Posts Tagged ‘mountain climbing’

“The climbing experience offers something that’s very hard to get in today’s society, infatuated as it is with video games and reality TV and almost divorced from the natural world and real challenge” – Jeff Lowe

If you have done any ice-climbing in the past or intend to give it a go this winter, you will no doubt have heard of Jeff Lowe.

Lowe, a Utah native who was skiing at four and was making technical rope climbs in the Tetons with his father at 6, has been ascending the tallest mountains since somewhere in the 1960’s. Back then there was no such thing as sport or trad. Jim Donini, one of Lowe’s climbing partners, says “He was an all-rounder—he did it all. Although at the time, it was just known as climbing.”

Having stood atop the Himalayas and the highest and most difficult mountains in the Alps, it was his 1978 solo climb up frozen Bridalveil Falls in the rugged San Juan Mountains near Telluride, Colorado, that put Lowe firmly into the history books. Four years earlier he, and friend Mike Weis, had been the first climbers to make it up the 40-story column of ice. In 1978 Lowe did it solo and has subsequently retained an almost mythical status amongst ice climbers.

From the beginning, he was a climbing purist. He believes in fast, light climbing — one or two climbers, possibly three, each carrying everything he needs on his back; no fixed ropes or established camps; camping on the face of the mountain; no oxygen; the most technically challenging routes, often ones that have never been attempted; the use of only one or two ropes.

“I’m not a big adrenaline junkie,” he says. “If you get that, it means things are out of control. I try to avoid that. I hate big shots of adrenaline. It means you don’t have enough margin. That’s why I didn’t kill myself in 40 years of hard-core climbing. I know there are people who think adrenaline is a big part of it. For me, it was finding out what I could do safely.”

Instead of adrenaline, Lowe sought the aesthetics of climbing — the beauty and solitude of his surroundings, the physical and mental challenges of technical climbing and self-discovery.

It was his attempt of the North Ridge of Latok 1 (7,145 m or 23,441 ft) in Pakistan that is considered to be one of the greatest alpine endeavors of all time. Jim McCarthy calls it “by far the greatest failure of American mountaineering.”

Lowe and his team, Jim Donini, Michael Kennedy and cousin George Lowe, spent 26 days on the mountain and came within 122m (400 ft) of the summit, a high point that still holds. Donini cites diminishing fuel reserves, Jeff’s illness from a near-fatal virus and horrendous weather as the main reasons for their retreat. To this day, the North Ridge of Latok 1 awaits a first ascent, despite numerous attempts.

He has accumulated in excess of 1,000 first ascents including the first ascent of the now famed Moonlight Buttress in Zion National Park (V, 5.9, A3, 1971) which he climbed with Mike Weis, plus numerous others in the Alps, Dolomites, Cascades, Himalayas, Rockies, and Andes. He once calculated the number of nights he had spent bivouacked in a tent on the face of a cliff; it added up to several years.

His some-time climbing partner Jim Donini, recent past president of the AAC and a top alpinist, credits Lowe with importing ice-climbing techniques from Europe. He returned with a renewed notion of what was possible. Such first ascents as Bridalveil Falls (WI6, 1974) in Colorado, and Keystone Greensteps (WI5, 1975), Alaska, are Lowe’s ice climbing legacy.

Jim McCarthy says “He transformed ice climbing, period.”

During the late 1990s, while the ESPN Winter X-Games were still held in Big Bear, California, event organizers needed an innovative structure for the ice-climbing competition but the temperatures were too high (60 F) to create frozen waterfalls. After a few days of brainstorming, Lowe came up with the idea of a refrigerated free-standing holographic ice tower … and ice climbing went X-treme!

This tower has now been purchased by Ogden Climbing Parks, a non-profit organization which Lowe is associated with,  and will soon be erected in Ogden’s Big-D Sports Park providing reliable and easy access Ice Climbing. This will be a MAJOR contribution to Ogden as a recreation centre and will draw hundreds of ice climbers to the area.

In the late 1990s Lowe developed multiple system atrophy, a neurodegenerative disorder similar to MS. In 2004, at the age of 53 he had to give up climbing altogether. It is a cruel irony that the man who once solo-climbed a 40-story pillar of ice and became a legend and a Sports Illustrated cover boy with his international climbing exploits should contract such a cruel disease.

“It’s poetic injustice,” he says. “I say that tongue in cheek. I’m not saying ‘Why me?’ I’m saying, ‘Why not me?’ A lot of people have worse disabilities than I do.”

