Misplaced Pages

#122877

86-771: Glossary of climbing terms relates to rock climbing (including aid climbing , lead climbing , bouldering , and competition climbing ), mountaineering , and to ice climbing . The terms used can vary between different English-speaking countries; many of the phrases described here are particular to the United States and the United Kingdom. Also aid climbing grade . Also V-thread . Also assisted braking device . Also rappelling . Also active camming device or ACD Also IFAS grade , and UIAA Scale of Difficulty Also angel jumping , deepelling and rap jumping . Stepping on

172-409: A first ascent (or FA), whereas climbers who ascend a new route and do it without aid have made the more coveted first free ascent (FFA). As a further refinement, some have argued that when free climbing a specific route single-pitch route, 'highball bouldering' is a better "style" than 'traditional climbing', which is itself a better "style" than 'sport climbing'. A further refinement of "style"

258-403: A route setter . For the safety of the competitors, they must also clip their safety rope into the various quickdraws (that are attached to the bolts) while they ascend the route; failing to clip into a quickdraw terminates their climb at that position. In the wider sport of rock climbing, pre-bolted lead climbing routes are known as sport climbs (in contrast to traditional climbing , where

344-401: A 'layback' (see image) which involves using the legs and arms in opposing forces to ascend cracks in corners or dihedrals. Ascending corners naturally leads to the related technique of 'bridging' (also called 'stemming'), which involves spreading the legs to gain traction on the opposing walls of the corner. In places where the walls are completely opposing, the technique of bridging becomes

430-403: A certain time limit (usually 5 minutes in qualifiers and 4 minutes in finals). As in all bouldering, the competitors do not use a rope or any climbing protection , but crash pads that are laid across the ground for safety. Each individual boulder problem has an official start position with proscribed positions for all four of the competitor's limbs at the base of the problem. The competitor

516-1361: A hold while climbing on lead such that the rope is behind one's leg. This can be extremely hazardous as the rope can then flip the climber during a fall, increasing the likelihood of an impact to the head. Also tube chock . Also bivy or bivvy . Also hip belay . Also hanger . Also bomber . Also clean aid climbing grade . Also twist-lock carabiner , bent-gate carabiner . Also bash-in . Also chockstone . Also nut key or nut tool . See dynamic rope and static rope Also clipping in . Also head . Also cordage , accessory cord Also crimper . Also dry-tool climbing grade . Also snow anchor and T-slot Also psicobloc . Also rappel device . Also dex . Also half ropes . Also rope drag . Also drilled pitons . Also egyptian . Also knee drop . Also lolotte . Also DTS . Also shock absorber . Also siege tactics . Also false summit Also figure of four and figure-four move and yaniro Also figure of nine and figure-nine move Also figure-eight loop . Also finger lock . Also FA . Also FFA . Also FFFA . Also Fontainebleau grade . Rock climbing Rock climbing

602-434: A natural climbing route. However, many modern newcomers now start on the safest type, which is bouldering, and some of them never leave bouldering. Whereas outdoor climbing/mountaineering clubs were also an important pathway for instruction, many modern climbers now start by getting lessons at indoor climbing walls — in either bouldering or leading — and some then move on to competition climbing teams and never really appear in

688-626: A new artificial indoor climbing wall built in a corridor of Leeds University began to produce climbers who, after exclusively training as students on the wall, could climb some of the hardest routes in Britain when they ventured into the outdoor environment. This led to an explosion in indoor climbing that was further amplified by the rise of bolted sport climbing and of bouldering, which are also suited to indoor climbing. Modern indoor climbing walls and gyms include artificial versions of almost every type of obstacle and climbing hold encountered in

774-550: A precise hooking technique. Hooking is also used in competition climbing to gain a stable resting position, allowing the lactic acid to be shaken from the arms before carrying on. The 'heel-toe cam' is where a 'heel hook' and a 'toe hook' are used simultaneously to act like a 'jamming' technique (i.e. they keep each other in place by their opposing force), and is a regular requirement in competition lead climbing. The development of modern climbing routes which are typically severely overhanging (or with roofs), and which are now almost

