UKC

Does anybody know the percentage of climbers who trad climb vs sport climb?
I'm curious because whenever we talk to others at the indoor wall and mention we've been away trad climbing many seem almost horrified at the thought. I also have a friend in Germany and she's been learning to climb over there, her instructor thought Trad climbing was mental!

So just wondering if there are any actual figures in circulation, per country, continent etc?

In reply to WaterMonkey:

Time for a survey... Click the Like button if you're a trad climber, click the Dislike button if you're a sport climber, obviously if you do both then click both buttons, and if you're a boulderer click on the !Report Abuse button.

In reply to EddInaBox:


In which order?

In reply to Willi Crater:

Trad climbers will work out the best way for themselves, sport climbers can just try repeatedly until they finally manage it, or their mates get bored and give them the beta.

In reply to WaterMonkey:

Or the percentage of 'sports climbers' who actually sports climb rather than just use bolts as a lazy convenience ? I certainly fall into the latter category when boltclipping anywhere and I think most people who claim to sports climb do.

In reply to WaterMonkey:




A widely held view on the continent of Europe. It will be familiar to any Brits climbing abroad who get into conversation with the locals.

In reply to GrahamD:


Depends where you live I think. People around the Bradford/Leeds area have trad climbing on their doorstep, it's more effort to get out to the sport crags.

In reply to WaterMonkey:



I don't have exact figures but I'd think a large percentage of those who climb routes outdoors in the UK will mainly do trad, although a lot have probably also dabbled in easy sport.

The reason your feedback may be distorted is because you're asking wall climbers who probably don't climb outdoors at all. Ask the same questions at a popular lakeland crag and you'll get a different view reflected. Also in Europe sport climbing is significantly more popular and is probably largely considered 'normal' outdoor climbing with trad as a bit of a crazy offshoot which might explain your German instructors view.

In reply to WaterMonkey:


Lots of people think this but the image in their heads (sketching up some desperate E6) is somewhat different to the reality of most of us (lacing an 8m severe with so so much gear you're on an effective top rope the entire way).

I'm extreme me......

In reply to 1poundSOCKS:


I trad climb predominantly, but when I do clip bolts occasionaly I wouldn't call what I do sport climbing as such.

In reply to EddInaBox:


Alternatively, Trad climbers will spend years building up clicking the button in their head, dreaming about clicking the button, reading articles about psychological approaches to button pressing and eventually deciding - some time in their late 30s - that it's ok and that you don't need to be able to press a button to be a trad climber and that actually they're better climbers because they're having more fun. Meanwhile the sport climber is too busy firing angry emails to 5:10 about the inferiority of the new pinks/whites/yellows/whatever.


The boulderers would click the button but don't want to waste the skin.

In reply to GrahamD:


I know a lot of people think that. When I climb on bolts, it's sport climbing to me. There is always a grey area obviously. But the lazy/convenience aspect is generally the travel. It's just as easy to throw my trad rack in my bag as my sport rack, even if my trad rack's a bit bigger and heavier.

In reply to EddInaBox:

Trad climbers live with shit weather; sport climbers live with injuries.

If you do both, then at least you can use the shit weather to nurse your injuries.

Mick

In reply to WaterMonkey:

So it looks like trad climbers are in the majority in this country, certainly on this forum. Europe it is mainly sports climbers, what about America? I assume trad but may be way off?

It would be interesting to get some actual figures, I wonder if the BMC have ever done a survey.

What's the difference between sport climbing and clipping bolts then?

In reply to Rog Wilko:
It'll depend where you are in Europe, though -- if you're in the Elbsandstein areas, British-style trad climbing (using metal gear!) is presumably going to seem tame and fluffy by comparison to what's "normal" there.

(Which, now I think about it, could be a reason why other German climbers might think all trad climbers are insane ...)

In reply to WaterMonkey:


Falling off probably.

In reply to WaterMonkey:
Most climbers who only "clip bolts" and I'm one of them, probably wouldn't seriously consider Redpointing, don't scream, shout, swear and kick the rock when they make a mistake, are more interested in the quality of the climbing than the grade, don't leave ropes and QD's in situ thus "booking" the routes, don't go bare chested and would prefer climbing in a nice setting rather than a grotty quarry. Well that's me at any rate

Al

In reply to WaterMonkey:

It's funny, as I think sport climbing is crazy! I will admit to having done very little, but the fact that you can only put gear where someone else thinks is a good idea always bothers me! There is very often (in my very limited experience!) a couple of places on the route where I can't reach the bolt from the place that I imagine the setter imagined. In order to clip, I often end up balancing in a daft place and struggling when my husband can stand on an easy hold to do it. Yes, it's true that you don't always get as many options as you would like with trad, but somehow it does seem to work out better for me more often.

In reply to girlymonkey:


Setter? Bolter? Indoors or outdoors?

If you did it more often, a Kong Panic might be a worthwhile investment.

In reply to 1poundSOCKS:

Yeah, bolter Shows how little I climb on bolts I guess.

If I need a cheat to clip, it would also ruin it for me. Thankfully, I have plenty of good trad nearby

In reply to WaterMonkey:

"Like" - but I'm not limited to any discipline and enjoy them all.
Country: Denmark (so, at least one for your stats

In reply to WaterMonkey:

To me sport climbing is all about exploring the limits of ones climbing potential, which involves training for routes and working them and practiceing moves - with the outcome never certain. So like sport, really.

I'm sure the majority of folk can't be arsed with all that, in fact they can't be arsed to trad climb which at most peoples level takes way less single mindedness. The majority of bolt clippers (me included when I do it) use the bolts just as a convenient lazy form of protection and climb with the exact same mindset as on sight trad - ie reasonably sure of getting up a climb and not really bothered about working it if we fail.

So sport climbing and bolt clipping really represent the two extremes of dedication in climbing.

In reply to WaterMonkey:
USA has a healthy mix of trad, alpine and sport. Bouldering in Cali is a big thing as well. Btw States are famous for big walls and aid climbing.

P.S.: Trad in Europe is present, but in most cases it is called classic climbing. Many routes will have fixed gear for belay and rappel. On same routes you may have bolted and not bolted pitches. It's a bit of the mess and always worth doing homework well to avoid carrying to much or too little pro.

In reply to GrahamD:

The crags you visit will likely skew your perception a bit. When I used to go to Giggleswick and Robin Proctor's Scar more often, the majority would climb onsight. If you go to Malham and Kilnsey, the majority will redpoint. Malham and Kilnsey are far busier on a typical weekend than Giggleswick or RPS. That's not a conclusion BTW, just an observation.

In reply to 1poundSOCKS:

Well Malham and Kilnsey are probably the only two sport venues that might get a look in on a world stage. They are pretty much the jewel in our sport climbing crown. Gigg or RPS just wouldn't register, neither would Portland.

In reply to GrahamD:

I'm curious -- is there a parallel distinction between people who "trad climb" versus people who "just place gear"?