Based on the data from the “Articles about hardest rock climbing routes in the World”, in which we have been collecting records about ascents for 10 years, we are sharing infographics and statistics about rock climbing development for the past years.
So, let’s start with a map for routes distribution around the world (from 9a+ to 9c grades):
Distribution of routes by country:
As you can see, most of the routes are located in Spain - 90, France holds second place - 62, third goes to Italy with 25 routes. And one route appeared on the territory of Ukraine - in the Crimea.
Total count of hardest routes based on grade:
This is the ascent count for the 9a+ to 9c routes (summ FA and repeats) year by year:
Now let’s look at the routes FA statistics year by year:
In 2008 more 9b routes were discovered than 9a+, which is a notable fact! On the other hand 2019 broke the growing trends of routes discoveries (2019 dropped the total routes count significantly).
The difficult years 2020 and 2021, it would seem, should have had an extremely negative impact on the climbs: worldwide quarantine and restrictions on travel to the rocks in connection with the coronavirus epidemic ... however, on the other hand, the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games to 2021 compensated for this negative moment and even six months of self-isolation didn't stop climbers from showing their skills on the rocks and discovering even more routes!
This is the ascent repeats count for the 9a+ to 9c routes:
You can witness that repeats are continuously growing, and this fact becomes very clear when we combine repeats and discoveries graphs:
Consider the fact that first 9a+ route was discovered in 1995 and first repeat occurred only in 2004, 9 years later!
It is also clearly seen that the turning point came in 2014, when the number of repetitions of routes of difficulty 9a + sharply exceeded the number of new ones, and since then the two graphs have significantly diverged.
And here we can see that 9b discoveries started from 2004, and first repeat was in 2010, 6 years later! 2019 changed the trends here also - repeats count exceeded discoveries by a substantial margin.
9b+ discoveries and repeats graphs combine in most pleasant way
At last, let’s look at the data about rock climbers:
Count of the climbers who ascended 9a+ for the first time:
You can see how limits are shifted over time, letting more and more climbers to discover hardest route grades!
Next chart represents climbers who ascended 9b for the first time:
Count of the climbers who ascended 9b for the first time:
Count of the climbers who ascended 9b+ for the first time:
Соunt of the climbers, who did 9a+ (by the number of routes) FA+repeats:
Соunt of the climbers, who did 9a+ and above (by the years) FA+repeats:
TOP-20 most effective climbers (based on the ascent number for 9a+ to 9c routes)
amount 9а+ to 9c routes
Climbers count grouped by country (based on the ascent number for 9a+ to 9c routes)
amount 9а+ to 9c routes
So, let’s start with a map for routes distribution around the world (from 9a+ to 9c grades):
Distribution of routes by country:
As you can see, most of the routes are located in Spain - 90, France holds second place - 62, third goes to Italy with 25 routes. And one route appeared on the territory of Ukraine - in the Crimea.
9с to 9b routes distribution Click to hide / show
Total count of hardest routes based on grade:
This is the ascent count for the 9a+ to 9c routes (summ FA and repeats) year by year:
Now let’s look at the routes FA statistics year by year:
In 2008 more 9b routes were discovered than 9a+, which is a notable fact! On the other hand 2019 broke the growing trends of routes discoveries (2019 dropped the total routes count significantly).
The difficult years 2020 and 2021, it would seem, should have had an extremely negative impact on the climbs: worldwide quarantine and restrictions on travel to the rocks in connection with the coronavirus epidemic ... however, on the other hand, the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games to 2021 compensated for this negative moment and even six months of self-isolation didn't stop climbers from showing their skills on the rocks and discovering even more routes!
This is the ascent repeats count for the 9a+ to 9c routes:
You can witness that repeats are continuously growing, and this fact becomes very clear when we combine repeats and discoveries graphs:
Consider the fact that first 9a+ route was discovered in 1995 and first repeat occurred only in 2004, 9 years later!
It is also clearly seen that the turning point came in 2014, when the number of repetitions of routes of difficulty 9a + sharply exceeded the number of new ones, and since then the two graphs have significantly diverged.
And here we can see that 9b discoveries started from 2004, and first repeat was in 2010, 6 years later! 2019 changed the trends here also - repeats count exceeded discoveries by a substantial margin.
9b+ discoveries and repeats graphs combine in most pleasant way
At last, let’s look at the data about rock climbers:
Count of the climbers who ascended 9a+ for the first time:
You can see how limits are shifted over time, letting more and more climbers to discover hardest route grades!
Next chart represents climbers who ascended 9b for the first time:
Count of the climbers who ascended 9b for the first time:
Count of the climbers who ascended 9b+ for the first time:
Соunt of the climbers, who did 9a+ (by the number of routes) FA+repeats:
Соunt of the climbers, who did 9a+ and above (by the years) FA+repeats:
TOP-20 most effective climbers (based on the ascent number for 9a+ to 9c routes)
Climbers count grouped by country (based on the ascent number for 9a+ to 9c routes)
