Lead climbing is one of a number of different types of climbing. This discipline of climbing can take place on rock, ice or indoor climbing walls. If you've been at Paris 2024 you'll have noticed there are three competitive formats: speed climbing, and lead climbing.
While speed climbing is a separate event, boulder and lead are counted in the same discipline. Confused? Let’s explain what lead climbing is. Climbing sees participants scaling boulders, rock faces, mountains or artificial walls.
The aim is to ascend from base to top using aids. These aids for rock climbing can be natural hand and foot holds created in the rock, or artificial holds bolted to walls, both at indoor and outdoor climbing centres. use and on their boots as aids for ascents of ice walls.
When climbing, its a common practice to utilise a system of rope, and anchors – or protection – to make sure that if the climber falls they do to end up hitting the ground. Put simply, a acts as a friction brake, so that when a climber falls with any slack in the rope, the fall is brought to a stop. The belay device is attached to the harness worn by each climber.
The anchors, or protection, are located at regular intervals on a wall or rock face so that any fall is only a short section of the climb. Most climbers work in pairs with one person climbing and the other person securing their position by holding a rope that runs through the belays on each climber’s harness. Once the top of climb is reached, the rope.