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103-639: Great Langdale is a valley in the Lake District National Park in North West England , the epithet "Great" distinguishing it from the neighbouring valley of Little Langdale . Langdale is also the name of a valley in the Howgill Fells , elsewhere in Cumbria . It is a popular location for hikers , climbers, fell-runners and other outdoor enthusiasts who are attracted by the many fells ringing

206-409: A first ascent (or FA), whereas climbers who ascend a new route and do it without aid have made the more coveted first free ascent (FFA). As a further refinement, some have argued that when free climbing a specific route single-pitch route, 'highball bouldering' is a better "style" than 'traditional climbing', which is itself a better "style" than 'sport climbing'. A further refinement of "style"

309-401: A 'layback' (see image) which involves using the legs and arms in opposing forces to ascend cracks in corners or dihedrals. Ascending corners naturally leads to the related technique of 'bridging' (also called 'stemming'), which involves spreading the legs to gain traction on the opposing walls of the corner. In places where the walls are completely opposing, the technique of bridging becomes

412-414: A broader floodplain may result. Deposition dominates over erosion. A typical river basin or drainage basin will incorporate each of these different types of valleys. Some sections of a stream or river valleys may have vertically incised their course to such an extent that the valley they occupy is best described as a gorge , ravine , or canyon . Rapid down-cutting may result from localized uplift of

515-527: A cirque glacier. During glacial periods, for example, the Pleistocene ice ages, it is in these locations that glaciers initially form and then, as the ice age proceeds, extend downhill through valleys that have previously been shaped by water rather than ice. Abrasion by rock material embedded within the moving glacial ice causes the widening and deepening of the valley to produce the characteristic U or trough shape with relatively steep, even vertical sides and

618-456: A dam. The water is used for public consumption in Great Langdale. Pavey Ark is 700 metres (2,297 feet) high. The main face is a little over 1 ⁄ 4 mile (400 metres) across and drops about 400 feet (120 metres). To the southwest, it merges into the crags of Harrison Stickle, while the northern end peters out into the valley of Bright Beck. Stickle Tarn is wholly within the territory of

721-558: A few metres to over a 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in height, and traverses can reach 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) in length. They include slabs , faces , cracks and overhangs/roofs . Popular rock types are granite (e.g. El Capitan ), limestone (e.g. Verdon Gorge ), and sandstone (e.g. Saxon Switzerland ) but 43 types of climbable rock types have been identified. Artificial indoor climbing walls are popular and competition climbing — which takes place on artificial walls — became an Olympic sport in 2020 . Contemporary rock climbing

824-406: A group of peaks on the northern side of the dale. From below, they appear as a sharp rocky ridge, though they are precipitous only on their southern side; to the north, the land sweeps gently to High Raise , the parent peak of the range. The Pikes themselves include (from west to east) Pike of Stickle, Loft Crag, Harrison Stickle and Pavey Ark. Pike of Stickle, also known as Pike o’ Stickle, reaches

927-602: A height of 709 metres (2,326 ft). The rearward slopes show evidence of the Pavey Ark Member, pebbly sandstone and breccia . The Langdale face displays several strata: from the top the Lingmell Formation, Crinkle Member and Bad Step Tuff. These are composed, respectively, of tuff , lapilli -tuff and breccia; rhyolitic tuff and breccia; and rhyolitic lava -like tuff. The altitude places Loft Crag and Gimmer Crag within sightlines to east-southeast while Bowfell

1030-633: A hotel, timeshare lodges and leisure facilities, operates in the valley. The Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel was originally a farm and inn. It was bought by the historian Professor G.M. Trevelyan who donated it to the National Trust , and who was later buried in Holy Trinity Church in Chapel Stile . The hotel and the Hikers Bar have a long association with climbing and many famous climbers have stayed at

1133-407: A mostly indoor environment. Routes are chronicled in guidebooks , and on online databases, with the details of how to climb the route (called the beta ), and who made the first ascent (or FA) and the coveted first free ascent (or FFA). Climbers will try to ascend a route onsight , however, a climber can spend years projecting a route before they make a redpoint ascent. Routes range from

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1236-535: A narrow valley with steep sides. Gill is used to describe a ravine containing a mountain stream in Cumbria and the Pennines . The term combe (also encountered as coombe ) is widespread in southern England and describes a short valley set into a hillside. Other terms for small valleys such as hope, dean, slade, slack and bottom are commonly encountered in place-names in various parts of England but are no longer in general use as synonyms for valley . The term vale

1339-434: A natural climbing route. However, many modern newcomers now start on the safest type, which is bouldering, and some of them never leave bouldering. Whereas outdoor climbing/mountaineering clubs were also an important pathway for instruction, many modern climbers now start by getting lessons at indoor climbing walls — in either bouldering or leading — and some then move on to competition climbing teams and never really appear in

