Rock climbing is a sport elusive of definition; different
from mountain climbing,“scrambling,” and hiking, rock
climbing is generally distinguished by its structure, with
climbs of recognized gradations of difficulty and danger.
History
Systematic rock climbing in Europe began in the late
18th and 19th centuries as naturalists ascended cliffs
in search of specimens. Britain lays claim to the origins
of both mountain and rock climbing. The first ascent in
1886 of Napes Needle in England’s Lake District by
W. P. Hasket Smith (1859–1946) is often designated the
start of rock climbing. However, many climbs were
completed and recorded before then, and a great deal of
training for mountain climbing was occurring in Europe. Rock climbing became a sport in its own right toward the end of the 19th century.
In the mid-20th century, British climbers led an exponential leap in the difficulty of routes being climbed.
This British dominance lasted through the 1960s, when
an American style of big wall climbing (a mix of “free”
and “aid”) became the gold standard. By the 1970s
climbers were developing a new style of French climbing in the Verdon Gorge and other areas. The French
style of climbing is incredibly gymnastic in its difficulty
but involves little danger because of the preplacement
of closely spaced expansion bolts for protection.
Competitive speed climbing was developed in the
Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, but never accepted in the West. However, the notion of competition and its
commercial possibilities, combined with the new
French style of climbing (in which climbers were beginning to find commercial sponsors), resulted in the development of “sport” climbing competitions. Competitions soon moved indoors onto artificial climbing walls
with movable holds. Today, there is a fairly successful
Grand Prix circuit and numerous local competitions.
Rules and Play
A normal, roped climb on rock or ice occurs with two
climbers moving one at a time. The first climber sets
off, reaches a point where he or she is able to secure
him- or herself to the rock (“a belay”), and takes in the
slack rope as the second person begins climbing. This
ensures safety in case of a fall. The process continues as
the second climber then belays, and pays out the rope
to the first climber as he or she climbs the next “pitch”
(roughly a rope length or the next convenient point for
a belay). All such devices are known collectively as
“protection.” If protection does not damage the rock
(as do pitons or expansion bolts) and is only used for
safety, the technique is known as “free” or “clean”
climbing. When protection is actually used by the
climber to assist his or her progress, the technique is
known as “aid” or “artificial” climbing.
Four factors determine the difficulty of a climb. The
first is the actual difficulty of the moves the climb will
require. Is the climb vertical or overhanging? Is there
only one difficult move or many? “Exposure” refers to
the danger of one’s position on a climb. Third is the
availability of places to put protection and the type of
potential landing site. Moves that may result in a long
fall onto sharp rocks are considered more difficult than
if they could result in a relatively short fall onto sand.
Length of a climb is fourth.
Various systems are then used to rate the climb.
These include the Yosemite Decimal System, which
uses a scale of difficulty from Class 1 (walking) to Class
5 (various levels of climbing); the Joshua Tree System,
a simplified version of the National Climbing Classification System that runs from F1 to F15; the British system, which rates activity from “Easy” (scrambling) to
“Exceptionally Severe”; and the Australian System,
which puts difficulty at levels 1 through 29.
Although rock climbing has no institutionalized
competitive structure, the sport functions much like
others. The two specific types of competition are direct
and indirect. Direct competition involves achieving the
first ascent of mountains or of specific routes on
mountains, cliffs, and frozen waterfalls. Direct competition also considers the first recorded ascent and such
variations as first solo, first female, first all-female, or
first winter ascent. Indirect competition is based on the
style or quality of an ascent. It may refer to speed, but
is usually considered in terms of how closely the ascent
follows climbing’s informal rule structure.
The system of rules and conventions that govern
both direct and indirect competition is known to
climbers as “ethics” and is socially constructed and
sanctioned. Ethics are created and changed by consensus among climbers through face-to-face interaction
and specialist magazines, transmitted by the same
means, and enforced by both self-discipline and social
pressure.
In the hierarchy of climbing, the most ethically difficult prohibits all equipment and tactics. Expeditions
are the simplest in ethical terms because almost any
equipment and tactics are allowed. A climber who follows the current rules of the game is climbing with
“good style.” Fast ascents are admired, particularly on
the higher mountains since speed is related to safety.
The notion of competition and its commercial possibilities, combined with the new French style of climbing (where climbers were beginning to find commercial sponsors), brought “sport” climbing competitions
in which climbers competed to see who could reach the
greatest height on an increasingly difficult climb before
falling off (to be held on the rope by a belayer).
The French style of climbing also came to be known
as sport climbing. Together with top rope climbing at
the rapidly expanding and popular climbing gymnasia,
it has become the way in which many young people are
introduced to the sport today.
The clash of sport climbing and “adventure” climbing, its more traditional and less technology-dependent predecessor, has produced rock climbing’s most
difficult ethical crisis. Sport climbing involves rapid institutionalization, commercialization, and many new
climbers unaware of the traditions. It has also altered
the risk-versus-difficulty equation that has characterized the sport for most of its history. Increasing technical difficulty in rock climbing was always tempered by
climbers’ willingness to increase their risks. The new
styles eliminate much of the risk in the equation.
An uneasy truce now exists. Many climbers cross
over between the sport and adventure styles. Certain
locations have been mutually accepted as being for
sport climbing only or adventure climbing only (others
are in dispute); and many lifelong adventure climbers
recognize the attraction of competitions. Blends of the
two styles have produced an enormous variety of ethics, minutely debated by local climbers. This suggests that climbing is still in the hands of climbers and
has not yet been taken over by bureaucrats or commercial interests.
—PETER DONNELLY
Bibliography: Tejada-Flores, L. (1967) “Games Climbers
Play.” Ascent 1: 23–25. Unsworth,W. (1992) Encyclopaedia
of Mountaineering. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Wilson, K. (1981) Hard Rock. 2d ed. London: Granada
Publishing.