Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are naught without prudence, and that momentary negligence may destory the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste, look well to each step, and from the beginning think what may be the end.

- Edwards Whymper -

History of climbing

Throughout Queen Victoria's reign, the British upper classes took an interest in hill walking and mountaineering, and rock-climbing was part of this. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, outcrop-climbing developed as a sport in its own right. One of the most famous events of Victorian rock-climbing was when W.P.Haskett Smith left his handkerchief fluttering on the top of Napes Needle in the Lake District, after the first ascent in June 1886. Generations of climbers have been inspired by the descriptions of that achievement.

As new routes were made, they were given names by the first people to climb them, and their difficulty was graded. At first, information travelled between enthusiasts by word of mouth, but soon newsletters and guidebooks were published. By the period between the two World Wars, the sport was fully established, but still not highly specialised.

At the same time, activity on rock was constantly increasing throughout Europe, but there was a natural tendency to concentrate on high Alpine routes at the expense of outcrop climbing. However, it was for the big climbs that many of the advanced techniques were developed; these were to be further refined by the generations of rock athletes which have followed.

In the 1940s and 1950s, a new breed of young climbers, mainly from the north of England, pioneered bold approaches which brought the sport to the attention of a wider public. This generation was not afraid to experiment with any new techniques or equipment which became available, and climbs which would have been impossible to earlier climbers became almost routine.

In these days of modern affluence, people can more easily afford to travel to climbing locations. They also have more leisure time, so they can train more than their predecessors. It is hard to measure the benefits that each generation inherits from the previous one, but climbers tend to be particularly aware of the traditions set in earlier days.

Although you may soon be tackling routes which would have seemed impossible to the leather-boot and hemprope climbers of your grand-parents days, you will be taking with you some of the accumulated knowledge that has been contributed to this wonderful sport.

Fresh challenges

Nothing in climbing quite compares with making a first ascent. That is one of the greatest pleasures of the sport. The knowledge that you are climbing where nobody has gone before is the most satisfying feeling of all. However, as we near the end of the twentieth century, the amount of easily accessible rock on which to create new routes is rapidly diminishing. You will probably have to venture quite far afield to tackle unexplored crags, but if you are prepared to make the effort the rewards are tremendously satisfying.

Instead, the energies of the modern generation of leading young climbers are now often guided in a new direction, towards artificial climbing walls and competitions. These new rock gymnasts find their frontiers in the inner cities, and for them difficulty is everything.

The competitions are based in arenas and take place in front of lively audiences. Although there is virtually no danger, there are clearly-defined winners and there are rules. Far from the first ascent of Napes Needle over a hundred years ago, in the period between, things have not always been so pure...?

You are no longer responding to the natural challenge of the rock itself, and the whole nature and character of the climb will have gone.

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