Rock climbing

An old postcard dedicated to rock climbing in Saxony Switzerland . At the top of the cliff Barbarine

Climbing as a way to overcome the rocky terrain by a person in the process of development and adaptation to life in mountainous areas arose a very long time ago. Climbing as overcoming a rocky terrain not for the purpose of solving utilitarian everyday tasks ( hunting , finding the shortest paths in the mountains, etc.), but for self-affirmation, solving sports problems, that is, as a form of outdoor activities and sports, arose in mountain regions in XIX century.

Climbing in your free time has become widespread in Europe : rocky regions of Germany ( Saxony Switzerland , Zittau mountains , etc.), Austria ( Tyrolean Alps ), rocks of Scotland , Ireland , Switzerland and other countries. In Russia, more than 150 years ago, climbing on the Krasnoyarsk pillars - Columnism - began in the vicinity of Krasnoyarsk .

In the United States at the beginning of the 20th century, rock climbing in the Yosemite National Park began and began to confidently develop.

With the development of climbing in the world, new areas have been developed. Currently, there are more than 2500 climbing areas in the world ^{[1] [2]}

In the second half of the 20th century, climbing became a recognized sport all over the world, in which international competitions are regularly held.

Although climbing practice was an important element in the development of mountaineering in the European Alps, it is believed that as a sport climbing began to develop actively in the last quarter of the 19th century in at least three geographical locations: the Elbe sandstone mountains in Saxony near Dresden , ^[3] Lake District in England ^{[ 4]} , and the Dolomites in Italy ^[5] . Being at first simply an integral part of life in the mountains, rock climbing in these three areas harmoniously developed into athletic sports discipline. The presence of three cradles in climbing does not allow historians to talk about any particular individual who would stand at the origins of climbing as a sport. However, in the history of sports climbing in Europe, the following three facts are not in doubt:

• Already in the 1880s, climbing was a recognized sport in England . After the solitary ascent on the so-called. The “Occipital Obelisk” (see Napes Needle ) by Walter Smith , climbing has attracted an increasing number of enthusiasts. An important milestone in the history of sports was the passage on the Obelisk of the so-called The Kern Notts Cracks (see Kern Knotts Crack ) by O. G. Jones in 1897 is an attempt comparable in complexity to modern routes ( VS ). Jones began climbing, after he saw a photo of the Obelisk in a shop window in the early 1890s. By the end of the Victorian era in England, about 60 rock climbing enthusiasts regularly gathered at the Wastwater Hotel in the Lake District during the holidays ^[6] .

• Inspired by the early efforts of such “pioneers of climbing” of the late 19th century, such as Oscar Schuster ( Falkenstein , Schusterweg 1892), by 1903 there were about 500 climbing athletes in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, including the well-known deuce Rudolf Fermann and American Oliver Perry-Smith . Their passage of the Teufelsturm route in 1906 set a new standard for difficulty ( VIIb ). By the 1930s there were about 200 climbing clubs in the region.

• The solo first ascent of the Die Vajolettürme route by George Winkler , a 17-year-old student from Munich, in 1887 was a recognition of climbing as a sport, and provided an initial incentive for the development of discipline in the Dolomites ^[5] .

In the process of climbing, many different gradation systems for routes and their complexity have been created. In 1894, the Austrian Fritz Benes introduced the first of the famous gradation systems of rocky routes. The Benes scale had 7 difficulty levels - level VII routes were the simplest, and level I the most difficult. Soon, however, even more difficult routes were passed, which, at first, were indicated by difficulty levels 0 and 00. In 1923, the German Willo Welzenbach squeezed the scale and turned it around: level 00 became level IV-V. In 1935, French climbers such as Lucien Devi , Pierre Allan and Arman Charle began to use this “Welsenbach scale” to mark routes in the Western Alps . Finally, in 1947 in Chamonix, the Wielzenbach scale was adopted by the International Union of Mountaineering Associations (UIAA).

