Writing a story - looking for input on cliff climbing

Hello!

I know nothing about climbing and I’m looking for information from those more knowledgeable than me.

I am writing a story in which two men must climb a cliff on an island in the Pacific. The island is largely jungle. Our heroes must climb it from bottom to top and then, later, from top to bottom. When they climb back down, they’ll be carrying a bulky object.

This is an intimidating cliff which is generally regarded as un-climbable by the local population.

Both men have some climbing experience, although on is significantly more experienced than the other.

I have little idea of what this would actually entail.

What kind of problems would they encounter? (Vegetation, soil, animals, etc.)

Do arguments every break out during a climb?

What are common mistakes that might be made? (Forgetting to knot a rope?)

What’s the bare minimum of equipment you would need? (Rope, carabiners, etc.)

Are there accounts of similar climbs available? (blogs, books, movies, etc.)

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Mark

If you are serious about your book  do your research for real. Hire a guide and learn to climb or at least  take several lessons and pick the guides brain clean... 

I've only been climbing a few years, but climbers always seem to inevitably talk about poop

It is simple. This would never happen because any cliff that is that difficult to climb would never be undertaken by people who are inexperienced. So you can just end your story in 2 ways. Option one better of the 2 people climb first pitch... worst of the 2 people starts second pitch... falls... all the gear pulls.. they both die... end of story. Other option is they walk to cliff... figure out hey we can't do this... go back to a bar and talk about how something prevented them from the sick send.

Nick Goldsmith wrote: If you are serious about your book  do your research for real. Hire a guide and learn to climb or at least  take several lessons and pick the guides brain clean... 

This.  Else, you really need an editor or better a co-author familiar with the likes of your scenario.

It is always fun when you write a story about something you know nothing about!

Remember make sure they name their climb TROLL! because that is what trolling is when you write about stuff you know nothing about!

wow, tough crowd.

and I suppose you guys will all suggest an author has to be a pilot or an aircraft mechanic to include a plane in their story.

this is just a story sillies.... and since the cliff is a plot device; you only need to know the basics IMHO.

You are writing fiction. The audience is not climbing-nerd internet trolls. You can definitely have the characters climb a cliff. Don't listen to the people above.

One suggestion: When going down, no one would down-climb a difficult cliff while carrying a heavy object in their hands. Most likely they would rappel the cliff, with the object suspended off their harness like this:

Climbing down is way harder than climbing up.   (See rapelling comment above.)  So don't even bother with having them "climb downward", it's so far fetched and would never happen.   As for their ability to climb up, they might rig a rudimentary system with a rope and a couple of carabiners, and yes let's say there's a bunch of trees on the cliff.... They could use those for points of safety along the way up (in lieu of a more technical approach that we use in our recreational context).   So in fact, vegetation would not be a problem, but a solution.   Anyway this would make sense in a jungle with lots of trees.   Often the cliff face is full of them.  For all this to be somewhat realistic, the cliff CANNOT be described as dead vertical.  There's no way these novices could ascend that type of face.  Instead, and more realistically, it's a less-than-vertical rock wall consisting of a complex combination of vegetation, ledges, and difficult sheer sections that they attempt --  given some courage and a rope, yes maybe they pull it off.  Then they have the wherewithall to use the rope and rappel down (maybe without knowing the basic rules, but it still works), and yes they could very realistically rig the system to include a large object on the way down.

Here are two authors and books that seem to get it right:
James Salter -- Solo Faces
Norman Mailer -- The Naked and the Dead

The second is a WWII book in which a group of soldiers meet exactly the terrain you are talking about.  They are not climbers and are scared to death.
The first is a fictional account of a climber's life, culminating in a rescue performed on Les Dru in Chamonix.

You might also peruse some mountaineering journals or memoirs and see how real climbers write about their passions, and foibles.

These are both good reads for climbers and non climbers alike.

Mark Clarkson wrote: Hello!

I know nothing about climbing and I’m looking for information from those more knowledgeable than me.

I am writing a story in which two men must climb a cliff on an island in the Pacific. The island is largely jungle. Our heroes must climb it from bottom to top and then, later, from top to bottom. When they climb back down, they’ll be carrying a bulky object.

as others are saying that is tricky.  they wouldn't climb down carrying something; that would be unsafe

This is an intimidating cliff which is generally regarded as un-climbable by the local population.

Plausable; many rockclimbing routes were seen as unclimbable

Both men have some climbing experience, although on is significantly more experienced than the other.

what your describing is surely "lead" climbing.  that's when you go up a cliff attaching bits of metal to anchor you from falling.  2 guys would surely be roped in  and helping each other.  (the bottom guy belays).  OTOH I suppose for one reason or another people might attempt a climb with much less equipment.   it wouldn't be as safe, though.  sometimes climbers deliberately use less safe ways to go up cliffs and mountains (see "free solo").

I have little idea of what this would actually entail.

I too am inexperienced. but since I seem to know more than you- I'll chime in.