1442-621: A new artificial indoor climbing wall built in a corridor of Leeds University began to produce climbers who, after exclusively training as students on the wall, could climb some of the hardest routes in Britain when they ventured into the outdoor environment. This led to an explosion in indoor climbing that was further amplified by the rise of bolted sport climbing and of bouldering, which are also suited to indoor climbing. Modern indoor climbing walls and gyms include artificial versions of almost every type of obstacle and climbing hold encountered in

1545-550: A precise hooking technique. Hooking is also used in competition climbing to gain a stable resting position, allowing the lactic acid to be shaken from the arms before carrying on. The 'heel-toe cam' is where a 'heel hook' and a 'toe hook' are used simultaneously to act like a 'jamming' technique (i.e. they keep each other in place by their opposing force), and is a regular requirement in competition lead climbing. The development of modern climbing routes which are typically severely overhanging (or with roofs), and which are now almost

1648-432: A relatively flat bottom. Interlocking spurs associated with the development of river valleys are preferentially eroded to produce truncated spurs , typical of glaciated mountain landscapes. The upper end of the trough below the ice-contributing cirques may be a trough-end . Valley steps (or 'rock steps') can result from differing erosion rates due to both the nature of the bedrock (hardness and jointing for example) and

1751-496: A route — either in retreat (e.g. self-rescue climbing ) or because they have completed it and there is no other way down. This requires the technique of abseiling (or rappelling in North America), where climbers use abseil devices to move down a fixed rope that has been anchored to a point at the top of the route. Climbing routes can range from just a few metres in height to over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). The higher

1854-465: A slower rate than that of the main valley floor; thus the difference in the two valleys' depth increases over time. The tributary valley, composed of more resistant rock, then hangs over the main valley. Trough-shaped valleys also form in regions of heavy topographic denudation . By contrast with glacial U-shaped valleys, there is less downward and sideways erosion. The severe downslope denudation results in gently sloping valley sides; their transition to

1957-461: A strong tradition of climbing developed their own grading systems, a small number of grading systems have become internationally dominant for each type of climbing, which has contributed to the standardization of grades worldwide. For free climbing — in both traditional and sport climbing formats — the most dominant worldwide grading systems are the French system (e.g. ... 6b, 6c, 7a, 7b, 7c, ...), and

2060-427: A valley between its sides is referred to as the valley floor. The valley floor is typically formed by river sediments and may have fluvial terraces . The development of a river valley is affected by the character of the bedrock over which the river or stream flows, the elevational difference between its top and bottom, and indeed the climate. Typically the flow will increase downstream and the gradient will decrease. In

2163-500: A variety of transitional forms between V-, U- and plain valleys can form. The floor or bottom of these valleys can be broad or narrow, but all valleys have a shoulder. The broader a mountain valley, the lower its shoulders are located in most cases. An important exception is canyons where the shoulder almost is near the top of the valley's slope. In the Alps – e.g. the Tyrolean Inn valley –

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2266-670: A watercourse only rarely. In areas of limestone bedrock , dry valleys may also result from drainage now taking place underground rather than at the surface. Rift valleys arise principally from earth movements , rather than erosion. Many different types of valleys are described by geographers, using terms that may be global in use or else applied only locally. Valleys may arise through several different processes. Most commonly, they arise from erosion over long periods by moving water and are known as river valleys. Typically small valleys containing streams feed into larger valleys which in turn feed into larger valleys again, eventually reaching

2369-428: A wide range of types and disciplines that vary with the style being adopted on the specific climbing route , the length and number of pitches of the route, the level and type of climbing protection that will be employed on the route, and whether the climb is in a competition climbing format. A climb can involve a combination of several types depending on the skill and risk appetite of the climber(s). For example,

2472-654: Is 9c  (5.15d), and the hardest bouldering grade is V17  (9A). The main types of rock climbing can trace their origins to late 19th-century Europe, with bouldering in Fontainebleau , big wall climbing in the Dolomites , and single-pitch climbing in both the Lake District and in Saxony . Climbing ethics initially focused on "fair means" and the transition from aid climbing to free climbing and latterly to clean climbing ;

2575-405: Is a tributary valley that is higher than the main valley. They are most commonly associated with U-shaped valleys, where a tributary glacier flows into a glacier of larger volume. The main glacier erodes a deep U-shaped valley with nearly vertical sides, while the tributary glacier, with a smaller volume of ice, makes a shallower U-shaped valley. Since the surfaces of the glaciers were originally at

2678-399: Is a free climb by a climber who had never seen the route beforehand, and had never been told about its challenges and how to overcome them (called the beta ). If such a climber completes the route on their first attempt it is called an onsight . Where the climber had never seen the route beforehand but had been given beta on it, it is called a flash . A free climb where the climber attempts

2781-415: Is associated with the development of training tools such as the hangboard that increase the tendon strength needed for crimping; however, it is also a source of tendon injury. Crimping and edging are most associated with ' face climbing ' where there are no big features on which to 'layback' or to 'bridge', and no cracks in which to 'jam'. They can also feature in traversing as was dramatically shown on