In the summer of 1947, on the cliffs of Dombai (Western Caucasus), the head of the training unit of the Molniya climbing camp Ivan Iosifovich Antonovich held the first official climbing competitions in the world with the program, position, rules and prizes. Competitions were dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the USSR . The first step in the history of rock climbing in the USSR was taken, and then the active development of this interesting and extreme sport began. The earliest and longest organizers of the competition were the DLS of the trade unions. In the same 1947, inter-camp competitions (championship of the Dombay region) dedicated to the 800th anniversary of Moscow were held in Dombay . The following year, competitions were held between mountain camps in various gorges of the Caucasus , and already in 1949 the rules of the competition were approved and a seminar for judges was held.

In 1955, the first USSR championship was held in Crimea on Cross Rock . After such a striking event, a long pause arose, lasting 10 years.

In 1965, the USSR championship was revived and held regularly. The last USSR championship was held in Bakhchisarai in 1991.

In 1966, sports climbing was included as an independent sport in the Unified All-Union Sports Classification (ЕВСК) , bit requirements (1, 2 and 3 categories) were approved, in 1969 there were norms for the performance of categories, titles " master of sports of the USSR " and " USSR master of sports of international class ”, which began to attract more athletes to participate in competitions.

In 1971, two all-Union climbing competitions were held - the USSR Championship and the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions. For the first time athletes from 10 countries ( Austria , Hungary , Italy , Spain , Mongolia , Poland , Germany , Czechoslovakia , Yugoslavia , Romania ) were invited to the USSR Championship in Yalta. In the same year, the first Moscow City Championship was held in Crimea.

In 1976, in Abkhazia , in the gorge of the Yupshara River (the so-called Yupshara Gate), near the highway leading to Lake Ritsa , the first international competitions took place ^[7] . This tradition continued on the cliffs of Crimea (1978, 1980, 1982 and 1984). Athletes from Bulgaria , Hungary , East Germany , Poland , Romania , Germany , France , Czechoslovakia , Switzerland , Yugoslavia , Japan and others participated in them. After that, climbing is actively developing all over the world, world championships are regularly held in the USSR . In the same 1976, for the first time, three Soviet athletes complied with the norms of the USSR master of sports of the international class: A. Demin, V. Balezin , S. Kaloshin.

Since 1982, the development of youthful climbing begins. Competitions are held in 4 age groups: teenage (up to 12 years old), youngest (13-14 years old), middle (15-16 years old) and older (17-18 years old).

In 1985, in the Italian Olympic town of Bardonecchia, not far from Turin , a team led by Andrea Mellano, a member of the Italian Mountaineering Society (CAI), and the famous Italian sports journalist Emanuel Cassara, gathered the best climbers to participate in the first official climbing competitions on the rocks Valle Stratt. Among men, Stefan Glovac won.

In 1986, it was decided to give the international competitions in Yalta the status of an unofficial European Cup. The International Union of Mountaineering Associations has sent an official representative, Gustav Narder from Germany, to the competition. The competition was attended by 10 teams from Bulgaria , Hungary , East Germany , Poland , Romania , the USSR , USA , Germany , Czechoslovakia and Japan . Cup winners were Nadezhda Vershinina and Valery Balezin from Krasnoyarsk, and Alexei Chertov became the champion on the short track. At the end of the competition, a collective appeal was signed to the General Assembly of the UIAA on the need for official international competitions in sports climbing . In the same year, the representative of the USSR, Eduard Myslovsky, was included in the governing bodies of the UIAA.

The Rock Climbing Commission was created at the UIAA in 1987 (president - Jeff Lemon ( France ), vice president - Yuri Skurlatov ( USSR ). The types of competitions are defined - Climbing for difficulty and Climbing for speed .

In 1988, the first official stages of the first Climbing World Cup took place. The final stage was held in Yalta. Kairat Rakhmetov and Natalya Kosmacheva , who became the first Muscovite to fulfill the MSMK standards, won in speed climbing. French athletes defeated difficulty climbing.

