What are climbing?

Climbing, is an activity that involves ascending walls, using physical and mental strength of their own. Climbing is considered any ascent, whether easy, difficult or impossible to perform (depending on the physical condition of the person) with the lower extremities (feet and legs; in some cases the knee could also be used, in case there is any wall to the side) and upper extremities (arms and hands). In the climbing there are heights that involve a considerable danger and in order to be safe, protective equipment is used.

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In origin, climbing appears as an activity derived from mountaineering. Then it was considered only as a means of training for mountain tours. It was in the 19th century when the activity was born in East Germany (Dresden) and in England (the Lake District).

Over a century, the material evolved at the rate of the climbers' performances and vice versa. The routes of increasing difficulties appeared with the times: 1913, level 5; 1917, level 6; 1970, level 7; 1983, level 8; 1991, level 9 ... The existence of climbing walls from the 1960s gave a real boost to the evolution of the discipline.

Climbing is often considered a risk sport, although different practices should be distinguished. Usually, it is practiced with a team that allows you to evolve safely, but there is a more extreme practice called "only integral", where the climber evolves without any security. This particular practice has been popularized by Jean-Paul Janssen's films, La vie au bout des doigts ("Life at the fingertips", 1982) and Opéra Vertical, in which Patrick Edlinger evolves solo on sites like the lighthouses of Buoux and the Gorges of Verdon.

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