
Climb camping
Rock climbers like to live on the edge, and sleep on one, too. Sleeping on a rock ledge is standard practice for the serious rock climber on multiday excursions. But when no natural ledge is around, the next best thing is to bring your own. Portable ledges, known as portaledges, are hanging cots that allow climbers to set up a bed or storm shelter for themselves during a climb. Only requiring a single anchor, portaledges are supported by four- or six-point suspensions. These straps spread from a central hanging point and are attached to the four corners and (for six-point suspensions) middle of the metal frame's sides. It ends up looking exactly like a hanging tent. Before portaledges came about, climbers determined to undertake an overnight journey with no natural ledges had to resort to hammocks. They used to require two anchors, however, and leaned against the rock wall. These early hammocks, which easily got soaked next to the rock and were painfully uncomfortable to sleep in, made overnight excursions difficult. Climbers use either 'poop tubes' or sealable bags to store their redundancies when climbing on big walls. Climbers don't crotch over the edge of their portaledge and let their poop fall down. Of course, this would litter the climbing area, making a mess out of the wall. Would you love to go climb camping?