The sport of climbing originated here, on the cliffs at Wasdale Head in the late
19th Century. Today, you can choose between beginners' courses and expert challenges, on indoor walls, or outdoor on an unrivalled variety of
terrain.
From the gritstone of the Pennines to the sandstone sea cliffs of the west coast, from volcanic crags to limestone outcrops, Cumbria
offers traditional and sports climbing to suit every style and grade of difficulty. Scale the remote heights of Scafell or the easy-access
roadside climbs in Borrowdale, go bouldering at Langdale or take on the quarries at Hodge Close and Parrock. Special winter routes have even been
developed at New Dollywagon south of Helvellyn.
Climbing covers a range of recreational, adventurous or sporting activities involving using one's hands and feet to move
up the surface of a steep object. Evolving from the pursuit of mountaineering, rock climbing is the scaling of steep rocky surfaces,
usually using ropes and other climbing equipment for protection.
Rock climbing can be subdivided into free climbing (where ropes and gear are used strictly for safety in the case of a fall), and aid
climbing, where a passage up a piece of rock is engineered by using equipment placed in the rock for upward progress.
People have been climbing mountains recreationally since the early 1700s. The use of a rope in mountain climbing started in the mid-1800s in
Europe. At this time the rule was the leader (one who climbs first on the rope) - usually a professional guide - must not fall. This was a fairly
straightforward rule as the ropes and techniques of the day meant that a lead fall would most likely be fatal. By the early 1900s climbers in
Saxony were using ropes in a somewhat more efficient manner - threading them through occasional iron safety rings embedded in the rock - in their
attempts to protect dangerous leads.