Most types of rock climbing come under the umbrella term of free climbing. Climbing naturally divides into several distinct categories, with each using its own particular techniques, tools, and environments. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. This is not to be confused with free soloing! Unlike aid climbing, where climbers rely on using placed aid to pull themselves upwards, free climbers rely … Sport climbing is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors fixed to the rock, and possibly bolts, for protection, (in contrast with traditional climbing, where the rock is typically devoid of fixed anchors and bolts, and where climbers must place removable protection as … A sport that can be done indoors on plywood climbing structures, or done outdoors on cliffs thousands of feet high, rock climbing comes in several different forms today: Traditional rock climbing - Traditional climbing is the sort of climbing you typically see in movies and in nature documentaries. Climbing on mountains, cliffs, and pinnacles on the earth’s surface give rock climbers the opportunity to be intimate with the earth’s surface, with the erosion-resistant parts that compose the rugged landscapes which attract climbers, including buttes, mesas, cliffs, crags, towers, spires, and mountains of all sizes. 11 Types of Rock Climbing Rock climbing is an activity in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. Types of rock climbing: Free climbing. Sport Climbing:. There is a lot of confusion among beginning climbers as well as non-climbers about all the different types of climbing.