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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 and top roping.
Sport climbing basics Sport climbing emphasizes the gymnastic and athletic aspects of climbing, placing less emphasis on risk, control of fear and placing protection. It can be undertaken with relatively little equipment on established routes. Typically, personal equipment required for sport climbing includes a dynamic rope (up to 70 m/230 ft), quickdraws, and a few runners. 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 running rope clipped through the hanging end of the quickdraw. This bolt is now 'protecting' the climber, in the case of a fall. At the top of sport routes, there is usually a two-point anchor that can be used to return the climber to the ground. 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. Sport climbing generally takes place on vertical to overhanging cliffs, often with big holds. Rock types that produce good sport climbs include limestone, granite and quartzite, though sport climbs can be found on almost all rock types. By creating an environment where a high degree of safety is easily available, the climber can concentrate on the difficulty of the moves and the flow of the rock climb, rather than making it to the next possible placement. This allows climbers to push their physical limits and fall off with little or no consequences. Indeed, falling off is considered an integral part of sport climbing, and a tool required to learn the moves of a climb. As sport climbing became popular in the 80's and 90's, the emphasis that it places on strength and stamina led to a significant rise in standards among climbers at all levels of skill. Sport climbers place an emphasis on the style of an ascent, forming a hierarchy of accomplishment. Routes that are at or above the individual climber's skill level often require 'work' to pink point. A climber may return to a climb several to hundreds of times, to work out the moves, memorize the movements and develop the strength and stamina required to complete the route. France France was the birthplace and longtime champion of hard sport climbing in the 80's and 90's. This was partially due to their rock not being suitable for traditional type routes. In France, sport climbing and bouldering are very popular and competitive climbing is big business. Blessed with limitless limestone and balmy weather there are a lot of sport routes to be climbed in France. Major Sport climbing Areas: Ceuse (perhaps the best sport crag in the world) Buoux Verdon gorge: Long routes or hard routes that start at the top of a thousand foot tall wall Les Calanques Some of the hardest routes in France: Akira, Charente, 9a+/b Realization, Ceuse, 9a+ Hugh, Eaux-Claires, 9a Robi in the Sky, Calanques, 9a Germany Many consider Germany to be the next country after France to embrace sport climbing. Notable Climbers: Kurt Albert was in many ways the original free climber. Wolfgang Gullich, put up the world’s first 9a, Action Directe in the Frankenjura. Major Sport climbing Areas: Frankenjura, (aka Fränkische Schweiz), is a world famous climbing area with over 4,000 routes on various types of limestone formations. Elbsandsteingebirge, (aka Sächsische Schweiz), is a major sandstone climbing area in East Germany. Holzen Lürdissen Ith Some of the hardest routes in Germany: Action Direct, Frankenjura, 9a Die Welle, Leonhardstein, 9a Sport Climbing in the United Kingdom Sport climbing began in the UK around 1984 Major sport climbing areas Raven Tor, Portland, Malham, Pen Trwyn, Kilnsey Some early proponents of the sport climbing revolution in the UK were: Ron Fawcett, Jerry Moffat, Ben Moon. Heavily influenced by climbing in France and the German conception of Free Climbing. Some of the hardest Modern sport climbing routes in the UK The Big Bang, Lower Pen Trwyn, 9a Mutation, Raven Tor, 9a Rainshadow, Malham, 9a Northern Light, Kilnsey, 9a In some climbing areas, notably in the United Kingdom, sport climbing is frowned upon, because many climbers believe that the permanent placing of bolts in mountainous and sea-cliff areas detracts from the wilderness experience, damages the rock, or devalues the achievements of the first ascensionist who climbed the route by placing their own protection. In the UK sport climbing takes place only on indoor climbing walls and on a few limestone and slate cliffs that are unsuited to traditional climbing. Spain In the 80s, Spain's limestone became well known as a winter climbing spot. In Spain, for example, which arguably features some of the finest climbing in Europe, sport climbing has become very popular and there are many popular locations such as: Major Sport climbing Areas: Mallorca Rodellar Riglos Siurana Baltzola El Chorro in Malaga La Pedriza in Madrid) Some of the hardest routes in Spain: Chilam Balam 9b Orujo, Malaga, 9a+ Il Domani, Baltzola, 9a Las Ramblas Extension, Siurana 9a+ Sport Climbing in Australia Major Sport climbing areas: Nowra The Blue Mountains, The Grampians Sport Climbing in the United States Major Sport climbing areas: Smith Rocks, American Forks, Mt. Charleston, Rifle, Rumney, Red Rocks, Red River Gorge, New River Gorge. Sport climbing is a relatively modern branch of the sport, becoming popular in the US during the 1980s.The original sport climbers in the US were Trad climbers that adopted a European style of climbing. They created routes that provided plenty of fixed protection(Bolts) put in on rappel (or 'top-down'). The first routes tended to be vertical with small handholds. As time went by, new routes got steeper, placing an increased emphasis on stamina. Allan Watts was the first person in the US to adopt a top-down style of climbing. His rappel bolted routes at Smith Rocks were soon internationally acclaimed as some of the best climbing in the US. In 1988 Frenchman J.B. Tribout established the first 5.14 in the US at Smith Rocks "To Bolt or Not to Be" Other notable early developers were: Scott Franklin, Dale Goddard and Christian Griffith. Some of the hardest sport climbing routes in the US Flex Luthor, Fortress of Solitude, 9a+ Kryptonite, Fortress of Solitude, 9a Psychedelic, St George, 9a The Fly, Rumney, 9a Livin’ Astroglide, Rumney, 9a Access & Conflicts The United States has a strong history of traditional climbing, especially at certain crags, and considerable value is placed on maintaining routes as they were done by the first ascensionist. Therefore in the U.S. it is considered unacceptable to install bolts to create a sport route on a route that was first done using traditional techniques. Bolts have been opposed in wilderness areas as mechanical intrusions. Bird watchers object to being distracted by brightly-colored slings left at rappel anchors, leading climbers to use webbing the same color as the rock. Thailand The Rock around Railay Beach The rock is all limestone and is part of the worlds largest coral reef, stretching from China to Papua New Guinea. The routes are all bolted sport climbing routes. The French grading system is used. With over 700 routes ranging from beginner 5a's to classic multipitch 6a's right up to the extremes of 8c there's enough here to keep any climber busy for years. * Sources 1 How to Rock Climb by John Long, 2 How to Climb 5.12 by Eric J. Horst, 3 Performance Rock Climbing by Dale Goddard and Udo Neumann, 4 Rock Climbing by Don Mellor, See also External Links | ||||||||
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