Rock climbers on Valkyrie at The Roaches in Staffordshire, England.

A competitor in a rope climbing event, at Lyon's Part-Dieu shopping centre.

An ice climber using ice axes and crampons.

Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet (or indeed any other part of the body) to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation (to reach an inaccessible place, or for its own enjoyment) and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.

Climbing activities include:

• Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small outcrops, often with climbing shoes and a chalk bag or bucket. Usually, instead of using a safety rope from above, injury is avoided using a crash pad and a human spotter (to direct a falling climber on to the pad).
• Buildering: Climbing urban structures - usually without equipment - avoiding normal means of ascent, like stairs, escalators, and elevators. Aspects of buildering can be seen in the art of movement known as Parkour.
• Canyoning: Climbing along canyons for sport or recreation.
• Chalk climbing: cliffs of chalk may (with difficulty) be climbed using some of the same techniques as ice climbing [1].
• Competition Climbing: A formal, competitive sport of recent origins, normally practiced on artificial walls that resemble natural rock formations. The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) is the official organization governing competition climbing worldwide and is recognized by the IOC and GAISF and is a member of the International World Games Association (IWGA). Competition Climbing has three major disciplines: Lead, Bouldering and Speed.
• Ice climbing: Ascending ice or hard snow formations using special equipment designed for the purpose, usually ice axes and crampons. Techniques of protecting the climber are similar to those of rock climbing, although the protective devices themselves are different (ice screws, snow wedges).
• Sport Climbing: a specific sub-category of climbing in which the climber uses quickdraws to clip onto permanment bolts in the rock, and thus clips the rope into each quickdraw as she or he climbs up. A quickdraw consists of two caribiners attached on each end of a piece of webbing. One caribiner holds the rope and the other caribiner clips into the fixed bolts in the rock or gym wall. Quickdraw caribiners come with a variety of features including straight gate, bent gate, and wire gate. The carabiners are quickdraws never lock. Quickdraws may be attached to the gear loops on the waist of one's harness while climbing.
• Mountain climbing (Mountaineering): Ascending mountains for sport or recreation. It often involves rock and/or ice climbing.
• Net climbing: Climbing net structures. The climbing structures consist of multiple interconnected steel reinforced ropes attached to the ground and steel poles. Climbing nets are usually installed on playgrounds to assist children in developing their balancing and climbing skills.
• Pole climbing (gymnastic): Climbing poles and masts without equipment.
• Lumberjack tree-trimming and competitive tree-trunk or pole climbing for speed using spikes and belts.
• Rock climbing: Ascending rock formations, often using climbing shoes and a chalk bag. Equipment such as ropes, bolts, nuts, hexes and camming devices are normally employed, either as a safeguard or for artificial aid.
• Rope access: Industrial climbing, usually abseiling, as an alternative to scaffolding for short works on exposed structures.
• Rope climbing: Climbing a short, thick rope for speed. Not to be confused with roped climbing, as in rock or ice climbing.
• Scrambling which includes easy rock climbing, and is considered part of hillwalking.
• Tree climbing: Ascending trees without the intention of harming them, using ropes and other equipment. This is a less competitive activity than rock climbing.

Rock, ice and tree climbing all usually use ropes for safety or aid. Pole climbing and rope climbing were among the first exercises to be included in the origins of modern gymnastics in the late 18th century and early 19th century.

See also[link]

• Fall factor
• Arboreal locomotion
• Climbing clubs
• Climbing equipment
• Climbing organisations
• List of climbers - Notable rock and ice climbers
• List of climbing areas
• List of climbing topics
• Glossary of climbing terms
• Glossary of knots common in climbing
• Outdoor education
• Outdoor activity
• Rock climbing
• Parkour - French technique of passing obstacles efficiently
• Scrambling

References[link]

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2010)

External links[link]

• Climbing at the Open Directory Project

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Climbing

Sonnie Trotter (born November 15, 1979 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian professional climber, known for his strength in many rock climbing disciplines, contributing to hundreds of first ascents around the world. Trotter began climbing in 1997 at age 16, and soon became the first Canadian to climb 5.14c the third North American to have established a 5.14d route. In more recent years, Trotter has gained notoriety for his support of clean trad routes over bolted routes, and his first ascent of the Cobra Crack in Squamish, British Columbia.

Sonnie also made Squamish history in 2006 when he and his climbing partner Matt Segal connected The Shadow 5.13b, The Grand Wall 5.13b and The Black Dyke 5.13b on the Stawamus Chief all free in a single 12 hour push.

Trotter has been featured in 3 award winning films. "The Cobra Crack", won best short film at the BIMFF in 2006. "If you're not falling" won Best Short Film at BIMFF in 2008 and "First Ascent" is the winner of multiple awards.

