and, if properly belayed, the climber falls only the distance that the rope stretches.
Leading
Leading provides the answer to the age-old nonclimber question “How do they get their ropes up there?” It is the only method for rigging a top-rope on a climb if its summit cannot be attained by walking or scrambling. Here’s how it works: The belayer pays out rope through a belay device at the bottom of the climb as the leader, tied to one end of the rope, moves up the rock. The leader clips the rope into preestablished bolts, or places pieces of protection in cracks and crevices en route to the belay stance, where anchors are either preexisting or created on the spot with the leader’s remaining gear. (See illustrations.)
If the leader falls “on lead,” the belayer engages the braking mechanism, so that the rope is halted at the last piece of protection placed. If the piece is secure, the length of the fall will equal the distance above the last piece of protection placed, multiplied by two, plus rope stretch. For instance, if a fall occurs 7 feet above the leader’s last piece, the approximate length of the fall is 14 feet, plus several inches of rope stretch. (See illustrations.)
A typical lead fall
Once the leader is anchored at the top of the climb, the partners’ roles change. Shifting into belayer mode, the leader provides a top-rope for his or her partner, who then takes on the role of second, or follower (illustration). The second is responsible for cleaning (removing) lead gear. Another option if route criteria allows is for the leader to lower from the anchor, cleaning the route as he or she descends, thereby establishing a yo-yo top-rope.
The second (follower) in action
BASIC ASCENT METHODS
Roped climbers attain summits via one of two ascent methods: free climbing or direct-aid climbing (or sometimes a combination of both). In general, the extent to which climbers rely on equipment best defines each method. When free climbing, equipment is used passively, while aid climbing requires active reliance on gear. Free climbing is the most common ascent method used by the majority of climbers today. Both methods might be used on a single route, most commonly on big walls.
Free Climbing
Free climbing is often confused with free soloing, the act of climbing without a rope and protection. However, free climbing involves roped climbers who wear harnesses and use belay systems and climbing hardware for safety.
Free climbing can occur either on lead or top-rope. Traditionally, free climbing means that you attempt to ascend a route by relying on your own strength, using hand- and footholds for purchase. The rope, protection points, and anchors are used passively as backups, arresting your fall should a mistake occur. But there are modern ascent tactics in which free climbers use equipment for periodic rests between a series of moves (see “Sport Climbing” and Appendix 2).
Most free climbing today involves clean lead ascents, meaning to ascend without the use of pitons (pins) as protection. From the turn of the 20th century through the mid-1960s, pitons were carried up free routes and hammered into cracks for lead protection. But during the early ‘70s, preservation issues related to the increasing rock damage resulting from hammering fueled what is known as the “clean climbing revolution” (see Appendix 1). The elimination of pitons on free climbs was eventually supported by the mass production of alternate, lightweight hardware that climbers could place into cracks and remove with relative ease, all without a hammer. I discuss these devices along with other equipment in Chapter 3.
Pitons are still used occasionally on free routes, particularly on first ascents where leaders lack opportunities to place low-impact hardware. In such cases, a leader will often choose a piton over the more time-consuming and expensive option of placing a bolt.
Direct-Aid Climbing
Direct-aid, a.k.a. artificial climbing (see illustration), is another method of ascent. Aid techniques provide options when the wall is too steep or blank to allow passage via free climbing. In this method, you place a piece of lead protection, clip yourself directly into it, and then literally lean back and rest (hang) on it. To get higher to place your next piece, you ascend a pair of webbing “ladders” called étriers (aiders). Upward progress is slow in aid climbing as pieces cannot be placed more than a body-length apart. On harder routes, you’ll frequently place lead protection that can hold only the weight of your body to get high enough to place a better piece that will hold a potential fall. Used in big wall climbing, aid climbing is sometimes alternated with free climbing on such routes.
Direct-aid climbing
The ascent of the second in aid climbing is supported by the use of mechanical ascenders, known generically as Jumars. These devices slide up the rope but not down it. Piton craft is still common on some big walls. Clean-aid (sans pitons) ascents are also popular, providing significant challenges for climbers up for the task. Severely scarred piton cracks are notoriously difficult to protect with clean-climbing gear.
ALPINE CLIMBING
Alpine climbing (a.k.a. mountaineering) involves climbing on varied terrain in a mountain setting. Snow, ice, and rock are all part of the alpine game. Many alpine routes involve a combination of free climbing and aid climbing, while others are strictly free. The combination of these factors place alpine climbing in a category all its own. The free climbing style employed in alpine climbing is “traditional” in origin (see “Traditional Free Climbing”). An alpine route exclusively involving ice is referred to as ice climbing, which utilizes its own distinct tools and methods of ascent.
Two distinct mountaineering styles based on speed and resource reliance help define how a party or team reaches its intended summit. Expedition-style refers to an ascent involving a large team, massive resources (gear, food, radios, etc.), and long periods of time. Alpine-style refers to a small team (usually no more than three climbers) using little gear and few resources, which allows them to move quickly up and down a mountain.
FREE CLIMBING STYLES
The development of new and diverse styles has marked 20th-century climbing. In Basic Rockcraft, Royal Robbins defines a “style” as the sum of methods and equipment used, plus the degree of adventure involved in the ascent. The emergence of a new climbing style often follows technological advances that allow climbers to accomplish more difficult routes, usually with increased safety.
The development of tools as complex
