PEAK CLIMBING

A climbing peak can be a mountain or hill peak, or a rock formation that must be climbed.In Germany, the term refers to free-standing rock formations in the climbing regions of Saxon Switzerland, the Zittau Mountains, and other nearby ranges in the German Central Uplands that can only be summited via climbing routes of at least grade I on the UIAA scale or by jumping from nearby rocks or massifs.To qualify, they must have a topographic prominence of at least 10 metres.

The Saxon Climbing Regulations in Saxon Switzerland do not require a minimum height, but they do define climbing peaks as another requirement is that it be recognised by the Saxon Climbers’ Federation (SBB) and the responsible conservation authorities.Hikers can often identify these authorised summits by the presence of a summit register and abseiling anchor points.

Other exceptions exist in other climbing areas, such as those in Bohemian Switzerland.Climbing peaks only need to have a significant rock face, with the lowest side being less than 10 m high but at least 6 m high.