What you didn't ask but we wish you would. [back
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Does "free climbing" mean climbing without a rope?
From: Kris Nuttycombe
Free climbing implies that all the moves were made without pulling
on anything but the rock-- no pulling on any gear. However, ropes and
gear were used to *protect* the climber as he/she moved up the rock, but
not for actually moving up.
Aid climbing is the opposite, where you actually use the gear to
pull yourself up, although this is a very bare-bones definition for a
rather complex process.
Free soloing is climbing unroped.
Should I put my message above the message I'm responding to or below it?
From: Why is Bottom-posting better than Top-posting?
Top-posting: Writing the message above the original text, when one replies to an email or a post in a newsgroup.
Bottom-posting: The opposite of top-posting. Now the new message is placed below the original text.
We are fanatic Usenet-readers. As a result we are often annoyed by people who keep top-posting. This is considered as not good 'Net etiquette'. The majority of Usenet-users prefer bottom-posting. Below you can find our arguments why bottom-posting is better than top-posting.
In addition to bottom-posting, it is customary to leave out non-relevant parts of the message with regard to the reply, and to put the reply directly beneath the quoted relevant parts.
See also:
After I climbed to the top of the gym wall, did I rappel back down or was I being lowered?
From: Rock Climbing Equipment and Techniques
Lowering: In a top-roped climb, the belayer can lower the climber. The climber places her weight on the rope, and the belayer slowly lets out the rope, using the belay device to control her rate of descent.
Rappeling is a scheme for lowering yourself with the rope. As shown above, the center of the rope is passed through an anchor at the top of the climb. The person descending wears a harness and attaches himself to the rope with a belay device, which he uses to control his descent.
From: Dawn Alguard
I was nervous at the top of the ~30 foot climbing wall when I
looked down, and them I had to take that act of faith and lean back in order
to rappel down.
A little semantic point. You weren't rappelling, you were being
lowered. It probably doesn't mean much now but someday you'll be
at the top of some multi-pitch route with your new mentor and
he'll say "Do you know how to rappel?" and you need to remember
that the answer is "no."
How can I avoid ᬹ codes and bizarre word wrapping when posting TRs?
These problems usually come from copying and pasting from Word into your post. To avoid them:
1. Increase your margins in Word so that your line length in Word is shorter than your posting line length. This will eliminate the word wrap problem where two or three words from each original line appear on a line by themsevles.
2. Eliminate "smart quotes" and other Word auto-formatting by saving the file in "Text Only" format. Then close the document and re-open the text only version. Now copy and paste.
3. Post your TR to alt.test first as a test.
Is "trad" a verb?
From: Jay Tanzman
I acknowledge that language changes, and usually for good reason (as with the approaching death of
the picayune, "pinkpoint"). However, something bugs me about the use of "trad" as a verb, and I
can't put my finger on what it is. Maybe it is because it connotes that "trad" is somehow not
standard climbing. I've only heard "trad" used as a verb by gymbies who are starting to climb
outdoors. The most frequent usage is in the phrase, "When I trad...". When you "trad" as opposed
to what? Climb? See what I'm getting at? Newbies are starting to equate "climbing" with "sport
climbing", and their language is reflecting this. If "trad" becomes the accepted verb for "trad
climb", then there is no longer a reason to say "sport climb." The single word "climb" becomes
sufficient for "sport climb."
From: Jay Tanzman
From a post on rockclimbing.com: "I've done a few trads."
Apparently "trad" is now also a synonym for "trad route".
See also:
Trad is now a verb and other climbing term faux pas, 12/2000
How do I spell . . . ?
lead/led
The past tense of lead is led. E.g. She leads the crack. Yesterday, I led it. I can lead 5.8 but on my trip to Yosemite I only led 5.7.
rappel
Rappel, rappelling, rappelled. Your word processor may suggest repelling and repelled. Don't believe it.
bight/bite
From: The Columbia Guide to Standard American English
A bight is a loop or curve in a piece of rope; a bite is a chunk or piece or mouthful, such as might be cut out with the teeth.
biner
Biner is short for carabiner. The British shorten it the other way and say Krab but that doesn't make any sense at all, does it?
break/brake
From: Homynyms and Other Similar-Sounding Words
break (smash, split)
John Brynes wrote:
Chris Harmston wrote:
Black Diamond does not recommend the Hotwire for a carabiner brake. We
have tested this and it does work as a break.