860-692: A route onsight , however, a climber can spend years projecting a route before they make a redpoint ascent. Routes range from a few metres to over a 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in height, and traverses can reach 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) in length. They include slabs , faces , cracks and overhangs/roofs . Popular rock types are granite (e.g. El Capitan ), limestone (e.g. Verdon Gorge ), and sandstone (e.g. Saxon Switzerland ) but 43 types of climbable rock types have been identified. Artificial indoor climbing walls are popular and competition climbing — which takes place on artificial walls — became an Olympic sport in 2020 . Contemporary rock climbing

946-503: A route — either in retreat (e.g. self-rescue climbing ) or because they have completed it and there is no other way down. This requires the technique of abseiling (or rappelling in North America), where climbers use abseil devices to move down a fixed rope that has been anchored to a point at the top of the route. Climbing routes can range from just a few metres in height to over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). The higher

SECTION 10

#1732772404123

1032-593: A single medal event; this caused upset however it allowed the maximum number of disciplines to feature at the Olympics. During August 3–6, 2021, Alberto Ginés López and Janja Garnbret won the first-ever men's and women's Olympic climbing gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics , in the newly created combined event consisting of all three disciplines. After the Tokyo Olympics, it was announced that

1118-400: A standardised 'speed climbing wall' using a top rope on an auto belay , in the shortest time. The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) regulates and organizes the international competition climbing events, including the biennial IFSC Climbing World Championships , and the annual IFSC Climbing World Cup that is held as a series of events during the year. Competition climbing

1204-465: A strong tradition of climbing developed their own grading systems, a small number of grading systems have become internationally dominant for each type of climbing, which has contributed to the standardization of grades worldwide. For free climbing — in both traditional and sport climbing formats — the most dominant worldwide grading systems are the French system (e.g. ... 6b, 6c, 7a, 7b, 7c, ...), and

1290-428: A wide range of types and disciplines that vary with the style being adopted on the specific climbing route , the length and number of pitches of the route, the level and type of climbing protection that will be employed on the route, and whether the climb is in a competition climbing format. A climb can involve a combination of several types depending on the skill and risk appetite of the climber(s). For example,

1376-677: Is 9c  (5.15d), and the hardest bouldering grade is V17  (9A). The main types of rock climbing can trace their origins to late 19th-century Europe, with bouldering in Fontainebleau , big wall climbing in the Dolomites , and single-pitch climbing in both the Lake District and in Saxony . Climbing ethics initially focused on "fair means" and the transition from aid climbing to free climbing and latterly to clean climbing ;

1462-437: Is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are chronicled in guidebooks , and on online databases, with the details of how to climb the route (called the beta ), and who made the first ascent (or FA) and the coveted first free ascent (or FFA). Climbers will try to ascend

1548-399: Is a free climb by a climber who had never seen the route beforehand, and had never been told about its challenges and how to overcome them (called the beta ). If such a climber completes the route on their first attempt it is called an onsight . Where the climber had never seen the route beforehand but had been given beta on it, it is called a flash . A free climb where the climber attempts

1634-500: Is also the most successful lead competition climber, Levet also is the most successful bouldering competition climber, and Russian climber Tatiana Ruyga is the most successful speed competition climber. As of 2023, Garnbret is the most dominant competition climber, male or female, of all time. As competition climbing developed in the 1980s, some of the leading sport climbers largely ignored it to focus on setting new grade milestones in sport climbing. German climber Wolfgang Güllich ,

1720-415: Is associated with the development of training tools such as the hangboard that increase the tendon strength needed for crimping; however, it is also a source of tendon injury. Crimping and edging are most associated with ' face climbing ' where there are no big features on which to 'layback' or to 'bridge', and no cracks in which to 'jam'. They can also feature in traversing as was dramatically shown on

1806-724: Is focused on free climbing where — unlike with aid climbing — no mechanical aids can be used to assist with upward momentum. Free-climbing includes the discipline of bouldering on short 5-metre (16 ft) routes, of single-pitch climbing on up to 60–70-metre (200–230 ft) routes, and of multi-pitch climbing — and big wall climbing — on routes of up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). Free-climbing can be done as free solo climbing with no climbing protection whatsoever, or as lead climbing that uses either removable temporary protection (called traditional climbing ), or permanently fixed bolted protection (called sport climbing ). The evolution in technical milestones in rock climbing

