Solo climbing

Solo climbing (or soloing) is a style of climbing in which the climber ascends a climbing route alone and deliberatly without the assistance of a belayer (or "second"), or being part of any rope team.

By its very nature, solo climbing presents a higher degree of risk to the climber as they are entirely relient on their own skills and equipment and any problems may require a self-rescue.

[1] The following types of solo climbing use some form of climbing protection, which typically involves around a mechanical self-locking device (or progress capture/assisted braking device) that — when used properly with a rope and standard protection — reduces the risk of serious or fatal injury to the climber:[2] Free solo climbing (sometimes also just called soloing)[2] is where the climber uses no climbing protection (or any form of climbing aids), except for climbing shoes and climbing chalk (for a rock-climber) or ice tools (for an ice-climber), to ascend a climbing route.

[2] Free soloing is the most dramatic soloing-technique and in 2017 became an Oscar-winning documentary film, Free Solo that featured Alex Honnold free soloing the 915-metre (3,002 ft) 35-pitch big wall climbing route Freerider in Yosemite, the world's first-ever free solo of a 5.13a (7c+) big wall route in history.

[10][11] There are a number of sub-classes of free soloing: A number of notable films have been made focused on solo (and free solo) climbing (on rock and/or on ice) including:[20]