Top rope climbing vs lead climbing reddit During the weekend, we were climbing outdoors and felt a tad bit embarrassed that my friend had to climb and leave the quickdraws for me to top rope. At Castle Rock I'll climb 10c top rope, 10b lead. 10 then start with lettering). It's all about learning. 9 top rope and V3 boulder. honestly i think you can find shitty personalities in every kind of climbing--sure you've got trad dads who won't climb harder than 5. One fell about 30 feet and suffered injuries that have permanently limited her mobility. Then get your rope and just practice over and over clipping with both hands. I even struggle leading 5. You hear it all the time when people top rope for the first time and get scared, "YOU WEREN'T HOLDING ME TIGHT ENOUGH!!1!". The climber ties into one end of the rope on the ground. 6-5. If I’m spending a long day climbing, I will generally use the trick where you put a carabiner with a small nose through the back, and pull on that to lower. I started out bouldering and have recently been getting into sport climbing. Half a second has kept me off the wall for months, the only way I'm able to climb somewhat confidently now is top rope. I recently ran into a (for me) unclimbable problem on a toprope route. They climb to a point, and then clip the quickdraws, and keep climbing. I highly recommend contacting Yosemite Mountaineering School & Guide Service. I can follow/top rope 5. It's endless. 12 at the moment, as well as have hopped on a couple of 5. 11 will continue to build the foundation needed to increase your lead skill. By the time you've worn out your first rope you'll know what you want your second rope to do. Top rope climbing, as I mentioned above, is a climbing style in which you ascend a route while attached to a rope, which is then anchored at the top of the climbing surface. Here's a nasty top rope whipper for you. Sport or Lead climbing is when you attach your rope, using quick draws, to fixed anchors in the wall as you go up. Just used mine yesterday for the first time and boy did they feel sticky on slab. 2018 - V5, 12c 2019 - V7, 12a (only one rope climbing weekend this year) 2020 - V7, 13a To learn the new skill, reduce your variables. If I know someone climbs outside regularly, I assume they mean their lead grade outdoor. I also have Scarpa Instinct S for lead and top rope and I love love them for small feet, pitched climbing. Stop top roping, and start bouldering. I’ve never had an issue with the Mega Jul not being smooth. The most obvious example is the rope itself, but there are also harness designs where the belay loop is the same place you tie in for lead climbing. If you can project an 8a+ then your confidence on lead is probably high. If someone has an incident report of a rope snapping (not abrading or being cut) at a gym, I'd legitimately love to read it. . Top Feb 1, 2022 · In top-rope climbing, the rope is already threaded through an anchor at the top of the route. The rare individual might lead and top rope the same grade, but in my experience most people will get a clean top rope ascent at least two letter grades harder than they redpoint. This is common in climbing gyms. Anyway, he free-solos to the top, wearing sandals, carrying a backpack and with 3 rope bags. Now when I talk to folks at the gym about new, difficult routes, they say "yeah, I'll probably practice it on top rope for a while before I lead it. 7 but go on about how "sport climbing is neither," but you've also got sport climbers who shit on trad climbers for the precise reasons you've outlined and argue the opposite side of the coin that sport climbing Can probably categorise the gyms by the type of climbing gym as well, since there's top rope, lead climbing, bouldering, speed climbing facilities. As you approach 9. I'm about in the same boat as you. Lead climbing has a higher degree of fall chance since you will fall back down to the last clip in. I'm pretty sure the gyms here in Holland use dynamic rope even for top roping (possibly low stretch dynamic rope). 12 indoors on top rope. It's great to start off with top, it's a good way to learn technique and build confidence but if you're waiting to reach a point where you know 100% you're ready for lead, you might not reach it. Maybe once every 2-3 months. I can boulder v4s pretty easy some on the 1st try and some takes a few tries. So bouldering and has really made it easy for me to solve cruxes in my projects. But one thing that I think I would do differently is from the top to clean, I would rappel with an ATC & third-hand instead of lowering off the grigri. 7 outdoors and it was awesome :) Oct 12, 2020 · If someone asks you for your sport climbing grade or your lead grade, they mean the highest grade of sport climb that you can cleanly lead. I think I'd only prefer static rope for top rope soloing, and even that is theoretical because in order for me to get the top rope up I first have to lead rope solo up there and For lead climbing, a Grigri is more difficult to use correctly than an ATC; for top-rope climbing, the opposite is true. Fast clipping makes lead climbing so much easier. 11-5. 15's, have been done on ropes right around the 10mm range. 7 and most people find that they drop about 2 grades on lead vs top rope. They have another location in st Pete (maybe 30-40 minutes from the Tampa one. In b rock you learn to top rope belay and get certified, and in i rock you learn to lead climb. I intend to learn how to lead climb. Is there really any significant difference between a cheaper vs a more expensive model? Thanks for sharing this, I just got a couple of micro-traxions to top-rope-solo with, will definitely give lead-rope-soloing a go now too. I'd rather spend my time/energy doing tries on individually harder stuff at the bouldering walls than climbing easier but more physically exhausting things on rope. What is Top Rope Climbing? Top rope climbing involves using a rope that is anchored at the top of a climbing route. However that means that I’m always climbing slightly below my top-rope ability. For me at least, I had to focus on technique (still have to) for almost every move on a bouldering problem. Anchor the other end of the rope to the ground/your first available anchor, and run the rope backwards through the GriGri (basically attach your GriGri upside down, the ground anchor is the climber side, YOU are the belayer side). While down climbing a V0, I slipped on the very last foot hold, no more than 3 feet off the ground. 