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The DIfference Between Top Rope Climbing, Lead Climbing and Bouldering

By Anonymous
Top Rope Climbing
Recently I had the opportunity to try both top rope climbing and bouldering at EVO in Portland. I also learned about lead climbing.

Rock Climbing is the most basic of all of these three methods. This is when you climb up a fairly tall rock wall and you are tethered to the top of the wall and to a belayer. This is the safest of these methods when done correctly.




Lead Climbing

Lead Climbing is when you are climbing up a rock wall but are not tethered to the top of the wall. As you climb you clip your rope into different carabiners on the rock wall. You are also tethered to a belayer on the ground. When you are lead climbing if you fall, you will generally fall from 6 to 20 feet (Twice the distance from you to your last tie-off point). You generally want a belayer who is heavier than you so that when you fall they don't fly into the air.







Bouldering
Bouldering is when you climb up a wall that is about 16 feet tall without being strapped/harnessed to anything. The top of the wall is generally rounded to simulate the top of a mountain climb. Once you get to the top of a bouldering wall there is generally some stairs going to ground level, a ladder, or an easy way to climb down. As you can probably see in the picture the person who is bouldering has a spotter, someone who helps them if they fall. The spotter does not catch the boulderer, but helps guide them to the ground so they don't hit their head on the ground. In many rock gyms with bouldering sections there is padded flooring so falls don't hurt as much.

Photo citation are under the citations tab

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 13, 2017 at 10:18 AM

    Cool! This sounds super fun!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 13, 2017 at 10:20 AM

    https://www.evorock.com/portland-me/

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 13, 2017 at 10:21 AM

    Awesome! I have been there and it rocks (pun intended)!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJanuary 13, 2017 at 10:22 AM

    Wow! I bet this rocks your world!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJanuary 13, 2017 at 9:34 PM

    Isn't rock climbing a general term for all of those things? I think what you described as rock climbing is called topline climbing. When I was at a rock gym I saw someone fall when lead climbing, and their belayer went at least 15 feet up in the air! Good post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousJanuary 17, 2017 at 10:00 AM

      Thanks for the correction! I changed it!

      Delete
    2. AnonymousFebruary 11, 2017 at 4:14 PM

      15 is more than 10 feet!

      Delete

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