Abstract
This study aimed to clarify the differences in walking techniques between skilled and unskilled mountaineers through a speed-controlled stair walking experiment and gain useful knowledge for understanding and mastering walking techniques in mountaineering. The subjects were 2 males: an experienced mountaineer with instructional skills and the other was an unskilled mountaineer with little experience. In the experiment, subjects carried a backpack with 20% of their body weight and were instructed to walk up 11 steps of stairs at an ascent speed of 300 m/h, and their whole-body motions were recorded by a high-speed video camera （60fps） from the side. Kinematic data were calculated using data recorded with a motion capture system. The results are summarized below: 1) The skilled subject had a greater hip extension range compared to the unskilled. In addition, it was confirmed that the skilled one may have efficiently raised the center of gravity by using stretch-shortening cycle movement（SSC） . 2） The skilled subject had a stopping phase that suppressed the body’s center of gravity velocity after the foot of the forward-stepping leg touched the ground. It is considered that the accumulation of fatigue is suppressed, and the subject moves more efficiently by adding a phase of muscle relaxation during walking. 3） The skilled subject showed less plantar flexion of the ankle joint during the foot release of the back support leg. This may suppress the kicking motion that leads to falls in mountaineering and realize a highly stable walking motion. These results suggest that skilled mountaineers may achieve more efficient and stable walking movements than unskilled mountaineers, even when walking up stairs at the same height and speed.
