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Rock climbing

Explorer · ages 7 and underAdapted from Wikipedia
Alex Honnold climbing the huge granite cliff of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, California, without ropes, a climbing style called free soloing.

What Is Rock Climbing?

Rock climbing is a sport where people climb up rocks. Some climbers go up natural rock outside. Others climb climbing walls inside. Climbing can be fun and good for the body.

Where and How People Climb

Climbers can climb routes that are just a few metres tall. Some routes are over 1,000 metres high! The tallest climb is on El Capitan, which is a famous rock. Many climbs are on granite, limestone, and sandstone. A famous limestone place is Verdon Gorge, and a famous sandstone place is Saxon Switzerland.

Some climbers try bouldering, which means climbing short routes. Others go on very tall climbs called big wall climbing. Many people also like to climb indoors on walls.

Staying Safe

Climbers work as a team. One climber goes up while a partner stays on the ground and holds the rope. This partner is called a belayer. The job is called belaying, and it helps keep the climber safe.

Climbers wear special clothing and gear. They wear climbing shoes for better grip. They use climbing chalk to keep their hands dry. Many climbers also wear climbing helmets.

A Sport for Everyone

Competition climbing is a sport where climbers race or show their skills on walls. It became an Olympic sport in 2020. Climbing is also good for the body. It can make people stronger, fitter, and better at balance.

Where Climbing Began

Rock climbing began a long time ago in Europe. Bouldering started in Fontainebleau, and big wall climbing started in the Dolomites. Today, people all over the world enjoy this sport.

Quiz time!

3 questions about Rock climbing

Question 1 of 3

What is the partner who holds the rope called?

Pictures

Climber Lisi Steurer tackles the difficult route "Ohne Rauch stirbst Du auch" on the Große Zinne mountain in the Dolomites, Italy.
A climber makes their way up a crack in the red rock cliffs of Indian Creek, near Moab, Utah, in Canyonlands National Park.
A climber leads a traditional rock climb at Red River Gorge in Kentucky, placing gear as they go up the cliff.
An offset nut, a metal climbing tool that climbers slot into cracks in rock to help protect themselves from falling.
A Camalot climbing cam tucked into a crack in the rock. Climbers place devices like this to catch themselves in a fall.
Johnny Dawes climbing Poetry Pink, a route on the Rainbow Slab at the Llanberis slate quarries in North Wales.
Muriel Sarkany climbing the Era Vella route, a very difficult sport climb graded 9a.
Janja Garnbret of Slovenia climbing in the women's lead final at the 2018 IFSC Climbing World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria.
An indoor bouldering wall with thick crash mats on the floor. Bouldering is climbing short walls without ropes, so the soft mats catch climbers who fall.
A section of a MoonBoard, a training wall with climbing holds used to practice climbing moves.
Climbers competing in the women's bouldering qualification at the 2022 European Championships in Sport Climbing in Munich.
A topo, or route map, of the Toix Est cliff in the Costa Blanca region of Spain, showing the names, difficulty grades, and lines of the rock climbs.
Steph Davis climbing a crack on a steep rock face in Yosemite Valley, without ropes or other safety gear.
Jonathan Siegrist on the FFA of Spectrum 5.14c (8c+), Red Rocks, Nevada.
Rock climber with a helmet, harness & rope, and a traditional climbing "rack" of protection devices on their harness and additional gear sling, which contains SLCDs, nuts, a tricam, and quickdraws
Silence is 9c (French), 5.15d (American YDS), and XII+ (UIAA)
Napes Needle, on the Great Gable in the Lake District in England, was first climbed by W. P. Haskett Smith in 1886; an act that is considered to be the start of the modern sport of rock climbing.
Hammered in piton

Keep exploring

Climbing
Limestone
Verdon Gorge
Competition climbing
Sport climbing at the Summer Olympics
Fontainebleau rock climbing

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Rock climbing, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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