Sport climbing vs top rope reddit. I climb about v3-4’s.
Sport climbing vs top rope reddit. 4M subscribers in the climbing community.
Sport climbing vs top rope reddit 6. Last week-end, I went trad climbing with a 40l pack. Outdoor climbing grades (like gym grades) vary, but folks tend to ann 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. I started out top roping and slowly worked myself into lead. Aug 21, 2023 · Sport climbing requires more technical skills, physical endurance, and mental focus, whereas top rope climbing allows climbers to develop their skills and gain confidence in a safer and more regulated environment. The belay point for a top rope can be either anchored to the groud or not (normally is) but for leading the belay point should not be anchored as this gives the climber a softer fall. The rope and helmet needs to be outside the pack. The rope increases safety because the belayer can control the rope and assist in catching the climber in the event of a fall. No one-size-fits all in either climbing style (blocks vs swing) or anchor building (slings vs rope). 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. com. Rap cleaning most routes wasn't an option because they were too steep. The prevailing assumption has been leading a route outdoor. 10d and 5. I picked the skinniest I could find (8. And yes we are scared of falling. I've realized that bouldering is a much more social sport, which is also very important to me if I'm spending 3 nights a week at the gym. In trad climbing , a leader places various types of gear into natural features in the rock. The home of Climbing on reddit. 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. its really just rational survival instinct. Every company measures their ropes In lead belaying you're paying out rope (giving slack) while in top rope you're always taking in slack. Alpine climbing in the Canadian Rockies I used alpine draws almost exclusively as even with double ropes it could be hard to extend or make tricky placements work. As others have said, having multiple ropes is best. And I can still use them for sport climbing on short climbs (I also have an 80m though). (1) buddy on sharp end on mostly overhung route. 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. Is 9. 9mm), and the extra 10m I have over the standard 50m double ropes is pretty useful (for doubling occasional short pitches, or rappels). Both were instances where everyone was okay but things could have turned out differently. 1. In general a longer rope is ok anywhere but you have to carry it around and it is heavy. That being said, if you're just starting out and want a single, do it all rope for both climbing and glacier travel, a 60m dry rope that's 9. 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. 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. I started climbing 9 months ago started with bouldering first and gradually to top rope and now sport. Also in many cases where it is hard or impossible to get in place to put up a rope then the leader can go up and set up the rope and be lowered off, such as with a spite or if you just want to do the first pitch of a multipitch. 2 and thinner, ropes will last just as long used as a personal rope of a climbing guide, but the weekend warrior that isn't taking as specific care of them will find that it's going to get worn and soft and fuzzy much faster. Physical and Mental Challenges. I am doing sport and alpine multipitch and so far I had a single rope for sport (light, belay with grigri, easy handling rope management) and half ropes for alpine (for long abseils, extra safesty e. Lead climbing is a true equalizer because you can't just pull past hard moves, you actually have to solve them. Trad climbing and sport climbing are both forms of lead climbing. Climbing is about experience. You have to go out of your way to increase risk so have an incident top roping. ClimbingJunkie For a beginner I would recommend getting the cheapest rope that's climbing rated you can find. I don’t think a rope would last a full day lowering. Catastrophic on top rope? Near impossible. V5/6s is where I am at right now. this sport, like we all say, involves a risk factor; I would never do For a first rope, go for a thicker one as you will most likely be top roping more. The first 3. As you approach 9. If i said youll look like a noob only for not wearing a helmet trad climbing i wouldnt have gotten downvoted. For the past 9 months I’ve still been sport climbing outside but I’ve been training in a bouldering gym (mix of kilterboard and set boulders). The obvious example is speed climbing, but between bouldering and sport climbing (lead and top) the gap has increased the last years due to the modern style of setting. Crack climbing in Squamish you barely need draws if your cams extend. Climbing. Leading requires a lot more time and at the gym I don’t know if it helps with headspace at all