Physical and Physiological Determinants of Rock Climbing.

Purpose: Rock climbing performance relies on many characteristics. Herein, the authors identified the physical and physiological determinants of peak performance in rock climbing across the range from lower grade to elite.

Methods: Forty four male and 33 female climbers with onsight maximal climbing grades 5a-8a and 5a-7b+, respectively, were tested for physical, physiological, and psychological characteristics (independent variables) that were correlated and modeled by multiple regression and principal component analysis to identify the determinants of rock climbing ability.