Верховое страховочное лазание: техника и применение

Type of rock climbing

Top rope climbing (or top roping) is a form of rock climbing where the climber is securely attached to a climbing rope that runs through a fixed anchor at the top of the climbing route, and back down to the belayer (or "second") at the base of the climb. A climber who falls will just hang from the rope at the point of the fall, and can then either resume their climb or have the belayer lower them down in a controlled manner to the base of the climb. Climbers on indoor climbing walls can use mechanical auto belay devices to top rope alone. By definition, top roping can only be done on routes that are less than half the length of a typical climbing rope, which means single pitch routes that are below in height. Top roping is also used in ice climbing, and the related sports of mixed climbing and dry tooling, and it is used in combination with auto belay devices in both competition speed climbing and competition ice climbing. Top roping is one of the relatively safest forms of rock climbing and is used by most beginners and novices of the sport. Before the era of sport climbing, top roping a route for practice (known as headpointing or hangdogging) was considered poor practice; however, it is now a legitimate technique in preparing for a redpoint ascent. Top roping a new route is not considered a first free ascent of a climb, and because of the ability of the belayer to give aid to the climber, it is not strictly free climbing (although some advocate that with slack, it is similar to free climbing), and is thus differentiated from 'normal' lead climbing.

In top roping, the climber and their belayer (or "second"), arrange a fixed anchor at the top of the climb and then hang the rope down from this anchor at the rope's approximate mid point (i. e. so that two parts of the rope are now hanging down the route). By definition, top roping is only possible where the climber(s) can get to the top of the route by other means so that they can set up the anchor and pass the rope through it. In top roping, the climbing rope needs to be at least twice the length of the climbing route (i. e. this is because the rope goes to the top of the climbing route and back to the climber who is starting at the ground level). As typical climbing ropes are in length, it means that top roping is only be done on routes that are in height (if not shorter, for safety), which are single pitch routes. and a top rope ascent cannot be used to claim a first free ascent (FFA) of a new climb. When the sport climbing definition of an FFA — the redpoint — became the standard definition in sport climbing and traditional climbing, such distinctions were dropped, and leading climbers now make extensive legimitate use of hangdogging and headpointing top roping techniques when preparing (or projecting) for redpoint FFAs. In the 1998 climbing film Hard Grit, leading British traditional climber Johnny Dawes advocated for the use of a top rope — with enough slack in the rope to avoid any implication of aid (i. e. in a fall, the climber would fall a few metres before the rope became taught)— to qualify as a free ascent on extreme traditional climbing routes, however, his view was not adopted by the wider climbing community.

In common with lead climbing, top roping requires the standard equipment of a harness attached to one end of a dynamic kernmantle rope (usually via a figure eight knot). The second, who is belaying, will use a standard mechanical belay device that is clipped into the rope (i. e. same as that used in all lead climbing), and which pays out the rope as needed but can grip the rope tightly to catch the climber in the event of a fall. Some climbing areas place fixed artificial anchors (i. e. iron rings or cement blocks) at the top of routes to assist top rope climbers in creating a strong fixed anchor.

Top rope solo climbing is where a single length static fixed rope, anchored to the top of the route, is laid along the length of the climb (unlike normal top roping, the two sides of the rope are not needed). The climber then clips into the fixed rope using at least one progress capture device (PCD) such as a Petzl Micro Traxion or a Camp Lift, that will allow the rope to pay through as the climber ascends but will grip the rope tightly in the event of a fall. Big wall climbing can also use top rope solo climbing for the "second" (and other non lead climbers), to speed up their follow on ascent, and give the lead climber time to rest and/or look after other tasks (i. e. gear hauling).

Ice climbing, and the related sports of mixed climbing and dry tooling, also use top roping techniques to provide greater safety to climbers as an alternative to lead climbing the routes. Lead climbing on ice is considered even more challenging than on rock, as the placement of secure ice screws is a complex task that requires judgment on ice quality and stability. The technique of top roping in ice climbing is identical to that of rock climbing but sometimes the creation of a secure anchor point at the top of the route can be more complex if it involves securing into the ice (e. g. it may require the creation of an Abalakov thread anchor point).