Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or other parts of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the
eight thousanders) to small
boulders. Climbing is done for locomotion, sporting recreation, for competition, and is also done in trades that rely on ascension, such as rescue and military operations. Climbing is done indoors and outdoors, on natural surfaces (e.g.
rock climbing and
ice climbing), and on artificial surfaces (e.g.
climbing walls and
climbing gyms)
Rock climbing can trace its
origins to the late 19th-century, and has since developed into several main sub-disciplines. Single-pitch and multi-pitch (and big wall) climbing, can be performed in varying styles (including aid, sport, traditional, free solo, and top-roping), while the standalone discipline of
bouldering (or boulder climbing) is by definition performed in a free solo format.[2][3]
Single pitch climbing means ascending climbs that are a single rope-length (up to 50-metres) while
multi-pitch climbing (and
big wall climbing) means ascending
routes that are many rope-lengths (even up to 1,000-metres). These two rock climbing sub-disciplines can be conducted in one of several ways:[2][3]
Aid climbing is a form of rock climbing that uses artificial aids such as
aiders,
pitons, and other mechanical devices to assist in ascending a route. Much of rock climbing began as aid climbing, and even by the 1970s, many big wall routes required aid (e.g. The Nose and the Salathé Wall).[4]
Sport climbing is a form of rock climbing that uses no artificial aids (which is known as
free climbing), but does rely on permanent fixed
bolts (or
pitons), for use as
protection while climbing (but not as aid); was started in the 1980s in France and now makes up the world's
hardest climbs (e.g. Silence).[5][6]
Traditional climbing is a form of rock climbing that uses no artificial aids (and is thus also free climbing) but unlike sport climbing, the climbers place removable protection such as
SCLDs and
nuts while ascending that are removed by the second climber; has many famous routes (e.g. Indian Face, Cobra Crack).[7]
Free soloing is a form of rock climbing that uses no artificial aids (and is thus also free climbing) and where the climber uses no protection (neither sport nor traditional); thus any fall while free soloing could be fatal;
deep-water soloing is a form of free soloing where a fall will result in landing into safe water. The 2017 free solo of Freerider became the Oscar-winning film, Free Solo.[8]
Top rope climbing is a form of rock climbing that uses no artificial aids but as the sole form of protection, uses a pre-fixed rope secured to the top of the route (i.e. is used on single-pitches), and thus should the climber fall, they simply hang off the rope with no risk of any injury; it is not regarded as free climbing but is a popular and safe way to introduce people to free climbing (and common on
climbing walls).[9]
Bouldering: means ascending boulders or small outcrops with no artificial aids (free climbing) and due to the lower height, with no protection (making bouldering a form of free soloing); very tall boulders where a fall could be serious (i.e. up to 10-metres) are known as
highball bouldering. Many
milestones in bouldering (e.g. Midnight Lightning, Dreamtime and Burden of Dreams) were created by practitioners of bouldering and free climbing.
Competition-based
Competition climbing (sometimes confusingly called "sport climbing"), is a regulated sport of competitive rock climbing that originated in the 1980s, and which is usually done as
indoor climbing on artificial
climbing walls. The
International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) is the official governing body for competition rock-climbing worldwide and is recognized by the
IOC and
GAISF and is a member of the International World Games Association (
IWGA). The
UIAA is the official governing body for competition ice climbing worldwide. Competition climbing has three major disciplines:[10][11][12]
Via ferrata: Ascending mountain routes using previously installed fixed steel cables, metal rungs, and ladders for protection and aid.
Scrambling: Climbing rocky faces and ridges, which can include basic rock climbing, but is considered part of
hillwalking.
Solo climbing: Ascending routes alone; can involve ropes (
roped solo climbing) and artificial aid; where no protection or aid is used, it is free soloing.
Other recreational-based
Buildering: Ascending the exterior skeletons of buildings, typically without protective equipment (e.g. as free solo climbing by
Alain Robert).