since the clips are so close together anyway A 20l is plenty for sport climbing, multipitch and a lunch. The main difference between the two is that in trad climbing, you place your own gear (such as cams and nuts) into cracks and spaces in the rock to hold your rope, thus establishing the route as you climb. Since I discovered that I like climbing LONG endurance routes, I will be getting a longer rope. By the time you've worn out your first rope you'll know what you want your second rope to do. You can usually find them on sale for 25% off. It's true that it is safer but lead climbing is both more challenging and more impressive, which attracts the videographers and the athletes. If for no other reason, a 30m glacier rope is much lighter than a 60m climbing rope. 8mm and bigger. 8 range. I boulder in the same place I sport climb - so rock is similar (I think that's important to the equation here) I boulder around V5/V6 and I'm climbing mid 5. Mar 21, 2022 · Trad climbing, or traditional climbing, and sport climbing are both types of free climbing. 5 isn't better than 9. Then for 9 months I was training in a rope gym, but also got hooked on outdoor sport climbing. I 2 bought triple rate 60m ropes, and Im just so happy with them. It can encompass anything of interest to the PPG community, including paramotors, paragliding, wings, gear, ultralight flying, hang gliding, PPC (powered parachute), etc. Hit back of head (helmeted) on rock. I climb about v3-4’s. true. Do you see yourself multi-pitch climbing? Buy a harness with with 4 gear loops. see the rest of the conversation below, but lead climbing is both psychologically and physically more difficult than top roping. It all depends on your goals and preferences. I have a permanent "quad" out of a double dyneema runner I often use if i'm setting up a top rope for long term use. Bouldering emphasizes strength and technique. Its been a few years since I have done any research, when I last bought my 9. I have been climbing for almost 2 years now and I am only now looking to get my rope and if I did that before I really wouldn't know what I would be climbing. Clipping the rope adds a totally different dynamic to the climb. 10, but this is a very old convention which almost no one follows nowadays, gym V0 are typically somewhere in the 5. I would wear this one for multi pitches. Some ropes only have 1. 4mm and 10. If I know someone climbs outside regularly, I assume they mean their lead grade outdoor. Top rope is by far the safest discipline in climbing. ask yourself whether you are more likely to get hurt hitting a ledge or getting spiked by a hard catch in the type of climbing you are doing if the former get a low stretch/higher impact rope like a maxim or mammut if the latter get a higher stretch/lower impact rope such as beal also remember that for TRing lower stretch may be Don't look at climbing as a singular road, with the sole goal of pushing grades. A figure eight is extremely safe and extremely easy. 8mm? How much does dynamic elongation % matter? Any input, brand suggestions, insight, deals, etc. I would say 9. 7 face climbing with the top out being (a fucking hike) 30 feet of literal class 3 walking. Just wanted to chime in that no climbing will ever be “risk free”! It’s all about the kind of risk that one is assuming: bouldering has a high risk of decking, but can generally be low consequence if proper measures are taken; top roping has a low risk of decking, but pretty high consequence if things go wrong. if somebody wants to desperately try to free-solo blind drunk the indoor route you are trying on top rope slowly, they'll wait or they'll ask you if they can have a go; anything different than that, such as "DUDE PUT YOUR FOOT THERE AND HURRY UP" is, imho, worth ignoring. 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 about sport climbing. the only real way to overcome it is to fall again and again without getting hurt until you break the association in your mind that this will hurt you. Climbers use the term 'climbing' as a catch all, but non-climbers are more likely to be familiar with "rock climbing" (which usually means top roping), and boulders will use rock climbing to mean climbing with a rope to differentiate it from bouldering, although to a newbie it seems like bouldering is also be a form of rock climbing. Lead climbing (or sport climbing as it is commonly referred to) is more advanced, as you have to rely on technique to get into proper clipping stances and generally harder due to the mental aspect. 