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livinontheedge
Mar 22, 2005, 7:04 AM
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alright, im new to rock climbing and i was wondering if anyone can tell me some history background about rockclimbing... like who was the first person to do this sport, and how it got introduced, i dont know much about it. also i want to know the levels and the bouldering levels... oh and it would be great if someone can tell me some interesting facts about rock climbing so i dont sound stupid if i talk to some good climbers... i want to sound some what smart about this sport! thanks a ton... :D 8^)
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vegastradguy
Mar 22, 2005, 7:09 AM
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go buy Pat Ament's Wizards of Rock, History of Free Climbing in North America. while there are a ton of books out there about the history, this one will bring you up to speed on climbing in America and give you a nice starting point.
dont worry about 'sounding stupid' around 'good climbers.' more experienced climbers are the best source you'll ever find of information about the sport. let them know you are new and really excited and (most likely) they'll be more than happy to both teach you more about climbing as well as tell you all of their stories!
and, as for your question about the levels of the sport- this could take a little while to explain. someone will post a good link for this sometime soon. barring that, ask another climber at your gym or whereever and they'll be more than happy to explain it for you.
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nonick
Mar 22, 2005, 11:34 AM
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Chk out Mick Confrey's (hope the spelling is correct) "Mountain Men"
Its a book that has loads of interesting stories about mountaineering and the people associated with it.
Its not about rock climbing though...
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davidorchard
Mar 22, 2005, 1:32 PM
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here are two sites i ran across the other day.
http://www.johngill.net/ (bouldering history)
http://www.needlesports.com/...useum/nutsmuseum.htm (gear history)
i also recomend reading:
master of rock by pat ament (about john gill and bouldering)
basic rockcraft and advanced rockcraft by royal robins (about how climbing used to be done)
downward bound by warren harding (also instructional about how climbing used to be done with a decription of the wall of the early morning light in 1970)
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jgill
Mar 23, 2005, 4:18 AM
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Rock Climbing as a sport separate from mountaineering seems to have its origins in the Elbsandsteingebirge near Dresden and the Lake District of England. In the 1890s climbers in both these areas were leading 5.7 ascents. And by 1915 or so 5.9 or 5.10 climbs existed in both regions. These were "trad" or traditional climbs, mostly, although sometimes a top rope was used at first. 8^)
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static_endurance
Mar 23, 2005, 4:38 AM
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The system most popularily used in North America is the Yosemite Scale, or the Yosemite Decimal System. The bonus about this system is that the number before the climbing grade (IE the 5 in 5.10) can be changed to apply to other things. It pretty much describes exposure and the slope of the land, or however you wanna call it. You could pretty much say a nice hike is a two, and a four is very exposed. 5 is where practical verticality and lots of exposure come into play, and ropes are definately recommended. For an idea of the actual grades for climbing specific, check out this site:
http://www4.semo.edu/...ngWallYosemiteDS.pdf
The descriptions may be a bit off, but that's the general idea. As for bouldering, the V scale is used. Here's a site to give you an idea on how it works:
http://www.muscatatuckpark.com/grades.htm
There's a good start. And as was recommended before, feel free to ask questions to fellow climbers. No fear of being stupid. Remember, we all started somewhere, and everyone on this site has asked the same questions you're probably thinking of asking.
Aside from that, welcome to the climbing community!
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boltdude
Mar 23, 2005, 5:04 AM
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Ignore that first link on US ratings posted by static_endurance, it is horrendous (WAY off, not a bit off). A much more accurate description is here:
http://www.safeclimbing.org/about_overview.htm
Another couple of good history books are Chris Jones' Climbing in North America and Steve Roper's Camp 4: Recollections of a Rock Climber
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static_endurance
Mar 24, 2005, 4:33 AM
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Yeah, that link you gave is 10 times better boltdude. I figured the descriptions were total crap, but it was late. :P
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quincy
Mar 24, 2005, 5:53 AM
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As for good books on rockcliming here are three of my favorites:
-A Fine Kind of Madness (it is a collection of short stories on climbing and mountaineering, some are true and some are written out of pure imagination and gusto. Highly recommended).
-Conversations With Climbers (this is a book which contains interviews with influential climbers in the past 100 years including: Pat Ament, Royal Robbins, Warren Harding, Reinhold Messner and many more. It gives you a first hand perspective of these greats and what they were living at the time).
- If you like stories written by climbers than Climbers Choice: the best climbing writters present their work, is a great read edited by Pat Ament (it includes stories that were written by Royal Robbins, John Gill, Chris Bonington, Chuck Pratt, Pat Ament, and many more).
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