SECTION 20

#1732772404123

1892-403: Is judged to have completed the boulder problem when they have placed their two hands on the explicitly marked "top" hold and held it long enough to receive confirmation from the judge. In addition to the top hold, "zone holds" are located at the mid-point of the problem, which if secured, earn a half point, in lieu of failing to earn a full point by "topping". As with competition lead climbing,

1978-759: Is known for its detailed holds and cracks (e.g Malham Cove , Céüse , and the Verdon Gorge ), and on sandstone, which can have sculpted features (e.g. Indian Creek , Saxon Switzerland , Rocklands , and Fontainebleau ). However, climbing areas have been identified on over 43 climbable rock types including on gritstone (e.g. Stanage Edge ), on slate (e.g. Dinorwic quarry ), on dolorite (e.g. Fair Head ), on iron rock (e.g. Hueco Tanks ), on gneiss (e.g. Magic Wood  [ fr ] ), on dolomite (e.g. Tri Cime ), on monzonite (e.g., The Buttermilks ), and on quartzite (e.g. Mount Arapiles ). Climbers also differentiate routes by challenges encountered and

2064-580: Is most associated with ' slab climbing ' where the ability to 'smear' is essential because of the smooth and featureless nature of the surface. One of the most notable exponents of the 'smearing' technique is Welch climber Johnny Dawes who used smearing it to create some of the hardest traditional slab climbs in the world such as the Indian Face and The Quarryman . Dawes is also noted for his unique "no-hands demonstrations" where he climbs extreme-graded rock climbing routes but uses only his feet and

2150-413: Is most commonly done by pairs using lead climbing , they have both been rope solo climbed , simul climbed (particularly for setting speed climbing records), and only Freerider has been free solo climbed (see photo). The broad range of types is also helpful in giving novice climbers alternative paths into the sport. Once, the main pathway was starting as a 'belayer' to an outdoor lead climber on

2236-467: Is needed, and it is length that differentiates the three major disciplines of rock climbing which are: The type of climbing protection employed also materially influences the type of rock climbing techniques used on a climbing route, regardless of whether it is single-pitch or multi-pitch (or big wall); protection doesn't apply to bouldering as none is used. The following broad distinctions are made in rock climbing types, which have been split into whether

2322-434: Is the most successful lead competition climber, Austrian climber Kilian Fischhuber is the most successful bouldering competition climber, and Chinese climber Zhong Qixin is the most successful speed competition climber. As of 2023, the most successful overall female competition climber in history is Slovenian climber Janja Garnbret , followed by French climber Sandrine Levet , and Austrian climber Angela Eiter . Garnbret

2408-541: Is tied to the development in rock-climbing equipment (e.g. rubber shoes , spring-loaded camming devices , and campus boards ) and of rock-climbing technique (e.g. jamming, crimping, and smearing). The most dominant grading systems worldwide are the 'French numerical' and 'American YDS' systems for lead climbing, and the V-grade and the Font-grade for bouldering. As of October 2024, the hardest lead climbing grade

2494-408: The 'belayer' will lock the rope, and the 'lead climber' will fall until they hang from the last 'protection device' that they had clipped the rope into. This protection can be removable (which is called traditional climbing ), or permanently fixed into the rock (which is called sport climbing ). If the 'lead climber' falls, the 'belayer' will immediately lock the rope using their belay device, and

2580-412: The 2024 Paris Olympics would only combine lead climbing and bouldering into a single medal event, with speed climbing as a standalone medal event. In competition lead climbing, the competitors have 6 minutes to climb a 15-metre (49 ft) challenging, and usually significantly overhanging, pre-bolted sport climbing route (with pre-placed quickdraws for their protection), which was constructed by

2666-540: The American system (e.g. ... 5.9, 5.10a, 5.10b, 5.10c, 5.10d, 5.11a, ...). The UIAA system (e.g. ... VII, VIII, IX, X, ...) is popular in Germany and central Europe. Above the lowest grades, these three systems can be exactly aligned at each level. For example, Silence is graded 9c (French), 5.15d (American), and XII+ (UIAA). Competition climbing In competition lead climbing , competitors start at