Hey, Black Diamond has a sense of humor! :-)
Which movies having climbing scenes and are they any good? [back
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Links to the movies being discussed here
Climbing Movies About Climbing
From: Karl
I enjoyed the David Breashears IMAX- Everest film. I first saw it on
VHS, and it was about 45 minutes?. The DVD was about 2hours?
featuring a lot of extra footage, views of the mountain, interviews,
etc. I've had my fill of 'The Everest Tragedy', but thought the
cinematography was excellent. I missed the BIG screen IMAX version,
which would be that much better than my 19" version!
From: E. Villamaria
Saw Everest @ Sony IMAX in NYC...awesome! Have the DVD too.
From: Tom Breloff
Ascending Rhythm: They Climb in Beauty
It's a DVD that follows Ron Kauk (and a couple others) around Yosemite.
Realy great shots of climbing and also the Yosemite area. It's the first
climbing video I've seen that actually looks like it was done by a
professional camera man. That's the only one I know of, but it's a good
one.
From: Craig
It's sometimes hard to find, but there's an obscure little Canadian film
called "The Climb" that was made in the late 80s (not to be confused with
another more recent film of the same name). It's a dramatization of Herman
Buehl's journey to the top of Nanga Parbat in the early 1950s. A fun watch.
From: Dave MacLearn
I saw 'The Climb' about the first ascent of Nanga Parbat, it was pretty
good, and more factual than pretty much every other climbing movie I've
seen, about on par with 'Everest' on IMAX.
From: X
Back in the mid 70's, there was a short film entitled "Solo", no
dialogue/script, just some middle age guy (seemed like Europe)
climbing. Probably about 20 minutes long at the most.
I saw it at the theater as a lead in to the main feature. It
absolutely blew my mind, I have never seen anything like it since, I
am still searching for a copy of this film, if you ever see it, you
will not be dissapointed.
From: Scott Grimes
The best of all time is SOLO
From: Greg Opland
All this discussion about climbing movies and no one has mentioned
"Storm and Sorrow" yet. Actually, I didnt' think it was too bad of a movie.
John Roskelly was portrayed as a total butthead (as usual), while the
Molly Higgins character was almost portrayed as an earthbound angel.
Some decent climbing scenes.
From: Michael Doyle
"Summer of Storms".
It concerns the international climbing meet that the Russians put on in the
Pamirs in 1975. The story is told mostly from the perspective of Molly Higgins
(whose opening scene is the only unrealistic one in the movie - it shows her
on a climbing wall, which I don't believe yet existed in 1975), though John
Roskelley figures more and more as the movie goes along.
This was the infamous meet when American Gary Ule (sp?) died in an avalanche
when camped on Peak XIX, and an entire party of Russian women died in a storm
on Pik Lenin.
As far as feature films go, this is the best climbing one I know of. Highly
recommended.
I believe the two entries above are talking about the same movie and that the correct name is Storm and Sorrow.
From: Karl
Just got a 45 min documentary film from local library called
'Karakorum' (PAL Productions, Outdoor Adventure Series), an
unsuccessful climb up K2 with Jim WickWire
Old, but interesting
From: Nathan Sweet
Sentinel: the
West Face (with Chouinard and Robbins) is pretty good, but the narrative is too
70's classroom to make it great. Mike Hoover's Solo is very fun but too
contrived for my tastes. My favorite is The Bat. Used ropes, wooden wedges,
borrowed shoes,crushing hangovers.....those guys were real men. From RSN:
"The Bat
This 1982 British film was produced and directed by Tony Riley and Jim Curran.
The film is a recreation of the first ascent of The Bat, an extreme rock climb
on Ben Nevis, a mountain in Scotland. Robin Smith and Dougal Haston first
climbed this route in 1959."
More here: Ape Index: The Bat
Good luck finding it on video. It is very very good.
From: Tim Powell
"El Capitan", a film about a "traditional" ascent of the
Nose using pins and a great deal of aid actually has some good old stuff
in it. There is also a film on the "West Face of Sentinel" done during
the same time period (sixties/seventies) which inspired me in the old
days. I don't know where you can find copies of these films, but they are
true classics.
