Mountaineering is not only about
adventure. It is about learning to live life and expereincing it in a
magnanimous way with nothing and yet everything.
The weather conditions above 14000 ft change every day and it can be severely hazardous to eliminate you. It can get difficult to walk, especially climb the snow, ice. Even rock patch climb can get risky. Avalanches can become a daily sight. Crossing rivers can become a nightmare. A bee can buzz you for long to have you run out of fear for cover. The paradox is bee does not buzz around for long in case you are still but how can I trust a bee not to sting me. If I run, the disturbance in the wind causes it to attack me. I have to let it sit on me with utter positive belief. In truth, I actually run. The bee leaves me alone only when I am lost in a crowd. O yeah! Animals and just about everything can be there too. I will not be surprised to find Big foot.
Plan well. Learn atleast basic mountaineering. If possible, take a training in First Aid, Disaster management as well. We are fortunate to have Himalayas and good training institues. Don't die out there out of enthuiasm, depression or carelessness. Be safe.
Few important notes to remind myself and also for my later revisions. Please correct me if there are mistakes.
KNOTS:
knotting a person on the rope:
1. End man (used to tie a person at the end of the rope)
2. Guide man (used to tie a person guiding in the front)
3. Middle man (used to tie the person in the middle of the rope)
4. single bow line (special universal knot that can be used for anything)
artificial anchor knots (where man made devices like carabinner is used):
5. figure of 8
6. butterfly
7.handcuff
8. clowitch,
natural anchor knots (where nature made anchors like tree, person, pipe etc. is used)
9. figure of 8
10.clowitch
joining ropes with equal diameter
11. single fisherman
12. double fisherman
joining two tapes with equal diameter
13. tape knot
14. square reef knot
joining ropes with unequal diameter
15. single sheet
16. double sheet
special knots (used to tie a person while walking in snow or ice)
17. double bow line
18. triple bowline
Jumaring knots (used to ascend using jumars made out of ropes in case the actual metallic jumar has a problem)
18. Prussic
19. French Prussic
LONG ROPE COILS
1. Casualty
2. Butterfly
BELAYING - technique used to help descend/ ascend a climber
1. Direct (use your body )
2. Semi Direct (use your body and another anchor)
3. Indirect (use anchor)
can use Z-pulley belaying technique
CAMPING
Be close to the water source but not too close to get drowned, drenched in it during high water flow (happens mid day when snow melts due to the sunshine)
RESCUE
Fireman lift (hold the casualty's arm and lift him on your arm joint section)
Foreman casualty lift (two people forming a triple box by putting one arm on the opposite person and other arm on his or her opposite arm. The casualty kind of sits comfortably in it)
Casualty coil lift
You use the rope that you have coiled to have the casualty slide into it and sit in it while you strap the coil on your back. The coil you use is the general casualty coil. It essentially has one big gap that casualty uses to sit on it.
Split Casualty coil lift
You use the rope that you have coiled to have the casualty slide into it and sit in it while you strap the coil on your back. The coil essentially has two gaps used to put one leg in each one of them.
Bamboo structure
Use two bamboo (or any hard poles) and rope to form a strecther like thing using lots of clowitch knots
Pullover Tshirt or a Sack
use two Bamboo and use two or three T shirts. You need to tuck the hands of the Tshirt inwards and slide the bamboos through it. You can make holes in bottom corners of the sack and slide it through the bamboo to form a strecther as well
Improvised rope structure hammock
Make a hammock like structure using only the rope and knots
FIRST AID
take the casualty to the safe area first, ensure you are safe, carry out first air
look out for the unconscious first
use the Airway, Breathing, Choking to verify the state of the person
use the Splinting technique to manage fracture. Do not bend, move the bones even if an object is pierced in. keep it stiff.
Oozing Blood: Tie something like a cloth. but loosen it up every 10-20 mins and tie back
Cold injury like frost - take person back to the base camp quickly. this is a killer as there is almost no salvage as part of the body becomes ice inside out, within the nerves and blood (as good as a ice piece that has to amputated off the body)
AVALANCHE
look out for slope orientation, terrain, flow track (start, slopy, end). be careful of walking on cornice (its a hanging snow on the edges of the mountain but we think there is a hard mountain rock underneath. recognized usually with a slight line separating the rock edge from the mountain)
GLACIERS
understand and know how to manage cravasses such as walking on cravasses that are covered with thin sheets of ice, know how to rescue yourself and others in cravasses
ROUTE
Be careful with deviation caused by magnetic, metal attraction from True North Also grid variation from grid north specified on maps. Know how to locate yourself on the map. Know how to navigate back to the spot in case the route changes. Know how to use the team of guide, navigator, pacer and recorder.
Practice the above stuff while you are not on mountains
I know going alone out there sounds good at times. But don't ever do that. Atleast have 3 people on a long journey over the mountains.
Practice how to ascend, arrest from fall, descend well in rock, snow and ice
Practice how to make a temporary natural camp in rock, snow (I love the igloo), ice
Practice running with 25-30 kgs when you exercise
Practice discipline (this is difficult for me)
Have a rescue and backup plan for your every move on the mountain
You can save a life, if you know how to save your life.
I, Mountaineer
""" I go for mountains even when I fail,
at least I know I am on a new journey to enjoy the sail ..
Had I decided to venture not at all,
I would only be more lonelier, never growing tall ..
I rather fall in life in every toil,
I will still rise with every step forward on a fresh unexplored soil ..
