Bouldering

This is a type of rock climbing that is stripped down to the raw essentials. In bouldering, climbers do not use ropes and harnesses. All you need are climbing shoes, a bag of chalk and a crash pad. It is great for beginners, and seasoned pro’s alike due to its’ system of graded climbing. Another benefit for beginners is that learning about knots, anchoring, belaying techniques, or even helmets is not required. Bouldering involves short but tricky bouldering ‘problems’ (a route, or sequence of moves) using balance, technique, strength as well as problem solving skills. Since bouldering does not require much experience or equipment, it is highly accessible and a great entry point into rock climbing for new climbers.

Top-Roping

Top rope climbing (or top roping) is a form of climbing where the climber is securely attached to a rope which then passes up the rockface, through an anchor system at the top of the climb and down to a belayer (person who controls the rope), at the foot of the climb. The belayer takes in slack rope throughout the climb so to minimise the fall distance of the climber should they lose their hold. Top-roping is often done on routes that cannot be lead climbed (see below) for one reason or another. Most top-rope anchors can be reached through non-technical means, such as by hiking or scrambling (a walk-up steep terrain involving the use of one's hands) to the top of the cliff. It is the most common style used at indoor climbing walls and is also used in situations where climbing styles would be environmentally damaging. For example, where the rock type is soft and prone to erosion.

Sport-Climbing

Sport climbing relies on fixed bolts for protection along a predefined route. The lead climber ascends the route with the rope tied to their harness, clipping into each bolt or quickdraw to protect against a fall. In indoor climbing gyms, quickdraws (two non-locking carabiners connected with webbing) are pre-placed on the bolts so that a lead climber only must clip the rope in as they ascend the route. It can be a very demanding style of climbing, especially in the early learning stages. It is common for climbers to tire out quickly while learning how to clip their rope in along the route. However, the intense nature of sport climbing adds an alluring dimension for more seasoned climbers. This type of climbing is considered a great steppingstone into traditional climbing (see below).

Traditional-Climbing

Traditional (or trad) climbing, is a style of rock climbing in which a climber or group of climbers carry and place protection (chocks, camming devices etc..) against falls as they climb, rather than clipping into preplaced bolts. The protective equipment is then removed when a pitch is complete. It differs from sport climbing in that sport-climbing focuses almost entirely on physical challenges, while trad climbing involves a significant mental aspect. The traditional climber must practice route-finding, whereas a sport climber follows the bolts up a particular route. Trad climbing was simply known as ‘climbing’ up until fairly recently when sport climbing became prominent and the name trad-climbing was created to distinguish the two styles.

Indoor Climbing

Indoor climbing involves the use of an artificially constructed climbing wall, with grips for hands and feet. The climbing surface is covered with textured products including concrete and paint or polyurethane loaded with sand to mimic the experience of climbing on organic rockfaces. In addition to the textured surface and hand holds, the wall may contain surface structures such as indentions (incuts) and protrusions (bulges), or take the form of an overhang, underhang or crack. A wall may have places to attach belay ropes for top-roping but may also be used to practice lead climbing or bouldering. The major benefit of climbing walls is that they provide the opportunity to climb regardless of the weather conditions. Due to the wide range of climbing styles and routes offered by climbing walls, indoor climbing can be equally enjoyable and challenging for absolute beginners to seasoned pros. Ireland has a host of indoor climbing facilities which you will find in our ‘indoor gyms’ section.

Climbing grades are not written in stone (no pun intended..), and far from a science, but they provide a very good estimate as to what route or boulder problem is best suited to the climber. Grades, based on a given scale, are usually set by the first person (and their peers) to successfully climb a given route or a bouldering problem ("a first ascent"). As grades vary, so do a climber's skill-set. What might be a weak area for one, might be a strong point for another. This is something climbers, especially beginners, should be conscious of when weighing one's skillset up against the grading system in a climbing gym or outdoors. Grading systems themselves have evolved in parts of the world that are well-known climbing destinations, with a rich history of the sport. The first official climbing grading system was established in Germany in the late 1800s, though many have spawned up around the globe since then. Nowadays there is a diverse range, with some systems being used more than others depending on the corner of the globe you are in. For example, in Ireland, we mainly use the french 'Font' system, the English system, and the V-system. There are systems for different types of climbing too, some are similar, others not.

See below an example of the 3 main systems used in Irish climbing.
(For more on this, visit our resources section).