HIGH AND WILD - MOUNTAIN CLIMBING SCHOOL

foreign climber pounds a piton into a minute opening in a rock wall he's only guessing that it will hold his weight but with these pitons he can pound himself a ladder that will take him to the top of a mountain it takes stamina and experience but the rewards are written in the sunrises and his sense of accomplishment foreign foreign [Applause] Don Hobart your cameraman host with another high and wild adventure and today something a little different mountain climbing the men that climb mountains don't just say hey there's a mountain let's go climb it no they certainly don't to be a successful climber months and even years of training and practice must be accomplished and then there are the tools over the years the tools of the mountain climber have constantly been improved although they're essentially the same type of tools they've used for years here are just a few in ice X it's used for balance there's a cane and as an arresting tool in case of a slip and it's properly held this way this is a vital part of a climber's equipment he uses it to pound pitons into the Rock and just as important he uses it to sound outrock and of course the tapping of a solid rock has a completely different sound than a loose one and these are the pitons they come in all sizes and shapes and they're used to hold the climber onto the rock walls when there are no hand holes or footholds and this is a carabiner used as a Fastener between a piton and a rope and finally the climbing boot used for climbing the glaciers and Ice climbing and I would hardly recommend it as a dancing slipper so how do you become a mountain climber you go to school now we'll take you to the rock walls of horse thief Butte the 88 mile marker on Highway 830 East of Vancouver Washington [Music] you see a collection of cars alongside the highway and that Cliff you see in the background is a well-known Landmark known as horse thief Butte it is unique in the way that it has all kinds of rock formations that rock climbers can practice on hence the Mazama climbing School is held here Carter Smith is unloading his small car and it's a good thing he has someone to help him carry all of this equipment [Music] climbing ropes a bullhorn the giving instructions a pact loaded down with pitons [Music] and you're ready to go high up on this bunch of cliffs and it has a very strange formation this is probably why it's called horse thief Butte the interior is almost Hollow and all of the climbers down here are going to school for their first time they're practicing they're belaying their repels and everything else on level ground first this is what you practice knots belaying your anchor technique to hold another climber traverses balanced climbing which is very tricky a chimney climb or a slab climb plus your repels and as you can see age doesn't matter these youngsters are having a great time [Music] [Applause] [Music] first come the knots how do you tie a bowline just ask one of these kids they can tell you and tell you quick in fact they'll show you foreign [Music] okay [Music] go climb a cliff [Music] delaying technique means holding another climber on the end of a line this man will show you exactly how it is done with a strange way they have of holding this line he can hold the complete weight of another climber swinging in midair if necessary and you'll notice that he's not ever letting go of that rope at no time is that rope ever free to slide out of his hands he's taking up slack and that climber on the other end can almost jerk him off his feet if he wasn't hooked in he lays the Rope across his body and blocks it but he's also anchored to the ground or to a rock wall whichever is necessary all the climbers will try this it gives you good experience and it shows you how to hold the lines and the ropes without any given time this man on the end of the Rope will jerk and jerk hard gloves are a necessity foreign there's no room for carelessness here a poorly fastened piton or a poorly fashioned Carabiner can lead to real trouble Dorothy Harrington is holding a class of Traverse each climber is locked in with a rope [Music] here again is the Anchor Point to the belayer the belayer is the holder he's the man that must stop any fall Dorothy climbs up and even points out footholes the belayer is playing out slack as this man traverses across this wall if he slips he may get a slight bump as he swings around the wall but he is always in a safe position with that belayer holding him and then all of a sudden Here Comes two kids along with no string on them at all and make the climb swish swish foreign [Music] a carabiner with a rope going through this allows the man to move across the wall and you'll notice safety comes first they're teaching safe mountain climbing if there is such a thing [Music] laughs [Music] they're practicing a Repel how would you like to swing out over an open Chasm such as this but just that thin rope holding you this is mountain climbing [Music] all right [Music] well it's obvious there's much to learn and lots to practice while learning the art of mountain climbing you must also learn the tricks of coming back down [Music] everything that goes up must come down this is the easiest way to get down he's repelling on a double rope the main requirement here is both ends of that rope must reach a suitable landing spot the first time you do this it becomes a bit of a thrill when you first swing out over the face of a cliff and then start down you always have a sharp eye of an instructor on you at all times in this school and they stress number one safety the instructor has the colored ribbon on his left arm he climbs up beside a student who is making a rather difficult climb almost straight up on the rock wall the belayer is above now belaying you can lose contact voice contact if you're actually climbing and you cross around the corner of a windy ridge then they have signals they