Intro to Climbing
There's more to climbing then just going up. The sport is actually roughly divided into eight disciplines. Read on to see which method grips your interest most.
Mountaineering can include elements of rock climbing, glacier travel, camping, and trekking. Trips can range from an extended expeditions to an afternoon scramble up a local peak.
Aid climbers move up a route by placing gear in small rock features and weighting them directly. Free climbers use gear only to stop themselves when they fall.
What separates trad climbing from sport climbing, is the need to carry, place, and depend on, your own pieces protection.
Sport routes have pre-placed bolts at intervals on a route. When a climber gets to a bolt, they attach a quickdraw to it, and then clip the rope through the quickdraw.
Short routes on large boulders. Ropes aren't used, but crash pads protect you when jumping or falling off problems.
Learning to spot safely and effectively is a skill necessary to act as a competent and trustworthy partner.
Indoor climbing gyms simulate outdoor climbing by offering a range of wall angles and holds. They are a great way to learn climbing basics and to train for outdoor routes.
Many areas in the world have developed different systems for grading climbs. This chart gives you a way to compare them.