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. IDK just didn't appeal to me almost at all. 5mm is probably best. ). When you say "versatile" do you see yourself mountaineering or ice climbing in near future? If so, go with a harness with adjustable leg loops. The rope and helmet were outside. But I had a lunch, crampons, double rack, my PAS and couple random stuff for top rope solo and extra clothes That being said, if you’ve got rope to spare for anchor building you certainly gain a lot of ease in connecting pieces (don’t have to fiddle with making static arms and other weird configurations). Feb 21, 2025 · Top rope climbing, on the other hand, uses a rope. "Rope Hello all! Ive been climbing in Evolv Kronos and while they are great, im wanting something more for top rope, for the small footholds and overhang/slight overhang. Lots of climbs share a common anchor that really shouldn’t. See full list on climbingschool. au Feb 2, 2025 · Choosing which climbing style is better between rope-dependent and rope-free climbing is impossible. g. Cleaning on top-rope was, but that gets old fast (although admittedly on the really steep stuff, it's the only option). I mainly top rope and i boulder with my friends as well, but i prefer top rope. 13 climbing. Now, there are certain scenarios where one may want 1 or more lockers in the top rope anchor, for example of there is a reasonable chance that the biner(s) may get pushed up against the rock, but such scenarios aren't that common in most climbing areas. Yikes. 2-9. 5mm the new 9. Afterwards, I always taped my finger applying the H-Tape technique and used German Leucoplast Tape when climbing or doing strength training. I had to stop all climbing activities for at least six weeks. 10b-c, while projecting 5. Traditionally, V0 is equivalent to 5. The only thing it's not good for is trad climbing because the gear loops are too small (yes even on the solution guide). So bouldering and has really made it easy for me to solve cruxes in my projects. I have a 9. You won't be discerning enough to tell the difference between it and a tip top Petzl 8mm. Adding on to this in further ELI5 fashion, this is bad because SOMEBODY has to put up those anchors, and when you run your dirty rope through it to lower, it cuts into the anchor a little bit at a time. With top rope climbing, the anchor is at the top of the climb, with the rope going down one side to the belayer, and the other side to the climber. Don't stress about the diameter. The gym juggles the now-usual brand of offerings: birthday parties, youth camps, and adult classes, plus a multitude of top rope and lead routes alongside a small bouldering area. TLDR: To me not wearing a helmet trad climbing is like not wearing a helmet riding a motorcycle, plain reckless. Then just get whatever is on sale, most of the bigger companies all make fine ropes for single pitch stuff and unless you want to ice climb getting a dry treatment is overkill. It was easy to get comfortable climbing top, and I still get nervous climbing lead. Now bouldering involves huge volumes, coordination dynos, tricky body positions, etc. On the other hand not wearing a helmet sport climbing is like not wearing a helmet on a bicycle, still dangerous but eh 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. you're much higher up, even though we can logically know its safer on the rope, our monkey brain doesnt. So you must have a good base of climbing strength. 8mm 70m length rope. Unless you buy a high end sport oriented harness, they are all versatile, so buy what fits you well Something to watch for when getting a rope- double weave ropes are more pliable in the hand and don't twist up as much. It covers everything from hard single pitch cragging where you're basically sport climbing on gear to sketchballs alpine climbing where the gear is mostly there so they can follow the rope to find your body. assuming 2 good bolts, 2 draws is prob the easiest, if you really want you can get a couple dog bones and permanently put a couple lockers on them. What I mean by double weave is when you look closely at the sheath of the rope each individual weave section has 2 parallel strands. Five weeks post-injury: I tried to do some easy top rope climbing by stretching away the injured finger while climbing. In some ways, being able to build endurance by doing laps and building to solve hard problems quickly has helped me become a much better lead climber. you've already done this with bouldering, but sport climbing is a different situation and you The GriGri2 is made to handle slightly smaller ropes than the original GriGri. The Black Diamond Solution is one of the most comfortable sport climbing harnesses you can buy. You will be challenged physically and mentally by both bouldering and top rope climbing. Trad climbing is a lot broader than sport. Gym climbing grades (in my experience) are relatively comparable to outdoor sport face climbing . It's endless. Let's explore the pros and cons of bouldering and top-rope climbing with that in mind. 12d's to work the moves. However I wont hesitate to just use draws if its a typical setup. When climbing on a top rope, the rope is already attached to an anchor at the top of the route, so there is virtually zero risk of taking a dangerous fall. I recently had two come to Jesus moments