Sport climbing

Common card · No. 317649

Sport climbing (or bolted climbing) is a type of free climbing in the sport of rock climbing in which the lead climber clips their rope—via a quickdraw—into pre-drilled in-situ bolts on the rockface for their protection as they ascend the route. Sport climbing differs from the riskier and more demanding format of traditional climbing where the lead climber—as they ascend the route—must also find places into which temporary and removable protection equipment (e.g. spring-loaded camming devices) can be inserted for their safety. Sport climbing dates from the early 1980s when leading French rock climbers wanted to climb blanker face climbing routes that offered none of the cracks or fissures into which temporary protection equipment could be safely inserted. While bolting natural rock faces was controversial—and remains a focus of debate in climbing ethics—the safer format of sport climbing grew rapidly in popularity both for novice and advanced climbers. All subsequent technical grade milestones...

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