Trad Climbing

A trad climber on Mont Blanc attempts to bump a blue Totem and falls with the piece in his hand. Here's how to avoid that.

A 15-foot ground fall with, somehow, zero consequences

Fresh from the Alps, Fay Manners gets some air time.

Ondra once again proved he’s still the best all-around rock climber alive. 

Oh, the satisfaction of not decking.

Kille says this whipper was actually in the "no fall zone" but his belayer reeled in a good armful of rope to keep him off the ground. 

Cheers to soft, careful catches!

Upside-down whippers are dangerous but almost always avoidable... so learn to avoid them.

That’s gotta hurt.

'Rhapsody' is every bit as hard and runout as it was in 2006, however the many repetitions—and widely watched whipper videos—lowered the mystique of the route somewhat. Mat Wright proves its still got some bite.

The party had brought a crashpad to the crag for a different, more dangerous trad route, and was able to deploy it here in a flash.

This week’s edition is a classic Weekend Whipper: airy, huge, and quite bold.

“Just because you are the belayer,” notes this week’s whippee, “doesn’t mean you can’t get hurt.”

“Just another 40 feet, Nick. You’re doing great. I reckon you’re higher than Leo Houlding was before he fell off and hit the ground.”

Ratchet up your redpoint grade—and ditch some needless pump—with this flagging primer.

Chimneys can be strenuous, runout, and baffling. They can also take you to some pretty incredible places.

It's no fun climbing in the sun.

Learn how to extend your draws to minimize rope drag and rope abrasion while making falls less dangerous.

The climber would have knocked his teeth into the roof had he placed a cam a bit higher.

Ondra has now climbed the hardest grade in every climbing discipline except bouldering (he has yet to do a V17). 

On short climbs, maybe don’t run it out.

The second ascent of the world’s first V17 // The world’s third 5.15d gets sent on livestream // James Pearson announces (for a second time) that he’s just done the world’s first E12 // And one of the Himalaya’s most intense North Faces finally see a first ascent.

After months of consideration, James Pearson has decided to call 'Bon Voyage' the world’s first E12—fifteen years after first proposing the same grade

“The first time I saw it, I just thought to myself, no way will I ever do ‘Black Mamba’,” says Eden of the 150-foot 14b roof crack. “I honestly felt like an impending doom just looking at it.”

She called it hard for the grade.

“The belayer and I were aware of his left leg under the rope but we let him focus on his climb.”

It's desert tower season! The five outlined here are all, at 5.11 or easier, within reach of most mere mortals.

We’d want this belayer at the end of our rope.

“I knew the crimp was a bit suspect, but it made the first crux flow better, so I just went for it.”

The line that cemented new tactics, new gear, and a new grade

“I got the pitch dialed but my arms were so pumped that I couldn’t quite put it together.”

Crack gloves may be all the rage. But there's still value in knowing how to tape up like a pro.

Sometimes it’s better to stay on-edge.

Busy life and can't get to the climbing gym or rocks mid-week? Try this quick strength-building workout.

A primer for modern-day climbers on this vanishing—but still necessary—art.

Projecting is intimidating—especially if you’re working this airy route.

Their commitment, at least, deserves high praise.

After quitting climbing to join a Swiss monastery in the early 2000s, Berthod returned to Squamish with two goals.

This one will make your palms sweat.

Although the Gunks are known for spectacular moderates, the most prevalent grade is 5.10, and these seven 5.10s rank among the best.

Here are a few reasons to haul, tips on how to do it, and some cautions gleaned from years of experience.

The secret history and modern rebirth of Western Colorado’s sleepy Unaweep Canyon.

Laybacking cracks works well—until it doesn’t.

And maybe even learning to love them.

He was feeling good but the rock was not—it had rained the day before and the water-streaked wall still held plenty of moisture.

It was a single 2,000-foot corner. Walk-off mandatory. We spent the night in no-man’s land, unable to move up or down.

Just moments before, the climber had been cruising along a section of mellow terrain and hadn’t felt the need to place much pro at all.

Neil Gresham explains the often-baffling British grading system—and why the “eGrader” app can keep it afloat. 

Check out Kevin Corrigan's author page.

Deciphering the cryptic lore of the Sierra Nevada's remote, seldom-visited Citadel.

Moss freed the A4 roof at a bold V11+.

"Exploding pieces of metal hit me like bullets. I’m dropping through swift jerks of ripping gear. All of the protection pulls... except for one wire behind a wobbling spike." (From 2010.)

The story so far of Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker's journey to send The Recovery Drink (5.14c) in Jøssingfjord, Norway.

We haven’t heard this one before.

No hate on the belayer here—just a cautionary tale.

Coaches Justen Sjong and Juan Usubillaga offer tips on how to train on plastic to become better climbers both outside and in.

“Neither of us anticipated that I would fall to the height her head was … and absolutely boot her into the edge of a flake.”

“This route took me longer than any other route or boulder I’ve ever tried,” he says, but he’s nonetheless hesitant to give it a grade.

Internationally certified mountain guide Marc Chauvin shares three tips for climbing more-adventurous routes.

Instead of lowering to the ground, you can often “boink” back up to your last quickdraw by pulling up on the rope, unweighting, and allowing your belayer to quickly take in slack.

I was young, dumb, and ambitious. But I should have known that 5.10 slab wasn’t a great place to start.

Second Choice (5.11) is a striking splitter with its steepest moves near the top.

Each January we post a farewell tribute to those members of our community lost in the year just past. Some of the people you may have heard of, some not. All are part of our community and contributed to climbing.

Don't know how far it is to the next rappel anchor, and/or your rope is too short to make it?

Honnold is famous for (among other things) cramming as much climbing as he can into each day. To do so, he's developed some efficiency tricks that the rest of us can imitate.

For "conquistadors of the useless," climbers sure love getting into bitter disputes about how we enjoy ourselves.

Studies point to stress itself as the culprit for accelerated fatigue; not how hard you grip.

River Barry’s quick thinking resulted in the rescue of a severely injured base jumper—and possibly a new first ascent.

In the Elbe River Valley they were climbing 5.9+ by 1905 and 5.10+/5.11 by 1922. And they were doing this with knotted slings as pro.

Hint: She loves being uncomfortable.  

Back in 1979, tower trips could be serious business. Spring-loaded cams had yet to debut. Falls were rare, but potential air was huge.

“Needless to say I lowered off to check if any icing was taken off the cake.”

"What Beth did in 2008... was way ahead of the times"

Some climbs, we get up out of sheer stubbornness—or stupidity.

Return of the Jedi is found in an abandoned gritstone quarry in the Peak District and is an unmistakable line: a sharpened prow that is intimidatingly tall and “that requires quite a few pads to make safe.”

The filmer breaks down exactly what happened—and what went wrong.

We’ve gathered experience-driven tips and tricks to create a foolproof recipe for success on pumpy layback pitches.

Ever.

'Love as a Weapon' is a stiff new route in Squamish, BC.

Have a kid and life as you know it is over. Retire those kneepads and downturned shoes, welcome to strollers and diapers and poos.