Sonnie Trotter is also a writer, photographer and public speaker.^{[citation needed]} He is also certified as an assistant Rock Climbing Guide through the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides.

Notable Ascents[link]

• Superman (5.14c, FA in 2002) Link up of Cheakamus Canyon's Pulse (5.14a), Captain America (5.14b) and Gom Jabbar (5.13b) continuing through the crux of Patience (5.14a)
• Forever Expired (5.14d, FA in 2004) Ontario's hardest route to date
• East Face of Monkey Face (5.13d R, FGA in 2004) Original established by Smith Rock pioneer Alan Watts, Trotter red pointed the East Face on trad lead
• Cobra Crack (5.14, FA in June, 2006) Considered one of the world's hardest crack climbs
• Rhapsody (5.14b/c R, second ascent in June 2008) World's first E11
• Necessary Evil (5.14c)
• Just Do It (5.14c)
• The Path (5.14a) Trad lead
• "sugar daddy" (soft 5.14a Trad) first ascent in May 2010 at nightmare rock in squamish BC.

External links[link]

• Sonnie Trotter's Personal Site
• Patagonia Ambassador Site
• Association of Canadian Mountain Guides Site

James Kingston
Personal information
Full name	James Hubert Kingston
Born	(1965-11-30) 30 November 1965 (age 46) Ottosdal, South Africa
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Nationality	South Africa
Residence	Rustenburg, South Africa
Career
Turned professional	1988
Current tour(s)	European Tour Sunshine Tour
Former tour(s)	Asian Tour
Professional wins	15
Number of wins by tour
European Tour	2
Asian Tour	4
Sunshine Tour	10
Best results in Major Championships
Masters Tournament	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP
The Open Championship	T27: 2009
PGA Championship	T55: 2008
Achievements and awards
Sunshine Tour Order of Merit Winner	2007

James Hubert Kingston (born 30 November 1965) is a South African professional golfer.

Kingston was born in Ottosdal, South Africa. He turned professional in 1988, and is currently a member of the European Tour and the Sunshine Tour. He has also competed on the Asian Tour, where he collected four tournament victories.

In 2007 Kingston finished top of the Order of Merit on the Sunshine Tour, aided by his victory at the European Tour co-sanctioned South African Airways Open. That win was his first on the European Tour, and helped him to his best Order of Merit finish of 17th in 2008.

Victory at the Sunshine Tour's Vodacom Championship in February 2008, lifted Kingston into the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time.

Kingston secured his first win of 2009 with a playoff triumph against Anders Hansen at the 2009 Mercedes-Benz Championship in Cologne.^[1]

Professional wins (15)[link]

European Tour wins (2)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner-up
1	16 Dec 2007	South African Airways Open (co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour)	-4 (73-69-71-71=284)	1 stroke	Oliver Wilson
2	13 Sep 2009	Mercedes-Benz Championship	-13 (67-69-70-69=275)	Playoff	Anders Hansen

Sunshine Tour wins (10)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	12 Sep 1992	Lombard Tyres TVL Classic	-12 (64-67-73=204)	4 strokes	John Fourie
2	29 Jun 1995	FNB Pro Series: Royal Swazi	-8 (70-68-70=208)	1 stroke	Kevin Stone
3	8 Nov 1995	FNB Pro Series: Namibia Open	-11 (64-70-68=202)	1 stroke	Michael du Toit
4	6 Jul 1996	Bosveld Classic	-7 (69-64-76=209)	2 strokes	Paul Friedlander, Mark Murless
5	28 Sep 2001	Randfontein Classic	-11 (67-72-66=205)	Playoff	André Cruse, Sean Ludgater
6	12 Oct 2001	Atlantic Beach Classic	-3 (72-69-72=213)	7 strokes	Wallie Coetsee, Justin Hobday
7	19 May 2002	Royal Swazi Sun Classic	-12 (70-70-64=204)	1 stroke	Keith Horne, Bobby Lincoln
8	16 Dec 2007	South African Airways Open (co-sanctioned with the European Tour)	-4 (73-69-71-71=284)	1 stroke	Oliver Wilson
9	17 Feb 2008	Vodacom Championship	-17 (71-67-68-65=271)	2 strokes	Adilson da Silva
10	20 Aug 2010	Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour (Selbourne)	-13 (66-65-72=203)	2 strokes	Adilson da Silva

Asian Tour wins (4)[link]

• 1998 Thailand Open
• 1999 Maekyung Daks Open
• 2000 Ericsson Classic, London Myanmar Open

Results in major championships[link]

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

See also[link]

• Golfers with most Sunshine Tour wins

References[link]

External links[link]

• James Kingston at the European Tour official site
• James Kingston at the Sunshine Tour official site
• James Kingston at the Asian Tour official site
• James Kingston at the Official World Golf Ranking official site