The history of climbing rocks, unlike many sports, is recent. According to history, people used to climb steep mountain faces and dangerous cliffs since they had to, but today people do it as a sporting activity. Rock climbing and bringing down stranded people was part of the Alpine mountaineering.
It was during late 19th century that climbing emerged as a sport from three specific areas of Europe. The first was in Germany in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains in the South-eastern part of the country near the Czech border. By 1903 there were several climbing clubs opening up in the territory and nearly 500 active climbers playing the sport.
It was during the same time, rock climbing was observed as a sport in England. Some of the climbers at this time invited attention as they soared some difficult cliffs all by themselves. Depending of the varying types of cliff formations, it is here that marking the various difficulty ratings first started. The formation of climbing clubs were rather slow in this area, however, the climbers would meet up themselves to thrash out their individual climbing experiences.
It took a 17 year old student from Munich Germany to do a solo climb in the Dolomite Mountains located in northern Italy to turn the area into the third hot spot for European rock climbing.
In the United States rock and mountain climbing was viewed in a similar fashion but it was treated as a well defined sporting activity only from the 1950s. Many of the modern techniques which are evident today, were initially developed with mountain climbing in mind.
Rock climbing as we know today has come a long way with new ways of doing things being introduced everyday and novel equipment getting launched. Climbing is now viewed more as a lifestyle by rock climbers than just a sport.
Another noticeable trend is the setting up of indoor climbing in urban zones. Here many actual rock formations are duplicated in design with artificial rock faces. You can be completely risk-free in these indoor climbing facilities since the safety equipment is guaranteed to give you all the excitement of the sport of rock climbing without the inherent risk factors.
Rock climbing requires a lot of effort, strength and determination and can never be a risk-free experience despite the plethora of safety equipment and new techniques in place. The modern day man has to encounter far more challenges to test his might and stamina than those who lived in the past.
Rocks were climbed only when people had a good reason to do so. The increasing popularity of rock climbing is perhaps a reflection of the changing preferences of our society. Many has sought fresh challenges everyday and perhaps this is the basic driver responsible for the existence of this activity.
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Article By Suta At: http://interesting-hobby.blogspot.com/
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2 comments:
Indoor climbing involves reduced risk as the anchors and safety equipment (usually available for hire for a small fee) will be regularly checked. However, there remains the risk of failing to tie in properly, fasten the harness securely or for an absent minded belayer to fail to arrest a fall so so even indoors it is not 100% risk free.... risk is an inherent attraction of the sport but should be mitigated wherever possible through training and adequate equipment but at the end of the day anyone taking part in climbing must assume responsibility for themselves in what is essentially a dangerous sport.
Indoor walls are an excellent introduction and training ground and help reduce erosion on our precious outdoor crags, and make climbing an all-year sport regardless of weather.
Instruction is essential for a novice whether from a qualified instructor or competant climber. All climbing walls will insist you sign a waiver before using the facilities and will require that you know how to belay, tie in and fit a sit harness. These essential skills are easily learned in less than an hour.
Outdoor climbing is a completely different sport and requires a vastly greater degree of technical skill to safely set up the equipment even though the climbing itself requires the same physical skills as indoors. We are very happy to advise you about equipment but you should seek instruction from a qualified instructor as to how to use it properly.
Enjoy your climbing
Walkhigh Mountaineering
Its great to be on top of the world.
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