Rope climbing usually happens in one of two ways. In top-rope climbing, the rope runs up and over an anchor at the top of the climb, with you tied to one end at the bottom and your belayer, also at the bottom, taking in slack on the other end as you climb. This sort of climb is often rigged in advance by a more experienced climber who's willing to "lead" the rope up for you. With lead climbing, you, your belayer and the rope all start at the bottom of the climb, and you clip the rope into bolts drilled into the rock as you ascend.
Step 1
Flake the rope out at the bottom of the climb. In other words, arrange it in a tidy looped pile, running its length through your fingers as you do so. You should be feeling for any soft, mushy, hard, glazed or abraded places in the rope's sheathe and the core within it; if you find any, you shouldn't climb on that rope.
Step 2
Put on your climbing harness, making sure that the waist and leg buckles are secure. Attach the rope to the tie-in points on your harness with a figure eight follow-through knot.
Step 3
Count the number of bolts you need to clip on the way up the climb and clip at least that many quickdraws, plus one extra, to the gear loops on your harness. Add any extra gear, such as webbing and extra carabiners, that you may need to build an anchor at the top of the climb.
Step 4
Check to make sure your belayer has properly fed the rope through his belay device, has his harness put on and secured correctly, and is ready to belay you up the climb. Have him double-check your harness and tie-in knot as well. Verbally confirm that you are both ready to begin. Also, confirm whether you are going to rappel down or be lowered from the top of the climb.
Step 5
Start climbing. As you reach each bolt, clip a quickdraw into the bolt, then reach down, grip the rope near your tie-in knot, and clip the rope into the carabiner on the other end of the quickdraw. Your belayer will feed out slack from the pile of rope as you go up, ready to catch you with the rope if you happen to fall.
Step 6
Build an anchor once you reach the top---this may be as simple as clipping a long quickdraw into each of at least two bolts at the top of the climb, or much more complicated---and clip the rope into it.
Step 7
Check to make sure your belayer has taken up the slack and is ready to support your weight and gradually lower you down to the bottom, if that is how you planned to finish the climb. If you and your belayer planned on your descending by rappel, you must first secure yourself to the anchor with a sling or personal anchor system, then rig the rope for rappel, double-check your system (including weighting it before unclipping from the anchor) and finally rappel down.
Tips and Warnings
- Lead climbing on ice follows a very similar process to that described above, although it involves additional hazards.
- Rock climbing is a very dangerous activity; always seek expert guidance and tutorial until you are confident in your skills. Even when you do everything right, serious injury or death may still result. You can also climb using traditional climbing gear inserted into cracks in the rock, instead of drilled bolts, to catch a potential fall; however, placing this protective gear is an art in and of itself and should only be attempted with appropriate teaching and guidance.
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