2884-724: Is focused on free climbing where — unlike with aid climbing — no mechanical aids can be used to assist with upward momentum. Free-climbing includes the discipline of bouldering on short 5-metre (16 ft) routes, of single-pitch climbing on up to 60–70-metre (200–230 ft) routes, and of multi-pitch climbing — and big wall climbing — on routes of up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). Free-climbing can be done as free solo climbing with no climbing protection whatsoever, or as lead climbing that uses either removable temporary protection (called traditional climbing ), or permanently fixed bolted protection (called sport climbing ). The evolution in technical milestones in rock climbing

2987-576: Is formed by the deep ravine of Dungeon Ghyll, which cuts through the parapet of the Langdale Pikes and into the lower hinterland of Harrison Combe. Across the Ghyll westwards are Thorn Crag, Loft Crag, and finally Pike of Stickle. Below the steep eastern face of Harrison Stickle lie Stickle Tarn and its Ghyll, thus ensuring that all drainage from the fell is to Great Langdale. The tarn is a water-filled corrie about 50 feet (15 metres) deep, this being enhanced by

3090-753: Is known for its detailed holds and cracks (e.g Malham Cove , Céüse , and the Verdon Gorge ), and on sandstone, which can have sculpted features (e.g. Indian Creek , Saxon Switzerland , Rocklands , and Fontainebleau ). However, climbing areas have been identified on over 43 climbable rock types including on gritstone (e.g. Stanage Edge ), on slate (e.g. Dinorwic quarry ), on dolorite (e.g. Fair Head ), on iron rock (e.g. Hueco Tanks ), on gneiss (e.g. Magic Wood  [ fr ] ), on dolomite (e.g. Tri Cime ), on monzonite (e.g., The Buttermilks ), and on quartzite (e.g. Mount Arapiles ). Climbers also differentiate routes by challenges encountered and

3193-574: Is most associated with ' slab climbing ' where the ability to 'smear' is essential because of the smooth and featureless nature of the surface. One of the most notable exponents of the 'smearing' technique is Welch climber Johnny Dawes who used smearing it to create some of the hardest traditional slab climbs in the world such as the Indian Face and The Quarryman . Dawes is also noted for his unique "no-hands demonstrations" where he climbs extreme-graded rock climbing routes but uses only his feet and

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3296-413: Is most commonly done by pairs using lead climbing , they have both been rope solo climbed , simul climbed (particularly for setting speed climbing records), and only Freerider has been free solo climbed (see photo). The broad range of types is also helpful in giving novice climbers alternative paths into the sport. Once, the main pathway was starting as a 'belayer' to an outdoor lead climber on

3399-467: Is needed, and it is length that differentiates the three major disciplines of rock climbing which are: The type of climbing protection employed also materially influences the type of rock climbing techniques used on a climbing route, regardless of whether it is single-pitch or multi-pitch (or big wall); protection doesn't apply to bouldering as none is used. The following broad distinctions are made in rock climbing types, which have been split into whether

3502-501: Is only 50 meters (160 ft) deep while the main fjord is around 1,300 meters (4,300 ft) at the same point. Glaciated terrain is not the only site of hanging streams and valleys. Hanging valleys are also simply the product of varying rates of erosion of the main valley and the tributary valleys. The varying rates of erosion are associated with the composition of the adjacent rocks in the different valley locations. The tributary valleys are eroded and deepened by glaciers or erosion at

3605-481: Is the word cwm borrowed from Welsh . The word dale occurs widely in place names in the north of England and, to a lesser extent, in southern Scotland. As a generic name for a type of valley, the term typically refers to a wide valley, though there are many much smaller stream valleys within the Yorkshire Dales which are named "(specific name) Dale". Clough is a word in common use in northern England for

3708-460: Is three kilometres (two miles) west-southwest. The Southern Fells and Skiddaw are also potentially visible. Loft Crag has a summit elevation of 2,238 feet (682 metres). It lies between Harrison Stickle and Pike of Stickle. The fell has a small sharp summit, below which rises Gimmer Crag, which is one of the top rock climbing venues in the Lake District. The crag is made of Rhyolite rock and

3811-530: Is tied to the development in rock-climbing equipment (e.g. rubber shoes , spring-loaded camming devices , and campus boards ) and of rock-climbing technique (e.g. jamming, crimping, and smearing). The most dominant grading systems worldwide are the 'French numerical' and 'American YDS' systems for lead climbing, and the V-grade and the Font-grade for bouldering. As of October 2024, the hardest lead climbing grade

3914-614: Is used in England and Wales to describe a wide river valley, usually with a particularly wide flood plain or flat valley bottom. In Southern England, vales commonly occur between the outcrops of different relatively erosion-resistant rock formations, where less resistant rock, often claystone has been eroded. An example is the Vale of White Horse in Oxfordshire. Some of the first human complex societies originated in river valleys, such as that of

