preview

Essay on Physics of Rock Climbing

Better Essays
Rock climbing is an exciting, but dangerous, sport. Since the 70's, climbing equipment has become more reliable and more safe. The physical laws behind rock climbing have not changed, but engineers have found ways to make safer and more reliable gear to help prevent a climber from falling. Rock climbing is all about physics. The main aspect of rock climbing is gravity. Gravity is what every rock climber faces every time they scale a wall. There are several forces involving rock climbing and they include friction, tensional force, and, of course, gravity.

Friction is very important in rock climbing. If there was not friction, one would not be able to rappel or belay. Friction from the belay device assists in bleeding off some
…show more content…
The GriGri is great at stopping falls, but it does not allow for any rope slippage. What is great about the GriGri is it locks up automatically, much like a car seat belt, when a sudden force pulls on the rope. The bad thing about the Grigri is that if a climber has a serious fall, meaning from a great height, the climber comes to a sudden halt absorbing more of the energy. Increasing the deceleration time reduces the force. The Gri Gri has no deceleration time, which creates a high force that acts on the climber, rope, and anchor system.

There are several devices that can be used to belay a climber. They all work using the same principle, by creating a frictional force to stop a fall or to bring someone to the ground. The rope passes through the belay device, then the free arm with the loose, tail end of the rope is swung back, preferably behind the back to provide the most possible friction on the belay device. The greater the angle between the two parts of the rope, the more frictional force there is in stopping a fall.

Falling can hurt. It can be scary as well, especially when you are the lead climber and you are above your last piece of safety. When that is the case, the distance you fall can be twice as long than when you are below your last bolt. As you know, gravity acts on all objects with a downward pull towards the center of the earth. This downward force gives a climber energy. When climbers fall, the
Get Access