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Extreme Sports If your idea of sport is a game of croquet, then technology has not had too much of an effect on the way you play. But for those people that take sporting to the extreme, technology is pushing the limits for them all the time.
Greg talks to Alex Harris about existing climbing tools, like pitons, and how new innovations have made mountain climbing very high tech, a lot safer and more eco friendly. "Well Alex, we all know that mountain climbing is all about skill and strength and endurance, but what part does technology play in this? For example what are pitons?" "They are simply metal pegs," replies Alex, "and they are not really used today that much. They were used in the old days to hammer into cracks, clip on with your rope and as a safety device should you fall they are there to save you. In South Africa - in the Drakensberg - the rock is so bad that any other type of device would pull out and break, so there you would use pitons. But it really is limited to a couple of uses these days."
Greg demonstrates the effectiveness of the beners as he climbs up the rockface to join Alex who is already at the summit. On his way up to the summit he removes the nuts from the cracks. "It is far more eco-friendly," claims Greg. "The lead climber goes through and the second climber removes the gear from the rockface on his way up, leaving the face clean for the guys that are following." Once on the summit Greg says :"Right Alex, Now we've got to the top of the hill, we've got to make like the Duke of York and get down again. How 're we going to do that - abseiling?" He points to two ropes and asks Alex how strong the ropes are. "They are very safe," reassures Alex. "They are made of synthetic fibres and hold in excess of 1,000 kilograms each. The difference is that the one is a static rope, it doesn't stretch, and is used for industrial work. The other rope is a climbing rope, it is dynamic - it does stretch." This means that if you did loose your grip during a climb, either going up or coming down, these dynamic ropes would stretch to break your fall, as well as saving your life.
"The boat uses a jet propulsion unit made by Rotax," says Ronnie Arenson, MD at Waterworld. "It has an engine situated at the back of the boat. It has a scoop grate situated at the centre of the boat - underneath - where it sucks water through and pumps it out at the back via a jet pump. The advantage here is that we have an impellor situated in a housing in the middle of the boat and no propellor sitting on the outside of the boat. This is not as dangerous as a propellor driven boat. You can operate the jet boat in water 4 to 5 inches deep whereas with a propellor driven craft you need at least 18 inches of water." " So tell us something about the design of the boat," Greg prompts Ronnie.
"I don't have the money for a sexy little toy like this, but it certainly looks like a lot of fun," says Greg. "But staying with water sports, here's something that has revolutionised the world of scuba diving." For centuries man has had a fascination with being able to stay under water for an extended period of time. In fact, in the 4th century BC, Alexander the Great was reported to have gone down in a capsule of sorts. But only since world war 2, when the aqualung was designed, has this been a viable option." "Now, though, there's a new development. The Closed Circuit Rebreather which has increased down time phenomenally," says Greg.
Previously divers were limited to approximately 45 minutes underwater, but with the rebreather, your bottom time can be eight hours or more. And because the air is still moist and warm, unlike the cold, dry air from the open circuit system, you don't dehydrate or get cold, as fast as you would with conventional scuba gear.
"One of the advantages of this system is that you reduce decompression time," says Greg. "And probably one of the biggest advantages is that with this system you don't spend hours having to decompress. By adding a small amount of nitrox into the mixture, you reduce the building up of nitrogen in the blood stream which reduces the decompression time and virtually eliminates the danger of getting the sometimes fatal bends." "So, whether these junkies are scaling a peak, boating on a dam, diving in the ocean, pushing it to the limit is the name of the game," maintains Greg. "But how safe, and how much fun would it be without the input of science? Think about it. Where would we be without good, old fashioned, new technology? " CONTACTS:
Alex Harris
Ronnie Arenson |
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Created and maintained by Intekom works Copyright © 1998 Intekom |
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Contents and images © 1998 All rights reserved |
"In Touch" presenter, Greg Melvill-Smith, finds out just where those limits are. "One of the phenomena of the nineties is the amount junkies we have in our midst," maintains Greg. "I'm talking about adrenalin junkies here. People who get their weekly fix from just pushing the boundaries. People like this guy. But even in extreme sports like this, new technologies are making climbing not only a lot safer, but a lot more eco-friendly as well."
"What are friends and beners?" Greg asks. "Friends are camming devices," responds Alex. "It is an arm with four cams. You pull a trigger - almost like operating a syringe - and stick it into a crack, release it and the cams open. Any force exerted onto it will cause the cams to open up and prevent it coming out of the crack. Beners are just a shortened term for caribeners which are metal clips that link the system together. They link the climber to the rope, the rope to the friend and so on. On a bener one has a selection of nuts of various sizes and when you come across a crack you guess what size nut will fit that crack; you take the nut, slip it in from the top or the widest part of the crack and tug it down into the crack so that it jams. Should you fall on it, the force will pull that nut even more into the crack, holding your fall."
And now for something completely different. Two hundred and twenty horse power packed into this 16 foot frame, with looks to match the attitude: "The Sea-Doo Speedster. Sheer brawn. And what's more, I believe it's a jet. Twin jets in fact", shouts Greg above the roar of the powerful engine.
"This is the latest in design in jet boats," responds Ronnie. This boat is featured all over the world in different boat shows and is winning an amazing amount of respect for the design. It is not the normal, conventional boat. If you look at, it is all very rounded and ultra modern. Certain things come from cars - the windscreens are based on the Renault Esprit and there is nothing really normal about this particular jet boat. It can turn on a five cent coin - it is very dynamic and very responsive."
In the past, divers conserved their air supply by "trickle breathing": breathing in slowly, holding their breath for a while, and then exhaling as gently as possible,. But with the new rebreather, you can puff away like a steam engine, and you'll still have a plentiful supply. This is because most of the air you exhale is actually re-usable. Only a small percentage of exhaled breath contains poisonous gasses like carbon dioxide. The rebreather scrubs the poisonous gasses out of your exhaled air, and replenishes it with an additional bit of new oxygen, and sends it back to be inhaled again.
Commercial divers now no longer have to worry about re- surfacing every forty-five minutes. They can work in peace for as long as they need. Even a first timer can stay underwater for up to four hours. Another advantage is that the system is so quiet, you can get a lot closer to the fish and feel more at home in the water."