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Rock climbing was an
important component of Victorian mountaineering in the Alps, but it wasn't until the last part of the nineteenth century that it became the popular sport that we know today.
The basic premise
behind rock climbing is extremely simple (you start at the bottom of the rock face and climb to the top!), but there is so much more to the sport than this.
Climbing outdoors on
'traditional' routes involves a great deal of specialist safety equipment and learning to properly place this equipment is half of the challenge.
Traditional climbing
involves a pair of climbers wearing harnesses who are connected by a rope. The first climber (the leader) places wedges, nuts and other forms of protection from their racks into
cracks in the rock. The rope is hooked to these pieces of protection so that, if the climber falls, the rope catches them.
Indoor climbing works
on the same principle but the footholds, handholds and protective pieces are bolted to a wooden structure.
Although a knowledge of
rope techniques and safety procedures is essential before you climb, with professional instruction a complete beginner can soon experience the thrill of scaling vertical rock
faces. Devon provides a wide range of challenges and many of these can be found on Dartmoor National Park, with its granite rocky tors being particularly favoured by climbers in
the area.
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