A climbing peak (german: Klettergipfel) may refer to a mountain or hill peak or a rock formation that has to be ascended by

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done ...

. The term is common in Germany where it is specifically used of free-standing rock formations in the climbing regions of

Saxon Switzerland Saxon Switzerland (german: Sächsische Schweiz) is a hilly climbing area and national park around the Elbe valley south-east of Dresden in Saxony, Germany. Together with the Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic it forms the Elbe Sand ...

Zittau Mountains The Zittau Mountains (german: Zittauer Gebirge, cs, Žitavské hory), formerly also called the Lusatian Ridge (''Lausitzer Kamm''), refer to the German part of the Lusatian Mountains that straddle the Saxon-Bohemian border in the extreme sout ...

and other nearby ranges in the German

Central Uplands The Central UplandsDickinson (1964), p.18 ff. (german: die MittelgebirgeN.B. In German die ''Mittelgebirge'' (plural) refers to the Central Uplands; das ''Mittelgebirge'' refers to a low mountain range or upland region (''Mittel'' = "medium" and ...

that can only be summitted via

climbing route A climbing route is a path by which a climber reaches the top of a mountain, rock, or ice wall. Routes can vary dramatically in difficulty and grade; once committed to that ascent, it can sometimes be difficult to stop or return. Choice of rou ...

s of at least

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also ref ...

I on the UIAA scale or by jumping from nearby rocks or massifs. As a general rule, they must have a

topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

of at least 10 metres to qualify. In Saxon Switzerland the Saxon Climbing Regulations do not require any minimum height, but define climbing peaks as Another requirement is its recognition by the responsible sub-committee of the Saxon Climbers' Federation (SBB) and the responsible conservation authorities. For hikers these authorized summits may often be recognised by the presence of a

summit register A summit book or summit register is a record of visitors to the summit of a mountain. It is usually enclosed in a weatherproof, animalproof metal canister. Some books are maintained in an informal manner by an individual or small group, while ot ...

and

abseil Abseiling ( ; ), also known as rappelling ( ; ), is the controlled descent of a steep slope, such as a rock face, by moving down a rope. When abseiling the person descending controls their own movement down the rope, in contrast to low ...

ing anchor points. In other climbing areas, such as those in

Bohemian Switzerland Bohemian Switzerland ( cs, České Švýcarsko; german: Böhmische Schweiz), also known as Czech Switzerland, is a picturesque region in the north-western Czech Republic. It has been a protected area (as Elbe Sandstone Mountains Protected Landscap ...

, there are other exceptions. There, climbing peaks only need to have a significant

rock face In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on coa ...

- the lowest side of which has to be less than 10 m high, but at least 6 m high.

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

* Kelsey, Joe (2013). ''Climbing and Hiking in the Wind River Mountains''. Gulford, CT: Globe Pequot. Climbing Climbing areas {{Climbing-stub