Stay Safe Climbing

It's important to stay properly hydrated when you're rock climbing, especially when it's hot outside. Learn how much you need to drink to stay hydrated and how to determine how much water to bring for a day of rock climbing.

Climbing bolt anchors fail at seaside climbing areas because of corrosion and rust to the metal bolts. The UIAA has released a set of guidelines for climbers to follow at sea cliff climbing areas to insure that you only clip into and use bolts that can safe hold a climbing fall.

Crampons are essential equipment for climbing snow and ice in the mountains but they are also dangerous. Think about it...you're walking around with 24 sharp metal points on the soles of your boots. Crampons can gash, jab, and trip you when you're climbing. Learn 5 tips to use crampons safely.

Read this before using any other page here. Climbing safely is your responsibility. Stay safe climbing by exercising good judgment and by knowing the limitations of your skills, ability, and experience.

Climbing is dangerous. You need to do everything you can to mitigate the effects of gravity and falling. Your life depends on it. Beginner climbers are most vulnerable to accidents. Read these 10 tips to stay safe while climbing.

It's summer and it's hot and you want to go rock climbing. Follow these 5 hot tips to stay safe and cool on the rocks and to avoid heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Use the buddy system when you go climbing to keep safe. Buddies look after each other on the rock, check and double-checking knots, harnesses, and safety systems. Follow these 5 tips before leaving the ground to stay safe climbing.

A rock climber falls while rappelling at the Garden of the Gods when an old anchor bolt breaks. Read an analysis of the accident and the lessons to learn from it.

How safe is climbing? A recent study of data from emergency rooms across the United States says climbing is pretty safe. Read here about the surprising findings.

What you need to know to have a safe sport climbing experience, including belaying, lowering, setting up anchors, and rope management.

Learn here about your top-rope chain of safety; the parts of the chain of safety; and the serious business of top-rope anchors.

Learn all about avalanche safety and precautions at the National Snow and Ice Data Center's website.

Most climbers get acute mountain sickness (AMS) when they come from a low elevation to a high altitude. Learn what acute mountain sickness is; what it's symptoms are; and how to treat acute mountain sickness.

Climbers, like birds of prey, like high places. Cliffs, crags, and mountains provide important wildlife habitat, so many climbing areas have seasonal closures to protect nesting birds and other animals. Find out more about wildlife closures at American climbing areas and where to find a list of closed areas.

Before you go climbing, fill out an Emergency Info Planner card and leave it with a family member or friend so that they know your climbing plans and when they should call search-and-rescue services if you're overdue home.

Voice or verbal climbing commands can be difficult in bad weather, wind, or above roaring rivers. Use line-of-sight to easily communicate with your climbing partner and use hand signals instead of words as climbing commands. Learn more here about climbing hand signals.

If you're sport climbing, follow this checklist of 6 safety tips before you start climbing and both you and your belayer will be safe and have more fun. Learn why you should check your harness, tie-in knot, verify the bolt count, check the length of the route and your rope, and how to safely bail off a hard route.

Ticks are pesky little arachnids that are often encountered when you're approaching cliffs or on cliff-tops after you've climbed. Learn all about ticks and seven tips on how to avoid ticks and keep from getting bitten by ticks when you're climbing.