But this did not signal the end of life as he knew it to him – he just took another direction and now continues his involvement and passion for climbing through Ogden Climbing Parks. His goal is to promote and develop the climbing potential around Ogden, Utah. Ogden Climbing Parks also runs programs that allow underprivileged children and those with disabilities to enjoy the climbing experience.

Ogden, with its ambition to become the sports adventure centre of America is fortunate to have someone of Jeff Lowe’s caliber on their team. He was recruited to create a climbing park and to develop Ogden’s potential as a climbing haven. With his passion for mountaineering and his experience, he intends to revolutionise climbing in Ogden, working diligently to secure and open new climbing areas throughout the region.

“I enjoyed climbing so much that I’m getting a lot of joy in passing it along,” he says.

A man to admire…

Whilst looking into the life of Noel Odell, a great climber and adventurer of his time, I stumbled across this wonderful speech from Jan Smuts which was used in an obituary for Odell. I thought all mountain climbers would appreciate and empathise with. Smuts delivered this speech at the summit on Table Mountain, South Africa, at the end of the Great Wall:

“And so it has come about that finally in man all moral and spiritual values are expressed in terms of altitude. The low expresses degradation both physical and moral. If we wish to express great intellectual or moral or spiritual attainment, we use the language of altitudes. We speak of men who have risen, of aims and ideals that are lofty, we place the seat of our hghest religious ideal in Heaven, and we consign all that is morally base to nethermost hell. Thus the metaphors embedded in language reflect but the realities of the progress of terrestrial life. The mountain is not merely something externally sublime. It has a great historic and spiritual meaning for us. It stands for us as the ladder of life. Nay, more, it is the ladder of the soul, and in a curious way the source of religion. From it came the Law, from it came the Gospel in the Sermon on the Mount. We may truly say that the highest religion is the religion of the Mountain. What is that religion? When we reach the mountain summits we leave behind us all the things that way heavily down below on our body and our spirit. We leave behind all sense of weakness and depression;  we feel a new freedom, a great exhilaration, an exaltation of the body no less than the spirit. We feel a great joy. The religion of the Mountain is in reality the religion of joy, of the release of the soul from the things that weigh it down and fill it with a sense of weariness, sorrow and defeat. The religion of joy releases the freedom of the soul, the soul’s kinship to the great creative spirit, and its dominance over all things of sense. The mountains behold us and the stars beckon to us. The mountains of our land will make a constant appeal to us to live the higher life of joy and freedom.”

Beautiful isn’t it?

Jan Smuts

Jan Smuts was, of course, that great statesman who lived well before his time. A politician, world-famed statesman, soldier, naturalist, philosopher and eventually a former Prime Minister of South Africa, he played an important role in the drafting of the constitution of the League of Nations the exact design and implementation of which relied upon him. He later urged the formation of a new international organisation for peace: the United Nations. Smuts wrote the preamble to the United Nations Charter, and was the only person to sign the charters of both the League of Nations and the UN. He also sought to redefine the relationship between the United Kingdom and her colonies, by establishing the British Commonwealth. In 1941 he was promoted to field marshal of the British Army. He was opposed to segregation and apartheid in South Africa and in 1946 opened a commission to investigate these. “The idea that the Natives must all be removed and confined in their own kraals is in my opinion the greatest nonsense I have ever heard.”

Noel Ewart Odell

Noel Ewart Odell was an English geologist and mountaineer born in 1890, died 1987. In 1924 he was an oxygen officer on the Everest expedition in which George Mallory and Andrew Irvine famously perished during their summit attempt. Impressively, Odell spent two weeks living above 23,000 feet (7,000m) without any supplementary oxygen. He had earlier stated that it was his “firm belief .. that Everest can be climbed without oxygen”.

On the successful summitting of Nanda Devi (25,660ft), H.W. Tilman,  Odell’s climbing partner, said: “In 1936 he climbed Nanda Devi when he seemed so much fitter than the rest of us that I considered his age (47) to be immaterial.” It is worth remembering that Nanda Devi was the highest mountain climbed and remained the highest until 1950.

In keeping with Jan Smut’s statement on Table Mountain, Noel Odell agreed with the essence of the  statement and went on to say: “Indeed, one’s spirit must aspire ever upwards, metaphorically and in actuality, raising higher and higher one’s lethargic body. Or, to to express it as Robert Browning does, in another way: “a man’s reach must exceed his grasp, else what’s heaven for?”

