Speed climbing is a

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 ...

discipline in which speed is the ultimate goal. Speed climbing is done on rocks, walls and poles and is only recommended for highly skilled and experienced climbers. Competition speed climbing, which takes place on an artificial standardized climbing wall, is the main form of speed climbing. However, there are other variations of speed climbing that take place outdoors. In pure speed climbing, time is everything but it is also common to record speed ascents while observing a particular

climbing style 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 ...

or ethic. For example, there are many speed records in which the climb was done according to

free climbing Free climbing is a form of rock climbing in which the climber may use climbing equipment such as ropes and other means of climbing protection, but only to protect against injury during falls and not to assist vertical or horizontal progress. T ...

ethics. In popular culture speed climbing may be best known for a

viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through viral phenomenon, a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan ...

featuring

Dan Osman Daniel Eugene Osman (February 11, 1963 – November 23, 1998) was an American extreme sport practitioner, known for the dangerous sport of free-soloing, rock climbing without ropes or other safety gear. He participated in rope jumping, falling ...

climbing Lover's Leap via the '' Bear's Reach'' route (5.7, 120+ meter) in 4 min 25 sec. This clip was originally featured in the movie ''Masters of Stone IV''.

Competition speed climbing

Competition speed climbing as governed by the

International Federation of Sport Climbing The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) is the international governing body for the sport of competitive climbing, which consists of the disciplines lead climbing, speed climbing, and bouldering. It was founded in Frankfurt on 27 ...

(IFSC) takes place on artificial walls. Competitors climb a 5-degree overhanging IFSC-certified wall, with an auto-belaying system from the top of the wall. Since 2007 the IFSC has created a standard wall for the world record. The standard has a simple rule and it involves climbers competing on the same route, side by side, and whoever reaches the top first wins. The holds and order are always identical, and the difficulty rating is around F6b (approximately YDS 5.10c), which is a level most recreational climbers could complete. The IFSC also sanctions speed climbing competitions and those events that entail world record attempts. Speed climbing was one of the three climbing modalities included in the combined format at the

2020 Olympic Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

in Tokyo, along with

lead Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metals, heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale of mineral hardness#Intermediate ...

and bouldering. Beginning at the

2024 Summer Olympics ) , nations = TBA , athletes = 10,500 ''(quota limit)'' , events = 329 in 32 sports (48 disciplines) , opening = 26 July 2024 , closing = 11 August 2024 , opened_by = , stadium = Stade de France Jardins du Trocadéro and River Seine , summer ...

in Paris, speed climbing will be its own standalone competition, separate from the lead and bouldering combined event. Time is determined by mechanical-electric timing (the competitor leaves the starting pad and strikes a switch at the top of the route). When mechanical-electric timing is used, the climbing time is displayed with an accuracy of one-hundredth of a second. In the rules modifications in 2018, the possibility to use manual timing was removed, and the mechanical-electric timing should record with a precision of 1/1000 second. This precision is only used for ranking in case of a tie. Further, the timing system needs to announce a false start, which is considered a start earlier than 0.1 seconds after the starting beep. File:Chamonix 2018 Jan Kriz.jpg, Two climbers compete against each other on the Speed Wall (Chamonix 2018) File:Climbing World Championships 2018 Speed (DSC09055).jpg, Full view of the standardized Speed Wall File:Climbing World Championships 2018 Speed Eighth-finals (BT0A6048).jpg, Start position. The climber stands on a pressure plate foot trigger, which is used for detecting false starts. File:Climbing World Championships 2018 Combined Final speed (BT0B0374).jpg, Hitting a button at the top of the wall stops the timer. The climber is secured by an auto- belay device. File:Climbing World Championships 2018 Combined Final speed (BT0B0407).jpg File:Speed climbing hold large.jpg, Large standardised speed climbing hold. File:Speed climbing hold small.jpg, Small standardised speed climbing hold.

