Lead climbing

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Lead climbing is a climbing technique used to ascend a route.

When lead climbing, the lead climber or leader ties to one end of a rope and is belayed by their partner. The climber then ascends the route, periodically placing protection for safety in the event of a fall. The protection can consist of pre-placed bolts and pitons, or removeable protection such as nuts and spring loaded camming devices. Distances between pieces of protection can range from three to forty feet or more, although on average the distance will probably be between six and twelve feet.

At any point, the leader can fall at least twice as far as the distance to the most recently placed protection. If a leader is ten feet above the last piece of protection, a fall will be a minimum of twenty feet. Realistically, the fall would likely include another five to ten feet due to rope elasticity and give in the overall mechanical system.

Once the leader reaches a suitable spot for anchoring, or runs out of protection (hopefully the former), two things can occur:

1. The climber is lowered to the ground by the belayor or rappels to the ground. This is typical when sport climbing or climbing short routes.
2. The leader belays the lower climber (the former belayor) up to the anchors. This is common when climbing multi-pitch routes, where this process is repeated once for each pitch.

Sport climbing generally uses pre-placed protection, while removeable protection is more commonly used when traditional climbing. However, it is not uncommon to see routes with both types of protection present when lead climbing.

Lead climbing is done for several reasons. Often times, placing a top rope is not an option because the anchors are not accessible by any means other than climbing. Sport climbing and traditional climbing both utilize lead climbing techniques for practical reasons, as well as stylistic reasons. Climbers may work individual pitches on top-rope, but valid ascents require the climber to lead the pitch.