Writing a story - looking for input on cliff climbing

I’d say go old school. Hip belay, hemp rope, pitons, hammer, carabiners, “the leader must not fall,” and descent via body rappel.

I can at least believe that inexperienced people could try that and not die with some luck. Maybe a close call with a run-out fall?

Additional plot devices include choss (chunks of the cliff being loose and falling off), hidden wildlife (snakesssss), and befriending the local metal worker to fashion pitons out of whatever metal makes geographical sense.

Old school mountaineering is cool and scary. Maybe best  to keep the cliff “Class 4” where it’s not really quite technical climbing, but steep enough to want intermediate protection (using the pitons).

I think the most difficult issue will be getting a large object down a steep but not vertical cliff. Maybe they have to divide it into trips, taking it piece by piece. Ooh then they get overconfident climbing and fall and one dies. Lol. But yeah, there’s some ideas and enough technical terms to get you somewhere maybe?

How does 'old school' - "hip belay, hemp rope, pitons, hammer, carabiners" - differ from a modern climb? Other than hemp, of course.

Mark Clarkson wrote: How does 'old school' - "hip belay, hemp rope, pitons, hammer, carabiners" - differ from a modern climb? Other than hemp, of course.

Not a whole lot of people use that shit anymore. There are modern belay devices designed to catch a fall with assisted braking and auto-block and shit like that. Hemp, it’s good. Pitons, I clip them as I climb by them but I’ve never seen a shiny one, most folks plug a crack to catch their fall nowadays with either a cam, nut, hex, or pink tricam. Hammers still get used and may have a place in your story.  caribiners are definitely used, alpine draws, quick draws, racking biners. 

Dude just google any of this stufff with the word “climbing” in front of it and it will help you know what you need if you’re going for a screen play. YouTube climbing videos helps I guess. A time frame for when your story takes place will definitely help with the recommendations on gear for the story. Shit you don’t want a climber in the late 70’s clipping a blown up link cam. But of course you can have a van dwelling modern day dirtbag clipping a rigid stem friend. 
Just one thing if you’re to take any of my words seriously, make sure you have those climbers drink a warm beer before  they sendWatch out for turtles,
 JeffFrom the bottom of my bottle  

I very rarely read fiction anymore so perhaps I am somewhat biased but if I read a book about a piolet and the author knows jack shit about planes I will stall out on that book pretty darn fast. The best authors do very serious research for their books.  Hemmingway lived by the sea in Cuba when he wrote old man and the sea..   story would have been absolute shit if he lived in Kansas. he saw real combat in the Spanish revolution and WW1 before writeing for whome a bell Tolls....      if it is just one scean in a book you get an expert to proof read the chapter. If it is the underlying theme of the book you become an expert...   anything less will be blatently obvious..  the best crime fiction writers are former or current law enforcement or journalists who cover that beat.  Carl Hiaasen writes the most amazeingly funny stories about  south florida. how authentic do you think they would be if he worked for the Detroit free press rather than the Miami herald…..

nothing ruins a an action scean quicker than the author knowing nothing about guns....  some tool derscribes the vicious recoil of the heroes AR15 and he/ she has lost me. other mistakes are just funny or neat to catch but they always detract from the readers or viewers immersion in the story.  Clint Eastwood in Pale rider supposedly takeing place in 1849 is using an Remington 1858 new model Army revolver with a conversion to metallic cartridges that was not available until after the civil war.. 

That is why, even though this isn't a book about climbing, I'm trying to do a reasonable amount of research before writing the scene.

Read some of the early Eiger North Face ascents.

“I can’t go on anymore.”

Although I would second that hiring a guide to go climbing for a day would be the best way to get your head around climbing (and to have a great time!), I would recommend reading some climbing literature. John Long is a fantastic climber and writer - notably worthy for the way he breaks down the emotions, thoughts, and ethic of climbing. "The Games Climbers Play" (if you can find it!) is a compendium of decades of high-quality, and very varied climbing literature.  I recall a few stories about climbing that didn't mention rocks, ropes, carabiners, or anything of the sort - so I'm sure that with a little creativity you'll be able to write something convincing and accurate!

I should probably mention that I'm 60, live in Kansas, and have a very limited budget so going climbing is the next thing to impossible.

Mark Clarkson wrote: I should probably mention that I'm 60, live in Kansas, and have a very limited budget so going climbing is the next thing to impossible.

Write about something different that you have some knowledge of. Even if you read all the books that exist it isn't the same as having done the stuff yourself, some things to understand you have to experience yourself.

ViperScale . wrote:

Write about something different that you have some knowledge of. Even if you read all the books that exist it isn't the same as having done the stuff yourself, some things to understand you have to experience yourself.

Or write about what inspires you, which is what most writers do. Good writing doesn't always have to come from experience, which is why we can still write about things like space travel and magic. There are lots of good videos and books on the skills and dangers involved in climbing, as others have pointed out. If you really want to learn the nitty-gritty mechanics, check out books like Luebben's Mastering Basic Skills. I've heard good things about the Trad Climber's Bible for both stories and skills. Good luck with the writing process!

 Feast your eyes on this Pacific island. It has in fact been climbed. Maybe you can include the huge bugs in your story?

Turn down the music on this one. sheesh.

Willis K wrote:

Or write about what inspires you, which is what most writers do. Good writing doesn't always have to come from experience, which is why we can still write about things like space travel and magic. There are lots of good videos and books on the skills and dangers involved in climbing, as others have pointed out. If you really want to learn the nitty-gritty mechanics, check out books like Luebben's Mastering Basic Skills. I've heard good things about the Trad Climber's Bible for both stories and skills. Good luck with the writing process!

Fact vs Fiction is 2 different things. Even good Fiction generally follows some kinda laws that exist in the world they create. I have a collection of around 1800 movies and you know how many I have seen that write a story trying to be realistic but screw up so many things such as someone firing 30 rounds out of a handgun that only holds 10 rounds before going shit out of ammo need to reload...