What kind of problems would they encounter? (Vegetation, soil, animals, etc.)

Vegetation is a big deal and so is loose rock ("choss").  I guess you could include animals, too.  see my argument section; there are many possible challenges to overcome when going up a virgin climb (first ascent).

Do arguments every break out during a climb?

are these guys friends specifically traveling to grab whatever-it-is?  maybe less so.  but still there is so many potential arguments in a virgin climb.  perhaps the most friendly, cooperative climb might be , if these guys had the opportunity to study this cliff online and then with a mission and a plan; go climb it.

Probably most people would do this.  argueing when going up cliffs isn't particularly safe.

What are common mistakes that might be made? (Forgetting to knot a rope?)

well there are other mistakes to be made.  for example; anchoring on something on the cliff.  I really should let others speak to this; as I'm not experienced enough to comment further.

What’s the bare minimum of equipment you would need? (Rope, carabiners, etc.)

You could climb it with less. but again context.  if these guys are traveling with the goal of climbing something virgin; you would expect them to have the full equipment.  which in terms of lead includes;  ropes, harnesses, a full rack,etc

Are there accounts of similar climbs available? (blogs, books, movies, etc.)

all the great mountains of the world were at one point distant expeditations that people studied, formed detailed plans and then traveled to and climbed.  you can easily learn more by googling; 'mountaineering' and 'lead rock climbing'.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Mark

climbing.com/videos/land-of…

Just watch Vertical Limit a few times. Then Cliffhanger once. That should bring you up to speed on state-of-the-art climbing know-how.

Reading existing work from accomplished climbers/writers is definitely a good idea - though you probably know this.  Escape to Mt. Kenya is based on a true story of WWII POWs escaping captivity to climb Mt. Kenya - it captures the spirit of climbing/mountaineering, is a hero's journey, explores the unknown a bit, is compelling, and well-written. 

I shared this little short story a couple years ago. It doesn't go into great detail about the specifics of climbing, but rather assumes the reader has some prior understanding of the subject. The story does involve an incident while climbing. It was meant more to capture the relationship that two climbers may develop with one another, and the environment in which climbing is done.
​https://wp.me/s4iZnM-islands​​​

What is the time period for this story?  The nature of rock climbing has changed drastically over the years due to the advancement and introduction of climbing gear such as climbing shoes, harnesses, ropes, cams and nuts. Also what is the size of the cliff?  Big walls like El Capitan can require climbers to spend multiple days climbing the wall and camping out on the wall, which has it's own risks and difficulties.

What kind of problems would they encounter? (Vegetation, soil, animals, etc.)

In a tropical/jungle environment, I would imagine that water would present a constant hindrance to climbers.  a tropical cliff face would seep water in many areas, and rain would be a constant threat.  As you can imagine, climbing slick wet/mossey rock is nearly impossible and ascending such a section of rock would probably require some aid climbing where the climber fixes hardware to the rock and steps/pulls on that hardware to make progress.  Aid climbing is a much slower than free climbing (which is not the same as free soloing)

Getting a rope stuck is a common and problematic situation.  This can happen when ascending (leader or follower), or after a rappel when the climbers try retrieve their rope.  a stuck rope will delay the climbers progress while one of them climbs back up/down the rope to free it.  A stuck rope is usually not life threatening if the climbers know how to deal with it.  There are lots of different situations in which a rope can get stuck and each one has to be handled differently.

Rock fall would also be a big deal.  There have been cases where either the climber or the belayer gets knocked unconscious by a rock, or the rock cuts the rope.

What are common mistakes that might be made? (Forgetting to knot a rope?)

Forgetting to knot the ends of a rope (E.g. when rappelling) unfortunately does happen sometimes, but generally is is a careless mistake.

Another common mistake is to accidentally drop a critical piece of gear.  E.g. it is typical for climbers to keep many of their "nuts" on a single carbiner.  dropping them means the climber may not be able to adequately protect himself in some parts of the climb.  So if he/she were to fall while climbing one of those parts, he/she could smash into a ledge and break a leg.

A similar situation could occur if a climber is not careful about budgeting his/her gear.  Cams & Nuts come in a wide assortment of sizes, and it is common for a climber to carry only 1 or 2 of each size (unless they know in advance that they will need more).  So using a specific cam means it will not be available to you for the rest of a pitch (a pitch is equal to a rope length).

There are many other possible mistakes, but that's all i've got for now.

Read Gorilla Monsoon by John Long should answer all your questions.

climbing.com/videos/land-of…

Thanks (to some of you at least.)

You know, I watch a lot of films and I'm often struck by stupid, simple mistakes in the script. In Prometheus, for example, they travel to another star system but then one characters says they're 'half a billion miles from Earth,' which would put them in the vicinity of Jupiter.

And I think, man, why didn't that screenwriter invest five minutes and ask someone who knows - a friend, a scientist, an internet forum - how far away another star system might be?