nuts that you have already bought.

Cams help protect those harder routes that can’t b protected by nuts. A range of DMM 4 CU’s or WC Friends in sizes 1, 2 and 3 or 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 cover a lot of bases.

e. Other Scrambling Equipment: A prussic loop is always useful – 1.3m of 5mm or 1.4m of 6mm cord with the ends tied together into an open loop with a double fisherman’s knot that allows you to protect abseils, ascend ropes and set up rescue systems.

A nut key per party for removing stuck nuts.

The first recorded history of the Olympic Games dates back to 776 BC. In those days there was only one event, the 192 metre dash. I don’t know why they didn’t keep that one in!

There is much debate as to what exactly is the crucial factor when deciding what is sport and what isn’t and this debate rumbles ever more furiously on when it comes to what are now considered to be extreme sports.

For example why is snowboarding considered to be “extreme” and skiing generally not? I mean, they both involve hurtling down near vertical slopes of ice on bits of manufactured plastic or carbon fibre!

Despite these quandaries, extreme sport has literally taken off in the last couple of decades and there are no signs that this trend is slowing down. The growth of the sports is almost as extreme as the events themselves!

Video game culture has raised the profile too, with hosts of snowboarding, skateboarding and even surfing and wakeboard games. Snowboarding also made its debut in the 2008 Olympics in China, further evidence of its increasing popularity.

Of course, with new “things” come new marketing opportunities and it is becoming more and more common to see specialist extreme sports shops and stores on your local high street; smaller stores and large emporiums too are springing up, supplying all your wakeboarding equipment and climbing gear amongst lots of other exciting stuff!

The internet has surely helped to increase the exposure of a lot of the extreme sports, some of which are now practically household names, such as snowboarding, skateboarding and climbing, while others still have a bit of work to do. A quick search in one of the internet search engines for the sport you are looking for, is very likely to throw up thousands, if not, millions of results for your desired search!

Along with all the news and gossip from these sporting worlds, there are also a host of online stores, where, here too, you can order your new snowboarding equipment and extreme clothing.

Sport climbing will usually take place in climbing centers that have rock climbing walls erected for your own recreational fun. These can be both inside and outside. These places are easy to access, reasonably low in price, and a fun activity to do with a ton of friends.

Since the anchors and bolts are already in the rock, there is no need for the climber to bring protection with him. This means the climber is lighter weight and is more able to push his limits. In addition to the pre-existing protection, the potential for failure of the protection is very small. This makes it less of a threat to take a fall while sport climbing. Again, knowing that all this protection is surrounding you, allows a climber to really push his limits.

Another advantage of sport climbing is that it is cheaper than other forms of rock climbing. Because it requires so much less equipment, it is relatively inexpensive to begin. Despite it being a relatively young type of climbing, it is quickly growing in popularity because of its many advantages.

In its simplest form a harness can be fashioned from a length of rope or a nylon tape sling tied round the waist and attached to the rope, usually by means of a carabiner. More sophisticated harnesses exist in many different patterns, designed to give greater comfort and security, and to provide more options for carrying equipment.

There are three main kinds of harnesses.

Sit Harness

A sit harness comprises a waist belt and two leg loops which are normally connected in the front of the hips either through a permanent webbing loop (sometimes called a belay loop) or through the use of a carabiner.

These harness are the most commonly used for recreational activities such as abseiling or rock-climbing as a wide range of movement is afforded whilst still maintaining a good level of safety.

Chest Harness

A chest harness is worn around the shoulders. These harness are not used on their own, but normally in conjunction with a sit harness so as to provide an additional attachment point further up the body. This additional attachment point can prove valuable in some circumstances as it allows for better balance when carrying a heavy pack (as the centre of mass is well below the connection to the rope) or where the person in the harness may be unable to maintain an upright position (due to injury or other influences).