Glossary of climbing terms - Misplaced Pages Continue

2752-545: The Trango Towers , present additional physical challenges. Traversing routes, by their horizontal nature, can extend to great distances, and the world's longest rock climb is the 4,500-metre (14,800 ft) El Capitan Girdle Traverse on El Capitan . Famous routes have been created on almost every climbable rock type, and particularly so on granite , which is noted for its grip and large cracks (e.g. El Capitan , Joshua Tree or Squamish ), on limestone , which

2838-494: The techniques required to overcome them. Some of the earliest rock climbs were smooth off-vertical ' slab climbs ' where balance and shoe grip (or 'smearing') were key; famous modern examples include Indian Face in the UK. Climbers then acquired the techniques to ascend near-vertical ' crack climbs ' by 'laybacking', 'bridging', and 'jamming'; famous examples include Super Crack , The Phoenix and Grand Illusion (all in

2924-399: The 'belayer' held the rope fast — which they would have to do manually by looping the rope around their waist — the 'lead climber' would hang from the rope if it had stayed looped around a spike of rock — if it didn't, they fell to the ground. Modern rock climbers use mechanical protection devices placed along the route, into which the 'lead climber' clips the rope as they ascend; if they fall,

3010-431: The 'lead climber' is forced to leave large gaps between protection points — called a runout — so that any fall will be large (called a whipper ). The wide variety of types of rock climbing offers safer ways for beginners to access the sport before learning to lead climb, including top roping and bouldering . Finally, while rock climbing mostly involves ascending a route, climbers might also need to be able to descend

3096-409: The 'lead climber' will fall twice the distance that they are above their last piece of climbing protection. If this piece of climbing protection fails — a risk of traditional climbing — and rips away from the rock, they will keep falling until their next piece of protection holds the rope (a zipper fall is where several pieces fail). On some routes, the opportunities for placing protection are poor so

3182-472: The 2024 Olympics , boulder-and-lead combined and speed climbing were held as separate events. On 3 February 2022, the IOC designated sport climbing as a core Summer Olympic sport starting with the 2028 Olympics . As of 2023, the most successful overall male competition climber in history is Austrian climber Jakob Schubert , followed by Czech climber Adam Ondra , and French climber François Legrand . Legrand

3268-526: The ICCC added bouldering and speed climbing as new events. In 2007, the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) took over the governance of the sport and its two major competitions, the annual Climbing World Cup and the biennial Climbing World Championships ; it debuted as a full Olympic-medal sport in 2020: The rock-climbing equipment needed varies quite significantly with

3354-795: The US). Climbers then took on blank vertical ' face climbs ' by 'crimping' and 'edging' on tiny holds, which required bolts drilled into the rock for their climbing protection; famous face routes include The Face  [ de ] and Wallstreet  [ de ] (Germany), La Rage de Vivre and Super Plafond (France), and To Bolt or Not to Be and Just Do It (the US). Eventually, they migrated to routes that were also severely and continually overhanging and which required 'dynos' (or jumps) to reach holds; famous examples include Action Directe (Germany), Realization/Biographie (France), La Rambla (Spain), Jumbo Love (the US), La Dura Dura (Spain) and Silence (Norway). In 1964,

3440-788: The beta information between online databases. Important new first ascents are also chronicled and discussed in specialist rock climbing media, including climbing magazines and climbing journals with notable examples including Alpinist , and Climbing , which are read globally. These are supplemented by popular online climbing websites such as UK Climbing and PlanetMountain , as well as country-level specialist rock climbing magazines such as Desnivel (in Spanish), Grimper  [ fr ] (in French) and Klettern  [ de ] (in German). The sport of rock climbing includes

3526-490: The bottom of a pre-bolted sport climbing route and lead-climb to touch or secure the highest climbing hold possible within a set time limit on a single attempt, making sure to clip the rope into pre-placed quickdraws while ascending. In competition bouldering , competitors climb short bouldering problems without a rope, with an emphasis on the number of problems completed, and the attempts necessary to do so. In competition speed climbing , competitors race-off in pairs on