World champions

The defending men's and women's speed climbing world champions are

Danyil Boldyrev Danyil Boldyrev ( uk, Данило Владиславович Болдирєв, born May 15, 1992, in Donetsk, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian speed climber. He is World champion, multiple World and European Championships medalist and 2017 World Games ...

of Ukraine and Natalia Kałucka of Poland, respectively; they won their respective speed events at the

2021 IFSC Climbing World Championships The 2021 IFSC Climbing World Championships was the 17th edition of the event. It was held in Moscow, Russia from 16 to 21 September 2021, alongside the 2021 IFSC Paraclimbing World Championships. Although the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Russia. Veddriq Leonardo of Indonesia and Emma Hunt of the United States were the overall men's and women's winners for the

2021 IFSC Climbing World Cup The 2021 IFSC Climbing World Cup was the 33rd edition of the international sport climbing competition series, held in seven locations. There are 11 events: four bouldering, five lead, and two speed events. The season began on 16 April in Meiringen ...

speed series.

World and Olympic records

Since Qixin Zhong of China ran the 15-meter standardized wall in 6.26 seconds in 2011, the world record has been broken 12 times, seven times in 2021 and 2022, most recently 5.009 seconds by Kiromal Katibin of Indonesia in July 2022. That represents a drop of 20 percent since 2011. Similarly, the women's speed climbing record has been broken 14 times between 2013 and 2022, dropping from 7.85 seconds to the 6.53 seconds set by Aleksandra Mirosław of Poland in May 2022, a 16.8-percent reduction. {, class="wikitable" , +Men's World Record History !Date !Time (s) !Person !Location !Competition , - , July 8, 2022 , 5.009 , Kiromal Katibin ,

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it ha ...

, France ,

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, - , June 30, 2022 , 5.04 , Kiromal Katibin , Villars, Switzerland ,

, - , June 30, 2022 , 5.09 , {{flagicon, INA Kiromal Katibin , Villars, Switzerland ,

, -, - , May 27, 2022 , 5.10 , {{flagicon, INA Kiromal Katibin ,

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, US ,

, - , May 6, 2022 , 5.17 , {{flagicon, INA Kiromal Katibin ,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

, South Korea ,

, - , May 28, 2021 , 5.20 , {{flagicon, INA Veddriq Leonardo ,

, US ,

, - , May 28, 2021 , 5.25 , {{flagicon, INA Kiromal Katibin ,

, US ,

, - , April 30, 2017 , 5.48 , {{flagicon, IRI Reza Alipour ,

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

, China ,

, - , September 12, 2014 , 5.60 , {{flagicon, UKR

, Gijon, Spain ,

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, - , August 31, 2014 , 5.73 , {{flagicon, CZE Libor Hroza , Arco, Italy ,

, - , August 30, 2014 , 5.76 , {{flagicon, CZE Libor Hroza , Arco, Italy ,

, - , October 13, 2012 , 5.88 , {{flagicon, RUS Evgenii Vaitcekhovskii , Xining, China ,

, - , August 27, 2011 , 6.26 , {{flagicon, CHN Qixin Zhong , Arco, Italy ,

{, class="wikitable" , +Men's Olympic Record History !Date !Time (s) !Person !Location !Games , - , August 3, 2021 , 5.45 , {{flagicon, FRA Bassa Mawem , Aomi Urban Sports Park, Tokyo, Japan , Tokyo 2020 {, class="wikitable" , +Women's World Record History !Date !Time (s) !Person !Location !Competition , - , May 27, 2022 , 6.53 , {{flagicon, POL

Aleksandra Miroslaw Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

, US ,

, - , May 6, 2022 , 6.64 , {{flagicon, POL

, South Korea ,

, - , August 6, 2021 , 6.84 , {{flagicon, POL Aleksandra Mirosław ,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan ,

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

, - , November 21, 2020 , 6.96 , {{flagicon, RUS Iuliia Kaplina ,

, Russia , European Championships , - , October 19, 2019 , 6.99 , {{flagicon, IDN

Aries Susanti Rahayu Aries Susanti Rahayu (born 21 March 1995) is a competition climber athlete from Indonesia who specializes in competition speed climbing competitions. She has been nicknamed "Spiderwoman". She was the world record holder for women in speed climbing ...

Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong' ...

, China ,

, - , April 26, 2019 , 7.10 , {{flagicon, CHN

YiLing Song Song Yiling (born 28 January 2001) is a Chinese climber who specializes in speed climbing. She finished second in the speed climbing event at the 2017 and 2018 Asian Climbing Championships. She qualified for the combined event at the 2020 Summer ...

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Cou ...

, China ,

, - , April 22, 2018 , 7.32 , {{flagicon, FRA Anouck Jaubert ,

, Russia ,

, - , July 22, 2017 , 7.32 , {{flagicon, RUS Iuliia Kaplina , Wroclaw, Poland ,

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 ...

, - , April 30, 2017 , 7.38 , {{flagicon, RUS Iuliia Kaplina ,

, China ,

, - , April 23, 2017 , 7.46 , {{flagicon, RUS Iuliia Kaplina ,

, China ,

, - , July 11, 2015 , 7.53 , {{flagicon, RUS Iuliia Kaplina ,

, France ,

, - , June 21, 2015 , 7.56 , {{flagicon, RUS Iuliia Kaplina ,

, China ,

, - , May 17, 2015 , 7.74 , {{flagicon, RUS Iuliia Kaplina , Central Saanich, Canada ,

, - , October 19, 2013 , 7.85 , {{flagicon, RUS Iuliia Kaplina , Wujiang, China ,

{, class="wikitable" , +Women's Olympic Record History !Date !Time (s) !Person !Location !Games , - , August 6, 2021 , 6.84 , {{flagicon, POL Aleksandra Mirosław ,

, Japan , Tokyo 2020 , - , August 4, 2021 , 6.97 , {{flagicon, POL Aleksandra Mirosław ,

, Japan , Tokyo 2020

Outdoor speed climbing

Pure speed climbing

Full speed climbing is done in such a way that maximizes speed and minimizes danger. When climbing with a partner the climbers will alternate between regular

simul climbing Simul climbing, also known as climbing with a running belay, Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, Swan Hill Press; 6th Revised edition (14 Oct 1997) is a climbing method or style where all the climbers climb at the same time while tied into ...

aiding In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

, and at times sections of roped soloing. Speed climbing can also be done by an individual in which they alternate between forms of rope soloing,

, and free soloing. Strictly speaking, this type of speed climbing is not a style but a combination or perhaps a type of aid climbing. However, the complexity of combining all the styles together leads to what can be recognized as a separate style with its own particular techniques used in no other style. Speed climbing offers a number of benefits and these include the opportunities to stress-proof learned climbing techniques and to learn more about pacing.{{Cite book, title=Performance Rock Climbing, last1=Goddard, first1=Dale, last2=Neumann, first2=Udo, publisher=Stackpole Books, year=1993, isbn=0811722198, location=Mechanicsburg, PA, page
48
url-access=registration, url=https://archive.org/details/performancerockc0000godd/page/48 Pacing is important since a broad array of paces contributes to the climber's versatility to navigate crags and

rock types In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

. A faster pace for most climbers is said to be less strenuous than climbing at their normal speed.

Style climbing

Records can be recorded while climbing in a particular style. Each of the methods ultimately handicap the rate of progress with the exception of free soloing.

Free soloing

The simplest way to increase the speed of climbing is to shed all safety precautions such as belaying and placing protection. For some climbers, this is the same as replacing the strength of the rope and the safety gears with mental toughness. This leads to free soloing as rapidly as possible. While strictly speaking this qualifies as full speed climbing or a type of style climbing it is different enough to be recognized as its own category of speed climbing.