4017-408: The 'belayer' will lock the rope, and the 'lead climber' will fall until they hang from the last 'protection device' that they had clipped the rope into. This protection can be removable (which is called traditional climbing ), or permanently fixed into the rock (which is called sport climbing ). If the 'lead climber' falls, the 'belayer' will immediately lock the rope using their belay device, and

4120-507: The Latin terms for 'valley, 'gorge' and 'ditch' respectively. The German term ' rille ' or Latin term 'rima' (signifying 'cleft') is used for certain other elongate depressions on the Moon. See also: Rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in

4223-496: The Nile , Tigris-Euphrates , Indus , Ganges , Yangtze , Yellow River , Mississippi , and arguably the Amazon . In prehistory , the rivers were used as a source of fresh water and food (fish and game), as well as a place to wash and a sewer. The proximity of water moderated temperature extremes and provided a source for irrigation , stimulating the development of agriculture . Most of

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4326-538: The Trango Towers , present additional physical challenges. Traversing routes, by their horizontal nature, can extend to great distances, and the world's longest rock climb is the 4,500-metre (14,800 ft) El Capitan Girdle Traverse on El Capitan . Famous routes have been created on almost every climbable rock type, and particularly so on granite , which is noted for its grip and large cracks (e.g. El Capitan , Joshua Tree or Squamish ), on limestone , which

4429-664: The first civilizations developed from these river valley communities. Siting of settlements within valleys is influenced by many factors, including the need to avoid flooding and the location of river crossing points. Numerous elongate depressions have been identified on the surface of Mars , Venus , the Moon , and other planets and their satellites and are known as valles (singular: 'vallis'). Deeper valleys with steeper sides (akin to canyons) on certain of these bodies are known as chasmata (singular: 'chasma'). Long narrow depressions are referred to as fossae (singular: 'fossa'). These are

4532-491: The techniques required to overcome them. Some of the earliest rock climbs were smooth off-vertical ' slab climbs ' where balance and shoe grip (or 'smearing') were key; famous modern examples include Indian Face in the UK. Climbers then acquired the techniques to ascend near-vertical ' crack climbs ' by 'laybacking', 'bridging', and 'jamming'; famous examples include Super Crack , The Phoenix and Grand Illusion (all in

4635-399: The 'belayer' held the rope fast — which they would have to do manually by looping the rope around their waist — the 'lead climber' would hang from the rope if it had stayed looped around a spike of rock — if it didn't, they fell to the ground. Modern rock climbers use mechanical protection devices placed along the route, into which the 'lead climber' clips the rope as they ascend; if they fall,

4738-431: The 'lead climber' is forced to leave large gaps between protection points — called a runout — so that any fall will be large (called a whipper ). The wide variety of types of rock climbing offers safer ways for beginners to access the sport before learning to lead climb, including top roping and bouldering . Finally, while rock climbing mostly involves ascending a route, climbers might also need to be able to descend

4841-409: The 'lead climber' will fall twice the distance that they are above their last piece of climbing protection. If this piece of climbing protection fails — a risk of traditional climbing — and rips away from the rock, they will keep falling until their next piece of protection holds the rope (a zipper fall is where several pieces fail). On some routes, the opportunities for placing protection are poor so

4944-539: The Ark, a corrie tarn which has been dammed to create additional capacity. The stone-faced barrage is low enough not to spoil the character of the pool, and the water is used for public consumption in the hotels and homes below. The tarn has a depth of around 50 feet (15 metres). Great Langdale's highest fell is Bow Fell . Other notable Langdale fells are Crinkle Crags , at the head of the Oxendale valley, and Pike o' Blisco on

5047-512: The ICCC added bouldering and speed climbing as new events. In 2007, the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) took over the governance of the sport and its two major competitions, the annual Climbing World Cup and the biennial Climbing World Championships ; it debuted as a full Olympic-medal sport in 2020: The rock-climbing equipment needed varies quite significantly with

5150-554: The Lakeland slate industry . Two slate workings, Elterwater Quarry and Spout Cragg Quarry, have been more or less continually working using modern methods. Elterwater is the larger of the two, and like Spout Cragg, is operated by the Burlington Stone Company. There are various other local quarries now fallen into disuse, such as Lingmoor, Banks, Thrang Crag and Colt Howe. Great Langdale had a productive stone axe industry during

5253-479: The Langdale Boulders at Copt Howe. The mouth of the valley is located at Skelwith Bridge, which lies about two miles (three kilometres) west of Ambleside . The Langdale valley contains two villages, Chapel Stile and Elterwater , and a hamlet at High Close. Great Langdale is a U-shaped valley formed by glaciers , while Little Langdale is a hanging valley . Great Langdale and Elterwater were centres of

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5356-570: The Neolithic period. The area has outcrops of fine-grained greenstone suitable for making polished axes which have been found distributed across the British Isles. The rock is an epidotised greenstone quarried or perhaps just collected from the scree slopes in the Langdale Valley on Harrison Stickle and Pike of Stickle. Among the best-known features of Great Langdale are the Langdale Pikes,