Glossary of climbing terms - Misplaced Pages Continue

3612-493: The bottom); if in addition, they had "used" that hold to make a controlled movement for the next hold before falling, a "+" is added to their score. For example, falling while secured on hold 34, while reaching for hold 35, earns a score of "34+". Between rounds, the competitors are collectively given 6 minutes to inspect — but not attempt or practice — the next route. After the brief inspection, they are kept in an isolation area to prevent them from observing other competitors on

3698-556: The climber is free climbing. With the development of the safer form of sport climbing in the 1980s, lead climbing competitions on bolted artificial climbing walls became popular. In 1988, the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA) created rules and created the International Council for Competition Climbing  [ de ] (ICCC) to regulate competition climbing , and in 1998,

3784-440: The climber places the protection equipment), confusingly however, "competition climbing" is sometimes also called "sport climbing", even though it also has bouldering and speed climbing. The climber is allowed one single attempt at the route. Their score on the route is determined by the highest artificial hold number that they "controlled" before falling (i.e. all the artificial holds on the wall are numbered, starting with 1 at

3870-490: The clock. Each competitor during qualification races twice — once in each Lane — and the eight fastest competitors, using their best time, reach the finals. In the finals, competitors race against each other in elimination rounds, with the winner, regardless of time, advancing until the ultimate winner is decided. Over the years, two different combinations of disciplines have comprised the combined format. They can either be held as additional competitions or be calculated from

3956-448: The competitors cannot see each other's attempts which would help them to learn route's beta. The climber's score is determined by the overall number of routes "topped", the most "zone holds" reached, and the number of attempts needed. Where two climbers have the same score (i.e. "tops" plus "zones"), the number of "tops" takes precedence, and where they are still level, the fewest attempts takes precedence. In competition speed climbing,

4042-600: The competitors must ascend a 15-metre (49 ft), slightly overhanging, standardised climbing wall, where, unlike leading climbing or bouldering, the holds are always the exact same size and placed in the exact same location. As the emphasis is on speed, the climbers do not have the time to clip into quickdraws (as per competition lead climbing) and instead use an auto-belay top rope for climbing protection. In qualification, competitors race in pairs in Lane A and Lane B, however, they are not racing against each other, but against

4128-439: The conservation of energy and thus climb efficiently. Where possible, the arms should be kept straight, thus holding the body weight on the joints and not on flexed arm muscles, with the 'climbing' driven by the stronger legs. The hips should be kept close to the wall, which often involves the technique of 'back-stepping', where instead of the climber using their big toe to 'toe-into' a foot-hold, they rotate their hips and use

4214-420: The crux pitch of the famous Dawn Wall route in the film, The Dawn Wall . Many of the hardest modern routes feature painful micro-crimps from which the climber must launch a small "dyno" (i.e. a jump or lunge) to reach the next micro-crimps. Notable examples include the crux of the sport climbing route, La Dura Dura , and the crux of the bouldering problem, Burden of Dreams . 'Hooking' involves using

4300-552: The even more spectacular technique of 'chimneying'. Laybacking and bridging enabled rock climbers to ascend dramatic new types of specialist climbing routes that typically combined the corners and cracks needed for these techniques to work. Famous early examples include Joe Brown 's Cenotaph Corner in 1952 in Dinas Cromlech in Wales. Notable modern examples of routes that require advanced laybacking and bridging include

4386-463: The famous neighbouring El Capitan routes of The Nose and Freerider both require big wall climbing techniques as they are over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) high. They can be ascended using aid climbing (on either all or just on the hardest pitches of the route) or can be fully free climbed ( The Nose is much harder and only rarely free climbed). As both are not bolted, they require traditional climbing protection to be inserted, and while it

SECTION 50

#1732772404123

4472-572: The first internationally recognized competition climbing event was held at Sportroccia , which later became the annual Rock Master competition. These were annual lead climbing competitions held outdoors on natural rock surfaces and their first winners were Stefan Glowacz , Patrick Edlinger and Catherine Destivelle . In 1988–89, the French Federation and Paul Brasset convinced the UIAA to regulate and administer competition climbing; it