From: Omega Man
Try to get ahold of that old movie El Capitan. The movie documents three
guys climbing the Nose back in the 70s. Great climbing footage and comical
too.
From: Howard Young
My favorite is "El Capitan". An old 70s documentary of 3 guys climbing the
Nose. Its got some great scenary, climbing scenes, and is pretty funny too.
From: Bob Ternes
Man, that is one awesome movie. The crazy Phillip Glass of Japan-style
symphonic soundtrack is totally otherworldly. The sound alone is very Akira
Kurosawa's 'Dreams.'
The scene where they are all slurping down canned wall food with pins as
utensils is classic.
From: Steve Edwards
The El Cap video can be ordered out of the back of
Climbing mag. It's intereting, but also pretty boring.
From: Inez Drixelius
That film isn't boring, at least not as boring as Dale Goddard
droning on in the sportclimbing section of "The Painted Spider."
The Leni Riefenstahl 1931 "Das blaue Licht" (The Blue Light) is amazing.
She solos a slab and a chimney barefoot. Centered around an odd plot the
film is quite a time piece. I have seen it in Chessler's cataloge.
From: Jose Acosta
I like La Escoba de Dios. It's got some funny scenes as well as a realistic
documentary style about Patagonian big walls. It is a lesser big wall (the
name escapes me) but a great adventure film anyway. It even has a tense,
mid-lead partner debate, which unfortunately was bleeped for video
distribution. Charlie Fowler shines through as a great mediator ; )
From: TSchell
La escoba del dios (the broom of god) is by John Catto and is about the
first ascent of cerro cathedral in patagonia-- I don't think John is
german, Charlie fowler was one of the climbers as well. It's advertized
for sale in climbing magazine and probably chessler books as well it won
the telluride mt film fest two yrs ago and I think the Banff fest of Mt.
films as well
it's a great video-- definately worth seeing
From: Vladimir Smirnov
There are 2 movies by Werner Herzog of Germany.
"Gasherbrum, aka Dark Glow of the Mountains" is a documentary about
Messner's accent of Gasherbrum, and the other is "Cerro Torre, the
Scream
of Stone"
From: Phil Sidel
The movie is called "Scream of Stone" (in its English translation) and was
about competition between a sport climber and a trad climber to be the first
to ascend (solo) Cerro Torre in Patagonia (I think I have the right peak).
I thought the climbing was great, but you had to separate the climbing from
the story, because the story was that the two climbers were simultaneously
soloing up the tower, and the film showed that they were obviously roped and
belayed and placing pro.
From: Lowell Skoog
The opening credits of the film said, "Based on an idea by Reinhold
Messner". The trad climber seemed clearly modeled after Messner. The
sport climber was played by Stefan Glowacz, a top rock climber from
Germany. I believe the director was Werner Herzog. Donald Sutherland
had a supporting role, the only actor familiar to most Americans. Most
memorable line: "It's not a mountain, it's a scream of stone."
I don't remember too much about the climbing footage, but I remember
being impressed by the trad climber clawing his way up the ice on one
side of the mountain while the sport climber tackled the rock on the
other side. Good flick. Rather dark as I recall.
Non-Climbing Movies About Climbing
From: Glennon Travis
Sorry Guys, the best climbing movie of all time is the EIGER SANCTION with
Clint Eastwood. It is kind of old but c'mon, Eastwood and the Eiger, need I
say more. Classic James Bond style espionage with spectacular climbing
scenes in American southwest and in the alps.
While training for the "eiger sanction" on a wicked redrock face, upon
reaching the top, Eastwood's partner says "how 'bout a beer?" Clint replies,
"Who would be crazy enough to cary a beer all the way up here. The partner
then points to Eastwood's suspiciously heavy pack with a grin...
From: blyslv
"The Eiger Sanction" was good because it had an
interesting plot line, coupled with technically accurate climbing, but
this is a rarity.
From: Karl
Liked Eiger Sanction, K2 was OK, Slept thru
Cliffhanger....Vertical Limit got ejected half way thru.
From: Jaeguide
If Cliffhanger is a 'good' climbing movie, I'll
pitch in with the other folks and elect Sound of Music as a better
choice.
Eiger Sanction is a decent watch, I'll add my vote to that'n.
