A climbing area is a small geographical region with a concentration of opportunities for climbing. The term is most commonly used of rock climbing areas, but there are also ice climbing areas that have the right combination of steepness and water to result in climbable ice during the winter. Rock climbers on Valkyrie at The Roaches in Staffordshire, England. ... Ice climbing is the recreational activity of climbing ice formations such as icefalls, and frozen waterfalls. ...

While there are many thousands of mountains and cliffs in the world, only a small percentage are popular for climbing. Mountain ranges are frequently at high elevations, remote, and tend to have poor weather much of the time, which means that the would-be climber spends more time hiking, camping, and battling the elements than actually climbing. At the opposite end of the scale, many cliffs are too small or the rock is too unstable to make for an enjoyable and safe experience. Lyskamm, 4 527 m, Pennine Alps A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. ... “Precipice” redirects here. ...

An ideal climbing area has these qualities:

• Close to an access road
• Large number of different routes
• Solid and stable rock
• Safe descent routes
• Good weather
• Free access
• Uncrowded

Yosemite Valley for instance is very nearly ideal. The valley is at a low elevation and allows climbing from March to November, it has an enormous amount of high-quality granite, with hundreds of routes ranging from the easy (The Grack) to some of the longest and hardest in the world, such as The Nose on El Capitan. As part of Yosemite National Park, the bases of the big walls are just a short walk from good roads, camping is available, hiking trails make the descents easy, and of course the scenery is world-class. Its main problem is that it's so popular that some routes will often have multiple parties of climbers getting in each other's way. Yosemite Valley with Half Dome in the distance. ... Quarrying granite for the Mormon Temple, Utah Territory. ... El Capitan is a 3,000-foot vertical rock formation in Yosemite Valley and Yosemite National Park. ... Yosemite National Park (pronounced Yo-SEM-it-ee, IPA: ) is a national park located largely in Mariposa and Tuolumne Counties, California, United States. ...

Most climbing areas fall short of the ideal, usually making up for it in some other way, sometimes just by being the closest good area to some city.

Since rock climbing became an activity distinct from mountaineering in the 20th century, it is usually possible to trace the entire history of an area, generally starting with a few local climbers using the area as "practice rocks" in preparation for mountaineering expeditions. Inevitably a few in the local community would become more interested in the area for its own sake, exploring the area for new and unusual routes, typically looking for a combination of challenge, safety, and elegance of line, the last being a subjective quality that is nevertheless easy for climbers to agree upon. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...

This process has become known as "development" of a climbing area, and includes the placing of permanent bolts at key belays spots, rappel slings, as well as agreement on preferred equipment, minimization of environmental impact, and so forth, initially all done by word of mouth. To make climbing as safe as possible, most climbers use protection to prevent injury to themselves and others. ... In climbing, belaying is the technique of controlling the rope so that a falling climber does not fall very far. ... Environmental impact analysis is conducted to determine the likely human environmental health impact, risk to ecological health, and changes to natures services that a proposed or ongoing project may bring, or is bringing. ...

Development culminates in the publication of a climbing guidebook. The first edition of a guidebook may be little than a mimeographed pamphlet, but in the most highly developed areas, the books are thick tomes full of maps, photographs, and records of first ascents, and some have gone through multiple editions. Climbing guidebooks are also called topos. The money that is made from these topos is used to develop and maintain the climbing area. ... In climbing, a first ascent (FA) is the first climb to reach the top of a mountain, or the first to follow a particular climbing route. ...

Climbers normally have a very light impact on an area; bolts are not visible from a distance, and only the knowledgeable will recognize the worn ground at the base of a route and the chalk residue on the rock for what they are. However, popular climbing areas eventually come to the attention of the area's legal stewards, whether they are the owners of private land, or the rangers of a park. In such cases, the local climbers may need to negotiate access rights or bolting policies. Places like Yosemite National Park actually have a staff of climbing rangers, who work with climbers to develop and enforce usage policies, and to perform rescues.

See also: list of climbing areas. This is a list of articles about climbing areas and regions associated with climbing. ...

External links

• Climbing areas worldwide interactive map
• Climbing Areas Worldwide
• Rock Climbing areas in Mexico