Speed climbing is a somewhat controversial subsport of overall rock climbing, but it is growing in popularity because of its appeal to the broader non-climbing audience. Whether you’re getting ready for the Olympics, or just looking into this subsport, this will answer all of your questions about Speed Climbing.

Official Speed Climbing is always the same route in order to facilitate and enhance competition and to reduce variance. Speed climbers race up a 15m tall wall that is slightly overhanging using an approved auto-belay system. While speed climbing encompasses any race up any wall, the official competition circuit always uses the same route.

Speed climbing has specific rules and regulations that have changed over time since its global standardization in 2007, but the main idea has remained the same. A lot of thought and work has gone into the development of the sport.

How Does Speed Climbing Work?

As governed by the IFSC (International Federation of Sport Climbing), speed climbing involves an explosive race up a 15m tall wall. Racers compete against each other side by side in order to reach the top and ‘ring the bell’ fastest.

Speed Climbing is a combination of strength and precision. The holds are designed so that climbers can grab onto specific areas according to their strengths and needs, and so that they function for both hands and feet. If a climber misses the intended pinpoint hold by even a little bit, he or she can completely lose momentum and fall from the overhanging route.

Watching speed climbing feels a lot like a race up a wall with reckless abandon. Climbers seem to claw their way up to the top, not giving much thought to hand or foot placement.

It’s fairly different from the precise, methodical approach of other climbing styles, but speed climbers essentially string together a bunch of ‘dynos’ (dynamic jumping moves) to reach the top.

In order to guarantee consistency and fairness, they have used the exact same route since 2007. They always use the same specific holds and specially-sanctioned walls. This way, any variation in times can only be explained by the skill of the climber, not the minute differences in the wall.

Many climbing gyms have imitated the official speed climbing route, but very few are actually approved for competition by the IFSC. Whenever someone wants to attempt a world record, it has to be on the approved walls using the same standardized equipment.

Using a floor sensor pressure pad at the bottom and a light sensor at the top, the measurement system is accurate to within 1/100 of a second. This level of accuracy has been important as the field of competition converges. While viewing speed climbing, it can be difficult to tell who reaches the top first- just as in a sprint or swimming race.

An autobelay protects speed climbers in the event of a fall, functioning like a seatbelt in a car. The rope retracts as the climber ascends, but a sudden jerk on the line like a fall will stop the rope. Many climbing gyms have autobelays, and you can even buy one online for your home gym (if you have $2,000 lying around). Be advised that you’ll need an even faster one if you climb at world-class levels though!

The route is rated at about a 5.10+, a fairly moderate route in terms of difficulty. With all of the holds being identical however, it’s difficult to assign an exact rating (I’ve seen it listed as a 5.10a and a 5.10c. I thought it was on the easier side when I tried it.). The style of climbing, using speed and momentum to thrust yourself upwards, is very unique to this discipline.

For example, world-class climber Alex Honnold can’t even get close to the 5 seconds world record in a video done by Wired (granted, this is in his first few attempts at the route). This style of climbing is completely different from everything else traditional climbers are used to.

In my experience with the speed climbing wall, I definitely improved after trying it a couple of times, but I was also far from anywhere near a record.

The current world record for the standardized speed climbing route is at 5.48 seconds for men, and 7.10 seconds for women at the time of this writing. The IFSC updates the world record time on their website, which you can view here.

Source: IFSC Rules

See Also My Post: Is Rock Climbing a Sport?

Where did Speed Climbing Come From?

Speed Climbing has come a long way from its origins. What originally started as mountaineering races for first ascents and summits has now become a very methodical and calculated event.

The modern origins of speed climbing probably date back to races in the former Soviet Union. As a program for developing mountain troops, they created state-funded climbing camps and training programs. These camps included competitions and eventually races as a way of comparing climbers with each other.

Climbing competitions initially just timed climbers racing up the same route. As indoor gyms gained popularity, they tested other formats like racing against each other and found that it was a big crowd-pleaser.

As it turns out, a timed head-to-head competition is a lot more exciting for spectators than a lead climb or boulder problem. This is mostly due to the fact that it’s just hard to really know how difficult something is without seeing someone else try it at the same time.

• As a side note, I think it would be cool to pick a regular person from the stands to compete against the Olympic Athletes in each event- it would really highlight their expertise and level of perfection compared to someone totally average.

Modern Speed Climbing

Speed Climbing has really started to grow over the past decade and a half since the route has been standardized. Gyms around the world mimic the route, letting climbers make unofficial attempts at the record.

