RockClimbingUtah

Traditional climbing, or Trad climbing, is a style of climbing that emphasizes the skills necessary for establishing routes in an exploratory fashion. Before the advent of sport climbing, the normal style of unaided rock climbing was what is now referred to as "traditional".

Trad climbing usually involves the leader ascending a section of rock while placing their own protective devices as he/she climbs. Route finding, effective gear placements, self control, and good down-climbing skills are essential. Normally, such climbs are not previewed or rehearsed on a top rope (with or without tension), and emphasis is placed on passing difficult sections on the first try. As a form of free climbing, only the limbs and body of the climber are used to effect upward progress, and protective devices are placed solely to catch the climber in the event of a fall.

Traditional climbing includes placement of all forms of protection, including bolts, while leading. In its purest form such placements are done without any aid from the rope. Bolting in traditional style requires standing on natural holds, drilling a hole (manual twist drills until mid 1970's, power drills thereafter) and hammering in a shaft and hanger, a difficult and time consuming process. Because of this difficulty and the once prevailing ethic (generally, pre-1980s in the U.S.) of minimizing bolts as they permanently mark the rock, traditional bolted routes often entail more distance between protection bolts than sport climbs. Not all bolted traditional climbs are “run out” between bolts; nevertheless, traditional climbing has now become associated with “bold,” “adventurous” if not “scary” climbing with minimal protection and the possibility of long falls. With the advent of power drills and changing climbing ethics (primarily during the 1970s and 1980's), climbers began placing bolts with sling tension from hooks on flakes and knobs (famous example: Bachar-Yerian 5.11c, Tuolumne Meadows, California), and eventually began placing them from the tops of cliffs on rappel to create so called "sport" routes.

Traditional and sport climbing (currently the two main categories of rock climbing styles) not only differ in means of protection, but means of making progress. In sport climbing, the climber may rest on tension after a fall or while rehearsing a difficult move, prior to completing a demanding sequence unaided. In the purest form of traditional climbing, resting on the rope during the ascent is eschewed, particularly after a fall.[1][2]

Overall, traditional climbing emphasizes the adventure aspect of rock climbing -- in fact, it is sometimes called "adventure climbing" in Australia; as such it contrasts with sport climbing, which emphasizes the athletic aspect.