The weather conditions above 14000 ft change every day and it can be severely hazardous to eliminate you. It can get difficult to walk, especially climb the snow, ice. Even rock patch climb can get risky. Avalanches can become a daily sight. Crossing rivers can become a nightmare. A bee can buzz you for long to have you run out of fear for cover. The paradox is bee does not buzz around for long in case you are still but how can I trust a bee not to sting me. If I run, the disturbance in the wind causes it to attack me. I have to let it sit on me with utter positive belief. In truth, I actually run. The bee leaves me alone only when I am lost in a crowd. O yeah! Animals and just about everything can be there too. I will not be surprised to find Big foot.
Plan well. Learn atleast basic mountaineering. If possible, take a training in First Aid, Disaster management as well. We are fortunate to have Himalayas and good training institues. Don't die out there out of enthuiasm, depression or carelessness. Be safe.
Few important notes to remind myself and also for my later revisions. Please correct me if there are mistakes.
KNOTS:
knotting a person on the rope:
1. End man (used to tie a person at the end of the rope)
2. Guide man (used to tie a person guiding in the front)
3. Middle man (used to tie the person in the middle of the rope)
4. single bow line (special universal knot that can be used for anything)
artificial anchor knots (where man made devices like carabinner is used):
5. figure of 8
6. butterfly
7.handcuff
8. clowitch,
natural anchor knots (where nature made anchors like tree, person, pipe etc. is used)
9. figure of 8
10.clowitch
joining ropes with equal diameter
11. single fisherman
12. double fisherman
joining two tapes with equal diameter
13. tape knot
14. square reef knot
joining ropes with unequal diameter
15. single sheet
16. double sheet
special knots (used to tie a person while walking in snow or ice)
17. double bow line
18. triple bowline
Jumaring knots (used to ascend using jumars made out of ropes in case the actual metallic jumar has a problem)
18. Prussic
19. French Prussic
LONG ROPE COILS
1. Casualty
2. Butterfly
BELAYING - technique used to help descend/ ascend a climber
1. Direct (use your body )
2. Semi Direct (use your body and another anchor)
3. Indirect (use anchor)
can use Z-pulley belaying technique
CAMPING
Be close to the water source but not too close to get drowned, drenched in it during high water flow (happens mid day when snow melts due to the sunshine)
RESCUE
Fireman lift (hold the casualty's arm and lift him on your arm joint section)
Foreman casualty lift (two people forming a triple box by putting one arm on the opposite person and other arm on his or her opposite arm. The casualty kind of sits comfortably in it)
Casualty coil lift
You use the rope that you have coiled to have the casualty slide into it and sit in it while you strap the coil on your back. The coil you use is the general casualty coil. It essentially has one big gap that casualty uses to sit on it.
Split Casualty coil lift
You use the rope that you have coiled to have the casualty slide into it and sit in it while you strap the coil on your back. The coil essentially has two gaps used to put one leg in each one of them.
Bamboo structure
Use two bamboo (or any hard poles) and rope to form a strecther like thing using lots of clowitch knots
Pullover Tshirt or a Sack
use two Bamboo and use two or three T shirts. You need to tuck the hands of the Tshirt inwards and slide the bamboos through it. You can make holes in bottom corners of the sack and slide it through the bamboo to form a strecther as well
Improvised rope structure hammock
Make a hammock like structure using only the rope and knots
FIRST AID
take the casualty to the safe area first, ensure you are safe, carry out first air
look out for the unconscious first
use the Airway, Breathing, Choking to verify the state of the person
use the Splinting technique to manage fracture. Do not bend, move the bones even if an object is pierced in. keep it stiff.
Oozing Blood: Tie something like a cloth. but loosen it up every 10-20 mins and tie back
Cold injury like frost - take person back to the base camp quickly. this is a killer as there is almost no salvage as part of the body becomes ice inside out, within the nerves and blood (as good as a ice piece that has to amputated off the body)
AVALANCHE
look out for slope orientation, terrain, flow track (start, slopy, end). be careful of walking on cornice (its a hanging snow on the edges of the mountain but we think there is a hard mountain rock underneath. recognized usually with a slight line separating the rock edge from the mountain)
GLACIERS
understand and know how to manage cravasses such as walking on cravasses that are covered with thin sheets of ice, know how to rescue yourself and others in cravasses
ROUTE
Be careful with deviation caused by magnetic, metal attraction from True North Also grid variation from grid north specified on maps. Know how to locate yourself on the map. Know how to navigate back to the spot in case the route changes. Know how to use the team of guide, navigator, pacer and recorder.
Practice the above stuff while you are not on mountains
I know going alone out there sounds good at times. But don't ever do that. Atleast have 3 people on a long journey over the mountains.
Practice how to ascend, arrest from fall, descend well in rock, snow and ice
Practice how to make a temporary natural camp in rock, snow (I love the igloo), ice
Practice running with 25-30 kgs when you exercise
Practice discipline (this is difficult for me)
Have a rescue and backup plan for your every move on the mountain
You can save a life, if you know how to save your life.
I, Mountaineer
""" I go for mountains even when I fail,
at least I know I am on a new journey to enjoy the sail ..
Had I decided to venture not at all,
I would only be more lonelier, never growing tall ..
I rather fall in life in every toil,
I will still rise with every step forward on a fresh unexplored soil ..
when I look back, I will not remember the time of lean,
but that I dared always n that would be my personal win ..
I once thought the world is all that is around me,
but it was empty n incomplete until I jumped away n o my ! what a beautiful scene!
As I moved out into the world, its perimeter contracted into me its 'everythings',
I can see more now on my lonely quiet days, in my many 'still' 'nothings' """"
but that I dared always n that would be my personal win ..
I once thought the world is all that is around me,
but it was empty n incomplete until I jumped away n o my ! what a beautiful scene!
As I moved out into the world, its perimeter contracted into me its 'everythings',
I can see more now on my lonely quiet days, in my many 'still' 'nothings' """"