In the past they used a top rope with 2 belayers in order to keep up with the ridiculous speed of up to 3m per second. Since 2016, official IFSC speed climbing competitions use autobelays so that everything is even more standardized, and to even further reduce the risk of accidental injury.

The Reza

The most recent development in speed climbing is the addition of a shortcut move called “the Reza” after its creator, World Champion Speed Climber Reza Alipour Shenazandifard from Iran. He found that he could thrust off of the first few holds with enough power and momentum to bypass the 4th hold on the side, saving him a fraction of a second.

Unfortunately he couldn’t copyright the move, so it’s been copied by all of the best climbers! He still holds the record though. It’ll be interesting to see if there are other shortcuts as the sport continues to develop.

I wrote all about the history of modern rock climbing, dating back to stories about the Native Americans and even Alexander the Great. You can read it here- The Complete History of Rock Climbing.

Speed Climbing and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics

Speed climbing is fun to watch for all audiences- not just the niche subset of the climbing community. In fact, it’s probably more fun to watch for non-climbers than for climbers because it’s so far removed from traditional climbing. Speed climbing makes it very easy to compare performances, providing a head-to-head aspect not included in other styles.

The universal elementary understanding and appeal of speed climbing was probably a pretty significant factor in climbing’s acceptance to the Olympics. The Olympic committee’s goal is to broaden the interest and viewership in the events, especially for TV audiences. It’s extremely easy to film and broadcast short races over 15m, which makes this a clear winner for them.

The Olympic and World Cup controversy surrounds the crowning of an overall “Best Climber.” With three very different disciplines (bouldering, lead climbing, and speed climbing), it’s been compared to crowning an overall “Best Runner” who can run the marathon, Steeplechase, and 100m sprint the fastest.

Many Olympic-caliber athletes, like Czech climber Alex Ondra, have had to divert focus from their main interests (like climbing the hardest route in the world, a 5.15d) in order to train speed climbing. Being the best boulderer or lead climber in the world will not be enough to medal in the Olympics.

Some of the most famous rock climbers in the world, the likes of Alex Honnold, Alex Puccia, Chris Sharma, and Tommy Caldwell, will not even attempt to make the Olympic team. The field will mostly be comprised of younger athletes in their 20’s who have grown up primarily in the gym instead of on real rock.

Personally, I hope to see more climbing medals for each discipline awarded in future Olympics. For right now, I’m just excited to see climbing get its moment on the podium.

Is there Outdoor Speed Climbing?

As mentioned above, unofficial speed climbing competitions have always existed outdoors, whether climbers race the clock on identical routes or simply race each other up comparable routes; however the primary focus of professional climbers has been on difficulty rather than speed.

The problem with speed climbing outdoors is that the best ways to trim speed are to use less protection and use more dangerous styles of climbing like simul-climbing.

For example, both climbers ascend at the same time, tied together by a single piece of rope. As the top climber places gear or clips bolts, the bottom climber cleans the previous gear. They try to keep at least 3 solid pieces between them, but that doesn’t always happen.

It seems like we see speed climbing accidents or fatalities every year in places like Yosemite, and often we have no idea what actually went wrong. The race for time pretty much always means that climbers will cut corners

See my article: How Many People Die Rock Climbing?

The most famous example of a multi-pitch speed climb happened in June of 2018 when Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell flew up The Nose of El Capitan in Yosemite, breaking the 2 hour barrier at 1:58:07. They beat their previous record, and all of the previous records since the first ascent (FA) by Lynn Hill in the 1990’s.

Sites and apps like Mountain Project often include FA and FKT (fastest known time) information for long multi-pitch routes. While these are difficult to verify, it’s a cool way to test your speed against others. Maybe someday we’ll see a Strava for rock climbers?

Related Questions

How Hard is Speed Climbing? The route for speed climbing is hard enough that it couldn’t be climbed by beginners, but it should be fairly simple for moderate-to-advanced climbers. The hardest part is sticking to the wall without catapulting yourself off into space since it is slightly overhung.

Is there Specific Gear for Speed Climbing? When speed climbing competitively, climbers generally just use regular gear, comprised of a simple harness and agressive climbing shoes. They usually just wear shirts or tank tops and shorts or leggings. The only specific equipment for speed climbing is the special auto belay that retracts fast enough to keep up with them.

How can I watch Speed Climbing? Most of the world championships are streamed online, so you can generally find them with a google search. Here is a video of the world record climbs by Reza Alipour and Iuliia Kaplina in 2017.

See Also:

How Much Do Rock Climbers Weigh?

How Much Does Rock Climbing Cost?

Is Indoor Rock Climbing Dangerous?

The Best Diet for Rock Climbers – with FREE Meal Plan