An overhang is a

rock face In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on coa ...

or artificial climbing wall with a slope of more than 90°, i.e. it slopes beyond the vertical. Particularly severe overhangs that reach, or nearly reach, the

horizontal Horizontal may refer to: *Horizontal plane, in astronomy, geography, geometry and other sciences and contexts *Horizontal coordinate system, in astronomy *Horizontalism, in monetary circuit theory *Horizontalism, in sociology *Horizontal market, ...

, are referred to as a roof. In

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done fo ...

, overhangs and especially roofs place special demands both in terms of technique and equipment as well as the constitution of the climber. With increasing steepness the loading on arm and hand muscles increases, because the feet can support less and less of the body weight. Rest points where the muscles can be relaxed, especially no-hands rests, are rarely found in overhangs. Climbing techniques to tackle overhangs include placing the body's centre of mass as close as possible to the rock and striving for the highest possible body tension. Many climbing techniques such as the foothook are almost exclusively used in overhangs and roofs. For a long time in

Alpine climbing {{unreferenced, date=March 2019 Alpine climbing (german: Alpinklettern) is a branch of climbing in which the primary aim is very often to reach the summit of a mountain. In order to do this high rock faces or pinnacles requiring several lengths of ...

, roofs were almost always tacked using climbing aids. By contrast, in modern

sport climbing Sport climbing (or Bolted climbing) is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors (or bolts), permanently fixed into the rock for climber protection, in which a rope that is attached to the climber is clipped into the anchors to ...

, severely overhanging terrain is no longer a rarity, because climbing halls frequently include overhangs and roofs. A well-known natural example of severely overhanging terrain is the rook in the north face of the Western Zinne, whose upper end is about 40 metres horizontally from the foot of the rock face. Severe climbing routes that feature overhangs and roofs include Separate Reality in the USA and La Rambla in Spain.

References

{{Climbing navbox Geomorphology Climbing techniques

See also

References