In early 1989, the Union of climbers and climbers of Russia was formed, whose president was Anatoly Bychkov . In November, at the reporting and election Plenum of the USSR Mountaineering Federation, given the high level of climbing and the large volume of independent international activity, it was decided to form the Presidium of the Mountaineering and Rock climbing Federation. In Yalta, the last in the history of sports climbing stage of the World Cup on the rocks was organized. By the decision of the International Federation, all subsequent competitions of the highest rank are held indoors on artificial terrain, at climbing walls . The main reasons for making this decision were weather factors, the desire to create an equal and comfortable environment for participants, spectators, the media, as well as the problem of protecting the environment when preparing tracks. In the same 1989, Nadezhda Vershinina , Alexey Chertov and Salavat Rakhmetov complied with the norms of the USSR Master of Sports of the international class. Nadezhda Vershinina became the first woman in the USSR to receive this title. In the same year, the first international climbers rating appeared, and the first training course was held on the rocks of Dovbush.

Since 1990, the World Cup has been held annually, including 4-6 stages.

In 1991, the first world championship was held in Frankfurt am Main ( Germany ). Since then, it takes place once every two years on odd years.

In 1992, the first youth world championships were held in Basel ( Switzerland ) (since then it has been held once a year) and the first European Championships in Frankfurt am Main (since then it has been held once every two years). In June of the same year, the Russian Climbing Federation was formed. The first president was elected Alexander Khoroshikh .

By November 1993, one of the best climbing gyms in Russia was built in the Children's Sports Palace (DDS) in Moscow , the opening of which was the Russian Championship.

In May 1994, international competitions were held at the DDS climbing wall - the World Cup stage. In climbing the difficulty, the winners were Francois Legrand and Robin Erbesfield . In climbing speed won Evgeni Krivosheytsev and Elena Ovchinnikova ^[8] . In the same year, the first youth stage of the Cup of Russia “Elbrus-94” was held

In 1995, the UIAA was recognized by the International Olympic Committee . In the future - the inclusion of climbing in the program of the Olympic Games . In the autumn of the same year, another stage of the World Cup was held at the DDS. One of the important achievements was the inclusion of speed climbing in the competition program.

In 1996, for the first time in Russia, the youth world championship was held, it was held in Moscow in the Children's Sports School.

The UIAA established the Rock Climbing Council - the International Council for Climbing Competition (ICC) (president - Pascal Mouche ( France ), vice president - Alexander Piratinsky ( Russia ). The Elbrus-97 youth tournament brought together more than 300 youth climbers from more than 50 cities of Russia.

In 1998, in Moscow at the DDS climbing wall, the youth world championship was held.

In 1999, the first World Cup in the form of bouldering took place.

In 2001, the type of bouldering was included in the program of the World Cup.

In 2002, the UIAA prepared the Olympic Dossier and took the initiative to conduct climbing competitions in the 2006 Turin Olympic Games .

In January 2007, the International Federation of Sports Climbing (IFSC) was formed , which included 68 countries.

Meanwhile, climbing has gained recognition not only as a competitive sport, but its social role has also increased in connection with its inclusion in the school curriculum in many countries, as well as in special programs that are developed for people with disabilities. The rapid development and spread, which has also been noted in many developing countries, once again proves that this sport can become a new alternative activity for people of all ages from around the globe. Considered at first a window to mountaineering, climbing for two centuries grew under its wing, and in just twenty years it has become a competitive sport, as it entered the new millennium.

In August 2016, according to the IOC decision, climbing entered the 2020 Olympic Games.

In the USSR, climbing initially developed as climbing speed on relatively uncomplicated tracks, while in the world athletes competed in climbing difficulty on a difficult route with a length of 20-35 meters. Over the years, the formation of these two schools was going on, methods were created, equipment was developed. Soviet athletes who climbed in ordinary rubber galoshes could not compete in difficulty climbing.