Poets, philosophers and statesmen alike.

It’s been a while since I started the climbing styles discussion (trad and sports), so time to add some more information. Please note that these ‘discussions’ are merely an introduction to various climbing stlyes not the bible. And now for the i’s…

Indoor Climbing

Some would say that indoor climbing is ruining the sport of rock climbing, but as with everything, there is a time and a place for it, if only to get your initial rock climbing lessons. However, the tendency to become a little cocky on an indoor wall has been known, and seldom transfers with confidence to a real rock face!

There is a place for indoor climbing. Many people live in an inclement climate which prevents them from climbing outdoors as often as they wish. Equally many people find it difficult to find the time to go out rock climbing, but most people nowadays find time to go to a gym … and if you love rock climbing and there is a wall at your gym, then hey – why not?

In order to improve in any sport, consistent practice is crucial. With the advent of indoor climbing, weather, seasonal difficulties, and busy schedules are less of an obstacle to consistent improvement, and enjoyment of the sport.

The concept is simple: climbing walls, which can range from 14 thousand square feet to the size of a basement, are bolted with holds (points where the hands or feet can settle their weight in while climbing) and are located under a roof.

Because indoor climbing is in a controlled environment it is safer than climbing in the great outdoors, and although it may look easy as all the holds are easily distinguishable, it does offer different levels which you can try out and master. Despite the apparent uniformity from the ground, harder routes demand more effort and physical strength to be successfully scaled.

It is certain, though, that indoor climbing walls do not have the diversity of the real thing, nor the adrenaline buzz that you get from a real rock face. But for some, it’s better than nothing…

Ice Climbing

Ice climbing is self-explanatory – it’s all about ascending ice formations such as frozen waterfalls, icefalls and cliffs or rocks that have refrozen over.

There are two catagories of ice climbing: alpine ice and water ice.

Alpine ice, again self-explanatory, is in a mountain environment and is generally caused by precipitation. It is normally encountered on a summit attempt. Whereas water ice is caused by a frozen liquid flow of water and is found on cliffs or beneath water flows. Water ice is generally more technically challenging than Alpine ice.

Ice varies greatly in consistency according to weather conditions. It can be soft, hard, brittle or tough and the technical grade is independent of ice type. The strength of the ice is often surprising; even if the ice axe only goes in a centimeter or so it is enough to pull up on.

What you wear on your hands and feet is of vital importance for serious ice climbing. Your boots must be stiff enough to maintain ankle support and must be crampon compatible.  And your gloves will be of paramount importance. You ARE going to get cold, wet and numb! I have been told that the best are the GTX ones, but that they are pricey. If you can’t afford them then the next best thing to do is invest in the off brand pile gloves or wool gloves and carry multiple pairs. One that will get wet and one pair that will stay “dry” for belaying and standing around. Equally you could stock up with shells – the ones by OR are good and relatively affordable. Make sure you have yet another pair of warm, comfortable gloves for the way home.

Some important techniques and practices common in rock climbing (a discipline we are more familiar with) that are also employed in ice climbing include knowledge of rope systems, tying in, belaying, leading, abseiling, and lowering. However, there are other and different tools needed for ice climbing, amongst these are ice screws, ice axes/pick, a spike – important for balancing with the tool when you’re moving on low-angle ice, a hammerhead – allows you to pound pitons into the rock for protection, and an adze which can be helpful for chopping stances in alpine terrain and, of course, crampons.

One of the things that does make a difference in ice climbing is weight and balance – I have been told that this can make a difference to what tools you choose. Smaller climbers or those with less arm strength often prefer lighter tools whilst strong, confident climbers often prefer the weight of a heavy tool. More important than weight is balance. The tool’s balance point should be near its head so most of the energy of the swing goes into penetrating the ice.

If you are going to embark on an ice climbing career you must make sure that you are comfortable with the various tools. The best way to check this out is to attend an ice demo or festival where you can try out a variety of models bearing in mind that this is just a demo and does not give a full assessment of the tool’s performance.

I have given you the bare outlines of ice climbing here. I have not done it myself – though loving the cold as I do…hopefully it’s only a matter of time before I take on this challenge.

“Why ice climb? well apart from the fact that I get a huge buzz out of being scared shitless most of the time, its because its so so beautiful.” – Pete Atkinson

What further incentive could you possibly need?

