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Jan 1, 1300
First Climbers
The Anasazis in the southwest United States drilled holes for posts and carved steps up the steep rock cliffs in Chaco Canyon. There are cliff dwellings scattered throughout the southwest. Given the difficult approaches to some of these cliff dwellings it seems reasonable to assume that the natives had the skills necessary to ascend what would now be considered technical climbing terrain. -
Period: May 21, 1300 to
History of Rock Climbing
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Jan 1, 1492
First recorded rock ascent
1492 : Antoine de Ville ascends Mont Inaccessible, Mont Aiguille, a 300 meter rock tower south of Grenoble, France. Under orders from his king, he used the techniques developed for sieging castles to attain an otherwise unreachable summit. -
First Ascent of Mt Blanc
The first ascent of Mont Blanc is often referred to as the start of mountaineering’s “modern era”. It took another century before history documents the use of devices similar to today’s fixed anchors: pitons, bolts and rappel slings. -
First Ascent of Half Dome
Half Dome in Yosemite National Park is first climbed by George Anderson. He uses eye bolts in drilled holes as hand and toe holds. He uses a fixed rope to return to his high point each day -
The Sport of Rock Climbing Begins
The Sport of Rock Climbing begins in the Lake District and Wales in Great Britain, Saxony near Dresden, and the Dolomites. W. P. Haskett Smith is frequently called the Father of Rock Climbing in the British Isles, and Oskar Schuster was an early climber in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. -
Rapid Advances in Equipment and Techniques
The first steel caribiner is created, the piton takes on its modern form and rapelling is developed. -
Free Climbing is Born
Paul Preuss, an advocate of Free climbing, coins the term "artificial aid" to describe the use of mechanical aids to progress up a rock. His rule number four (of six) stated: "The piton is an emergency aid and not the basis of a system of mountaineering -
Further devlopment in Climbing Equipment opens up more climbing areas
Fred Pigott's experiments with slinging natural chockstones and later machine nuts, for protection at Clogwyn Du'r Arddu on Snowdon, directly led to the development of the modern Stopper. -
Birth of Big Wall Climbing
Emilio Comici and the Dolomites. Comici is the inventor and proponent of using multi-step aid ladders, solid belays, the use of a trail/tag line, and hanging bivouacs. Pretty much the origin of big wall climbing and techniques. He uses them to good purpose with an ascent of the 26 pitch, 4000 foot Northwest Face of the Civetta.[5] -
Chalk enters the Scene
John Gill introduces chalk & modern dynamics; first V8 (1957), V9 (1959) ; freesolos FA Thimble overhang (5.12a, though with the shoes of the time and before chalk bags, it was undoubtedly harder) -
Cams produced for the first time
Ray Jardine begins selling the first modern spring-loaded camming device (SLCD or cam), which he invented several years earlier. This allows parallel cracks to be protected. -
First 'Modern' Climbing shoes on the market
Boreal introduces the first "sticky rubber" shoe, the Fire -
The Nose is Climbed (free solo)
Lynn Hill makes the first free climbing ascent of the 3,000 foot Nose Route of El Capitan (~5.13). Although there had been many ascents of The Nose, none had been done entirely without artificial aid. For years this had been the most coveted goal in the world of rock climbing. -
5.15B Climber (NZ Grade 37)
Chris Sharma climbs "Jumbo Love" on Clark Mountain, California, claiming a grade of 5.15b