From: Retrograde
I like the Simpsons episode where Homer becomes a spokesman for a power
bar type item and has to climb a mountain...
The Eiger Sanction is good too except for the part where he is supposed
to be leading and you can see the top rope behind him.. Doh!!
Cliffhanger is best as a drinking game... Hero does something physically
impossible! Drink!!!!!!
sure do envy that bolt gun though.
From: Alex Kratochwilla
apropos german climbers, there are a bunch of real good old black and white
movies mostly directed by Luis Trenker.
My favourite is "Berge in Flammen" --> burning mountains by Luis Trenker.
Its a movie about static warfare in the alps in WW I. The Austrians try to
hold their fort on the summit, while the Italian Alpinis dig a hole in the
wall below to blow up the whole summit.
Good plot, I would call it the alpin counterpart of Remarques "nothing new
in the west". And there are also some good stunts. I specially like the
avalange stunt.
Luis has to pass the Italian guards underneath him. So he causes an avalange
and slides down with the avalange passing the guards, which protect
themself.
From: David Henderson
Yes, and didn't Leni Riefenstal originally make her name in climbing
movies? I once saw part of an extremely romanticized mountain movie of
hers, Das Blau Licht [The Blue Light].
In addition, Swiss and German TV have done some excellent movies,quasi-
documentaries, in the past decade in which famous ascents were recreated
using the original clothing and gear. When the Banff Film Festival came
through town a few years ago I saw the recreation of the Grand Jorasse
ascent by Peters and Meyer (I think it was them).
Michael Chessler (Chessler Books) offers a wide selection of British and
European mountain videos, along with the U.S. titles.
Another oldie, real oldie, is one from the late '30s called Conquest of
Matterhorn or some such thing. Usually appears on TV about 3 in the
morning. It's a pretty faithful depiction of the intense rivalry between
Whymper and Carrel. The climbing scenes, however, are hilarious. It
opens with purported rockfall on Matterhorn, and the rocks erupt
horizontally and upwards. Hmm, thought I, the dynamite-assisted
rockfall. The climbing scenes were all shot in Wales or the Lake
District, I believe. All vertical stuff, with nary a slab in sight.
From: Carl Prenner
"Five Days One Summer". Excellent climbing scenes (and
they last cumulatively for at least an hour, rather than the usual 5
minutes) as movies go....for all of us critical 6.0 climbers.
From: DWG
I quite enjoyed "Five Days One Summer" with Sean Connery. It's about
climbing in the Alps early in this century, good scenery, interesting
plot. It was available recently in a video store.
From: Zamfrock
How about the Disney classic "Third Man on the
Mountain" starring James McArthur. I saw it as
a kid and so far have been unsuccessful in finding
a video copy. It was released in 1959 and filmed
at least partially in Switzerland with the
Matterhorn as "the mountain".
From: Mkword
Try finding a copy of "The White Tower."
It was made in the 1950's. Glenn Ford, Claude
Rains and Lloyd Bridges. Based on the novel
by the writer who chronicled the first American
ascent of Everest (I believe).
There is a morality play to the whole narrative
that is a little dated, however the film was shot
on location in the Alps and the cinematography
is stunning. The climbing scenes are fairly
authentic and believable. There is one amazing
scene near the end with Glenn Ford climbing a
beautiful summit ridge.
From: DougG
One of the real classic climbing movies is "The White
Tower", a 1950 B&W flick; the plot is a climbing party in
the Swiss Alps. It is a must see, if only for a lession in
how folks used to climb, i.e. hemp ropes, pitons, hob nailed
boots, no harnesses, etc.
From: Steve Mays
"High Ice" (1980)
An intrepid forest ranger and a "by-the-book" Army colonel engage
in a battle of wills over how to rescue three climbers who are
trapped on a narrow mountain ledge.
From: Lowell Skoog
The movie was filmed on Whitehorse Mountain, near Darrington, WA. At
the time of the filming the mountain was not in a Wilderness Area, so
they were able to land helicopters up there. The wall shown in the
movie is the east face, which has never been climbed. (A reputation for
bad rock and a brushy approach keeps climbers away. I've never even
heard of it being attempted.) The closeup shots of the wall were filmed
in the Darrington High School gymnasium, where they built a mockup.
