Halliday, Resnick & Walker — Equilibrium and Elasticity: Problem Problem_36

Figure 12.36 shows a 70 kg climber hanging by only the crimp hold of one hand on the edge of a shallow horizontal ledge in a rock wall. (The fingers are pressed down to gain purchase.) Her feet touch the rock wall at distance \( H = 2.0\text{ m} \) directly below her crimped fingers but do not provide any support. Her center of mass is distance \( a = 0.20\text{ m} \) from the wall. Assume that the force from the ledge supporting her fingers is equally shared by the four fingers. What are the values of the (a) horizontal component \( F_h \) and (b) vertical component \( F_v \) of the force on each fingertip?