What is rock climbing?

Rock climbing is an outdoor recreation activity that involves ascending a boulder, cliff, or rock face. Rock climbing is enjoyed both in an indoor climbing/bouldering gym or at outdoor climbing areas called “crags”. Participation in rock climbing began in Europe the early 1900s, came to the United States around the 1950s, and has been steadily increasing over the past few decades to include millions of participants.

What are the different types of rock climbing?

There are many different types of rock climbing including bouldering, top-rope climbing, lead climbing, sport climbing, traditional (trad) climbing, and aid climbing. These types of climbing are described as…

Free Climbing:

Ascending a rock face using your hands and feet to make upward progress while being “free” of any equipment assistance to gain progress. Free climbing is almost always done with a rope or crash pads for protection in the event of a fall and includes bouldering, top-rope climbing, lead climbing, sport climbing and trad climbing. Free climbs are graded in difficulty using the Yosemite Decimal System which ranges from 5.0 (easiest)-5.9 (intermediate). Above 5.10, letter grades of a, b, c, and d are included after the grade to further describe a routes difficulty (ex. 5.10a, 5.10b, 5.10c, 5.10d, 5.11a, etc.) all the way up to 5.15d (hardest grade as of 2024).

• Bouldering: Climbing a shorter “boulder problem” which is typically 10-15 feet in height while using crash pads to mitigate injuries when falling. Boulder problems typically have more difficulty individual moves and are graded in difficulty using the V-scale which ranges from V0 (easiest) to V17 (hardest).

• Top-rope Climbing: A beginner-friendly form of climbing where a rope a rope is tied into a climber, runs through a high anchor near the top of the climb, and comes back down to a belayer. This is a popular introductory type of climbing because, in the event of a fall, the climber might only go down a small amount since the rope is fed through an anchor that is always above the climber.

• Lead Climbing: Placing or clipping protection as you climb while clipping your climbing rope to that protection to mitigate the risks of a fall. Lead climbing is a more intermediate/advanced type of climbing because there is typically bigger longer falls when compared to top-rope climbing. Lead climbing is a way of climbing a route if you are unable to setup an anchor from the top of the cliff.

• Sport Climbing: A form of lead climbing where there are fixed bolts going up the route. In sport climbing, a climber uses quickdraws to secure the rope to the bolts as they ascend.

• Traditional/Trad Climbing: A form of lead climbing where there are no/minimal fixed bolts and a climber must place their own equipment (cams, nuts, hexes, etc.) in cracks to protect a fall. Climbing ethics suggest that if a route can safely be ascended using traditional climbing equipment, developers use restraint and not place any unnecessary bolts if there is adequate natural protection options.

• Aid Climbing: Ascending a rock face by pulling on equipment to “aid” in making upward progress. This is a common type of climbing for big-wall climbers who spend multiple hours or days on a route.

Following the release of the Film Free Solo in 2018, many people became interested in free climbing yet confused about both the terms ‘free’ and ‘solo’. Free climbing is when a climber ascends a rock face using their hands and feet without pulling or stepping on artificial gear or aid gear. Free soloing is when a climber ascends a rock face using their hands and feet without using a rope. This form of climbing is very dangerous and the consequences of a fall are severe. For this reason, a majority of rock climbers use a rope or crash pad(s) to mitigate the risks associated with falling.