From: John Wood
You might try The mountain with Spencer Tracy. It was made in 1956 so the
climbing style is out dated but still a good mountaineering movie. The
version I saw was in color.
From: Robert Hanson
_The_Mountain_ with Spencer Tracy. Great Movie.
From: Tom the Tree Guy
"Seven Years in Tibet" is about a German climber, apparently factual.
Only the beginning is about his actual climbing though.
Non-Climbing Movies That Have Climbing Scenes
From: Bill Zaumen
How about "Safety Last" ??? This is a silent film I saw (with live
music), which features a guy getting suckered into climbing up a
building. The scene where he grabs the edge of a big clock, which
then swings open, leaving him literally dangling from the clock hands,
which bend outward, is hillarious.
From: Joe McLoughlin
The Hithcock classic "North by Northwest" has some pretty funny (for
climbers anyways) scenes on Mt. Rushmore. Great movie, though.
From: Mike Worden
Don't forget North By Northwest. Hairy downclimbing. What's George
Washington's face rated anyway?
From: Gregory Hill
"The Good Son" (Macauley Caulkin (sp?) plays an evil boy.)
At the end, the mother is soloing what looks to be a 5.10 arete with the
ocean crashing below. some pretty good arete slaps!!! macauley on top is
trying to kill her (she pissed him off).
From: Howard Young
Although not a climbing movie, watching the begining of Star Trek V, and
seeing Kirk free solo the Nose is one of my favorite climbing scenes.
From: Princefroggy
Shoot To Kill had a few good sequences as well as A Breed Apart.
From: Chiloe
Movie climbing scenes, meant as high drama, often play like
farce to a climber. My SO laughed out loud, shocking other
theater patrons, when son whipped out the belay knife and
pop's body thumped to ground at the start of 'Vertical Limit.'
That's one amazing sequence. But my own favorite climbing
scene is in the old 'Guns of Navarone.' The studio built a
horizontal cliff and had the actors crawl across it. Check
it out!
Against this background, Mike Hoover's 'Solo' was the height
of realism. That and a few other Yosemite originals
('The West Face' and Rick Sylvester come to mind) might have
opened Hollywood eyes to the possibility of taking cameras
to real mountains. Which led eventually to great employment
opportunities for climbers, although not correspondingly
great films.
From: Ilana Stern
Some interesting climbing appears in "The Mission" (Jeremy Irons, Robert
DeNiro, Liam "Oskar Schindler" Neeson). The only way to get to this
remote native tribe is to climb a large cliff near (and under) a
spectacular waterfall. Scenes include ordinary climbing, climbing
wet, slippery rock, climbing with a large amount of weight tied to the
waist, climbing in full battle gear....
From: Greg Opland
If I remember correctly, Rober DeNiro's character was forced to climb the
cliff next to the waterfall while carrying all the armor as a penalty for
something (carnal sins?). The men in the movie were all priests and
some of the near falls were pretty cool.
A Breed Apart: on VHS
See also:
What is slacklining and how do I do it? [back
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Slackline Brothers, Inc.
Miscellaneous: Page 1 2
Most of the information in this FAQ was originally posted on rec.climbing. If you would prefer to have something attributed to you removed from this FAQ, please contact us.
Trad/Sport/Gym Culture (was: Trad is now a verb), 12/2000
I've done a few trads..., 2/2002
brake (stopping device)
Ascending Rythm: on DVD
Cliffhanger: on DVD on VHS
Eiger Sanction: on DVD on VHS
Everest IMAX: on DVD on VHS
The Good Son: on VHS
Guns of Navarone: on DVD on VHS
K2 (1992): on VHS
The Mission: on VHS
The Mountain: on VHS
North by Northwest: on DVD on VHS
Safety Last: on VHS
Seven Years in Tibet: on DVD on VHS
Shoot to Klll: on VHS
Star Trek V: on DVD on VHS
Vertical Limit: on DVD on VHS
The White Tower: on VHS
The Universal Fun of Slacklining by Steph Davis, 1/2001
Slacklining to Improve Your Balance from camp4.com, 12/29/2001
Slacklining from Noah
Slacklining from Graham Melvin
Slackrope from Juggling.org, 1996
Slackrope Setup from rec.juggling, 6/2002
Proceeds from Tradgirl.com benefit The American Safe Climbing Association