Free climbing

‘Free climbing’ is a general term for a form of rock climbing in which the climber utilizes climbing equipment such as ropes and other means of climbing protection, but only to protect against injury during falls and not to assist progress. Free climbing more specifically may include solo climbing, traditional climbing, sport climbing and bouldering.

Free climbing should not be confused with aid climbing, in which specific aid climbing equipment is also used to assist the climber in ascending the climb. The term free climbing originally meant "free from aid".

In lead climbing, a climber climbs a route from the ground up. For protection against a fall, the lead climber trails a rope which is managed by a belayer who remains on the ground or at an established anchor. As the leader climbs, they either place traditional protection such as cams and stoppers, or clip their rope through pre-placed bolted hangers or fixed anchors. The belayer feeds rope to the lead climber through a belay device, keeping a minimum amount of slack in the system, and keeping themself ready to catch the leader in case of a fall. The leader climbs until the top is reached, and they can then belay the following climber from above.

Both climber and belayer attach the rope to their climbing harnesses. The rope is tied into the climber's harness with a figure-of-eight loop or double bowline knot. The leader either places their own protection or clips into permanent protection already attached to the rock. In traditional climbing, the protection generally is removable. However, many significant first ascents in the U.S. done with a combination of crack gear and bolts placed on lead were termed "traditional" at the time (see below discussion). Usually nuts or spring-loaded camming devices (often referred to as "cams" or "friends") are set in cracks in the rock (although pitons are sometimes used). In sport climbing the protection is metal loops called hangers. Hangers are secured to the rock with either expanding masonry bolts taken from the construction industry, or by placing glue-in bolt systems. In ice climbing the protection is made-up of ice screws or similar devices hammered or screwed into the ice by the leader, and removed by the second climber.

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