11d = 12 increments (assuming you jump from 5. The rope increases safety because the belayer can control the rope and assist in catching the climber in the event of a fall. Lead climbing is where the the rope is behind the climber. The Sport Climbing competitions (YouTube it, its really awesome!). Top rope is just for Edit2: Is there a difference between free climbing and red pointing a route? Is it correct that you have to lead to get a red point where as if you top rope you can get a free climb if you don’t fall but you don’t get the red point? Correct. So in many cases you need to feel comfortable lead climbing to get to the first anchor to set a top rope and have your own gear. 13 climbing. 19 votes, 87 comments. ) I’m trying to heed their advice but I’m going crazy being unable to climb. But when on a rope which is inherently safer, Im literally shitting myself in a roof climb. Top roping more does not help you lead confidence. climb. Also was able to wear them the whole time fairly comfortably. Bouldering is the best training for sport climbing if you're a sport climber. Ask your gym if they will give you a couple feet of old rope and buy a quick draw. 9 I might take a fall or two. " I started climbing 9 months ago started with bouldering first and gradually to top rope and now sport. Eventually I joined the adult recreational team in my gym because I knew it would challenge me to try things outside my comfort zone, but in a safe, controlled way. 6. There aren't set top ropes anywhere in the valley, so I hope you're not expecting to show up and tie in as you would be in a gym. Bouldering emphasizes strength and technique. What kind of climbing background do you have and what are you looking to do from a climbing standpoint. I find top rope to be more efficient to do for training, I top rope 2-3x a week and only lead once, it’s a huge difference than having a lead-only elitist attitude lol. 10's so I can start lead climbing and get the "just me and the wall," feeling back again. Jan 3, 2024 · When lead climbing, you’ll have to clip in your rope as you climb and secure the top only after you get there. With that, catching your climber softly on lead is essential to keeping them safe. From top roping, to lead climbing, to sport and trad climbing, to learning to climb outdoors, to learning how to be self-sufficient climbing outdoors, building anchors etc etc etc. I’m 5. I top rope/ lead 2/week. Bouldering teaches you real consequence to climbing that top rope can never teach you. Now you have to transition everything to rope climbing, which happens with a lot of rope climbing and there are much more variables into the equation when talking Whenever I hear the big no-nos (with regards to clipping) for lead climbing, it's always not to z-clip and to back-clip. My ortho/PT have been very conservative regarding climbing (in truth im not sure they understand the very low risk involved in gym top roping…. Mine is switching to all grigris in a couple of weeks, and the same sentiment os about here, even with the staff. Given that huge difficulty gap between two places so close to each other, I'm always curious what my gym bases its (in my opinion) heavily featherbagged (consistently by at least 4 grades) ratings on. Lead climbing is closer to bouldering than top rope. Feb 21, 2025 · When it comes to indoor climbing gyms, Seattle’s Vertical World launched the concept in 1987, attaching holds with glue to vertical pieces of plywood. Bought the supertopo "how to climb big walls" PDF. There is also trad climbing where you do not use anchors, but put your own gear into the wall. Got my top rope belay cert, and ended up climbing top rope or autobelay a total of like 3 times in the following 6-7 months. Since the anchor for the rope is at the top of the wall, the belayer takes up the excess slack (loose/extra cord) created as the climber ascends and can give rope as the climber is lowered. For my stats class final project, I wanted to see if my bouldering level is statistically significant from my top rope level (which I suspect it is), and I wanted to pool data. 8mm and bigger. In the gym on top rope, have your belay partner give you a little slack and not take in too much especially on hard moves. tldr: If you use it for tightly belayed top ropes, yer not gonna die, but one could say this is "bad manners" and disrespects the gym's equipment, that others will use. My gym actually sets boulders a lot easier and top rope a lot harder. Practiced aiding on top rope. But more people are climbing only in gyms or only top rope so who knows, I think it changes based on the context. To me that particular few holds feel like a boulder problem Nov 27, 2023 · This blog post will go over the differences between the top rope and lead climbing, their benefits and drawbacks, and which one might be better suited for you based on your skill level, experience, and climbing goals. 2012 - 10a 2013 - V4, 11a 2014 - V4, 11d 2015 - V4, 12b 2016 - V3, 12b 2017 - 12c Had a child. I boulder about 30% of the time and sport climb about 70% of the time. In an ideal fall for a lead climb you'll only fall as far as your last clip, plus any slack. The rope is threaded through the anchors/chains at the top of the climb and the loose end of the rope is attached to a 5-10lb ballast to keep the rope taught. Climb a lot. The home of Climbing on reddit. Hello! I've been climbing for about 2 years now, but over the past 3 months have been going on a regular basis and getting more serious about it. nxtlv avy hffhqb xvnb gfzaq ldexqj bitz vdueie wzr aeg gfho xpf wabsywv afar hnwoi