about sport climbing and helmets. Even a bowline is safe A grigri is extremely safe and takes a special moron to drop someone on top rope. If I know they mostly climb indoor, I tend to assume they mean top rope indoor. To be good at crack climbing you have to crack climb. when one rope gets a coreshot, reducing rope drag by clipping just one strand etc. Bouldering in general is much harder than rope climbing in short bursts, whereas rope climbing is more focused on endurance. In top rope im doing consistent 5. Generally, people find that the grade that they are able to top-rope is higher than the 19 votes, 87 comments. Many climbers differentiate their sport leading grade from their top-rope climbing grade and their trad leading grade. you might have would be greatly appreciated! However that means that I’m always climbing slightly below my top-rope ability. . I've recently taken a tentative step out of bouldering and into "real climbing" I did the top rope thing for a while and found it tedious, after asking around for advice on sport climbing, i received mixed messages about which ATC to use, what do you think r/climbing? (I am buying a grigri regardless for use in a long line set up) Honestly, static ropes are not very useful in free rock climbing (mostly for rappelling, fixed lines in aid climbing, etc. I am currently in the market for a new climbing rope, for both trad & sport. the static and dynamic elongation percentages are the based on how the rope is loaded (static means load applied when rope is already stretched out like a toprope fall No shit you will be bad at crack climbing if you only climb in a gym that has only plastic face climbs. 4M subscribers in the climbing community. This reddit is for the powered paragliding community. Ok, I'm having trouble understanding ropes. Mar 9, 2022 · The two main styles, sport climbing vs. I can boulder v4s pretty easy some on the 1st try and some takes a few tries. 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 would really enjoy sport climbing and multi-pitch outdoors -- more for the adventure and adrenaline aspect. If they are showing you these types of stats on manufacturer's website, its likely a dynamic rope. But more people are climbing only in gyms or only top rope so who knows, I think it changes based on the context. Gets foot stuck in a jam so fell entirely upside down before foot came out. But for gym climbing, I can't see myself going more than once or twice a month. As a new climber your tendons aren’t used to the awkward moves that bouldering tends to put you in. It might be 90 feet of 5. Being honest about why you're doing this and how much risk you're willing to take is important. Mar 9, 2022 · The opposite of lead climbing is top-roping. A lot, a lot. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. The initial 25 ft of radically overhanging savergry, precise movement and powerful gymnastic climbing is in my opinion slightly harder than Esperanza V14 but on a rope clipping bolts and then yields a jug followed by solid 5. I think I get the basic concepts and uses, but there is so much to know about using them within their limitations but also being willing to use them in other scenarios while accepting the risks that come. Can be used in wide variety of situations Hi, my half ropes' lifespan comes to an end soon and I m looking at new options. 4 is a little loose and in guide mode on direct belay it walks a lot if the mechanism isn't engaged. Where I grew up climbing in Utah, nobody rap-cleaned. Unless you’re climbing hard rope climbs, you’re likely not doing awkward movements that require you to pull really Alpine draws depend a lot on where you climb like all trad gear. With lead climbing, the rope starts at the bottom of the climb, with one end tied to the climber and the belayer attaching a short length away from that. It's perfectly fine to have a top rope anchor with no lockers at all. trad, are defined by one critical difference: the system of protection that a lead climber uses to reduce the distance and severity of falls. Bouldering is the best training for sport climbing if you're a sport climber. 11a’s. 5-5. I boulder about 30% of the time and sport climb about 70% of the time. 9. It's all about learning. In some ways, they use different skills and require different training to excel at, but there are easy and hard climbs in either style. Climb a lot. Top Rope is /generally/ for beginners because you do not have the mental game playing against you. I wouldn’t want my rope being dragged over the lip with a climbers’ weight. 47 votes, 35 comments. That being said if you only sport climb outdoors, you will also be bad at crack climbing. 5 years were exclusively indoor rope climbing. My understanding is: Single: your standard climbing rope. 12 at the moment, as well as have hopped on a couple of 5. 2mm and use a GriGri2. The 9. piubqhfskxldtzsgobpuhkujebzijvhubhyfwyxxmocsbsqzkzwtryrs