sport climbing

sport climbing, a type of rock climbing in which climbers ascend a route that is equipped with preplaced permanent bolts, rather than placing temporary bolts as they climb and removing them on their descent, as is done in traditional rock climbing. It is a form of free climbing, meaning that upward progress is determined solely by the strength and movement of the climber. Sport climbing, in particular, places emphasis on the physical challenge of the climb rather than the ultimate destination.

Sport climbing can be done on pre-equipped routes on rock faces or on specially constructed climbing walls. During a climb, individuals wear a harness attached to a rope. A belay device is attached to the rope and acts as a brake when pressure is applied, creating friction; climbers may use a self-belay device, or, more commonly, the belay will be held by a climbing partner, called a belayer, who releases portions of the rope as the climber progresses but holds the rope tight to prevent a fall if the climber missteps. As climbers ascend, they clip themselves into to the preplaced bolts with quickdraws, protective devices that each consists of two carabiners connected by a sling called a “dogbone.”

Sport climbing is generally considered safer, faster to learn, and less expensive than traditional climbing: safer because the bolts are permanent and not likely to slip; faster to learn because learning to properly use traditional climbing equipment is more difficult; and less expensive because traditional climbing requires more gear.

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History

During the 1970s in France, climbers rappeled down Verdon Gorge’s cliffs to discover routes and pre-equip them with bolts that they could use to climb the cliffs that would otherwise be unscalable when approached from the bottom. In the mid- to late 1970s, a route found by Jacques Perrier called “Pichenibule” became one of the first sport climbing routes in the world. Sport climber Alan Watts introduced the sport to America in the early 1980s when he began pre-equipping routes at Smith Rock State Park in Oregon with bolts. Watts and other climbers continued to add new routes—there are now more than 2,000 routes at the park, of which about half are sport climbing routes—and Smith Rock is known as the “birthplace of U.S. sport climbing.”

Sport climbing did not initially meet with the approval of the traditional rock climbing community, who viewed it as a form of cheating and frowned upon climbers’ use of hang-dogging (practicing difficult moves repeatedly while resting on the rope in between attempts). Traditional climbers were also not pleased with the placing of permanent bolts, feeling that they take away from the natural climbing experience and can impact the environment.

Competitive climbing

It wasn’t until competitive sport climbing debuted in 1985 in Bardonecchia, Italy, at an international event called SportRoccia that it began to gain respect in Europe. The first international event in the U.S. was held in 1988 in Snowbird, Utah, on a 115-foot- (35-meter-) tall wall that was installed on the outside of the Cliff Lodge hotel, and, when French climber Patrick Edlinger completed the route that more than a dozen climbers failed, American climbers began to respect the sport. The second Snowbird event, in 1989, garnered significant press coverage about the possibility of including the sport in future Olympics. In the early 1990s it was decided that all future international events would be run on specially created infrastructures in order to reduce their environmental impact.

The International Council for Competition Climbing was created in 1997 and became the International Federation of Sport Climbing in 2007. The nongovernmental, nonprofit organization focuses on “the direction, regulation, promotion, development, and furtherance of climbing competitions around the world.”

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In 2021 sport climbing made its official Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which, despite being postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, kept the same name to preserve tradition. Forty climbers competed in three different disciplines—speed, lead, and bouldering—and were awarded based on their combined scores. Alberto Ginés López of Spain took the gold medal for men, and Janja Garnbret of Slovenia won the gold medal for women. The 2024 Olympics in Paris will consist of a 40-athlete combined competition of bouldering and lead events and a speed event with 28 athletes competing.

Recreational climbing

In recreational sport climbing, climbers use grading systems to determine the difficulty of a route. The two predominant systems are the French grading scale and the Yosemite Decimal System.

The French grading scale, also called the Fontainebleau scale, consists of a number between 1 and 9—the higher the number, the more difficult the climb. Each of the grades can be further modified by a letter (a, b, or c) to signify greater difficulty, with c being the most difficult, and a + symbol. For example, a 1 grade would be the easiest and a 9c+ would be the most difficult.

The Yosemite Decimal System (YDS) is similar to the French grading scale, though it is also used for hiking. It has five classes, ranging from class 1 (for flat land routes) to class 5 (vertical routes on a rock wall), with sport climbing routes falling in class 5. The rating consists of a number with at least one decimal place. The numbers to the right of the decimal indicate difficulty and can range from 0 to 15. After 5.10, a YDS rating can be modified by a letter (a, b, c, or d) to further indicate difficulty. As an example, a 5.1 grade would be an easy climb and a 5.15d would be the most difficult.

Sport climbing can be done by solo climbers or in tandem pairs, where, once the lead climber is clipped to a higher bolt, the second climber unclips from the lower bolt to ascend. Solo climbers can be clipped to multiple bolts as they ascend.

Multipitch climbs are those in which the climber ascends to the top of one pitch (the section of climbing route that usually does not exceed the length of the climber’s rope) and then moves to another pitch. When done in tandem pairs, the lead climber can use the rope to get the second climber to the same point before ascending the next pitch, at which time they have the option to trade off between lead and second climber.

Climbing gyms

Indoor gyms provide an opportunity for lead climbers that is similar to outdoor sport climbing, albeit the quickdraws are preplaced. New gyms have opened in North America and Europe at an increasing rate in the early 21st century and continue to do so.