The Rally Scrambling
Association

The Story

The philosophical roots of Rally Scrambling trace to 19th-century mountaineering literature. The activity itself — the pure joy of running across boulder fields — has existed as long as humans have encountered rock. But it took over a century for someone to formalize it into a sport.

"...tie your mountain shoes firmly over the instep, and with braced nerves run down without any haggling, puttering hesitation, boldly jump from boulder to boulder with ever increasing speed. You will then find your feet playing a tune, and quickly discover the music and poetry of rock piles."

— John Muir, The Mountains of California, 1894

The concept was more directly articulated in 1975 by the American rock climber Doug Robinson in his essay "Running Talus," published in the Chouinard Equipment catalog. Robinson framed "talus running" as a form of dynamic, instinctual movement — "one integrated motion right from the beginning," distinct from the parsed-out logic of technical climbing.

"Talus running is the bouldering of the mountaineer... it may yet aspire to the status of an independent sport."

— Doug Robinson, Running Talus, 1975

The modern sport of Rally Scrambling was conceptualized in 2026 by Romulus, who formalized the rules, competitive formats, and unique gear-centric culture — fulfilling Robinson's 50-year-old prophecy.

The Rally Scrambling Association exists as the single source of truth for sanctioning events, managing the brand, and growing the community. The sport is built on a foundation of accessibility, self-expression, and what we call "dumb flow" — the instinctual joy of movement over rock.