{{unreferenced, date=March 2019 Hinterstoisserquergang

Alpine climbing (german: Alpinklettern) is a branch of

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 ...

in which the primary aim is very often to reach the

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a m ...

of a mountain. In order to do this high rock faces or pinnacles requiring several lengths of climbing rope must be ascended. Often mobile, intermediate climbing protection has to be used in addition to the

piton A piton (; also called ''pin'' or ''peg'') in climbing is a metal spike (usually steel) that is driven into a crack or seam in the climbing surface using a climbing hammer, and which acts as an anchor for protecting the climber against the ...

s usually in place on the climbing routes. Alpine tours may be

free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...

(pitons,

belay device A belay device is a mechanical piece of climbing equipment used to control a rope during belaying. It is designed to improve belay safety for the climber by allowing the belayer to manage their duties with minimal physical effort. With the right ...

s, slings are only used for safety, not to climb),

aid climbing Aid climbing is a style of climbing in which standing on or pulling oneself up via devices attached to fixed or placed protection is used to make upward progress. The term contrasts with free climbing in which progress is made without using artif ...

(i.e. all aids are used to assist the climb), clean (all protection devices are placed during the climb and then removed again) or

free solo Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of technical ice or rock climbing where the climbers (or ''free soloists'') climb alone without ropes, harnesses or other protective equipment, forcing them to rely entirely on their own indivi ...

(no protection). A big wall may refer to a route which cannot be climbed within a day or a route which is primarily a rock climb. In addition, ice climbing is often a component of an alpine climb. As the climbers are on wholly or partly on their own, depending on the availability and extent of routes in Alpine climbs, careful route planning and selection, and knowledge of anchor techniques and the laying of mobile protection devices, abseil and rescue techniques are required. Although most Alpine climbing is

, it may be necessary to use

, at points where there is no free climbing option, in order to avoid losing time and endangering the

rope team The term rope team (german: Seilschaft), roped team or roped party, originally came from mountain sports, especially climbing, where it describes a group of people joined by a mountain or climbing rope and thus secured against falling. Mountainee ...

. In the 1980s, Alpine

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 ...

was developed as a form of Alpine climbing, thanks to increasingly sophisticated equipment with better performance especially in the sport climbing field. In Alpine sport climbing the aim is to increasingly raise the bar even on multi-rope routes.

References

Sources

Information on Alpine climbing at www.kletter-bergsport.de

Climbing

See also

References

Sources