Climbing

A climber at the top of Malham Cove, Yorkshire Dales, UK

Climbing is going up, or, depending on context, also down. It may refer to aircraft, a land vehicle, and humans and animals. On land, in particular it refers to steep climbs, e.g. on a hill, mountain or stairs, in a pole or tree, etc.

Climbing without a vehicle is often done as a sport or recreation. Often the emphasis is on balance and agility over brute force. Climbing can take place outdoors on real rock faces, or indoors on synthetically constructed climbing walls.

All forms of climbing except some forms of solo climbing use a rope and some way of belaying the climber.

Nearly all climbers follow the known climbing routes in a certain climbing area that are described in guidebookss. The most experienced and adventurous will attempt to establish new routes and make the first ascents of them.

Table of contents

1 Categories by type of terrain
2 Different ways to ascend
3 Styles of climbing by type of protection
4 Competitions
5 Grading
6 See also

Categories by type of terrain

Mountaineering is climbing mountains and often involves rock or ice climbing.
Rock climbing is climbing on steep rocky terrain.
Bouldering is solo climbing on boulders.
Indoor climbing is climbing on artificial climbing walls.
Ice climbing is climbing on frozen water features.
Buildering (pun on bouldering) is climbing the outside of buildings.
Recreational tree climbing uses ropes, a saddle and other gear (no spikes or gaffs) to safely scale a tree without causing it harm.

Fourth Class Midshipmen of the US Navy lock arms and use ropes made from uniform items as they brace themselves against the Herndon Monument

Different ways to ascend

Aid climbing: any means of gettings yourself and your equipment up the rock face is permitted. You can place gear into cracks and features on the rock and pull on the gear or stand in it in order to achieve ascent. Aid climbing may be the only way (yet!) to climb some very steep terrain.
Free climbing: the only means of propelling yourself up the rock is your own body. Ropes and other gear are only used to protect the climb, they are not pulled on or weighted in order to actually climb.

Styles of climbing by type of protection

Traditional climbing where the leader places all protection. The climbing system is used to protect the climber against the consquences of a fall.
Sport climbing is climbing on routes that are protected mostly or entirely by boltss drilled into the rock. The protection is (generally) reliable, little equipment is needed. Generally people can push themselves more on sport routes.
Top-rope climbing uses a rope premounted at the top. It is popular for training.
Solo climbing is climbing without a partner. It can be done with a rope and a self-locking device (roped-solo) or without any form of protection at all (free-solo). Solo climbing is not to be confused with "free climbing".

Competitions

Competitions are usually held indoors on purpose built climbing walls. There are two main categories.

Rotpunkt: competitors climb the same route one after the other. The highest grip they are able to reach counts. A competition usually consists of 3 routes with ascending difficulty level.
Race to the top: on two identical routes, competitors race each other to the top. The first to reach the top wins.

As an additional handicap, a climber may have to climb a route on sight. This means he is not allowed to see other climbers try to climb the route, and has only a limited amount of time to visually inspect the climb from ground level.

Grading

There are different ranking systems for competitive climbers.

Climbers grade the difficulty of the routes they climb. The grading system used varies from country to country (and region) and according to the style of climb. See also grade (bouldering).