5459-513: The Scandinavian ice sheet during the various ice ages advanced slightly uphill against the lie of the land. As a result, its meltwaters flowed parallel to the ice margin to reach the North Sea basin, forming huge, flat valleys known as Urstromtäler . Unlike the other forms of glacial valleys, these were formed by glacial meltwaters. Depending on the topography , the rock types , and the climate ,

5562-792: The US). Climbers then took on blank vertical ' face climbs ' by 'crimping' and 'edging' on tiny holds, which required bolts drilled into the rock for their climbing protection; famous face routes include The Face  [ de ] and Wallstreet  [ de ] (Germany), La Rage de Vivre and Super Plafond (France), and To Bolt or Not to Be and Just Do It (the US). Eventually, they migrated to routes that were also severely and continually overhanging and which required 'dynos' (or jumps) to reach holds; famous examples include Action Directe (Germany), Realization/Biographie (France), La Rambla (Spain), Jumbo Love (the US), La Dura Dura (Spain) and Silence (Norway). In 1964,

5665-504: The actual valley bottom is unclear. Trough-shaped valleys occur mainly in periglacial regions and in tropical regions of variable wetness. Both climates are dominated by heavy denudation. Box valleys have wide, relatively level floors and steep sides. They are common in periglacial areas and occur in mid-latitudes, but also occur in tropical and arid regions. Rift valleys, such as the Albertine Rift and Gregory Rift are formed by

5768-775: The beta information between online databases. Important new first ascents are also chronicled and discussed in specialist rock climbing media, including climbing magazines and climbing journals with notable examples including Alpinist , and Climbing , which are read globally. These are supplemented by popular online climbing websites such as UK Climbing and PlanetMountain , as well as country-level specialist rock climbing magazines such as Desnivel (in Spanish), Grimper  [ fr ] (in French) and Klettern  [ de ] (in German). The sport of rock climbing includes

5871-538: The climber is free climbing. With the development of the safer form of sport climbing in the 1980s, lead climbing competitions on bolted artificial climbing walls became popular. In 1988, the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA) created rules and created the International Council for Competition Climbing  [ de ] (ICCC) to regulate competition climbing , and in 1998,

5974-439: The conservation of energy and thus climb efficiently. Where possible, the arms should be kept straight, thus holding the body weight on the joints and not on flexed arm muscles, with the 'climbing' driven by the stronger legs. The hips should be kept close to the wall, which often involves the technique of 'back-stepping', where instead of the climber using their big toe to 'toe-into' a foot-hold, they rotate their hips and use

6077-420: The crux pitch of the famous Dawn Wall route in the film, The Dawn Wall . Many of the hardest modern routes feature painful micro-crimps from which the climber must launch a small "dyno" (i.e. a jump or lunge) to reach the next micro-crimps. Notable examples include the crux of the sport climbing route, La Dura Dura , and the crux of the bouldering problem, Burden of Dreams . 'Hooking' involves using

6180-541: The even more spectacular technique of 'chimneying'. Laybacking and bridging enabled rock climbers to ascend dramatic new types of specialist climbing routes that typically combined the corners and cracks needed for these techniques to work. Famous early examples include Joe Brown 's Cenotaph Corner in 1952 in Dinas Cromlech in Wales. Notable modern examples of routes that require advanced laybacking and bridging include

6283-599: The expansion of the Earth 's crust due to tectonic activity beneath the Earth's surface. There are many terms used for different sorts of valleys. They include: Similar geographical features such as gullies , chines , and kloofs , are not usually referred to as valleys. The terms corrie , glen , and strath are all Anglicisations of Gaelic terms and are commonly encountered in place-names in Scotland and other areas where Gaelic

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6386-463: The famous neighbouring El Capitan routes of The Nose and Freerider both require big wall climbing techniques as they are over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) high. They can be ascended using aid climbing (on either all or just on the hardest pitches of the route) or can be fully free climbed ( The Nose is much harder and only rarely free climbed). As both are not bolted, they require traditional climbing protection to be inserted, and while it

6489-443: The flow slower and both erosion and deposition may take place. More lateral erosion takes place in the middle section of a river's course, as strong currents on the outside of its curve erode the bank. Conversely, deposition may take place on the inside of curves where the current is much slacker, the process leading to the river assuming a meandering character. In the lower valley, gradients are lowest, meanders may be much broader and

6592-408: The hardest technical grades climbed in the outdoor natural environment. The ever-growing volume and range of new rock climbing routes are recorded via specialist diagrams called topos , which are collated in climbing guidebooks and more latterly on large online rock climbing databases such as theCrag.com and MountainProject.com . Guidebooks and databases record the local consensus view on

6695-450: The head of the valley. Among the best-known features of Great Langdale are the Langdale Pikes, a group of peaks on the northern side of the dale. England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike , can be climbed by a route from Langdale. Langdale has views of, in particular, Dungeon Ghyll Force waterfall , Harrison Stickle and Pike of Stickle . Great Langdale was an important site during the Neolithic period for producing stone axes and, later,

