How to have Better Communication in the Mountains

October 25, 2023 fmg-adminGuides' Tech Tips Rock Climbing

Communication is an essential component of rock climbing. For decades now climbers have been using a system of commands to manage the inherent risks of climbing. Paul Petzoldt a legendary mountaineer and founder of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) developed this system of voice signals. He had realized that it is difficult to understand and hear the human voice in mountainous terrain. So, instead of trying to use sentences, Paul came up with a system that is brief and utilizes syllables. For example, “Tension” vs. “Slack.” Tension has two syllables while slack has one. So, even if one can’t hear the words clearly, they should be able to distinguish the syllables. While this system works well, it still has its limitations. Additionally, climbers have developed other commands which can be unclear in their meaning and aren’t cohesive with Petzoldt’s system. So, for this blog we want to explore a communication system based on principles instead of specific terms so that we can communicate better in the mountains.

The Principles of Communication in Rock Climbing(CAP):

Contract

The team must have an agreement on the

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