Lake District Sports - Types of Climbing

Types of climbing

Traditional climbing.

The most common type of Lake District Climbing. Before the advent of sport climbing, traditional climbing (trad) was rock climbing. Traditional climbing ethics emphasize the skills necessary for putting routes up in the first place. Route finding, gear placements, self control, and good downclimbing skills are all essential. It is a style of rock climbing in which routes are climbed from the bottom up, preferably first try, using just the climbers' body to progress up the rock. The protection is placed by the lead climber as they ascend, and used solely to catch the climber in the event of a fall, rather than to aid upward progress. It is a form of free climbing. An exception to the above description are bolted face climbs which were put up in the trad style and tend to be on the scary side. Repeats on a route such as the world renowned Bachar-Yerian 5.11c are still rare.

Traditional climbing emphasizes the adventure aspect of rock climbing -- in fact, it is sometimes called "adventure climbing" in Australia; as such it contrasts with sport climbing, which emphasizes the athletic aspect.

Sport climbing is a style of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors fixed to the rock, especially bolts, for protection. The term is used in opposition to traditional climbing or top roping. Again, a common form of Lake District Climbing.

The activity emphasizes the gymnastic and athletic aspects of climbing and can be undertaken with relatively little equipment (provided that someone else has equipped the route with bolts). Typically, personal equipment required for sport climbing includes a dynamic rope (up to 70 m/200 ft), quickdraws, a few runners, and a variety of standard and locking carabiners.

To "lead" a sport climb is to climb a route with a rope tied to the climbing harness with the loose end handled by the belayer. As each bolt is reached along the route, a quickdraw is clipped to the bolt, and the rope clipped to the hanging end of the quickdraw. This bolt is now 'protecting' the climber from falling. At the top of each sport route, there is usually some kind of anchor that can consist of a variety of equipment, but will generally provide at least two points of attachment for the final pieces of protection. Once the final anchor is equipped and the rope clipped to it, the sport climb can be top-roped, or "cleaned" of all equipment for the next climber to lead. The most practical place for most people to learn the proper techniques for sport climbing and the required "lead belaying" is a rock climbing gym with qualified, trained instructors.

The emphasis that it places on strength and stamina led to a significant improvement in standards among the top climbers.

Bouldering is a type of climbing undertaken without a rope and is normally limited in respect to the height the climber ascends the route so that any fall will not risk significant injury. This variation of climbing can be practiced on large boulders, at the base of larger rock faces/climbing routes, in indoor climbing centres, or even on manmade structures (see buildering). Its documented origins may be found in the United Kingdom and France in the last quarter of the 19th century, according to John Gill's website. The British coined the word bouldering at that time. For many years, bouldering was usually practiced as training for climbers, although, in the 1930s and late 1940s, Pierre Allain and his companions enjoyed bouldering for its own sake in Fontainebleau . However, the first climber to actually make bouldering his primary specialty and to advocate its acceptance as a legitimate sport not restricted to a particular area (1950s) was Mr. Gill, an amateur gymnast who found the challenge & movement of bouldering enjoyable. (See his article, The Art of Bouldering, in The Journal of the American Alpine Club, 1969)

Typically bouldering is a more high impact sport focusing on individual moves rather than the endurance required in traditional climbing or sport climbing. Boulder routes are most commonly referred to as problems (another British appellation), because the nature of the climb is often short, curious, and much like problem solving. Sometimes these problems are "eliminates", meaning certain artificial restrictions are imposed. As in other types of climbing there are entire grading systems for bouldering alone. The most commonly used grading systems are the John Sherman V-grade system, beginning at V0 and increasing by integers to a current achievement of V16 (The Wheel of Life by Dai Koyamada in the Grampians, Australia), and the Fontainebleau system which ranges from 1 to 8c+. Both scales are open-ended at the top, and thus the upper grade of these systems increases as boulderers ascend more difficult problems.

To reduce the risk of injury after a fall, climbers rarely go higher than a few meters above the ground (anything over 7 meters is generally considered to be free-soloing although such climbs might also be termed high-ball bouldering problems). They may also put a crash pad/bouldering mat on the ground to break their fall and/or assign a spotter, a person standing on the ground to prevent the climber from landing badly. The spotter generally works to direct the climber's body toward the crashpad during a fall, while protecting the climber's head from hazards.

