Rock climbing
Rock climbing is a sport where someone uses their hands and feet to climb up a rock or an artificial climbing wall. Rock climbing is a difficult sport because you need to have a lot of strength. Rock climbers must know how to use ropes, carabiners and harnesses for their own safety.
Types of rock climbing
Because of many different kinds of rocks around the world, many different kinds of climbing started.
- Solo climbing is where the climber's own physical strength and skill are relied on to do the climb.[1] Anchors, ropes and protection are used to back up the climber, but are only there in case of a fall and are not actively used to help the person do the climb.
- Bouldering is climbing on short, low walls (usually less than 5 meters tall) To boulder, one does not need to use safety equipment. Special mats are used to cushion the drop.
- Free solo climbing is when a climber climbs alone, without somebody belaying them. Free soloing is climbing alone without the use of any rope or protection system whatsoever.
- Lead climbing is used when the rope is not on top yet. The person must tie the rope to their harness and then climb up the wall. On the way the climber puts the rope through a carabiner every few metres. Here the person at the bottom must use a belay device, and feed rope up to the climber. This is unlike top roping, where the belayer instead takes up rope using a belay device.
- Top roping is when the rope is already anchored at the top of the route. Safety equipment is needed here but many people say this kind is the safest. The belayer must only keep the rope tight by using a knot or a belay device, like a Grigri or Atc.
- Auto belay climbing
Rock Climbing Media
Traditional climber lead climbing a crack route in Indian Creek, Utah.
'Lead climbing pair' with the 'leader' carrying a 'rack' of removable traditional protection gear, and the 'belayer' standing below
Topo image of the Toix Est in Costa Blanca in Spain in a Rockfax guidebook
Alex Honnold's famous 2017 free solo of the big wall route, Freerider (5.13a, 7c+), on El Capitan
Jonathan Siegrist on the FFA of Spectrum Template:Climbing grade, Red Rocks, Nevada.
7a in Verdon credit photo Robï Bosch
Wspinaczka techniką sztucznych ułatwień na Kościelec.
Rock climber with a helmet, harness & rope, and a traditional climbing "rack" of protection devices on their harness and additional gear sling, which contains SLCDs, nuts, a tricam, and quickdraws
Silence is 9c (French), 5.15d (American YDS), and XII+ (UIAA)
Climber using knee pads to execute a knee-bar on a boulder.
References
- ↑ Pesterfield, Heidi (2011). Traditional Lead Climbing: A Rock Climber's Guide to Taking the Sharp End of the Rope (2nd ed.). Wilderness Press. p. 11. ISBN 9780899975597.
Other websites
Media related to Rock climbing at Wikimedia Commons
