Mountain Climbing

V

Rock Climbing

As alpine climbing developed in the European Alps in the early 20th century, French and German mountaineers sought out new challenges by training on cliffs and boulders near their homes. The earliest documented rock climb done for sport (not for military reconnaissance or scientific inquiry) was the 35-m (115-ft) high Nape’s Needle in the Lake District of England, which W. P. Hasket-Smith climbed alone on June 27, 1886. The first documented rock climb in North America was made in 1910 on a portion of Mount Washington in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, although the mountain itself had been climbed much earlier.

Rock climbing is now practiced on cliffs with a wide range of heights. Areas may be relatively small crags of rock, large canyon sidewalls, or immense mountain faces. Granite, limestone, sandstone, metamorphosed schist, and gneiss are the five most popular rock types for climbing.

A

Rock Climbing Technique

Rock climbers train by bouldering, which means practicing difficult climbing moves on large boulders or small outcroppings of rock that are only several feet above the ground. Bouldering is relatively safe because climbers can jump back onto solid ground at any moment. Difficult and strenuous movements can therefore be rehearsed without the use of ropes and hardware.

When ascending cliffs that are less than 50 m (164 ft) high, climbers use a technique called top-roping. On a top-rope belay, the climber is anchored from above, so he or she is protected against a serious fall. Rock climbers generally use a standard 50-m or 60-m rope. Rock climbs higher than 60 m thus require more than one pitch, or rope length, to be scaled; this type of climbing is termed multipitch or continuous climbing.

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Specific types of rock climbing movements include friction climbing (moving up smooth, relatively low-angled rock slabs); face climbing (holding onto flakes, knobs and edges to ascend a sheer wall); crack climbing (jamming fingers, hands, arms, legs, feet, and toes into fissures in the rock); and overhang climbing (expending quick, calculated bursts of energy and muscle to swing past overhangs).

Strength is a major aspect of rock climbing, but it is not the most important physical requirement. Experienced climbers focus more on endurance, muscle coordination, flexibility, finesse, and excellent balance. On vertical and overhanging cliffs, moving smoothly up the rock, staying relaxed, and being mentally confident are equally vital to success.

There are two main types of rock climbing: free climbing and aid climbing. In its most basic form, a free climb is the unsupported ascent of a cliff face. Climbers use their fingers to grip flakes, edges, and cracks in the surface, while sticky rubber-soled shoes give support. The climber employs rope or other forms of protection, but only as a precaution to prevent a serious fall. The pieces of protection are never used to rest on, or for advancement. As soon as a climber uses equipment for support, he or she is no longer free climbing. The climber will then descend again to the last resting point where no support was used and reclimb the problematic section.

In aid climbing (also known as artificial climbing), climbers ascend pitches while using rope and hardware to support their body weight. Aid climbers also use a number of tools, including pulleys to move gear up the rock wall and étriers, or slings, to rest in. On climbs that require two or more days, climbers also use a portaledge. This easy-to-assemble device made of poles and shock-cords forms a rigid nylon floor and waterproof tent. The portaledge hangs from anchors placed in the rock wall and enables climbers to sleep and rest in a comfortable position, even though they may be hundreds or thousands of feet off the ground.

Rock climbing routes are named and assigned a difficulty rating by the first team of climbers to ascend a particular route. In the United States, free climbs are graded using decimal ratings, which range from 5.0 (easiest) to 5.14 (most difficult). In guidebooks the climb’s name is also accompanied by a commitment rating, which indicates the climb’s seriousness and how many hours or days it will take a team of two average-ability climbers to complete the route. Commitment ratings are given in Roman numerals from I (several hours) to VI (difficult climbs in remote locations). A similar scale (A1 to A5) is used when evaluating aid-climbing routes.

B

Rock Climbing Equipment

Rock climbing shoes resemble toughened ballet slippers, made of supple leather or synthetic materials. They have sticky rubber soles, and toes and heel-liners made of rubber. All climbing shoes and slippers should be fitted snugly around the foot. Climbers use gymnastic chalk (magnesium carbonate) to dry sweat from their hands and fingers while climbing. The white powder is carried in a small pouch called a chalk bag that is attached to the climber’s harness.

