- Pitch (vertical space)
:"For other uses, see
Pitch "Climbing
In
rock climbing andice climbing , a pitch is a steep section of a route that requires a rope between twobelay s, as part of aclimbing system . Standard climbing ropes are between 45 and 60 metres long, so a pitch is always shorter, between two convenient ledges if possible; longer routes are multi-pitch, requiring the re-use of the rope each time.Caving
The term pitch is also used by
cavers to refer to a very steep or vertical section (called a drop, pit, or shaft) in acave that needs ladders orSingle Rope Technique to descend and ascend (a drop that can be descended and ascended without equipment is a climb). As caving rope lengths are not standardized, the length of a pitch is usually equal to that of the drop. The deepest underground pitch is 603 m inVrtoglavica Cave in the Julian Alps inSlovenia . In some cases, cavers may choose to split one drop into two or more distinct pitches. However in most cases a single rope or ladder is used for the entire drop, so in practical usage 'pitch' has become synonymous with the terms 'drop', 'pit' or 'shaft'.External links
* [http://www.pipeline.com/%7Ecaverbob/pit.htm The world's deepest pitches, by Bob Gulden] Dead link|date=April 2008
* [http://www.showcaves.com/english/explain/Statistics/DeepestDrop.html Caves with the deepest drop, by Jochen Duckeck]
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