Climbing 101: Types of Rock Climbing

Rock climbing is a sport based around summiting rock faces (also called crags or walls), boulders, or indoor climbing walls. Rock climbing can vary in difficulty from relatively easy routes like top roping at an indoor climbing gym to more challenging endeavors like free soloing a big wall at Yosemite National Park.

Some rock climbers combine their sport with other mountaineering activities, such as hiking or skiing.

There are many distinct types of climbing within the broader sport of rock climbing:

1. 1. Aid climbing: In aid climbing, a climber primarily ascends via the strength of their hands and legs, but they may be assisted by a belay (a safety rope or system of safety ropes) secured by another climber or from anchors in a rock face.
2. 2. Top rope climbing: Top rope climbing is a type of aid climbing in which a rope is anchored to the rock face from above. A belayer (a climber who controls a safety rope) at the top of the wall can help the climber ascend.
3. 3. Free climbing: In free climbing, equipment can be used for safety but not for upward progress. Free climbers use ropes, climbing harnesses, and belay devices, but only to prevent a dangerous downward fall.
4. 4. Sport climbing: In sport climbing, climbers use anchors and pitons that are already affixed to a rock face. They clip into these permanent anchors and sometimes even belay off of them. Sport climbs can be a form of free climbing or aid climbing, depending on whether the climber uses the anchors and pitons to help ascend.
5. 5. Trad climbing: Like sport climbing, traditional climbing (or trad climbing) uses anchors, but these are inserted by the trad climbers themselves as they go up a rock face. When they descend, they remove anchors, leaving a clean route for the next climber. By contrast, sport routes always have anchors and pitons attached to the rock face.
6. 6. Tandem climbing: Both trad climbing and sport climbing often feature tandem climbing pairs. One is a lead climber who charts a route and clips into anchors using quickdraws, a type of gear consisting of two carabiners connected by a textile sling. A second climber follows the lead climber's rope until they reach a resting place. A lead climber may belay a second climber to a summit, and then if they choose to continue, they may trade off on lead climbing.
7. 7. Solo climbing: Solo climbing is done without a climbing partner. Solo climbers may opt to use ropes and other climbing gear, or they may choose to forgo all equipment in a technique called free soloing.
8. 8. Free solo climbing: Also known as free soloing, this climbing technique is done without any assistance from ropes, quickdraws, or carabiners—even for safety. The only climbing equipment free soloists use are climbing shoes and perhaps a climbing helmet. Another form of free solo climbing is deep water soloing, where a climber ascends rock faces over a pool of deep water (like the ocean at high tide).
9. 9. Alpine climbing: Some athletes incorporate alpine climbing into their mountaineering as a way to ascend an entire mountain. Alpine climbers' upward progress alternates between standard hiking and technical climbing routes.
10. 10. Ice climbing: In ice climbing, climbers wear crampons (traction devices with metal spikes that attach to footwear) and carry pickaxes to work their way through icy surfaces. They may also encounter different types of rock along their route.
11. 11. Speed climbing: Speed climbing is a form of competitive climbing in which climbers focus solely on ascending as quickly as possible. Both sport climbers and trad climbers engage in speed competitions, but more commonly they occur in indoor gyms.
12. 12. Bouldering: Bouldering is a gymnastic variation on rock climbing in which climbers ascend a massive type of rock called a boulder. Planned routes up a boulder are called boulder problems. Boulderers do not use climbing ropes or belaying, but they typically lay crash pads beneath the boulder in case of a fall.

The most prominent athletes in rock climbing, such as Alex Honnold, Lynn Hill, and Tommy Caldwell, are famous for free climbing. Many made their names free climbing highly technical climbing routes like The Dawn Wall and The Nose of El Capitan, both of which are rock faces in California's Yosemite National Park.

Different types of climbing qualify as free climbing, including:

1. 1. Sport climbing: In sport climbing, rock climbers clip into fixed permanent anchors drilled into rock wall faces. They use these for safety and not for belaying or leverage.
2. 2. Trad climbing: In traditional climbing (called trad climbing in the climbing community), a climber affixes their own anchors as they ascend a rock face and then removes them (called cleaning) on the way back down. A completed trad route should be clear of equipment, with no trace of past climbs.
3. 3. Single-pitch climbing: A single-pitch climb deals with one single rock face and one set of anchors. Single-pitch climbs are common in both sport climbing and trad climbing.
4. 4. Multi-pitch climbing: In a multi-pitch climb, rock climbers face multiple crags (rock walls) and must reorient before each one. Most multi-pitch climbing is done in pairs, and belaying (the use of a safety rope or system of safety ropes) may be necessary to transition from one pitch to another. Therefore, very few multi-pitch climbs qualify as true free climbing.

Climbing is a high-impact activity with an elevated risk of serious injury. Practice, proper guidance, and extensive safety precautions are essential when attempting a climbing pursuit. This article is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for professional instruction or guidance.

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