Sport Climbing - An Instructional Guidebook

Aimed at beginners and experienced sport climbers. It covers all the technical skills needed to climb bolted sport routes worldwide, from short single-pitch entry-grade routes, through harder modern test-pieces to classic multi-pitch crag and mountain routes.

Introduction

Sport climbing has become phenomenally popular over recent years. From its early days when those drilling rock were castigated by traditional climbers, most now accept that sport climbing has its place alongside crags where leader-placed protection is the norm. The increase in personal leisure time and the explosion in low-cost air travel have done much to encourage the growth of the sport. Travel to some of the hottest cragging spots in the world is now possible at a fraction of the cost, in real terms, of 10 years ago.

‘Sport’ climbing differs from ‘traditional’ climbing in that, generally, the protection used to safeguard the leader is already in place, in the form of bolts and rings drilled into the cliff. Unfettered by a large rack of wires, chocks and camming devices, the climber carries little more than a few extenders, and is free to climb fast and hard, pausing only briefly to clip the gear as he passes by. Climbers often find that they can climb far harder than their usual traditional leading grade, as the security of a well-bolted and user-friendly crag induces a relaxed atmosphere and thus an improvement in performance.

This style of climbing is often seen as having a ‘minimalist’ approach, where extra kit often only comprises shorts, T-shirt and sunglasses. Although bolted routes are found the world over, it is this ‘sunny’ aspect of many sport-climbing venues that is a great attraction to many. To be able to combine a climbing trip or holiday with some well-bolted sport routes somewhere with stable and predictable weather makes for an excellent change to what may otherwise be a mundane, workaday routine.

This book sets out the variety of skills needed to complete a bolted route safely. At many levels the skills base is low, and simply being able to belay and clip in an extender correctly, allied with the knowledge of how to organise a lower-off, will give a great day out. However, as grades and length of routes increase – in particular when dealing with multi-pitch climbs – it is essential to have more technical knowledge. This book will take you all the way from the basics, such as tying on and belaying, through the skills needed to climb safely on multi-pitch crags the world over.

Whatever your aspirations, make sure you have a good – and safe – time on the crag. Sport climbing is here to stay. Hopefully those who still see it as a ‘dark art’ will change their opinion before long and realise that climbing, in all its forms, is big enough for everyone to have their own space, enabling us all to get on with what is important – having fun.