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For other uses of Climbing and Climber see Climber . Climbing is going up, or, depending on context, also down. It may refer to Aircraft , a land Vehicle , and Human s and other Animal s. On land, in particular it refers to steep climbs, e.g. on a Hill , Mountain or Stairs , in a pole or Tree , etc. This article covers climbing without a vehicle. TYPES OF CLIMBING By terrain:
By method of ascent:
By type of protection:
COMPETITIONS Competitions ("comps") are usually held indoors on purpose built Climbing Wall s. There are three main categories.
Sometimes climbers must climb the route '' On Sight ''. This means that they are not allowed to see other climbers on the route, or receive any form of advice (beta) from other climbers, and have only a limited amount of time to visually inspect the route from ground level. (Otherwise later climbers would be able to learn from previous competitors' mistakes, giving them a considerable advantage.) There are some outdoor climbing competitions as well. These most commonly are in the form of a Bouldering competition, but they have a much looser format. The Southeastern Climbers Coalition hosts a number of these events annually, most notably the Triple Crown. This is a series of three competitions held during Autumn at Houdears , North Carolina ; Little Rock City , Tennessee ; and Horse Pens 40 , Alabama. The Pennsylvania Alliance Of Climbers hosts a Spring cometition annually at Governor Stable . In addition to competitions, festivals such as the Phoenix Boulder Blast and the International Climbing Festival (held in Lander, Wyoming ) are a gathering place for rock climbers from around the world. They feature trade shows for climbing specific merchandise, clinics from world-renowned climbers, and parties. GRADING Climbers grade the difficulty of the routes they climb. The Grading System used varies from country to country (and region) and according to the style of climb. See also Grade (bouldering) . Grade opinions can vary from person to person. This phenomenon can be seen frequently in climbing gyms where grading will vary vastly between gyms. Different forms of grading are also used for mountaineering and bouldering. There is no common bouldering grading technique yet. CLIMBING TECHNIQUES OF ANIMALS Many animals have developed excellent climbing techniques. Some animals, such as Gecko es, can walk up and down vertical walls and even walk on ceilings without any problems. But some other animals have the same problem as humans in that climbing down is more difficult than climbing up, because backwards movements are required. The best known example are Cat s, which have to be rescued sometimes from trees, because they cannot climb down from them. CLIMBING AND THE LAW Rock climbing is not necessarily allowed on any given rock formation. The regulations vary from place to place but Trespass laws are the most common impediment to climbing. Even where physical access is not an issue, climbing might not be allowed due to public Liability concerns. Land owners often ban climbing during particular seasons to protect, for example, nesting birds. There are several organisations devoted to opening up new areas, or protecting access to existing areas, for rock climbing. In the USA, the largest of these is The Access Fund . In the UK, an equivalent organisation is the British Mountaineering Council's Access and Conservation Trust. Climbing on buildings and structures (" Buildering ") without the owner's consent is illegal in most cases. CLIMBING IN POPULAR CULTURE Climbing also has importance in some festivals. The best known festivals in which climbing plays an important role are Technoparade s, especially Loveparade . In these parades, it is very common to climb on trees, street lamps, portable restrooms and other large objects. Climbing is also common during streetparade in Zurich and reincarnation in Hannover, although security staff and policemen pay close attention to climbers, since injuries and property damage have occurred in the past. Rock climbing has been featured in many popular movies, such as Cliffhanger and Vertical Limit , but save for a few exceptions it is generally given an inaccurate portrayal by Hollywood and much of the popular media. The sport of rock climbing was swept up in the Extreme Sport craze in the late 1990s which led to images of rock climbers on everything from anti perspirant and United States Marine Corps commercials to college promotional materials. SEE ALSO
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