There isn’t a sport where there’s a greater separation between perception and reality than rock climbing. I can’t tell you how many times my colleagues at work have asked me if I’ve hiked to the top of any mountains lately. Or how many times I’ve explained that, “Yes, I do use a rope… except when bouldering… but then you don’t go very high… mostly…” Ok, it’s a hard sport to explain.

None of the misconception surrounding climbing is really a problem, but climbing has gained a lot of cultural attention lately. We see people rock climbing in advertisements, in National Geographic, and even in The New York Times, but most of us don’t know much about the sport. Let’s fix that. This is the non-climber’s guide to rock climbing.

There are many types of rock climbing. For this article, I’ll focus on the main ones:

You can see from the beautiful diagram above that rock climbing can first be divided into aid climbing and free climbing. A low percentage of climbers aid climb these days, but this is a necessary distinction to clarify the biggest climbing misconception.

Perception Fix #1: Free climbing does not mean rope-free climbing.

Rope-less rock climbing is called “free soloing”. The consequence of falling during a free solo is typically death. Free soloing is in the news a lot, it seems, but not many rock climbers do it.

So what is free climbing then? Let’s define it:

Aid climbing is when you get to the top by any means necessary. Pull on the rope, step on a nylon sling that you attached to the wall, place a metal hook on the wall and have a nice rest on it. Just get to the top. Some walls are so bare that they have only been aid climbed.

Free climbing is when you just use only your body and the rock to get to the top. Sure you have a rope to protect you if you fall, but the goal is to not use it on your way up.

**Bonus definition!! A send of a climb is when you free climb to the top without ever utilizing your rope. The rope provides safety and allows you to lower back down, but you can only send a climb if you never fall and never rest on the rope on the way up. A send is the main goal of most climbers these days. We often try the same climb dozens of times before sending it.

Perception Fix #2: Rock climbing is not hiking.

Mountaineering is divided into 5 classes. Class 1 is hiking, class 2 is hiking that might require occasional hand usage, and so on. Class 5 mountaineering is rock climbing. It’s going up on terrain that can’t reasonably be ascended without ropes and gear.

Mountaineers will generally avoid rock climbing when possible because it only slows down their quest to get to the mountaintop. But some people enjoyed the challenge of rock climbing, and (thank goodness) it branched off into a sport of its own. For a while, aid climbing was the main focus of rock climbers – just get to the top of that sheer wall using anything you can. But there was a shift of focus in the sport several decades ago, and now almost everyone who calls him/herself a rock climber is out there free climbing. Let’s look at the three main areas of free climbing:

Traditional Climbing. Commonly called trad climbing, we bring a rope and place little pieces of gear (that we carry up with us) into the rock as protection so that we don’t die if we fall. These pieces of gear can be very small “nuts” that fit well into cracks in the rock, simple mechanical devices called “cams” that fit in cracks and holes of many sizes, nylon slings that can be attached to certain features in the rock, and all kinds of other little gadgets. We take the gear with us when we leave. Here’s an example of someone trad climbing. 

Sport Climbing. Instead of placing little pieces of gear in cracks and features, sport climbers drill little bolts into the wall to use as protection. The fact that the climb has built-in protection takes the focus away from the “where will I find a good place to put gear” aspect of trad climbing, and allows us to focus our efforts on moving our way to the top. The bolts stay in the rock and are re-used by other climbers that want to do the same route. Here’s someone sport climbing. 

Bouldering. Bouldering is doing climbing moves on lower terrain so no ropes are necessary. We often finish boulder problems by “topping-out” or getting on top of the boulder and walking/climbing down wherever it’s easiest and safest. We bring crash pads to protect our feet, ankles, etc when we fall.  Here’s someone bouldering. 

Notice that in the first two videos, the climbers are using ropes. Someone has to be attached to the other end of the rope to keep the climber from hitting the ground if they fall. That person is called the belayer. It’s always nice to climb with people who you trust and feel comfortable belaying you. And we usually go bouldering with friends too! When you’re on a boulder, it’s nice to have people making sure the pads are beneath you and ensuring that you fall safely on those pads. These people helping you out are called spotters. We can really minimize our risks with a little help from our friends. Which brings us to:

Perception Fix #3: Climbing is not as dangerous as you think.

We’re not all adrenaline junkies with a death wish. I used to do a lot of road biking and can say that cycling is a much more dangerous sport. I’ve broken bones or ended up in the hospital doing almost every sport I’ve tried except for climbing. The gear is reliable and the risks are typically well calculated. Of course there are tragedies, but these are certainly exceptions (and almost always a result of human error). Tendon and muscle issues aside, it’s a fairly safe sport.

But climbing can still be scary. One major fear factor comes from how you use your rope. This brings us to top-roping vs lead climbing:

Top-roping is free climbing with a rope that is pre-hung from the top of the climb. This way, the rope connected to the climber is always taut. If a top-roping climber falls, they don’t go anywhere. There is no risk here, so climbers typically start out top-roping. But how does the rope get up there in the first place? That often requires lead climbing.

Lead climbing means bringing the rope up with you as you go. When lead climbing, if you come off of the rock you will fall some distance before the rope catches you. This is the preferred way to climb for more experienced climbers, and most climbers would argue that you don’t really “send” a climb unless you do it while lead climbing.

Here are some beautiful pictures to demonstrate the difference.

Perception Fix #4: We fall a lot.

People are often surprised that we take a lot of falls when climbing. It’s just part of the sport if you’re pushing yourself to climb very hard. Climbing hard is full of failure, and it can take weeks, months, or years of trying a particular climb before sending it. If you’re trying hard enough, then every time you don’t send, you fall.

Perception Fix #5: Height doesn’t really matter.

A question I get a lot is “how high do you go?” The honest answer is “sometimes climbers go 3,000 feet to the top of a big wall, sometimes 5 feet up a boulder”. Boulder problems stay pretty low. Most sport climbs go up 50-100 feet and then you come down, which is called a “single pitch” sport climb. Trad climbs often involve multiple rope lengths which are called “multi-pitch climbs”. When trad climbing, the difficulty can come from the moves being physically hard or the logistics being mentally tough. But for rock climbers, it’s not really about height so much as it is about doing a difficult or fun climb.

Perception Fix #6: Climbing isn’t pointless.

Well, maybe it is if you want to get all philosophical. But climbing is no less noble or profound than shooting a ball into a hoop, kicking a ball into a goal, driving in big circles, or jumping over the highest stick possible. And it’s arguably more useful than watching television, playing video games, or debating who was best dressed at the Grammys. It’s a sport like any other… but at the same time unlike any other for many beautiful reasons (as I discuss here).

So next time you find yourself wanting to make conversation with a climber, maybe ask “Do you typically do trad, sport, or bouldering?” Or impress them even more and ask “Did you have any good sends this season?” 

Other Posts: Why I Climb; A Van, 2 Cats, and a Dream; Hueco 2015; Dealing With Injury; or listen to some music!