6798-400: The holds became smaller and smaller, until they were barely large enough to accommodate the tips of fingers of the smallest part of a toe. 'Crimping' means holding the fingers in a tight line to hold onto the smallest holds, while 'edging' involves a similar process but with the "edges" of the climbing shoe. A related technique is that of 'pinching' which is used on even smaller holds. Crimping

6901-816: The hotel or drunk in the bar. In climbing circles it is known as the "ODG". Further down the valley there is the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, built in 1862. Campsites in the area include the National Trust site near Dungeon Ghyll and the Baysbrown Farm campsite at Chapel Stile. 54°26′57″N 3°04′24″W  /  54.44912°N 3.07333°W  / 54.44912; -3.07333 Valley At lower latitudes and altitudes, these glacially formed valleys may have been created or enlarged during ice ages but now are ice-free and occupied by streams or rivers. In desert areas, valleys may be entirely dry or carry

7004-427: The land surface or rejuvenation of the watercourse as a result for example of a reduction in the base level to which the river is eroded, e.g. lowered global sea level during an ice age . Such rejuvenation may also result in the production of river terraces . There are various forms of valleys associated with glaciation. True glacial valleys are those that have been cut by a glacier which may or may not still occupy

7107-405: The legs and feet to grab — or "hook" — onto features on the rock. While hooking is a long-standing technique in rock climbing, competition climbers need to be able to master every type of hook including "toe hooks", "heel hooks" and "leg hooks" when trying to overcome the challenges of route setters, who have developed particular challenges on artificial climbing walls that can only be overcome with

7210-410: The level of difficulty of the routes, however, where this is materially lower than the actual difficulty of the routes, it is termed sandbagging . The individual moves needed to complete a given rock climbing route are called the beta , and popular rock climbing routes have detailed step-by-step video guides of their beta available online, and which has led to legal disputes over the ownership of

7313-399: The micro-cracks of Rhapsody . 'Smearing' involves using the rubber grip of the climbing shoes to gain purchase on a featureless rock face with no edges or holds to step on. The advent of specialist rubber-soled climbing shoes dramatically increased the surfaces that climbers could "smear" on. While the technique is used to some degree on almost every type of rock climbing route, it

7416-443: The mountains and eulogises on the excellent trout fishing in the river. There are several popular fell walking routes including Bowfell, Crinkle Crags, the Langdale Pikes and England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike . There are also rock-climbing spots on the valley floor, such as Raven Crag, Gimmer Crag, and White Ghyll, providing some of the most spectacular rock routes in the UK. The Langdale Leisure Limited company, consisting of

7519-439: The much-photographed crux-pitch of the big wall route, Pre-Muir Wall , on El Capitan, and the groove-pitch of the multi-pitch route, The Quarryman , in Wales. One of the most important revolutions in rock climbing technique was the development of 'jamming'. This involves placing — or "jamming" — the climber's body parts into cracks in the rock which they then pull on to gain upward momentum. Jamming brought free climbing to

7622-557: The natural environment. Artificial walls include novel features such as volume holds and sloper holds , which indoor route setters use to challenge climbers in very specific and unusual ways. As most competition climbing events are held on indoor walls, many contemporary climbers have spent their careers training and competing on artificial indoor walls. This revolution in the design of indoor climbing holds has affected how climbers now approach outdoor routes. Modern indoor walls can have their routes graded for technical difficulty in

7725-463: The ocean or perhaps an internal drainage basin . In polar areas and at high altitudes, valleys may be eroded by glaciers ; these typically have a U-shaped profile in cross-section, in contrast to river valleys, which tend to have a V-shaped profile. Other valleys may arise principally through tectonic processes such as rifting . All three processes can contribute to the development of a valley over geological time. The flat (or relatively flat) portion of

7828-432: The outdoor environment. The wide range of types has helped more people access the sport in the way that best suits them. In rock climbing, the term "style" principally refers to whether the climber used any artificial aid to help them to ascend the climbing route, which is called aid climbing , or whether they used no aid whatsoever, which is called free climbing . Climbers who ascend a new route but using aid have made

7931-434: The outside edge of their opposite leg; this gives them greater upward reach while keeping their hips close to the rock face. Linked to 'back-stepping' is the use of the free leg as a counter-balance to avoid the climber swinging away from the rock, and to support other movements, which is called 'flagging'. Good climbing technique emphasizes the use of the legs to hold body weight and to gain upward momentum, which includes

8034-489: The photographic sandstone 'splitter cracks' of Indian Creek such as on the famous crack climbing route, Supercrack . Finger jamming was also used to open harder routes up very thin cracks on many rock types around the world, and remains an important technique on the world's hardest traditional climbing routes — where cracks are needed to insert the temporary climbing protection — with notable examples such as on Cobra Crack (and its famous and painful one-finger jam) and on