4558-408: The hardest technical grades climbed in the outdoor natural environment. The ever-growing volume and range of new rock climbing routes are recorded via specialist diagrams called topos , which are collated in climbing guidebooks and more latterly on large online rock climbing databases such as theCrag.com and MountainProject.com . Guidebooks and databases record the local consensus view on

4644-404: The highest hold controlled by the climber, minus 0.1 points for each attempt needed to reach that hold. On the lead route, the last ten holds from the top are worth 4 points each, the 10 before those 3 points each etc. If the last hold reached is not only controlled but used to progress along the route, 0.1 points will be added to the score. The scores of each round are added with the competitor with

4730-410: The highest score as the winner. The most important competition climbing events are administered by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC): Climbing was included for the first time in the 2020 Olympics as an additional sport. The decision to combine three disciplines of lead, boulder and speed climbing into a single event had caused widespread criticism in the climbing world. In

4816-400: The holds became smaller and smaller, until they were barely large enough to accommodate the tips of fingers of the smallest part of a toe. 'Crimping' means holding the fingers in a tight line to hold onto the smallest holds, while 'edging' involves a similar process but with the "edges" of the climbing shoe. A related technique is that of 'pinching' which is used on even smaller holds. Crimping

4902-405: The legs and feet to grab — or "hook" — onto features on the rock. While hooking is a long-standing technique in rock climbing, competition climbers need to be able to master every type of hook including "toe hooks", "heel hooks" and "leg hooks" when trying to overcome the challenges of route setters, who have developed particular challenges on artificial climbing walls that can only be overcome with

4988-410: The level of difficulty of the routes, however, where this is materially lower than the actual difficulty of the routes, it is termed sandbagging . The individual moves needed to complete a given rock climbing route are called the beta , and popular rock climbing routes have detailed step-by-step video guides of their beta available online, and which has led to legal disputes over the ownership of

5074-399: The micro-cracks of Rhapsody . 'Smearing' involves using the rubber grip of the climbing shoes to gain purchase on a featureless rock face with no edges or holds to step on. The advent of specialist rubber-soled climbing shoes dramatically increased the surfaces that climbers could "smear" on. While the technique is used to some degree on almost every type of rock climbing route, it

5160-457: The mid-1980s, which is a type of rock climbing where the climbing protection is pre-bolted into the climbing route , so the climber does not have to worry about their safety while ascending. Some were reticent about the ethics of competitive climbing, and in early 1985, several leading climbers signed the Manifeste des 19  [ fr ] , rejecting the concept. However, later in 1985,

5246-439: The much-photographed crux-pitch of the big wall route, Pre-Muir Wall , on El Capitan, and the groove-pitch of the multi-pitch route, The Quarryman , in Wales. One of the most important revolutions in rock climbing technique was the development of 'jamming'. This involves placing — or "jamming" — the climber's body parts into cracks in the rock which they then pull on to gain upward momentum. Jamming brought free climbing to

SECTION 60

#1732772404123

5332-557: The natural environment. Artificial walls include novel features such as volume holds and sloper holds , which indoor route setters use to challenge climbers in very specific and unusual ways. As most competition climbing events are held on indoor walls, many contemporary climbers have spent their careers training and competing on artificial indoor walls. This revolution in the design of indoor climbing holds has affected how climbers now approach outdoor routes. Modern indoor walls can have their routes graded for technical difficulty in

5418-432: The outdoor environment. The wide range of types has helped more people access the sport in the way that best suits them. In rock climbing, the term "style" principally refers to whether the climber used any artificial aid to help them to ascend the climbing route, which is called aid climbing , or whether they used no aid whatsoever, which is called free climbing . Climbers who ascend a new route but using aid have made

5504-434: The outside edge of their opposite leg; this gives them greater upward reach while keeping their hips close to the rock face. Linked to 'back-stepping' is the use of the free leg as a counter-balance to avoid the climber swinging away from the rock, and to support other movements, which is called 'flagging'. Good climbing technique emphasizes the use of the legs to hold body weight and to gain upward momentum, which includes