use sound signals on this rope [Music] they're using all forms of climbing this is a pressure climb used in chimney climbing and on a face climb now his problem is that he must turn around actually pivot his body but he must be in the exact right position to do this [Music] again each man is belayed from above by the man that went up ahead of him so you climb then you hook yourself in and belay for the next climber with the watchful eye of the instructor on you at all times [Music] the rest of the class is watching from below the instructor will point out mistakes in the climbing you'll notice he's just off to the right watching we will point out hand holes and show the amateur climber how to apply pressures to get up over the difficult spots the Rope signals are unnecessary at this point because everyone can hear what the other person is saying even on the end of the line but in some cases you can't even hear when two or three people are tied to the same rope and here they use the signals two jerks means that the man is climbing [Music] you'll notice still here [Music] he too is learning the exact way to take up the slack without ever allowing that rope to slide through her hands [Music] foreign [Music] down at the other end of the Butte they have a chimney climb this Butte is probably 300 or 400 feet above the ground surrounding it and it has every possible type of climb that there is including the chimney clock this looks just a bit scary and it is I'll tell you truthfully because I was carrying a camera in one hand and hanging on like Grim death with the other [Music] this is a unique type of climbing and you will notice each B layer is fastened in he is on belay he's locked to that rock file there and couldn't get pulled off if you wanted to pull him on instructor is standing nonchalantly on a five foot square piece of rock is possibly 200 feet above the ground the Rope isn't used as an assist unless it becomes definitely needed each climber is allowed to gain his own finger and hand holes and use his experience that line is there only as a safety precaution unless he asks for help [Music] you'll notice most of the climbers are wearing goggles here this is an excellent idea Rock chips can be blown into your eyes and it becomes a real job climbing so especially when you're partially blinded [Music] higher and higher these people go [Music] it takes a certain type of person to enjoy this but that sense of accomplishment is always there after you've made your way up a tough Ridge watch the wind blow that rope Out Of Reach [Music] all mountain climbers rely on the nylon waste rope is an important piece of their safety equipment foreign [Music] this is a safety rope and a carabiner is snapped into it is this rope that each climber must Trust while mountaineering is generally considered a hazardous activity the Mountaineer is not really seeking Danger mountaineering techniques are developed in practice to reduce or avoid the natural hazards involved some of the equipment a carabiner there are several different shapes of these they can be used as a break on a rope when descending and most accidents when they happen usually happen on a descent [Music] tongs peaton hammers [Music] notice the strange shape of that small Carabiner and it has a safety lock that holds it definitely shut a Rock Grill this is considered a class six climb the class six climb is where you have no hand holes whatsoever nor footholds you must use mechanical equipment to Traverse this section of the mountain wherever it may be so a rock grill is used all of the classes didn't have to go through this in fact this is one of the extra activities Carter Smith demonstrates a class six climb this small rock drill or an expansion bolt is actually used a wedge and the hole is deep enough in the rock is tapped into this it is inserted into the hole it is drilled and hammered home then he Taps the back of the drill for the expansion bolt and breaks it off which leaves a bolt and the hole with this he fastens a plate to the wall he is now fastened solidly in [Music] he hooks a carabiner to it and this thus he makes his next step upward notice how he sounds out the rock he's not just pounding on that for exercise he can tell by the sound whether it is good and solid he puts in a pita [Music] it is known that most accidents occur during descents and they may be caused from well reduced caution on the part of the Mountaineer due to fatigue or psychological letdown after he is made the final ascent it's climbing downward it gets a lot of climbers Carter Smith is moving upward slowly [Music] he is safetied in he snaps his waistline and calls for tension the safety Man Down Below will snub him into the side of the hill and hold him this gives him a chance to operate with both hands-free although he is trusting that piton he's actually trusting his weight to that tiny piece of metal with a ring on it [Music] a carabiner is snapped in the waist rope goes into the next one you can hear him call for slack slack is given and up he goes higher and higher [Music] [Applause] the Mazama mountain climbing Club are teaching safety here it is the most important thing that can be taught to mountain climbers Carter Smith will recover his equipment [Music] he's releasing the Rope and letting it drop down through the carabiners to be rescued by his safety man then he will take a single line drop down from the top repel his way down and recover his pitons and carabiners [Applause] a mountain climber well it isn't really as hazardous as it looks and the rewards are tremendous [Music] people often ask mountain climbers why why do you do it and many answer because it's there but it's really more than that it's the freedom of the outer doors the exhilaration of conquering a mountain until next week this is Don Hobart wishing each of you good fishing and hunting and good luck [Music] [Applause] [Applause] foreign [Applause] [Applause] thank you