Traditional climbing, or trad climbing, is a style of rock climbing in which a climber or group of climbers places all gear required to protect against falls (pitons, etc.), and removes it when a passage is complete. Characterising climbing as "traditional" distinguishes it from sport climbing in which all protection and anchor points are permanently installed prior to the climb typically while rappelling, and "free solo climbing" (a.k.a. "free soloing"), which does not use ropes or gear of any kind. However, protection bolts installed while lead climbing are also considered "traditional" as they were placed during the act of climbing from the ground-up rather than on rappel, especially in the context of granite slab climbing.
Before the advent of sport climbing in the United States in the 1980s, and perhaps somewhat earlier in parts of Europe, the usual style of unaided rock climbing was what is now referred to as "traditional". In trad climbing, a leader ascends a section of rock placing his or her own protective devices while climbing. Before about 1970 these devices were often limited to pitons; today they consist mainly of a combination of chocks and spring-loaded camming devices, but may less commonly include pitons which are driven with a hammer. John Long's 1989 technique manual How to Rock Climb (Chockstone Press) used the term "sport climbing" repeatedly in reference to what is now considered "traditional climbing".
Important features of trad climbing are a strong focus on exploration, and a strict dedication to leaving nature unblemished by older means of protection such as damage to the rock caused by use of pitons. This evolution in climbing ethics has been largely attributed to the efforts of Yvon Chouinard and many others, who pioneered the "leave no trace" ethic in climbing.
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The term "gear" in climbing generally refers to equipment used during climbs (except harness, shoes, chalk bags, and chalk). Gear or "protection" are mechanical devices that provide safety, either by allowing greater stability in making a move (as in the case of aid climbing) or by dampening force and reducing the distance of a fall. The suitability of individual types of gear depends on the surface and formation of the rock face. "Placing gear" denotes the act of setting a piece of gear into the rock face and then attaching the rope (via carabiner) before ascending higher. In the event of a fall, the gear acts as a catch-point for the rope, thus preventing the climber from hurtling to the ground. Being "run out" refers to the situation where the distance from the climber's position to the last piece of gear is far enough that the climber will receive little, if any, protection from a fall.
Nuts started being developed in the 1950s in the UK, with the original pieces being made from discarded machine nuts with slings threaded through them. These gradually developed into purpose built nuts.
Prior to about 1970 in the United States, climbing relied mainly on pitons; other types of gear such as nuts, Hexcentrics, Tricams and spring-loaded cams were largely unknown or did not exist. As other variants of climbing were not nominally in existence as well, all climbing was in effect "trad climbing" until the early 1980s when sport climbing emerged in Europe.
Since the 1970s, developments in protective gear have made climbing much safer and more dynamic. For example, nuts—removable pieces of metal which could be jammed into cracks to support weight during a fall but could be removed at the end of a climb—helped fuel trad climbing's growth in popularity and safety. Contemporary protective gear used in trad climbing consists of removable protective devices such as:
If a climber is soloing—climbing by him- or herself—the climber removes or "cleans" placed gear while rappelling ("rapping") back down the climb; if climbing with friends, the second person will clean the gear during his or her ascent up the "pitch". (For more slang and unique climbing-isms, see the glossary of climbing terms.)
In protecting the lead climber in both "trad" and "sport": Carabiners and slings are used to connect the protection gear to the climber's lead rope, so that in the event of a fall, the rope can be used (by the belayer below) to 'catch' the falling climber. Modern traditional climbs only occasionally have fixed gear (pitons or bolts), except in the case where cracks are lacking to place adequate removable gear. It is also considered bad style to install new protection bolts or pitons on existing climbs that can be completed without them.
A number of knots are required for traditional climbing, to create anchors, to tie in the climbers and even to be used during the climb.
When a climber has reached the top of a climb an anchor must be set up to allow the leader to bring up the seconder safely. An anchor has a number of different components which should be put together in a redundant way to make the anchors safe.
In some cases a traditional climb may be too difficult or there might not be enough time to complete the climb before dark. The lead climber may decide to abort the climb (or "bail") and descend to the ground before reaching the top. To do this an anchor is set up mid-climb and whatever protection that is required to ensure a safe descent is left on the rock after the climbers abseil to the ground.[1]
A number of types of rock are climbed on each with a varying degree of suitability for traditional climbing. Some examples are Sandstone, Granite and Limestone.
While it may be more dangerous than sport climbing, traditional climbing leaves little or no trace of climbing, which preserves the natural environment of the cliff face (though many significant first ascents in the U.S. done with a combination of permanent anchors or bolts and crack fitting hardware were termed "traditional" when the term was first coined—see climbing styles). Sport climbing, on the other hand, requires bolts to be permanently drilled into the rock face providing the exclusive or primary means of protection. The difference between sport and traditional or "trad" styles has caused some periodic contention in the rock climbing community as the respective camps debate the merits of the differing styles.
Other ethics do exist, such as no pre-placed protection (i.e., putting the gear in, then climbing). Trying to climb routes onsight (ground up, no prior knowledge of the route) is also considered good ethics. However the ethics are just ethics, and a route can be climbed in any style so long as it does not monopolize a route or damage the rock.