Rock climbing

Rock climbing is a sport where participants ascend routes on natural rock outdoors or on artificial resin walls indoors. Guidebooks and online databases document these routes, including the climbing sequence (called the beta) and details of the first ascent (FA) and the first free ascent (FFA). Climbers may complete a route on their first try (onsight), or they may spend years working on a route (projecting) before successfully climbing it from bottom to top without falling (a redpoint ascent).

Routes vary in height from a few metres to over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), and traverses can stretch up to 4,500 metres (14,800 ft). They include slabs, faces, cracks, and overhangs or roofs. Common rock types include granite (e.g., El Capitan), limestone (e.g., Verdon Gorge), and sandstone (e.g., Saxon Switzerland), though 43 types of climbable rock have been identified. Artificial indoor walls are popular, and competition climbing on these walls became an Olympic sport in 2020.

Modern rock climbing centers on free climbing, which—unlike aid climbing—forbids mechanical aids for upward progress. Free climbing includes bouldering on short 5-metre (16 ft) routes, single-pitch climbing on routes up to 60–70 metres (200–230 ft), and multi-pitch or big wall climbing on routes up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). It can be done as free solo climbing (no protection), lead climbing with removable temporary protection (traditional climbing), or lead climbing with permanently fixed bolts (sport climbing).

Technical milestones in rock climbing have been driven by advances in equipment—such as rubber shoes, spring-loaded camming devices, and campus boards—and in techniques like jamming, crimping, and smearing. The most common grading systems are the French numerical and American YDS for lead climbing, and the V-grade and Font-grade for bouldering. As of June 2026, the hardest lead climbing grades are 9c (5.15d) for men and 9b+ (5.15c) for women, while the hardest bouldering grades are V17 (9A) for men and V16 (8C+) for women.

The main types of rock climbing trace their origins to late 19th-century Europe: bouldering in Fontainebleau, big wall climbing in the Dolomites, and single-pitch climbing in the Lake District and Saxony. Climbing ethics have evolved from a focus on "fair means" to the shift from aid climbing to free climbing, and later to clean climbing. The use of bolted protection on outdoor routes remains a subject of debate. The sport’s profile grew when lead climbing, bouldering, and speed climbing became Olympic medal events, and with the popularity of films like *Free Solo* and *The Dawn Wall*.

A central concept is the lead climbing pair. The lead climber ascends the route with a rope attached to their harness, while the belayer (or second) stays at the base, controlling the rope with a mechanical belay device. The belayer pays out rope as the leader climbs but can lock it if the leader falls. Once the leader reaches the top, they set an anchor and belay from above as the second ascends.

Climbing protection (or gear/rack) is another key idea. Early climbers looped the rope around natural rock spikes. If the leader fell and the belayer held the rope—often by wrapping it around their waist—the leader would hang if the rope stayed looped; otherwise, they fell to the ground. Modern climbers use mechanical protection placed along the route, clipping the rope into it as they go. If the leader falls, the belayer locks the rope, and the leader falls until they hang from the last piece of protection they clipped. This protection can be removable (traditional climbing) or permanently fixed (sport climbing).

When a leader falls, the belayer immediately locks the rope, and the leader falls twice the distance they are above their last protection. If that piece fails—a major risk in traditional climbing—they continue falling until the next piece holds (a zipper fall involves multiple failures). On routes with poor protection options, the leader must leave large gaps (runouts), making any fall a big one (called a whipper). The variety of climbing types offers safe entry points for beginners, such as top roping and bouldering, before they learn to lead climb—often starting on sport routes before trying traditional ones.

Though climbing mostly involves ascending, climbers sometimes need to descend—either to retreat (self-rescue) or after completing a route with no other way down. This requires abseiling (rappelling in North America), where climbers use abseil devices to descend a fixed rope anchored at the top.