5590-477: The overall result, an athletes ranks in each of the three competitions were multiplied, leaving the competitor with the lowest score as the winner. For the 2024 Olympics two medals per gender were allocated. Speed climbing is now separate from the Boulder & Lead competition. Each of the four boulders features two zones worth 5 and 10 points respectively, and a top worth 25 points. Points are awarded for

5676-489: The photographic sandstone 'splitter cracks' of Indian Creek such as on the famous crack climbing route, Supercrack . Finger jamming was also used to open harder routes up very thin cracks on many rock types around the world, and remains an important technique on the world's hardest traditional climbing routes — where cracks are needed to insert the temporary climbing protection — with notable examples such as on Cobra Crack (and its famous and painful one-finger jam) and on

5762-528: The related big wall climbing, adds devices to assist in ascending and descending fixed ropes . Finally, aid climbing uses unique equipment to assist the climber in their upward movement (e.g. aiders ). The equipment used in rock climbing can be grouped into the following categories: The development of rock-climbing techniques was as important as the development of rock-climbing equipment in increasing standards and reaching new grade milestones. Several techniques were particularly notable for their impact on

5848-510: The results of the other events. The IFSC combined all three events into one competition from 2017 to 2021, after which they split out speed but kept boulder and lead in a combined format. As sport climbing was allocated only a single medal per gender at its Olympic debut in 2020 , the IFSC opted to merge lead, boulder and speed into a single format, first held at the 2017 Climbing Youth World Championships. Individual rounds were scored as usual. For

5934-436: The rope if the 'lead climber' falls. Once the 'lead climber' reaches the top, they create an anchor from which they can act as the 'belayer' (but from above), controlling the rope while the 'second' ascends. Another key concept is that of climbing protection (or 'gear' or 'rack'). Early 20th-century rock climbers relied on the 'lead climber' looping the rope around natural spikes of rock as they ascended. If they fell, and

6020-544: The route and collecting its beta (which would help them to flash the route); they are thus effectively lead climbing the artificial route as an onsight , which is the most difficult way to ascend a new route. In competition bouldering, the competitors have to "solve" multiple short 4.5-metre (15 ft) bouldering problems over a set time period, with the fewest falls. In contrast to lead climbing, these boulder problems are more complex, but each boulder problem can be attempted multiple times – with repeated falls – within

6106-426: The route and overcome its challenges with a rope attached to their harness. The other member — the 'belayer' (or 'second') — will remain standing at the base of the route but controlling the other end of the rope, which is called belaying . The 'belayer' uses a mechanical belay device to attach the rope to their harness from which they can 'pay-out' the rope as the 'lead climber' ascends but with which they can lock

6192-442: The route many times before finally ascending it is called a redpoint ; most major new FFAs in rock climbing are done as redpoints. In 2021, German climber Alexander Megos expanded that "style" in rock climbing should include a detailed understanding of the conditions in which an ascent was made, saying "It seems like the climbing community is not differentiating at all and rarely mentioning HOW things are climbed". He felt this

6278-452: The route that is being undertaken and the type of climbing that is being followed. For example, bouldering needs the least equipment outside of climbing shoes , climbing chalk , and optional crash pads . Sport climbing adds ropes , harnesses , belay devices , and quickdraws to clip into pre-drilled bolts . Traditional climbing adds the need to carry a "rack" of temporary passive and active protection devices . Multi-pitch climbing, and

6364-444: The route, the greater the danger and the greater range of techniques and equipment needed, however, the technical difficulty of a route is not correlated to its height. Climbers have spent as many years trying to ascend 4-metre (13 ft) routes such as Burden of Dreams , as they have on 1,000-metre (3,300 ft) routes like The Nose . Rock climbing routes at high-altitude, such as on big wall routes like Eternal Flame on

6450-546: The same manner as outdoor natural routes. The MoonBoard climbing wall has a 'grid' of 200 climbing holds that can be climbed in over 50,000 sequences, with sequences created and graded by an online community. Even the 2024 Olympic artificial climbing walls were graded with the women's walls at up to 5.14c  (8c+) for lead and V12  (8A+) for bouldering, and the men's walls at up to 5.14d  (9a) for lead and V14  (8B+) for bouldering. Artificial walls have been created that have been estimated to be at or above

