Other early pursuits of climbing included the exploration of remote locations in the name of science. This form of exploration and climbing is very much alive today. As the interest of those climbing with a purpose was piqued, a natural progression into climbing for recreation occurred. Note and recognize that the extra time and resources for long climbing expeditions, even in the early days, were that of privilege.<\/p>\n
Alpine climbing emerged with mountaineering and the era between Alfred Wills’s ascent of the Wetterhorn in 1854 and Edward Whymper’s ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 became known as the Golden Age of Alpinism. There were many major peaks in the Alps that saw their first ascents during this decade.<\/p>\n
In the 1880s there was a shift in alpine climbing from mountaineering to rock climbing. There are three places credited with being the birthplace of modern recreational climbing: the Peak and Lake Districts of England, the Elbe Sandstone region of Southeastern Germany, and the Dolomites of Northern Italy. From Wikipedia, \u201cRock climbing evolved gradually from an alpine necessity to a distinct athletic activity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aid vs Free<\/strong> <\/span><\/strong>Since the beginning, climbers have debated what constitutes a legitimate summit or top. This debate centers around the topics of aid vs. free. Aid<\/strong> means the climber uses a plethora of gear to assist their upward progress in reaching the top. Free<\/strong> means the climber uses their own physicality to reach the top without falling. Gear is used only to protect the climber in the event of a fall and can be permenent or removable. Important note: don\u2019t confuse free climbing with free soloing: climber uses no protective gear and a fall would result in hitting the ground.<\/p>\n There is a rich history around the movements that accompanied these debates in the form of the 1911 Preuss rules that suggest pitons are for emergency use only, the 70\u2019s Yosemite Revolution around removable gear development led by Yvon Chouinard, and the Clean Climbing Movement with John Stannard\u2019s publication of \u201cThe Eastern Trade\u201d a newsletter that (among other conversations) encourages climbers to look to the future instead of scaring rock with continued piton use.<\/p>\n ( Photo of the Eastern Trade: You can read all of these old newsletters courtesy of Rock and Snow<\/a>.)<\/p>\n This conversation continues today. You can protect the outdoor rock for future generations by learning about and signing \u201cThe Pact\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/5.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Eastern-Trade.png” alt=”The Eastern Trade” title_text=”The Eastern Trade” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,2_3″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/5.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/39528162715_195004b5a3_c.jpg” alt=”Big Wall” title_text=”Big Wall” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”] Big Wall Climbing: Yosemite<\/strong> The next most recent phase of Yosemite development goes to the Stone Monkeys. A slightly more inclusive modern version building on what the Stonemasters started and continue pushing the limits of what was possible in climbing. Many of the Stone Monkeys are still developing, climbing, adventuring, and Monkeying around today.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”] Sport climbing<\/strong> Bouldering <\/strong><\/p>\n While many climbers were drawn to mountains and large walls, there were those utilizing \u201csmaller rocks\u201d. Bouldering, such as the Camp 4 boulders of Yosemite, were first used to practice for big wall pursuits. Bouldering eventually started resonating as its own pastime, as seen in Fontainebleau, France.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/5.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Outside-Climbing.jpg” alt=”Outside Climbing” title_text=”Outside Climbing” align=”right” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” max_height=”1000px”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”] John Gill, a mathematician and gymnast, is credited with being the father of modern bouldering. He transferred his gymnastics influence into concentrating on form and movement efficiency, added chalk, and spent the majority of his climbing time bouldering. We owe our use of chalk to Gill.<\/p>\n If Gill is the father of modern bouldering, Hueco Tanks is the birthplace of modern bouldering. In the 80s, John \u201cVermin\u201d Sherman established over 500 bouldering routes of varying difficulty. The \u201cV-Scale\u201d emerged from this development. Sherman and his friends made a difficulty scale using numbers. The \u201cV\u201d from Vermin was combined with the scale and the v-scale was born. This is the grading scale now used throughout North America for bouldering.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/5.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/40406596421_99430536c3_c.jpg” title_text=”Outside Bouldering” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/5.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Comp-Photo-scaled.jpg” alt=”Comp Photo” title_text=”Comp Photo” _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″] Competition Climbing <\/strong><\/p>\n The athleticism of climbing lent naturally to the development of competition. Early competition was for first ascents or speed records on a route. The first organized competition was at Sportroccia<\/a> in 1985 where climbers competed for difficulty at the crag. A few years later the first International Sport Climbing Championship took place in Snowbird, UT with lead and speed climbing. Bouldering was added to competition climbing in 1998. USA Climbing was started in 1998 to oversee the US development of competition climbing.<\/p>\n
By the beginning of the 20th century, advancements in climbing equipment such as pitons and steel carabiners were introduced, propelling the transition from mountaineering to traditional rock climbing. These advancements provided much better protection, allowing climbers to tackle more difficult terrain and explore the limits of possibility.<\/p>\n
Yosemite has been at the center of rock climbing development since the post-World War II era. The immense walls offered unique challenges and several phases of climbing in Yosemite emerged. The first phase is marked in the 1940s with Swiss immigrant and blacksmith John Slathe\u2019s new breed of pitons that could be hammered into the walls and later removed. Note that the piton was the primary form of protection for the first 70 years of rock climbing. The next phase of climbing in Yosemite belongs to the Stonemasters. These self-proclaimed dirtbags who made rock climbing a non-conforming lifestyle, popularized free climbing.\u00a0<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.3″ _module_preset=”default”]
The shift from traditional climbing to sport climbing began in earnest in 1983 when Alan Watts bolted \u201cWatts Tots\u201d in Smith Rock. Over the next 2 decades, Smith Rock has become a world-class destination for sport climbing with over 1,800 routes. Sport climbing emphasizes strength, endurance, gymnastic ability, and technique to push grades higher. Smith Rock claims the first 5.14 developed in the US. The bolting and use of fixed protection are what set sport climbing apart from traditional climbing. \u201cTrad\u201d climbing influenced by the Clean Climbing Movement encourages gear removal, rather than scaring the wall with continued piton use and permanent bolting.<\/p>\n