Currently, most climbing competitions are held at climbing walls ^{[9] [10]} . This creates equal conditions for all participants, helps to attract viewers, sponsors, representatives of the media, solves the problem of preserving the natural environment, and also significantly reduces the impact of weather conditions. However, modern climbing does not deny the use of “live” rock massifs in the training process. And in climbing difficulty often, only by combining activities on the rocks and on climbing walls, you can achieve outstanding results - one complements the other.

For all types of competitions, as a rule, the condition is fulfilled: the athlete must not see the performances of other participants before his performance.

Climbing competitions are becoming more popular every year and attract the attention of an increasing number of both athletes, climbers, and spectators, fans.

In accordance with the International Rules, sports climbing competitions are held in the following disciplines:

• Climbing difficulty ^[11]
• Speed ​​climbing ^[12]
• Bouldering ^[13]

In recent years, in connection with the further development of climbing, rock festivals began to be held - multi-day, multi-round climbing competitions on a natural topography ^{[14] [15] [16]}

Along with sports climbing , competitions in which are mainly conducted on artificial climbing walls, there are other types of climbing.

Climbing on natural terrain along prepared tracks

The prepared tracks on the rocks involve cleaning them from stones, organizing upper and / or lower insurance .

Для организации верхней страховки наверху скалы организуются постоянные точки страховки с помощью крючьев , шлямбуров или петель из альпинистской верёвки или стального троса , закреплённых на деревьях или выступах скал.

Для организации нижней страховки на скале предварительно забиваются скальные крючья, шлямбуры , в которые с помощью карабинов вщёлкиваются оттяжки . Скалолаз с пристёгнутой к нему верёвкой по мере подъёма вщёлкивает верёвку в нижний карабин оттяжки, который служит точкой страховки. Страхующий, который находится внизу скалы, выдаёт верёвку поднимающемуся скалолазу. В случае срыва он удерживает верёвку, не позволяя сорвавшемуся скалолазу упасть к основанию скалы.

Перечень самых сложных скалолазных маршрутов мира по подготовленным трассам по состоянию на январь 2014 года включает 3 маршрута сложности 9b+ (5.15c), 15 маршрутов сложности 9b (5.15b), 47 маршрутов сложности 9а+ (5.15а) ^[17] .

Современное скалолазание на естественном рельефе по подготовленным трассам доступно не только лишь спортсменам и любителям старшего возраста, но все больше и больше мы удивляемся прохождениям совсем юных скалолазов, детей ^[18] .

Скалолазание на естественном рельефе по неподготовленным трассам

Данный вид скалолазания по сути представляет собой разновидность альпинизма . Здесь используются все методы прохождения скал и методы страховки, применяемые в альпинизме. При подъёме на большую высоту, то есть на высоту, превышающую длину верёвки, скалолазы поднимаются по скале в связках , организуя попеременную страховку.

Идущий первым в связке по мере подъёма организует промежуточные точки страховки путём забивания крючьев и/или использования закладок , в которые вщёлкивается карабин c простёгнутой в него верёвкой. Участник связки, находящийся внизу, осуществляет страховку идущего первым участника связки через промежуточные точки страховки, каковыми являются крючья и/или закладки, с простёгнутыми в них карабинами.

Боулдеринг на естественном рельефе

Боулдерингом называют скалолазание на невысоких скалах, когда страховка скалолаза осуществляется путём гимнастической страховки или с помощью специальных матов — крэш пэдов , которые укладываются на место возможного падения скалолаза под скалой.

Он-сайт, редпоинт, флеш

Эта разновидность прохождения трассы: предполагает пролаз трассы с первой попытки без предварительной ознакомления и обсуждения трассы с другими участниками, с возможностью только посмотреть трассу снизу и потрогать стартовые зацепки. Если первая попытка не удалась, может быть засчитан только редпоинт. Пролаз трассы при наличии информации о ней называется флеш. В боулдеринге может быть только флеш, так как многие зацепки доступны для изучения с земли.

