Fireplace (mountain sports)
Climbing in a chimney. Drawing by Erwin Merlet
In mountain sports, a chimney is a more or less vertically upward crevice in the rock. The fireplace allows the Mountaineers while free climbing , to work by means of splayed legs or by Einspreizen the whole body between the chimney walls piecewise up. A chimney is at least wide enough to accommodate the entire body. Narrow crevices in the rock, into which the whole body does not fit, are called cracks and no longer chimneys.
Chimneys are divided according to their width and the different climbing techniques that result :
- narrow chimney (width less than 1 meter): the body just fits into the chimney. The feet are braced against one wall of the fireplace, the knees against the opposite wall of the fireplace. Alternately, feet and knees are then lifted higher and the chimney climbed.
- Stemming chimney (width approx. 1 meter): The feet are pressed together against a chimney wall, the back against the opposite wall. When climbing up, first one foot after the other is set higher and then the back is pushed higher.
- Spreading chimney (width over 1 meter): One foot and one hand is spread to the left, the other foot and the other hand to the right wall of the chimney. In alternation, feet and hands are then set higher on the left and right on the walls and the chimney is climbed up piece by piece.
Chimneys and cracks played an important role in the development of climbing, as many of the first climbing tours in the early stages of climbing were made in chimneys.
Web links
Commons : Chimney Climbing - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
