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Top-Roping and Belaying |
 In top-roping, a rope from the top of the climb always holds the climber, making most slips off the climb harmless. As shown above, the climber is attached to one end of the rope, the middle is passed through an anchor at the top of the climb, and the other end is held by the belayer.
The anchor at the top of the climb is assembled from loops of webbing
connected to carabiners attached securely to the rock. The rope is
passed through some of the carabiners, and the others are attached to
either pieces of protection, wedged into a convenient crack, or bolts,
which other climbers have drilled into the rock.
The anchor's carabiners with the rope passing through are suspended
below the top of the climb to prevent the rope from rubbing. When
bolts or protection are far from the top of the climb, substantial
lengths of webbing are needed to place the carabiners correctly.
Not all climbs can be top-roped because of two requirements:
The belayer must keep the slack in the rope to a minimum since when a
climber slips, any slack must be taken up before the rope can stop the
fall. To take up this slack, the belayer pulls the rope downward as
the climber climbs. While doing this, the belayer must never release
the rope fully to ensure the climber could never fall far.
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Lead Climbing |
In lead climbing, two people, a leader and a follower, ascend the
climb in pitches: sections of the climb shorter than the length of the
rope.
First the leader climbs the pitch, wedging pieces of protection
into the rock and attaching the rope to them with carabiners.
 Once the leader makes it to the top, she anchors herself to the rock and belays the follower, who climbs the pitch, removing the protection. Finally, both the leader and follower are at the top of the pitch with all their gear, ready to climb the next pitch.  The leader's job is dangerous. Unlike top-roping, where slipping off the rock usually doesn't result in a long fall, a leader can fall twice the distance from the last piece of protection before the rope can help. The figure below depicts a fairly pleasant lead fall--the leader has fallen and is dangling in midair. More often, the leader will hit the rock on the way down--a common cause of climbing injuries.  A ``quickdraw''--two carabiners attached with a loop of webbing--is used to fasten the rope to a piece of protection. One carabiner is attached to the loop on the piece of protection, the rope is passed through the other. This provides some separation of protection a rope, allowing the rope to twist without dislodging the protection, pass more smoothly past the protection, and go more directly up the climb.
Ideally, so the rope is not forced to go around friction-increasing
corners, the protection should be along in a straight line between
belay stations. This is not always possible, so longer pieces of
webbing in the quickdraw are used to make the path of the rope
straighter.
Lead climbing places fewer restrictions on what can be climbed than
top-roping. The two requirements are
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Getting Down |
There are three common ways to get down from a climb: walking, rappeling, and lowering. |
Walking |
Often, climbers get down from the tops of climbs by walking. It is especially common to do this with top-roped climbs, since most have a way to hike to the top to set the anchor. Most multi-pitch lead climbs do not have a way to walk down from every belay station, but there is often a way to walk down from the top. |
Rappeling |
 Rappeling is a scheme for lowering yourself with the rope. As shown above, the center of the rope is passed through an anchor at the top of the climb. The person descending wears a harness and attaches himself to the rope with a belay device, which he uses to control his descent.
Unlike climbing, it is best to be nearly horizontal while rappeling.
In this position, the body is pointing more directly at the rock,
giving the feet better friction and leading to more control.
Starting a rappel is the most difficult part. It is very
disconcerting to switch from standing to being supported completely by
the rope. Moreover, it is necessary to get below the anchor before
the rope can help. If the anchor is below the top of the climb,
climbing down is necessary.
Once everybody has descended, the rope is recovered by pulling it
through the anchor. The anchor cannot be recovered, but this is not
usually a problem. In many cases, other climbers have placed a
permanent anchor at the top, often a pair of bolts drilled into the
rock connected to a ring with some chains. Another possibility is to
use the base of a tree as an anchor. Since the rope is under little
tension when it is pulled through the anchor, this abrades the rope
and tree only slightly, and can be done occasionally.
A single rope can only be used to descend half a rope-length, but two
ropes can be tied together to rappel a full rope-length. This is
useful, for example, when descending a multi-pitch lead climb via the
same route used for the ascent. The belay stations, usually spaced a
full rope-length, can be used as rappel anchors. Three or
more ropes cannot be used to rappel in this manner, since doing so
would require rappeling past a knot and pulling a knot through the
anchor, which are generally impossible.
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Lowering |
In a top-roped climb, the belayer can lower the climber. The climber
places her weight on the rope, and the belayer slowly lets out the
rope, using the belay device to control her rate of descent, much like
rappeling.
This is the most convenient way to descend after completing a
top-roped climb. Although there is usually a way to walk down, it can
be inconvenient to finish a top-roped climb because you must climb
above the anchor, which is often suspended below the top of the climb.
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Written by Stephen Edwards.