Мультипитч

Разновидность скалолазания в связках на протяжённых скальных маршрутах. Питчем называют часть маршрута от одной промежуточной страховочной станции (базы) до другой. Каждый питч обычно имеет свою категорию сложности . Таким образом, мультипитч представляет собой последовательность питчей. Обычно на станциях происходит смена лидирующего участника в связке. Также на станциях осуществляется передача собранных идущим вторым в связке оставленных первым в связке промежуточных закладок и крючьев.

Популярные скальные маршруты в районах занятия скалолазанием заранее «пробивают», то есть организуют станции, забивая там надёжные крючья для страховки.

На сегодняшнее время (2014 год) самый сложный мультипитч « Zembrocal» классифицируются категорией сложности 8с+. Он расположен на острове Реюньон (Reunion). А в целом, к 2014 году в мире насчитывается лишь 12 мультипитчевых маршрутов категорией сложности 8с/+. ^[19]

Соло

Соло — лазание по естественному рельефу без напарника.

Страховку при этом осуществляет непосредственно сам лезущий. Применяется часто при стенных восхождениях (т. н. Big Wall или Большие стены).

Существует также разновидности соло — Free Solo (FS) и Deep Water Solo (DWS).

Free Solo ( свободное соло лазание ) — лазание, при котором не применяется страховка. Известный скалолаз, который практикует free solo — Алекс Хоннольд (Alex Honnold). Из погибших известны Дин Поттер (Dean Potter) и Дэн Осман (Dan Osman).

Deep Water Solo — фактически разновидность Free Solo. Лазание происходит по скалам, расположенным над водой. В случае срыва скалолаз падает в воду. Известный скалолаз Крис Шарма (Chris Sharma) проложил линию Es Pontas высокой категории сложности (F9a), которая лазится исключительно в стиле DWS.

Джампинг

Данный вид скалолазания предполагает прыжок с одних (одного) зацепов (зацепа) на скалодроме или скале на другие (другой) зацепы (зацеп). Джампинг лазают с гимнастической страховкой с крэш пэдами.

Техника тренировок

• Для занятия скалолазанием необходимо в первую очередь тренировать силу пальцев рук. Во время скалолазания довольно быстро, особенно у новичков, «забиваются» мышцы предплечья , которые отвечают за сгибание-разгибание пальцев и движения плеч и кистей рук. Сила и выносливость остальных мышц тела тоже очень важна. Основную нагрузку нужно стараться по возможности переносить на ноги.
  • Анаэробная тренировка
  • Молочная кислота
• При передвижении по зацепам оптимальной тактикой является как можно чаще висеть на вытянутых руках и опираться на согнутые ноги.
• В позициях остановок и пауз в движении, для устойчивости можно выбирать такие зацепы на стене и позы, чтобы у тела было как минимум три точки опоры , а центр тяжести мог «висеть» между или под ними. Этим обеспечивается возможность переносить четвёртую конечность к следующему зацепу, попутно давая ей отдых. В динамике, центр тяжести можно «перебрасывать» из одного устойчивого состояния в другое с помощью инерции .
• Укрепляются кости , повышается выносливость .
• Надо есть витамины и белки .

• Победители Всемирных Игр по скалолазанию
• Чемпионы мира по скалолазанию
• Чемпионы Европы по скалолазанию
• Чемпионы Азии по скалолазанию

• Mountaineering
• Ледолазание
• Спортивное скалолазание

• Long, John. How to Rock Climb! (How to Rock Climb Series). — Helena, Mont : Falcon, 1998. — ISBN 1-57540-114-2 .

• Официальный сайт Международной федерации спортивного скалолазания
• Официальный сайт Федерации скалолазания России
• Официальный сайт Федерации скалолазания Санкт-Петербурга