Climbing

Lore & Background

The sport of climbing evolved through first ascents of new routes, new techniques, increasing difficulty grades, and improved equipment. Guides and guidebooks were important in developing its popularity. Early pioneers included Walter Bonatti, Riccardo Cassin, Hermann Buhl, and Gaston Rébuffat, followed by Reinhold Messner and Doug Scott, and later by Mick Fowler, Marko Prezelj, and Ueli Steck. Starting around the 1980s, bolted sport climbing, artificial indoor walls, and competition climbing increased rock climbing's popularity as a standalone sport, leading to professional climbers such as Wolfgang Güllich, Alexander Huber, Chris Sharma, Adam Ondra, Lynn Hill, Catherine Destivelle, and Janja Garnbret.

Reader's Guide

Climbing encompasses numerous sub-disciplines. Rock climbing includes single-pitch and multi-pitch routes, performed in styles such as aid, sport, traditional, free solo, and top-rope climbing. Bouldering is a standalone discipline performed in a free-solo format. Mountain-based climbing includes mountaineering, alpine climbing, scrambling, via ferrata, ice climbing, mixed climbing, and solo climbing. Competition climbing, governed by World Climbing, includes lead, bouldering, and speed disciplines, while competition ice climbing is governed by the UIAA. Other recreational forms include buildering, canyoneering, crane climbing, grass climbing, mallakhamba, parkour, pole climbing, rope climbing, stair climbing, and tree climbing. Commercial climbing includes rope access and tower climbing. Therapeutic climbing uses structured climbing for mental and physical health benefits. World Climbing is the official governing body for competition climbing worldwide.

Did You Know?

• Climbing is done for locomotion, sporting recreation, competition, and in trades such as construction and military operations.
• Bouldering is performed in a free-solo format, meaning no artificial aids or protection are used.
• Competition ice climbing is not yet an Olympic sport.