Full-body Harness

A full-body harness is most commonly used in industrial/rescue situations. In essence is it the combination of a sit harness and a chest harness which are permanently or semi-permanently connected to each other. These harnesses normally offer a very extensive range of attachment points allowing for safe positioning in a number of positions.

Whilst these harnesses can be improvised as mentioned earlier, it is recommended that a commercially produced harness be used wherever possible. This is because there are stringent guidelines surrounding the manufacture of harnesses, and as such a store-bought harness is safer and often more comfortable than an improvised one.

The proper technique of balance climbing involves the following: v Eyes. As a climber, you must observe the entire route selected to climb. Use your eyes to climb the pitch. You should identify handholds and footholds, possible belay positions, alternate routes, rest spots, and a route for down climbing or descending. You must use your eyes continuously to look for subsequent handholds and footholds, and rest positions. As well as to continue planning and revision of the route. v Body Position. As you move and climb, your body must be in balance; that is, your weight must be centred over your feet. Use your hands mainly for balance, and support you body weight with your legs.

If you lean in toward a rock, your feet will not hold well; you must keep your body out and away from the rock to counter the gravitational pull of the body. With your body in balance, move with a slow, rhythmic motion. If possible try to maintain three points of contact with the rock, such as two hands and one foot.

Avoid a spreadeagle position, since you must stretch too far and cannot let go without falling. When you reach a position of security try to rest, since tensed muscles tire quickly. Allow for circulation by keeping your arms as low as possible, and while you relax,take the opportunity to plan your next move.

When selecting handholds, you should keep your hands about waist-to-shoulder level. This allows you the desired upright, balanced position as well as resting your arms. It is better to use small, intermediate holds rather than stretching and clinging to widely separated holds. Handholds may susequently become footholds. Your arms or legs should not be crossed, nor should you use your knees or elbows as handholds or footholds.

There is an acronym that will help you remember the proper procedures during balance climbing. CASHWORTH.

C – Conserve energy.

A – Always test holds.

S – Stand upright on flexed joints.

H – Hands kept low; handholds should be waist-to-shoulder high.

W – Watch your feet.

O – On three points of contact; avoid using knees and elbows; avoid awkward, out of balance positions.

R – Rhythmic movement.

T – Think and plan ahead.

H – Heels kept lower than toes, and pointed inwards.

Learn this and you will be one step ahead of the game.

There are three basic divisions of the craft of mountain climbing, depending on whether the climber is traveling over rock, snow or ice. Different equipment is used for each of these environments and special techniques have to be used to ensure the safety of the climber and the group. When walking over rock, conditions are usually the safest, although one must be careful of the hazards of falling rocks (caused by the gradual process of erosion of the mountains and the recent weather conditions) and loose rocks or rotten rocks which may give way if the climber is not careful. To survive while climbing over rock, the climber must pay close attention to the condition of any of his / her handholds and footholds, and make sure to transfer weight from one outcropping of stone to another gradually while maintaining multiple connection points.

To walk or climb over parts of a mountain which are covered in ice and snow requires more special equipment than standard rock climbing, most notably crampons: ten or twelve point spikes which are attached to one’s boots for increased traction, or snowshoes for gentle snowy slopes. The kind of crampons which are used to walk over icy surfaces are different from those that are used for climbing a sheer vertical surface of ice, as vertical crampons will have spikes on the toes pointing forwards. The ice axe is also used in the process of ascending a snowy / icy area of the peak ‘ in the beginning stages of climbing a mountain the ice axe can be used as a staff or walking stick, as you move upwards the point of the pick can be used as a dagger or the ice axe can be swung over the head to dig into ice above the user, making it easier to ascend.

It is often safer to climb a mountain as a team. When you climb as a team your entire group can be attached to each other by a single rope line. If one member of the group falls or has an accident the others can come to that person’s aid and perform a rescue operation. This is particularly important when climbing on glacial deposits which often contain hidden crevasses. If proper safety precautions are studied, mountain climbing is one of the most exhilarating sports that one can enjoy.