8137-436: The power of the moving ice. In places, a rock basin may be excavated which may later be filled with water to form a ribbon lake or else by sediments. Such features are found in coastal areas as fjords . The shape of the valley which results from all of these influences may only become visible upon the recession of the glacier that forms it. A river or stream may remain in the valley; if it is smaller than one would expect given

8240-528: The related big wall climbing, adds devices to assist in ascending and descending fixed ropes . Finally, aid climbing uses unique equipment to assist the climber in their upward movement (e.g. aiders ). The equipment used in rock climbing can be grouped into the following categories: The development of rock-climbing techniques was as important as the development of rock-climbing equipment in increasing standards and reaching new grade milestones. Several techniques were particularly notable for their impact on

8343-436: The rope if the 'lead climber' falls. Once the 'lead climber' reaches the top, they create an anchor from which they can act as the 'belayer' (but from above), controlling the rope while the 'second' ascends. Another key concept is that of climbing protection (or 'gear' or 'rack'). Early 20th-century rock climbers relied on the 'lead climber' looping the rope around natural spikes of rock as they ascended. If they fell, and

8446-426: The route and overcome its challenges with a rope attached to their harness. The other member — the 'belayer' (or 'second') — will remain standing at the base of the route but controlling the other end of the rope, which is called belaying . The 'belayer' uses a mechanical belay device to attach the rope to their harness from which they can 'pay-out' the rope as the 'lead climber' ascends but with which they can lock

8549-442: The route many times before finally ascending it is called a redpoint ; most major new FFAs in rock climbing are done as redpoints. In 2021, German climber Alexander Megos expanded that "style" in rock climbing should include a detailed understanding of the conditions in which an ascent was made, saying "It seems like the climbing community is not differentiating at all and rarely mentioning HOW things are climbed". He felt this

8652-452: The route that is being undertaken and the type of climbing that is being followed. For example, bouldering needs the least equipment outside of climbing shoes , climbing chalk , and optional crash pads . Sport climbing adds ropes , harnesses , belay devices , and quickdraws to clip into pre-drilled bolts . Traditional climbing adds the need to carry a "rack" of temporary passive and active protection devices . Multi-pitch climbing, and

8755-444: The route, the greater the danger and the greater range of techniques and equipment needed, however, the technical difficulty of a route is not correlated to its height. Climbers have spent as many years trying to ascend 4-metre (13 ft) routes such as Burden of Dreams , as they have on 1,000-metre (3,300 ft) routes like The Nose . Rock climbing routes at high-altitude, such as on big wall routes like Eternal Flame on

8858-446: The same elevation , the shallower valley appears to be 'hanging' above the main valley. Often, waterfalls form at or near the outlet of the upper valley. Hanging valleys also occur in fjord systems underwater. The branches of Sognefjord are much shallower than the main fjord. The mouth of Fjærlandsfjord is about 400 meters (1,300 ft) deep while the main fjord nearby is 1,200 meters (3,900 ft) deep. The mouth of Ikjefjord

8961-546: The same manner as outdoor natural routes. The MoonBoard climbing wall has a 'grid' of 200 climbing holds that can be climbed in over 50,000 sequences, with sequences created and graded by an online community. Even the 2024 Olympic artificial climbing walls were graded with the women's walls at up to 5.14c  (8c+) for lead and V12  (8A+) for bouldering, and the men's walls at up to 5.14d  (9a) for lead and V14  (8B+) for bouldering. Artificial walls have been created that have been estimated to be at or above

9064-543: The shoulders are quite low (100–200 meters above the bottom). Many villages are located here (esp. on the sunny side) because the climate is very mild: even in winter when the valley's floor is filled with fog, these villages are in sunshine . In some stress-tectonic regions of the Rocky Mountains or the Alps (e.g. Salzburg ), the side valleys are parallel to each other, and are hanging . Smaller streams flow into rivers as deep canyons or waterfalls . A hanging valley

9167-849: The size of its valley, it can be considered an example of a misfit stream . Other interesting glacially carved valleys include: A tunnel valley is a large, long, U-shaped valley originally cut under the glacial ice near the margin of continental ice sheets such as that now covering Antarctica and formerly covering portions of all continents during past glacial ages. Such valleys can be up to 100 km (62 mi) long, 4 km (2.5 mi) wide, and 400 m (1,300 ft) deep (its depth may vary along its length). Tunnel valleys were formed by subglacial water erosion . They once served as subglacial drainage pathways carrying large volumes of meltwater. Their cross-sections exhibit steep-sided flanks similar to fjord walls, and their flat bottoms are typical of subglacial glacial erosion. In northern Central Europe,

9270-602: The smearing technique for upward momentum. 'Palming' is smearing with the open hands, and is used on smooth holds that cannot be gripped by the fingers, which are called 'slopers'. Palming is also often used when 'bridging' and 'chimneying' where the hands are pushing against the rock surfaces. The extensive use of large volume holds (also sloper holds) by route setters in competition lead climbing and competition bouldering has also made 'smearing' and 'palming' an important technique for contemporary competition climbers (see photo). As climbers tried harder and harder routes,

