Learn how climbing is organised, before the first move.

The pages in this section explain how climbing is organised, not how to climb. Belaying, rope work, protection and every other safety skill are taught in person by a qualified instructor or guide, and nothing here replaces that. The UIAA, in a 2018 extract from its Alpine Skills Summer Handbook, says that anyone using technical climbing gear needs to read its instructions, get specific training, understand its limits and accept the risks, and warns that skipping this may lead to severe injury or death.

When you want more detail, the equipment section explains what each piece of gear is and the standards it is tested to, where one exists, the safety section sets out what accident reports and injury studies show, and the glossary covers the vocabulary.

The shortest possible version

• The BMC (British Mountaineering Council) uses rock climbing as a broad term for roped climbing, indoors or outdoors, usually done in pairs with one climber protected by a partner.
• Climbing styles split into free climbing, where gear only protects against a fall and the climber moves up under their own power, and aid climbing, where gear is used to make progress (Wikipedia, secondary).
• The main disciplines are bouldering, sport, trad, multi-pitch and big wall, alpine climbing and mountaineering, and ice and mixed climbing. Top-rope and lead describe where the rope runs.
• Grades are opinions published by guidebook authors and bodies, not measurements. Several scales exist, and the UIAA says equivalences between them are approximate.
• Competition climbing is governed by World Climbing, which was called the IFSC (International Federation of Sport Climbing) until 10 December 2025. The UIAA represents mountaineering and still runs ice climbing competitions.
• Instructor and guide awards, such as those of Mountain Training in the UK, the AMGA in the US and the ACMG in Canada, certify people who teach or lead others.

Who sets the rules?

Climbing has no single rulebook. International federations, national councils, standards bodies, guide associations, wall associations and land managers each publish their own part, and they do not always agree. Every page in this section names the body whose statement it reports, with a date where the body gives one. Where sources disagree, both versions are given.

Where to go next

Start with how climbing works, then read the discipline pages: bouldering, sport climbing, trad climbing, top-rope and lead, indoor climbing, multi-pitch and big wall and alpine, ice and mixed. For grades, grading systems explains each scale and grade comparison tables shows how published charts line them up, and where they differ. The rest of the section covers governing bodies, climbing gyms, learning and guide certification, access and ethics and how many people climb.