“I am doing it for the thrill, for that feeling of danger and freedom.This is my way of expressing myself… We set ourselves limits, but we are all strong enough to aim higher, to achieve our goals. All we have to do is find such within ourselves. Know how to develop it… I do think that sometimes faith can move mountains”

Alain Robert

I do come across the most extroadinary people, places and events in my various researches, but Alain Robert has to be one of the most extroadinary people I have yet written about. Unfortunately, his urban climbing is so extra-extroadinary that I can find very little information on his equally fantastic rock climbing feats so have had to make do with stunning photographs instead… let me stop blathering and leave you to read about the French, or Human, Spiderman yourself.

Born in 1962, Alain Robert is the world’s most accomplished urban climber. He has scaled more than 85 buildings around the globe including the Eiffel Tower – 314m (1,027 ft), the Sydney Tower – 319m (1,047 ft), the Petronas Twin Towers – 452m (1,488 ft) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sears Tower Chicago – 443m (1,453 ft) and Taipei 101 – 508 m (1,667 ft).

Robert began climbing as a young boy, scaling rock cliffs in the area around his home. His ‘buildering’ career began at the age of 12 when he forgot his keys and was locked out of his parents’ eighth-floor apartment. Instead of waiting for them to return home, he simply scaled the exterior wall…

As this video from racchroxz testifies, his rock and urban climbs  do not include rope or rigging. He uses only his hands, chalk, and climbing shoes.

He is  an accomplished rock climber. In 1993 he achieved a world record for the most extreme solo performance in the Gorge du Verdon in the south of France.

In 1982 he suffered two accidents, the first in January at the age of 19 and the second in September at the age of 20. He fell 15 metres (49 ft) on both occasions. He suffered multiple fractures (to his cranium, nose, wrists, elbows, pelvis, and heels). He now suffers from permanent vertigo.

The doctors considered him 60 percent handicapped and told him he would not be able to climb again. However, within 6 months he was back doing what he loves most – climbing. He kept taking on more and more challenging structures and improving his skills. He polished his rock-climbing skills in the French Alps before turning to buildings.

In an interview in 2005 he admitted that he had fallen 7 times although the worst fall was the one in 1982. In 2004, he fell 2 metres (6 ft 6.7 in) when climbing a traffic light whilst posing for a photo in an interview. He landed on his elbow and needed forty stitches, but a month later he climbed the world’s tallest skyscraper at the time, Taipei 101, as part of its official opening week.

It was in 1994 that he began free solo climbing  the world’s tallest urban structures that would earn him the nickname  “The French Spiderman”.

He recently said that his most challenging urban climb was the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) in Chicago Illinois in 1999. As he neared the top of the tower, the fog came down covering the glass and metal wall of the last 20 floors with moisture making it dangerously slippery. This made the climb considerably more dangerous, slower and more strenuous. However, nothing was going to stop him and he reached the top safely and successfully.

In 2008 he successfully scaled Hong Kong’s Four Seasons Hotel, a 45-story building and his third known urban climb in that city. To succeed, he had to resort to a strategy he has used many times in the past – to set off at dawn as  the Hong Kong police had been tipped off about a possible illegal ascent in the city.

Robert used the climb to promote greater awareness and international action for the cause of global warming.

He was briefly detained by authorities after the climb before being released. He has, in fact, been arrested and fined more than 100 times for illegally climbing the world’s tallest urban structures during the last two decades. These arrests and trials have been little more than formalities, although in 2007, in China, he was jailed and then deported after climbing the  88 story-skyscraper called the Jin Mao Tower – 420 m (1,378 ft).

“We set ourselves limits, but we are all strong enough to aim higher, to achieve our goals. All we have to do is find such strength within ourselves. Know how to develop it” he says.

His latest climb was the Petronas Tower in Malaysia – 452 m (1,483 ft) on 1st September this year. He successfully stood atop the highest point of the Tower.

Many of his climbs provide him no opportunity to rest and can last over an hour. That’s all! he attributes a lot of his success to his height – 1.65 m (5′5″) – which, being short and light, enhances his dexterity. He is, of course, in peak physical condition and has expert climbing techniques.

I suggest you visit his site, www.alainrobert.com – it’s worth it!

I love it when you do an article and then someone says: “hey, what about this one….” and you find that their suggestion is wonderfully interesting too, and well worth writing about.

Which is why, today, I have bothered to find out more about Annapurna – or, to be more precise, Annapurna I, which is an enormous Himalayan massif standing at 8091m (26,545 ft), making it the 10th-highest summit in the world and one of the 14 “eight-thousanders”. It is situated in Nepal.