Because rock climbing requires plenty of innovative, supple movements, clothing should be lightweight, comfortable, and nonrestricting. T-shirts, shorts, and tights made of cotton, Lycra-cotton blends, and other synthetic materials are popular. Rock climbers also use athletic tape to protect fingers, knuckles, and wrists during difficult climbs.

VI

History

People have long climbed mountains for necessary daily activities such as retrieving lost animals and hunting, but technical climbing as a sport has a much shorter history. The sport’s history is often described in terms of first ascents, the conquering of previously unscaled mountains or, on mountains that have already been climbed, the accomplishment of previously untried and unclimbed routes.

After the ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786, people began to organize expeditions to make first ascents. Some of the most challenging mountains were found in the Himalayas of Central Asia, which contain many of the world’s highest peaks. In 1953 New Zealand climber Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay made the first ascent of the world’s highest mountain, the Himalayan peak Mount Everest (8,850 m/29,035 ft). A year later Italian mountaineers Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli ascended the world’s second highest mountain, K2 (8,611 m/28,251 ft), which is also in the Himalayas.

As more of the world’s mountains were climbed for the first time, mountaineers sought to challenge themselves by using more difficult routes and by climbing with less assistance from climbing partners. In 1978 Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner and Austrian climber Peter Habeler became the first to scale Everest without bottled oxygen. Two years later Messner returned to climb Everest completely alone and without oxygen.

Ascents in the late 20th and early 21st century became even more daring, and some climbers attempted to surmount groups of related summits. In 1985 American climber Dick Bass became the first mountaineer to climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents, collectively referred to as the Seven Summits. In 1986 Messner finally completed his goal of climbing the 14 highest mountains in the world—a feat that took him 17 years to accomplish. All are higher than 8,000 m (26,000 ft) and are located in Nepal, Pakistan, China, and Tibet. Ed Viesturs became the first U.S.-born climber to accomplish this feat when he reached the summit of Annapūrna in May 2005. All of Viesturs’s 14 climbs, made over a period of 16 years, were completed without the benefit of bottled oxygen.

VII

Recent Developments

In recent years, well-publicized successes and tragedies in mountaineering activities, and improvements in climbing equipment, have given rise to an increased number of mountain climbers worldwide. The sport’s popularity has led some countries to require mountaineers to purchase climbing permits. Himalayan expeditions must also pay an environmental bond to guarantee that they will remove all of their waste at the conclusion of their trip.

Environmental efforts are underway at many rock climbing areas, where local climbers participate in an annual cleanup day to maintain approach trails, wash gymnastic chalk off the rock, and pick up litter. In the United States, placement of equipment that damages the rock is regulated on state and federal lands. The Access Fund is the national organization that helps climbers gain access to climbing areas and also assists with environmental problems associated with cliffs in the United States.

Beginning in the 1980s indoor rock-climbing gyms have played a key role in introducing large numbers of people to climbing, featuring short climbs in a controlled setting. However, making the transition to climbing outside is not always easy. New skills and judgment calls are required outdoors, because real cliffs are subject to bad weather and other hazards such as loose rock and falling stones.

In the late 20th century, climbing competitions became popular with rock climbers and ice climbers of all ages and skill levels. Regular competition climbing is judged on how high the climber can ascend within a specified period of time. Speed climbing competitions pit climbers against a clock to see how fast they can scale a wall. Local climbing gyms and clubs sponsor competitions, as do national organizations such as the American Sport Climbing Federation.

Internationally, mountaineers, ice climbers, and rock climbers are represented by the Union Internationale des Associations d’Alpinisme (UIAA). Since its founding in 1932, the UIAA has grown to represent about 80 associations in about 60 countries. As mountain climbing’s popularity rose dramatically in the 1980s and 1990s, the UIAA’s role in mountain safety, education, and environmental policy also increased. In the United States, the American Alpine Club, the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Colorado Mountain Club, and the Sierra Club are only a few of the organizations that have also addressed these issues. These organizations also offer instructional programs in climbing and provide an opportunity to meet fellow enthusiasts.

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