Does the first climber do it bit by bit until those behind have a decent distance to climb? In my head they’re climbing using a rope that’s anchored 20 feet above them. If so, how does it get there?
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This is a bit complex because there’s different types of climbing, but I’ll try my best to ELI5… There’s “top rope,” “sport,” and “trad”.
For top rope you either hike up to the top, set up an anchor around a tree, large boulder, etc., and feed the rope through to the bottom, walk down (or rappel) and climb, or you start at the top and build your anchor and rappel down and climb back up.
For sport climbing you climb a route with things called “bolts” (ring/bracket things) set along it, and a pre-made anchor bolted at the top. As you climb, you use clips called “quickdraws” and put them through the bolts, then put the rope through the quickdraw. This means if you fall you will only fall the distance between you and the bolt, plus rope stretch.
For trad climbing you use things called “cams” which are basically a special quickdraw you place into a crack in the rock which expands so it doesn’t come out. You place these along the route as you go.
Then there’s multi-pitch climbing which means you climb a route much longer than the length of your rope, so you have to go in sections (pitches). I’ve never done multi-pitch but I think it’s mostly all climbed with trad gear. Basically the first person climbs it using cams, then sets up an anchor and the second person climbs up on top rope, removing the gear as they climb. Then you repeat until you’re at the top. I believe you would typically hike down from this type of climbing.
If you’ve never done it, you should totally go try climbing! It’s an excellent workout and mentally engaging because it’s like a puzzle figuring out how to get to the top. A climbing gym is a great way to give it a go without spending too much money, and it’s a great way to meet new people. In general I have found it to be a very welcoming and friendly community of people!
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