PATIENCE, PRUDENCE AND TENACITY MUST BE UNITED IN ORDER TO ASCEND ANNAPURNA!!!

It is located east of a great gorge cut through the Himalayas by the Kali Gandaki River, which separates it from the Dhaulagiri massif. (Dhaulagiri I lies 34 km west of Annapurna I). It is a series of peaks in the Himalayas, a 55 km (34 miles)-long massif of which Annapurna I is the highest point. The mountain has glaciers on its western and northwestern slopes which drain into this gorge.

Annapurna is a Sanskrit name that can be translated as ‘Goddess of the Harvests’ or more simply ‘The Provider’.

One of Annapurna I’s claim to fame is that it was the first 8,000m (26,200 ft) peak to be climbed.

It was first summitted by a French expedition led by Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal on 3 June 1950. It remained the highest summit for 3 years until the first successful attempt of Mount Everest. It is worth noting that higher climbs had been made prior to this but as they were non-summit climbs they don’t count!

In 1970 the south face of Annapurna I was conquered by Don Whillans and Dougal Haston, members of a British expedition led by Chris Bonington which included the alpinist Ian Clough.

As of 2005, there had been only 103 successful summit attempts. 56 lives have been lost on the mountain, many to the avalanches for which it is known. Climbers killed on the peak include alpinist Ian Clough in 1970, famed Russian climber Anatoli Boukreev in 1997, Christian Kuntner in 2005 and Iñaki Ochoa in 2008,

The first solo climb was October 2007 on the South Face by Slovenian climber Tomaž Humar.

The Annapurna massif contains six major peaks over 7,200 m

• Annapurna I            8,091 m
• Annapurna II          7,937 m
• Annapurna III        7,555 m
• Annapurna IV        7,525 m
• Gangapurna             7,455 m
• Annapurna South  7,219 m

The best months for climbing Annapurna are April/May and a good starting off point is Pokhara, Nepal. The closest airport is Kathmandu.

The greatest enemy to climbers of Annapurna are the avalanches.  These have taken the lives of many of the climbers that have dared to reach its highest point. The possibilities of severe and inhospitable climatic conditions are high with extreme cold and regular snowfalls to be expected.

Dhaulagiri looms directly opposite Annapurna, and between these two eight-thousanders lies the trekking route from Pokhara to Jomsom which runs through the deepest valley in the world.

It is an area of stunning beauty.

If climbing mountains and conquering peaks is not quite your thing, but you really want to get over there and witness for yourself the magnificent scenery, then the the Annapurna Circuit is just waiting for you.

It is the popular name for a 300 kilometre trek around the Annapurna mountain range in the Himalayas. The trek reaches an altitude of 5,300 metres on the Thorung La pass, touching the edge of the fabled Tibetan plateau. The magnificent mountain scenery, seen at close quarters includes Annapurna 8,091 metres, the magnificent ice pyramid Dhauligiri 8,167 metres, once the home of the legendary Buddhist guru Padmasamba, and Machhupuchhare 6,993 metres, considered by many to be the most beautiful mountain in the world.

Machhupuchhare

The trek follows ancient paths used as trade routes between Nepal and Tibet. These paths have long facilitated the flow of cultures and religions in this remote and formerly inaccessible region. There is an unusually wide range of climatic zones in this small small area, but the path ascends from 900 metres to 5,300 metres which provides a chance to see many different plants and animals, and the different ways of life of the many peoples who live there.

Having done a fair amount of research and reading on rock climbing it occurred to me that some of you out there might like to have the different techniques of rock climbing clarified a fraction, and so I embarked on a breakdown. By the time I’d reached 2,000 words I realised that this article was FAR too long, so I have broken it down into bite-size chunks, and have kept it very simple. I hope it helps clear up any confusion that some of you, most likely newbies to the sport, might have.

Bear with me, you’ll get them all in the end…

Traditional climbing, or trad climbing is a form of free climbing in contrast to sport climbing – climbing where all protection and anchor points are permanently installed prior to the climbing.

Trad Climbing

The routes in trad climbing are climbed without using artificial tools to help the ascent. Only the climbers hands and feet and some passive protection such as nuts and hexes are used.

The defining features of trad climbing are a strong focus on exploration, and a strict dedication to leaving nature unblemished.

