Rock climbing

Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in guidebooks, and on online databases, detailing how to climb the route (called the beta), and who made the first ascent (or FA) and the coveted first free ascent (or FFA). Climbers will try to ascend a route onsight, however, a climber can spend years projecting a route before they make a redpoint ascent. Routes range from a few metres to over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in height, and traverses can reach 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) in length. They include slabs, faces, cracks and overhangs/roofs. Popular rock types are granite (e.g. El Capitan), limestone (e.g. Verdon Gorge), and sandstone (e.g. Saxon Switzerland) but 43 types of climbable rock types have been identified. Artificial indoor climbing walls are popular and competition climbing — which takes place on artificial walls — became an Olympic sport in 2020. Contemporary rock climbing is focused on free climbing where — unlike with aid climbing — no mechanical aids can be used to assist with upward momentum. Free-climbing encompasses bouldering on short 5-metre (16 ft) routes, single-pitch climbing on up to 60–70-metre (200–230 ft) routes, multi-pitch climbing — and big wall climbing — on routes of up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). Free-climbing can be done as free solo climbing with no protection whatsoever, or as lead climbing with removable temporary protection (called traditional climbing), or permanently fixed bolted protection (called sport climbing). The evolution in technical milestones in rock climbing is tied to the development in rock-climbing equipment (e.g. rubber shoes, spring-loaded camming devices, and campus boards) and rock-climbing technique (e.g. jamming, crimping, and smearing). The most dominant grading systems worldwide are...