Outdoor records

Most speed climbing records lack the standards normally associated with objective records. Hans Florine has written "I will be the first to say that climbing is silly. To make rules about it is just piling ridiculous on top of silly."''Speed Climbing!: How to Climb Faster and Better'' 2nd edition, By Hans Florine, Bill Wright Published by Globe Pequot, 2004, {{ISBN, 0-7627-3095-1, 978-0-7627-3095-7 There are no sanctioned speed climbing competitions on significant rock features. Nearly all climbing goals and records are self-designed, self-timed, and self-officiated; few are well documented, and many are disputed. The collection that follows abides by these loose standards. The time format below is either hrs:min or hrs:min:sec.

California

The Nose, El Capitan *1:58:07 Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell June 2018. *2:10:15 Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell May 2018. *2:19:44

Brad Gobright Brad Gobright (June 16, 1988 November 27, 2019) was an American rock climber known for free solo climbing. Early life Gobright was born in Orange County, California, and began climbing when he was six. (This article was published in ''Rock and I ...

and Jim Reynolds October 2017. *4:43 Mayan Smith-Gobat and

Libby Sauter Libby Sauter (born October 8, 1984) is an American mountaineer, rock climber, and pediatric cardiac intensive care nurse educator. Sauter and her climbing partner, Mayan Smith-Gobat, set the women's speed record climbing '' The Nose'' on El Capitan ...

October 2014 (all female ascent). *12:15 Heidi Wertz and Wera Shulte-Pelcum 2004 (all female ascent). *11:41 Hans Florine solo. July 2005. *11:00 Tommy Caldwell 2005 (free ascent male). *23:46 Lynn Hill 1994 (free ascent). Regular Northwest Route, Half Dome *1:53:25 Jim Herson and Hans Florine 1999. *5:25 Heidi Wertz and Wera Shulte-Pelcum 2004 (all female ascent). *3:58 Hans Florine solo 1999 (Full day also included El Cap). Snake Dike, Half Dome *3:00 Dean Potter 1998 (car to car). Joshua Tree National Park *280 Routes in a day Michael Reardon solo 2004. * 10 climbs 100 feet tall 45 minutes free solo, Dennis George * 600 feet car to summit with a steep approach of half mile Idyllwild, CA * 10,000 feet in 24 hours Joshua Tree, CA climb for breast cancer

Colorado

Bastille Crack * 00:05:33 Mic Fairchild solo 1998. Third Flatiron * 36:27 Bill Briggs solo 1989 (car to car).

Nevada

Epinephrine Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands and ...

*0:39:40 Alex Honnold 2018{{Cite web, url=https://www.outsideonline.com/2289861/alex-honnolds-new-nemesis, title=Brad Gobright is Alex Honnold's New Nemesis, date=17 March 2018 *1:15 Jash Stwart solo 2002.

Cat In The Hat ''The Cat in the Hat'' is a 1957 children's book written and illustrated by the American author Theodor Geisel, using the pen name Dr. Seuss. The story centers on a tall anthropomorphic cat who wears a red and white-striped top hat and a red bow ...

*2:35 David Laxton solo 2013.

New York

The Gunks The Shawangunk Ridge , also known as the Shawangunk Mountains or The Gunks, is a ridge of bedrock in Ulster County, Sullivan County and Orange County in the state of New York, extending from the northernmost point of the border with New Jersey ...

*50 Routes 13:30 Peter Darmi solo 2004. *46 Routes 13:30 Eric Weigeshoff and Peter Darmi 2004. 3400' of climbing and descent. *51 Routes 13:30 Eric Weigeshoff and Peter Darmi 2006 3400' of climbing and descent.

Wyoming

Grand Traverse *6:40

Rolando Garibotti Rolando Garibotti is an Argentinian and United States, American professional climber, writer, and mountain guide. He is from San Carlos de Bariloche, Bariloche, Argentina. These days he splits his time between the town of El Chaltén, Argentina, and ...

solo 2000.

References

{{reflist {{Portal bar, Climbing {{Climbing navbox {{Racing Sport climbing Types of climbing

Competition speed climbing

World champions

World and Olympic records

Outdoor speed climbing

Pure speed climbing

Style climbing

Free soloing

Outdoor records

California

Colorado

Nevada

New York

Wyoming

See also

References