In trad climbing, a leader ascends a section of rock placing his or her own ‘protective devices’ while climbing. Prior to about 1970 these devices were often limited to pitons. Today they normally consist mainly of a combination of chocks and spring loaded camming devices but may less commonly include pitons which are driven with a hammer and bolts inserted into a hole drilled into the rock.

Tools used in Trad Climbing are employed as a means of assisting climbers by means of protection, rather than aiding them upwards. What separates Trad Climbing from other styles is that the safety of the climber relies on the tools used as well as the suitable area to place such tools on the mountain wall.

The Australians call this ‘adventure climbing’.

This type of climbing is fairly gear intensive as it is necessary to carry everything you need or might need. This gear is usually carried on a rack which in turn is carried on a sling around the shoulders or clipped to the gear loops on the harness. Such equipment will consist of pieces of protection (“Pros” – see above), slings of different lengths, as well as spare carabiners for emergency use. You will of course need all the taken for granted stuff – harness, climbing shoes, helmet (if you wish), a belay device, etc.

A climbing anchor made using a hex and two cams, equalized with slings and carabiners

The pieces of equipment used are retrieved either by a belayer or by the climber himself during his descent.

TradClimbing is far more adventurous. It allows you far more freedom on a rock face. The freedom to choose your own route, to test your capabilities and to ensure you know what your equipment is all about – after all your life is going to depend on it. It also promotes teamwork as you will be climbing with a leader who will be placing the ‘pros’ and a belayer who will retrieve the equipment after the climb.

If you are climbing solo, you will be removing the ‘pros’ yourself.

A number of different types of rock are suitable for trad climbing but granite, sandstone and limestone are idea.

Sport Climbing

Sport climbing, on the other hand, relies on permanent anchors fixed to the rock, especially bolts, for protection which means that a climber ascends a route that already has permanent bolts and anchors attached on the rock wall. This means that the gear for sports climbing is virtually minimal compared to trad climbing, but not non-existent! The kit you need should consist of a harness, climbing shoes, climbing helmet, rope, belay device and quickdraws.

Since the need to place protection is virtually eliminated, sport climbing places an emphasis on gymnastic ability, strength and endurance, as opposed to adventure, risk and self-sufficiency.

To sports climb, a rope is tied to a climber’s climbing harness with the loose end handled by a belayer. As the climb progresses, the climber will eventually come across bolts where he or she could use a Quickdraw to clip one side to the bolt and the rope to the hanging end of the Quickdraw. This is basically how a climber is protected from falling. Normally, there is a distance of eight feet between each bolt in Sport Climbing route.

Sport climbing was practiced as early as the 1970’s in France when climbers started to place bolts on mountain routes, particularly difficult ones, to allow a climber to ascend more easily by clipping lines to the bolts.

rope, helmet, climbing shoes, harness, chalk bag, belay device, and quick draws

Two quickdraws

Very simply, a route suitable for sport climbing has pre-placed bolts following a line up a rock face. Sport climbs are typically between 20 and 120 feet in length, and have eight to twelve bolts. Some routes may have as few as three bolts, while other routes may have twenty-five or more.

To lead a sport climb is to ascend a route with a rope tied to the climber’s harness, and with the loose end of the rope handled by a belayer. As each bolt is reached along the route, the climber attaches a quickdraw to the bolt, and then clips the rope through the hanging end of the quickdraw. This bolt is now protecting the climber in the event of a fall. At the top of sport routes, there is typically a two-bolt anchor that can be used to return the climber to the ground or previous rappel point.

Sports Climbing is a good starting point for anyone new to rock climbing. Practicing techniques and getting used to equipment without fear of injury makes this form of climbing perfect for beginners. It’s also a good form of excercise developing the climber’s strength, stamina, and flexibility in every climb. And, of course, it’s cheaper than trad climbing as less equipment is needed. However, please do not think that this means you can cut costs on what you do have – whatever form of rock climbing you do there is always an inherent danger and it is NOT worth cutting any corners.

Rock types that produce good sport climbs include limestone, granite and quartzite, though sport climbs can be found on almost all rock types.

There is a little animosity between the two techniques. Maybe not so much animosity as difference of opinion…

While it may be more dangerous than sport climbing, traditional climbing leaves little or no trace of climbing which preserves the natural environment of the cliff face. Sport climbing, on the other hand, requires bolts to be permanently drilled into the rock face providing the exclusive or primary means of protection. The difference between sport and traditional or “trad” styles has caused some periodic contention in the rock climbing community as the respective camps debate the relative merits of the differing styles.

An ongoing grumble in paradise…