The region around Fontainebleau near Paris is particularly famous for its beautiful and concentrated bouldering sites. Well known areas include Stanage (UK), Dover Island (Canada), Hueco Tanks (Texas), Castle Hill, New Zealand, and Bishop, California amongst others.

Bouldering is continually gaining in popularity, partly as evidenced by the growth of bouldering areas in indoor climbing gyms and even entire climbing gyms dedicated to bouldering. Children are joining the sport now as well as adults. In fact, studies have found that when you start when you are young you have better climbing skills when you are older due to getting past disadvantages such as height and strength.

Aid climbing is a style of climbing in which fixed or placed protection is used to make upward progress. In the Yosemite Decimal System used in the US, it is sometimes called "6th class" climbing.

The term contrasts with free climbing in which no artificial aids are used to make progress. In aid climbing, the climber ascends by hanging on, and climbing on, his or her equipment; in free climbing the climber ascends by holding onto, and stepping on, natural features of the rock, using rope and equipment only to catch them in case of a fall, and to hang on at belay stations. In general, aid climbing places less emphasis on athletic fitness and physical strength but more on technical skill, though the physical aspects of hard aid climbing should not be underestimated. Aid techniques are most often utilized on extremely steep and long routes, demanding great endurance and stamina, both physical and mental.

Ice climbing is the recreational activity of climbing ice formations such as icefalls, and frozen waterfalls. (Dry-tooling is climbing rock using the tools for ice climbing.) Depending on the slope and texture of the ice, different equipment and techniques can be employed by the climber. For example, on flat ice, almost any good hiking or mountaineering boot will usually suffice, but for serious ice climbing double plastic mountaineering boots (or their older stiff leather equivalent) are usually used, which must be crampon compatible and stiff enough to support the climber and maintain ankle support. On short, low angled slopes, one can use an ice axe to chop steps. For longer and steeper slopes or glacier travel, crampons are mandatory for a safe climb. Vertical ice climbing is done with crampons and ice axes (generally called ice tools if they are specific to vertical ice); the climber kicks their legs to engage the front points of the crampons in the ice, and then swings the axe into the ice above their head. This technique is known as front pointing. The strength of the ice is often surprising; even if the axe only goes in a centimeter or so it is enough to pull up on. If the climber is leading, they will need to place ice screws as protection on their way up (see climbing system).

Most mountaineers would only consider the last scenario true ice climbing; the less steep variations are routine aspects of winter mountaineering.

Top-rope climbing (or Top roping) is a technique in climbing in which the rope runs from the belayer at the foot of the route through one or more carabiners connected to an anchor at the top of the route and back down to the climber. Assuming that the anchor holds, the route is predominantly bottom-to-top and the belayer pays attention, the climber cannot fall more than a short distance and can safely attempt the most difficult routes. Most top rope anchors can be reached through non-technical routes.

Top roping is most often done on routes that are otherwise unleadable for one reason or another. Top roping has a long and proud history in the climbing world because of its low envronmental impact. It is also the most commonly used way to climb at indoor climbing walls. It is also used on some areas or types of rock where other methods would be unsafe or damage the rock, for example the sandstone rocks of Kent and Sussex in south-east England. Here the rock is soft and prone to erosion, so placing protection into the rock would be both damaging and unreliable, and is therefore banned. Top-roping from permanent anchors and solo climbing are the only forms of ascent allowed.

Top roped climbing is often (psychologically) easier and safer than sport climbing, in which the lead climber clips into preplaced bolts in the rock, or traditional climbing, in which protection is placed along the route by a lead climber. Many novice climbers initially experience the sport through top roping.

Indoor Climbing is an increasingly popular form of rock climbing performed on artificial structures that attempt to mimic the experience of real rock climbing but in a more controlled environment.

The first indoor walls tended to be made primarily of brick leaving little scope for interesting routes as the steepness of the wall and variety of the hand holds were somewhat limited.

