"Only a hill, but all of life to me,
Up there, between the sunset and the sea"
- Geoffrey Winthrop Young

Why climb rocks?

Countless people ask this question of Rock Climbers, or questions like it. Others enjoy commenting on the apparent futility of the activity; "There is an easy way up around the corner you know!" is a Ramblers favourite. Why no-one asks Ramblers why they don't just get the bus from Matlock to Bakewell "because it's easier", is a mystery to me. Likewise, not many people will suggest that a game of Football ought to be played with 22 balls, to stop players continually squabbling over it.

So, why do climbers climb? Many non-climbers would misquote Mallory, and say "because it's there". Obviously this answers nobody's questions. One of my favourite quotes (and I forget who wrote it) is, "If you have to ask why we climb, then you will never understand". Of course I do not believe this, or I would not be writing this article!

In my view there are many reasons why we climb. I will come back to these at the end of the article however, as anyone who does not climb will need to be filled in on a few points of style and terminology in climbing.

Terminology:

If you are unfamiliar with rock climbing terminology, then go to the Terminology page should help you sort your jams from your mantles!

Climbing Style

Soloing

Traditional

Traditional climbing is one of the two major styles of ascent amongst UK climbers, (the other being Sport-climbing), and after Soloing, is considered the cleanest and most ethical style of ascent.

There are typically two people involved in a traditional ascent, the leader, and the second. The leader is tied on to one end of the rope, which is trailed behind. As the leader climbs a pitch, he places runners in the rock, clipping the rope in to them as he goes. The second is the belayer, and makes sure that the rope between the belay device and the leader is as short as possible, without hindering the leaders progress

The system, once in place, ensures that the leader will not fall further that twice the distance to the last runner. Sounds safe? It can be, providing: there are plenty of places to put runners; you have the correct runners for those placements; the placements are sound placements; you still have the strength to place a runner; you have an attentive belayer; you are less than twice as far off the ground as your last (good) runner!


Many climbs are well protected, others have little protection, or poor protection (that will probably slow your fall a little if nothing else) and given all these variables, many choose to climb in the less ethical style of Sport Climbing.

Once at the top of the pitch the leader sets up a belay, and belays the second up to his stance, whilst the second "cleans" up the runners placed by the leader. If on a multi-pitch route, the second then typically becomes the leader, and leads through to the next belay etc. If the second is inexperienced, then the leader must perform the arduous task of extracting himself from the web, and leading on!

Note I mentioned that some consider soloing to be the purest form of climbing; well many consider traditional climbing the only way to climb. These consider bolting a route ethically outrageous, and soloing simply unjustifiable in terms of risk.

Sport Climbing

Sport climbing is basically traditional climbing without the danger! Leave the protection at home, grab a bunch of quick-draws and a rope, and head for the nearest bolted crag. This style of ascent is the norm on the continent and in many parts of the States, but is tolerated far less in the UK, where bolts (loops of steel permanently fixed to the rock) are only allowed in certain designated limestone quarries, and sparsely on Slate (Slate climbing is a Sport/Trad hybrid style, with bolts placed frugally where natural protection has become rather spaced).

Because all Sport routes have fixed (and generally bombproof) protection, and a minimal time is required to clip the bolts and hence become safe (it can take time in Trad climbing to find the correct sized protection for a given placement), Sports climbers typically climb much harder routes than Trad climbers.

Top-Roping

This type of ascent is considered poor form, practiced by groups of beginners, people trying routes too hard for them to lead, and by climbers learning the moves on a poorly protected route (head-pointing).

Strictly speaking, top-roping is performed by setting up a belay at the top of a climb, from where a belayer will belay the climber on the climb. More often however, the rope is run through a locking karabiner at the top belay, and the belayer will belay from the bottom of the climb.

So, Why climb rocks?

Physical Challenge

This is the most obvious reason we climb. For sport climbers it is also the primary reason. Can I get to the top of this route? Have I the strength to complete a particular hard move? Do I have the stamina to do a move after I have been climbing for 15 metres? Am I flexible enough to use that high hold for my foot?

When it comes to the crunch, it is physical strength, stamina and technique that decide whether you can complete a climb or not, all else being equal. When climbing a sport route, where it is perfectly acceptable to try a move over and over, until you have it "wired", then all else is pretty much equal. However, when climbing in traditional style, or when soloing, other challenges present themselves...

Mental Challenge

The mental challenge is probably understood least by non-climbers. What does the mind possibly have to do with dragging your carcass up a bit of rock? I would argue that it is perhaps the most important aspect to climbing, as it combines all of the following (and probably more).

• Self-knowledge Very important. Climbs that are known to have been climbed are graded in order to enable climbers to judge themselves capable (or not) of a particular climb. These give a rough guide to a routes difficulty, but the climber must also take into account the style of climb, as different shapes and sizes of people find different techniques and styles of climb easier or harder than others.
• Knowledge of protection placement In traditional climbing, this is vital to understand. How to place gear, where to place it, and knowing which piece to place are important, as is knowing whether a particular piece will actually hold in the event of a fall. Assessing potential gear placements from the ground is also a very important skill, as this gives an indication of how safe the climb is, and whether it would be advisable to try - especially if the climb is harder than you would normally attempt.
• Reading the Rock This is important in both traditional leading, and in soloing of a climb. Having the experience to be able to see how the available holds can be best used to reach the top will allow the climber to proceed rapidly, and without tiring too much. This same experience will also tell the climber whether a given technique will actually work in a particular situation. The last thing a soloist needs is to get a move wrong, and peel off 20 yards off the deck!

Psychological Challenge

Again in the traditional and solo styles of climbing, this is a major factor, if not the deciding factor as to whether a climb can be done. In general, a climber will choose a climb to lead which is well within their ability - they would be able to second something a lot harder. It is often the fear of failing on a move, and the consequences that entails, which will cause the climber to make mistakes.

These mistakes take many forms, most of these centering around the hesitancy fear can cause, and subsequent tiring, and failing on a climb otherwise well within the climbers ability. This can be rather fatal in the case of soloists! Other mistakes caused by the onset of panic are made when not quite thinking straight, or thinking in too much of a hurry - mistakes such as bad gear placements, back-clipping krabs (a potentially dangerous method of clipping the rope into a runner, where the rope may open the gate of the krab and un-clip itself), poor ropework leading to rope drag (this has the effect of adding pounds onto your weight, as you fight to pull the rope through!) or making poor choices of technique.

Bizarrely fear can have quite the opposite effect on some climbers, where to combat the fear, they put their brains out of gear, and go for it! This can cause some of the same sloppy mistakes as above.

The psychological challenge of climbing then - and probably the hardest to meet head on - is to rationalize the fear, and climb in a steady and controlled way. Not always easy, but when you get to the top of a hard climb that you have climbed in such a manner, the rewards are immense!

"Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are naught without prudence and that a
momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste; look well to each
step and from the beginning think what may be the end."
- Edward Whymper