Climbing

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Climbing (disambiguation).

Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to move up the surface of a steep object. It is pursued both recreationally, either to get to a destination otherwise inaccessible or for its own enjoyment, and also professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.

Rock climbing, the scaling of steep rocky surfaces, is perhaps the most familiar sort of climbing; other types of climbing include ice climbing, tree climbing, buildering (climbing on the outside of buildings), rope climbing, and pole climbing.

Mountaineering, the general activity of ascending mountains, often requires the use of climbing techniques.

1 Types of climbing
2 Climbing system
3 Techniques
4 Rappelling
5 Grades
6 Access Issues
7 Climbing in popular culture
8 Climbing clubs
9 See also

[edit] Types of climbing

Image:Rock wall.JPG

Climbing may be divided into two broad categories: aid climbing and free climbing.

Aid climbing involves using artificial devices placed in the surface either as hand and footholds or to support body weight in other ways.
Free climbing requires that the climber use only natural features of the object as hand and footholds. Free climbing may be further subdivided as follows:
- Traditional lead climbing, or "Trad lead climbing", uses removable protection. The climbing team begans at the bottom of a climb and ascends to the top, with the leader placing protective devices as he or she climbs - an approach emphasising the exploratory aspect of the sport and requiring a certain amount of boldness. Trad climbing is considered by many to be the cleanest style, as the climber to follow the leader, called the cleaner, removes the protective devices and leaves but marginal traces if any at all of their passage.
- Sport lead climbing involves the use of pre-placed, permanent bolts for protection. This frees the leader of carrying so much gear, since he just clips in to the bolts with quickdraws. However, permanent protective devices, like bolts and fixed pitons, are subject to dislodgement or decay over time and thus may become an insidious hazard for a leader.
- Top rope climbing, or top-roping, involves suspending a rope from an anchor located at the top of a short climb. The climber is then safeguarded by a companion who holds the rope; the companion may be either at the top of the route or, more commonly, at the base.
- Bouldering is normally described as climbing short, severe routes on boulders or small outcrops. While ropes from above are occasionally used, most boulderers feel that the most ethical form of protection is a bouldering mat or pad similar to those used by gymnasts. This is the most gymnastically demanding form of rock climbing.
- Indoor climbing is a form of climbing that can involve bouldering, top roping, and leading in an indoor environment. For most it will be the easiest way to begin the sport. Climbing is done on a wood and plastic simulation of a rock, often in a dedicated "rock gym". Climbing competitions are held on artificial climbing walls.
- Free solo climbing is solitary climbing using only natural hand and footholds without protective gear.

Image:Ice-climbing.jpg

[edit] Climbing system

Main article: Climbing system

[edit] Techniques

Main article: Climbing techniques

[edit] Rappelling

Main article: Rappelling

Rappelling (Abseiling) is commonly accepted as being one of, if not the most dangerous part of climbing. The accident statistics support this view. One of the reasons is that many times on a descent or retreat people are tired and make mistakes. Another factor is that you are totally relying on your equipment to support your life instead of the normal method of using the rope as a back up to your climbing ability.

[edit] Grades

Main article: Grade (climbing)

Climbing communities in many countries, as well as individual regions, have developed their own climbing rating systems. Ratings are a method to communicate or record the consensus difficulty of climbs. The more refined systems exist in areas where the routes have been ascended many times, by many climbers. Nevertheless, the perceived difficulty of a climb may vary from person to person, depending upon individual strengths and weaknesses. For a climber very good at pulling on large holds, for example, a 5.11a "jug" route will probably seem a little easier than it would for another climber whose specialty is balance-climbing on small holds.

There are three considerations that are commonly addressed by a rating system:

How hard is the hardest move? (pure technical difficulty).

How sustained is the route? (how much stamina you need to climb the route).

How dangerous is the climb? (what the chance of injury is upon making a mistake whilst climbing)

Hiking, Bouldering, Roped free climbing, and Aid climbing all share these factors to one degree or another.

Many existing systems deal only with one or two of the factors cited above -- some emphasize the technical difficulty, some the endurance. Other systems (such as John Gill's "B" system) are partially based on the number of ascents the climb has had. The result is a complicated situation in which comparison of climbs from one region to another -- particularly if the types of rock differ -- can be tenuous. Go to the main article for details of the various systems, and a comparison chart.

Just for good measure there is one more scale to remember. A scale for how much time a route typically takes to complete.

[edit] Access Issues

Rock climbing is not necessarily allowed on any given rock formation. The regulations vary from place to place but trespass laws are the most common impediment to climbing. Even where physical access is not an issue, climbing might not be allowed due to public liability concerns. Land owners often ban climbing during particular seasons to protect, for example, nesting birds. There are several organisations devoted to opening up new areas, or protecting access to existing areas, for rock climbing. In the USA, the largest of these is The Access Fund. In the UK, an equivalent organisation is the British Mountaineering Council's Access and Conservation Trust.

Climbing on buildings and structures ("buildering") without the owner's consent is illegal in most cases.

Image:Climbing Tower.jpg

[edit] Climbing in popular culture

Climbing has been featured in many popular movies, such as Cliffhanger and Vertical Limit, but save for a few exceptions (The Eiger Sanction being one example) it is generally given an inaccurate portrayal by Hollywood and much of the popular media. The sport of rock climbing was swept up in the extreme sport craze in the late 1990s which led to images of rock climbers on everything from anti-perspirant and United States Marine Corps commercials, to college promotional materials.

[edit] Climbing clubs

Climbers often belong to Clubs, some of which were started in the very early days of the sport. Clubs are often responsible for the publication of Climbing Guides. The article Alpine Club lists some of these organizations.

In the UK and Ireland there are several prominent clubs, including: