Free solo climbing
Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of rock climbing where the climbers (or free soloists) climb solo (or alone) without ropes or other protective equipment, using only their climbing shoes and their climbing chalk. Free soloing is the most dangerous form of climbing, and, unlike bouldering, free soloists climb above safe heights, where a fall can be fatal. Though many climbers have free soloed climbing grades they are very comfortable on, only a tiny group free solo regularly, and at grades closer to the limit of their abilities. Some climbers' profiles have been increased by free soloing (e.g. Alex Honnold and John Bachar), but some question the ethics of this, and whether the risks they are undertaking should be encouraged and commercially rewarded. "Free solo" was originally a term of climber slang, but after the popularity of the Oscar-winning film Free Solo, Merriam-Webster officially added the word to their English dictionary in September 2019. In addition to free soloing on single-pitch and multi-pitch–including the even longer big wall climbing that features in the Free Solo film–rock climbs, free soloing is performed in a wide range of climbing types including, ice climbing and mixed climbing (which feature in The Alpinist film), as well as setting speed climbing records on alpine climbing routes (i.e. a mixture of rock and ice climbing), which features in the Race to the Summit film. Description Free solo climbing (sometimes referred to as soloing in the UK, or third-classing in the US), is where the climber uses no climbing protection whatsoever (and as with all free climbing, no form of climbing aid is used either); they may only use their climbing shoes and climbing chalk to ascend a single-pitch, or a multi-pitch/big wall climbing route. Free solo climbing is a special form of free climbing but is different from the main forms of free climbing, sport climbing and traditional climbing, which use climbing protection for safety. In theory bouldering is also free solo climbing (i.e. it also uses no aid or protection) but is usually not referred to as such except in the case of highball bouldering, where falls can be serious. The most committing forms of free soloing are on multi-pitch climbing–and the even longer big wall climbing–routes, where any retreat is very difficult. In alpine climbing the term solo climbing–as distinct from free solo climbing–can be used where the solo climber carries a rope and some aid climbing equipment to overcome some of the most difficult sections. In addition, the term rope soloing is used for any solo climber who uses a rope and a form of self-locking device for continuous climbing protection on the route; this is also not considered as free solo climbing. Many early 20th-century rock climbers who began to free climb (i.e., avoiding any form of aid), were often practicing free solo climbing (or rope soloing), as the effectiveness of their climbing protection (usually a rope around their waist) was minimal. In the history of rock climbing, the