Rock Climbing, The About

Have you ever want to climb up a rock face but was scared to because you knew that if you were to fall you would get hurt or die.  You were thinking, I know I can make it up that but I’m not going to take the chance.  If you have the right knowledge and gear you can climb that rock and be safe.  The following pages will give you some of that knowledge to help, but I urge you to get proper training from the right people.  The information that I have here is great to help you for when you take a class or go out with someone that is experienced.

There are different types of climbing that you can do, some are harder than others and require more experience and training.  I will go over the different types of climbing in brief detail on this page.  If you want more information on each type, just click the link for a border view of that type.  The main types of climbing are: Bouldering, Indoor, Free, Traditional (Trad), Free Solo, Aid, Ice and Alpine.

Top Rope: The safest of all types.  The rope is anchored at the top of the route and slack is taken out of the rope as you climb.  If or when you fall you only fall a short distance.

Lead Climbing: This type of climbing can be dangerous, but to me is the most rewarding.  There are four types: Sport, Trad, Aid and Ice. With this climbing the rope is at the bottom with the climber, as he climbs he clips his rope to protection on the route to keep him from falling.

• Sport: There are permanent anchors in the rock that you clip for protection.
• Trad: You carry your protection with you and place it in cracks or holes.
• Aid: More like trad but you use the gear to help you climb.
• Ice: Like trad but is done on ice and uses different gear.

Alpine: Also known as mountain climbing. This type can be the most dangerous and the most demanding, both physically and mentally because of the high altitudes