6536-602: The smearing technique for upward momentum. 'Palming' is smearing with the open hands, and is used on smooth holds that cannot be gripped by the fingers, which are called 'slopers'. Palming is also often used when 'bridging' and 'chimneying' where the hands are pushing against the rock surfaces. The extensive use of large volume holds (also sloper holds) by route setters in competition lead climbing and competition bouldering has also made 'smearing' and 'palming' an important technique for contemporary competition climbers (see photo). As climbers tried harder and harder routes,

6622-456: The sport — and on particular types of climbing routes — and are key for any aspiring rock climber to master. The development of route setters in competition climbing , who can artificially fine-tune a route to require the accurate use of specific techniques, has further increased the range of techniques that contemporary rock climbers need to master. Rock-climbing technique is built on having an effective body position and balance to maximize

6708-524: The standard in the main competition lead climbing events, has led to greater emphasis and refinement of many more advanced techniques, notable of which are: Climbing routes in rock climbing are given a grade that reflects the technical difficulty—and in some cases the risks and commitment level—of the route. The first ascensionist can suggest a grade, but it will be amended to reflect the consensus view of subsequent ascents, and recorded in online databased or physical guidebooks . While many countries with

6794-555: The strongest sport climber of that era, avoided the climbing competition circuit throughout his career saying: "competitions are good for earning money, I see it as nothing more". In 1990, British leading climber Jerry Moffatt retired early from a promising competition climbing career saying: "I no longer had energy the energy to keep it all up. I wanted to get myself back again. I wanted to see my friends. I wanted to climb for myself. I wanted to do first ascents . Most of all I wanted to have fun". In 2001, American climber Chris Sharma ,

6880-426: The technique of 'high-stepping' (i.e. lifting the feet above the waistline), which can be combined with 'heel hooking' (see image below), and the technique of 'rock-over' / 'rock-on' weight-transfer movements (i.e. transferring the weight to the higher leg but without explicitly pulling up on the arms). Early rock climbers began to distinguish themselves from general mountaineering scrambling techniques by executing

6966-502: The use of bolted protection on outdoor routes is a source of ongoing debate in climbing. The sport's profile was increased when lead climbing, bouldering, and speed climbing became medal events in the Summer Olympics, and with the popularity of films such as Free Solo and The Dawn Wall . A key concept in many types of rock climbing is that of the ' lead climbing pair '. One member — the 'lead climber' — will try to climb

7052-482: The world of ' crack climbing ', and rock climbers developed the technique for almost every body part, including the "body jam" (i.e. the whole body in the crack), the "arm jam", the "hand/fist jam", the "toe jam", and the "finger jam". Jamming techniques were notably employed on the long granite cracks of El Capitan, where they were used to free up important routes such as The Nose and The Salathe Wall , as well as on

7138-423: Was a particular concern in bouldering where the use of knee pads and whether the climb was commenced as a full sit start (and from what point), can affect the technical difficulty of the climb, and needed to be recorded alongside the ascent of the route itself. The length of the climbing route materially influences the type of rock-climbing techniques that can be used and the type of rock-climbing equipment that

7224-599: Was added to the World Games . In 2006–07, the UIAA ceded governance of competition climbing to a newly formed International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) that the International Olympic Committee provisionally recognised. In August 2016, the IOC announced that competition climbing would be a sport in the 2020 Summer Olympics , but that lead, boulder, and speed would be combined into

7310-591: Was agreed that events would be held on indoor artificial climbing walls. In 1989, the first UIAA Climbing World Cup was held over seven events around the world. In 1991, the first biennial UIAA World Climbing Championships was held in Frankfurt. In 1992, the first UIAA Climbing World Youth Championships was held in Basel. In 1998, bouldering and speed climbing were added alongside lead climbing for UIAA competition climbing events. In 2005, competition climbing

7396-495: Was featured at the Summer Olympics for the first time in 2020 , in a once-off single combined format per gender, with the results based on a combination of lead climbing, bouldering, and speed climbing performances. The format for climbing at the 2024 Olympics has speed climbing as a standalone event, although lead and boulder are still a combined event. Competition climbing dates from the arrival of sport climbing in

#122877