9373-516: The southern side of the valley. Dungeon Ghyll is a ravine on the north side of the valley, starting on the fell slopes between Harrison Stickle and Loft Crag/Pike of Stickle. It is narrow, and a No Through Route for walkers. Much more open is Stickle Ghyll, which descends from Stickle Tarn. There is a well–trodden path from the Stickle Ghyll car park opposite the New Dungeon Ghyll hotel up to

9476-456: The sport — and on particular types of climbing routes — and are key for any aspiring rock climber to master. The development of route setters in competition climbing , who can artificially fine-tune a route to require the accurate use of specific techniques, has further increased the range of techniques that contemporary rock climbers need to master. Rock-climbing technique is built on having an effective body position and balance to maximize

9579-524: The standard in the main competition lead climbing events, has led to greater emphasis and refinement of many more advanced techniques, notable of which are: Climbing routes in rock climbing are given a grade that reflects the technical difficulty—and in some cases the risks and commitment level—of the route. The first ascensionist can suggest a grade, but it will be amended to reflect the consensus view of subsequent ascents, and recorded in online databased or physical guidebooks . While many countries with

9682-465: The tarn, parts of which have been improved with stone slabs to reduce erosion . Another waterfall , known as Dungeon Ghyll Force, is up a path behind the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel. Middle Fell Bridge here is the bridge centring in the plot of the 1945 film Brief Encounter . Letitia Elizabeth Landon 's poetical illustration, Langdale Pikes (1832), to a picture by Thomas Allom , ignores

9785-426: The technique of 'high-stepping' (i.e. lifting the feet above the waistline), which can be combined with 'heel hooking' (see image below), and the technique of 'rock-over' / 'rock-on' weight-transfer movements (i.e. transferring the weight to the higher leg but without explicitly pulling up on the arms). Early rock climbers began to distinguish themselves from general mountaineering scrambling techniques by executing

9888-407: The upper valley, the stream will most effectively erode its bed through corrasion to produce a steep-sided V-shaped valley. The presence of more resistant rock bands, of geological faults , fractures , and folds may determine the course of the stream and result in a twisting course with interlocking spurs . In the middle valley, as numerous streams have coalesced, the valley is typically wider,

9991-495: The use of bolted protection on outdoor routes is a source of ongoing debate in climbing. The sport's profile was increased when lead climbing, bouldering, and speed climbing became medal events in the Summer Olympics, and with the popularity of films such as Free Solo and The Dawn Wall . A key concept in many types of rock climbing is that of the ' lead climbing pair '. One member — the 'lead climber' — will try to climb

10094-407: The valley at the present day. Such valleys may also be known as glacial troughs. They typically have a U-shaped cross-section and are characteristic landforms of mountain areas where glaciation has occurred or continues to take place. The uppermost part of a glacial valley frequently consists of one or more 'armchair-shaped' hollows, or ' cirques ', excavated by the rotational movement downslope of

10197-478: The world of ' crack climbing ', and rock climbers developed the technique for almost every body part, including the "body jam" (i.e. the whole body in the crack), the "arm jam", the "hand/fist jam", the "toe jam", and the "finger jam". Jamming techniques were notably employed on the long granite cracks of El Capitan, where they were used to free up important routes such as The Nose and The Salathe Wall , as well as on

10300-423: Was a particular concern in bouldering where the use of knee pads and whether the climb was commenced as a full sit start (and from what point), can affect the technical difficulty of the climb, and needed to be recorded alongside the ascent of the route itself. The length of the climbing route materially influences the type of rock-climbing techniques that can be used and the type of rock-climbing equipment that

10403-465: Was also one of the centres of the Lakeland slate industry . Great Langdale is known to archaeologists as the source of a particular type of Neolithic polished stone axe head, created on the slopes of the Pike of Stickle and traded all over prehistoric Great Britain and Europe. It also supplied stone for some Bronze Age items, including stone wrist-guards . Neolithic cup and ring marks are found on

10506-414: Was once widespread. Strath signifies a wide valley between hills, the floor of which is either level or slopes gently. A glen is a river valley which is steeper and narrower than a strath. A corrie is a basin-shaped hollow in a mountain. Each of these terms also occurs in parts of the world formerly colonized by Britain . Corrie is used more widely by geographers as a synonym for (glacial) cirque , as

10609-527: Was pioneered in the early 1880s by Walter Parry Haskett Smith . Harrison Stickle is the high point of the Langdale Pikes, and its crags fall south and east from the summit, presenting a view from the valley floor 2,000 feet (610 metres) below, or from further afield. To the north, the main ridge of the central fells passes over Thunacar Knott before climbing to High Raise. The craggy eastern face of this ridge continues north as far as Harrison's near neighbour, Pavey Ark . The southwestern border of Harrison Stickle

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