The most common construction method involves screwing resin hand holds on to wooden boards. The boards can be of varying height & steepness (from completely horizontal 'roofs' to not even vertical 'slabs') and have a large variety of holds (from very small 'crimpers' to huge 'jugs') attached. This variety, coupled with the ability for the climbs to be changed by attaching the holds onto the wall differently has resulted in indoor climbing becoming a very successful sport.

Indoor climbing has also seen an increase in popularity in areas with rainy climates where climbing outdoors is sometimes difficult. Besides offering an alternative during inclement weather, many working adults find that they can get to the gym after work and still climb even though it is too dark outside. In order to improve in any sport, consistent practice is crucial. With the advent of indoor climbing, weather, seasonal difficulties, and busy schedules are less of an obstacle to consistent improvement, and enjoyment of the sport.

The proliferation of indoor climbing gyms has increased the accesibility, and thus the popularity, of the sport of climbing. Since environmental conditions (ranging from the structural integrity of the climbing surfaces, to equipment wear, to proper use of equipment) can be more controlled in such a setting, indoor climbing is perhaps a safer and more friendly introduction to the sport. In fact birthday parties and children's teams are common at many rock gyms.

This sense of security has a downside of course - a new gym climber may head to the cliffs and find they do not have all of the necessary skills for climbing in a setting without preplaced anchors, and explicit routefinding.

Alpine climbing involves rock and ice climbing as a part of mountaineering, usually employing traditional techniques. Sometimes refered to as Mixed climbing, this form of climbing often employs the use of ice tools on bare rock surfaces.

Free solo climbing is arguably the purest form of climbing but obviously also carries the highest risks. Free solo climbing (also known as free soloing) is a form of climbing whereby the climber (known as a free soloist) does not use any hardware such as ropes, harnesses or other gear during their ascent. For practical purposes, 20 feet off the ground is commonly considered free soloing. If a fall will almost certainly result in death or serious injury, that is soloing. It is mostly practiced on routes that are familiar to the climber and where its difficulty lies well below the climber's abilities. However, inherent risks such as loose rocks or sudden change in weather are always present and fatalities are not unknown to the practice. Free soloing belongs to the group of extreme sports. One famous practitioner of the sport was Dan Osman who was killed in an unrelated activity, a "controlled free-fall" jump in Yosemite National Park. Yosemite climbing program manager and park ranger Mark Fincher said there has been only one confirmed death from free-soloing at the park, that of Derek Hersey, a high-profile free-soloer who died on Sentinel Rock in 1993. The challenge of free soloing is (or should be) mainly a mental game of staying focused on what the climber is doing. Doing the move isn't the game. Free soloing should usually not be hard in a physical sense.

Another well-known practitioner, Alain Robert ("spiderman"), has scaled dozens of skyscrapers around the world — a sport known as buildering — and several mountains, without using any safety equipment.

Free soloing on seacliffs, where a climber falling into deep water may avoid injury, is known as deep water soloing - however, this should only be carried out at very specific sites which have been properly ascertained to be safe for the purpose. Otherwise, free soloing on seacliffs is viewed as particularly dangerous due to the unique combination of hazards: i.e. wet holds; loose rock; waves; birds; difficulty of rescue.

Remaining close to the ground and using protective mats is known as bouldering and is another, safer alternative.

Roped soloing is a way to safely climb without a climbing partner. There are two main divisions to roped soloing: Aid solo and roped solo. Roped soloing generally refers to top roping on a fixed rope to a more problematic lead rope solo

Rope solo aid involves fixing the rope to an anchor and connecting yourself to the free end with either knots or one of the various modern devices designed for that purpose.

Simul solo aid is a Speed climbing technique where two climbers aid climb at the same time on opposite ends of the same rope.

Roped soloing is much less dangerous than free soloing, but sometimes more dangerous than climbing with a partner. One problem is that in a fall, the attachment system is loaded in a way it wasn't designed for. Also, in the case of an accident, there is sometimes no one to go for help. It can also be tedious, as the climber must ascend each section of rock twice: once to add the next belay anchor, then again after descending to remove the previous one, effectively traveling the route three times.

Rock Climbing Grades