How to Climb a Multi-Pitch Sport Route

Rock formations can be thousands of feet tall. When climbers attempt to ascend these formations, the routes are often much longer than the length of the rope. In order to safely reach the summit, climbers reuse the rope repeatedly. Each length of the rope is called a "pitch."

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 2 Climbing harnesses
• 2 Pair of Climbing shoes
• 2 Climbing helmets (strongly recommended)
• Dynamic climbing rope (for multi-pitch routes, eHow recommends 10mm, 70m rope)
• 2 Belay Devices
• 2 Locking Carabiners
• 4 Slings
• 4 Carabiners
• Quickdraws (consult the route in a guidebook for the appropriate number)

1. The first pitch is climbed the same as a single pitch route:
   Put on your harness, tie in and make all your safety checks. Clip the quickdraws to the gear loops on your harness.

2. Instruct your belayer to also tie in to the rope on the opposite end.

3. 
    

   Both you and your belayer girth hitch two slings to your belay loops. Attach a carabiner to the end of each and clip to your gear loops. The belayer prepares as climber and belayer, because the roles will soon change.

4. Use commands to communicate with your belayer. As you climb, clip the rope to the quickdraws at each bolt. Make sure you are not Z-clipping or back-clipping.

5. When you reach the first bolted belay anchor, clip in just as if it were the end of the route.

6. Clip your slings in to the anchor as well. Weight the slings. Signal to your belayer that you are "Off Belay."

7. Pull up any excess rope. When you tug on the rope and there is no more slack, the second climber signals "That's me."

8. Set up the rope to belay off the quickdraws the same as top-roping. The trajectory is a bit different, but the mechanics are the same. Although you remain tied in, the roles now change. You are the belayer, and your partner becomes the climber.

9. The following climber cleans the gear from the route, collecting the quickdraws from each bolt as she climbs.

10. As you belay up your partner, lay the excess rope back and forth across your lap or your slings. It is important not to let the rope fall down the route, because it can get stuck on features of the rock. Dislodging a stuck rope is tricky and time consuming.

11. When the follower reaches the belay anchor, she clips in with her slings. She is now "Off Belay." Remove the rope from the belay device. Be extra careful not to drop your belay device for obvious reasons.

12. If the second climber is leading the second pitch, she keeps all the gear racked on her harness. If you are going to lead again, swap the gear and the rope. Be careful not to drop any gear. In addition to the danger of not having enough gear, you may drop it on someone below.

13. Continue climbing. Remember to double check all knots and setups throughout each belay change.

14. Repeat steps 4 through 13 for each pitch.

Tips & Warnings

• Most multi-pitch climbers opt to clip one or two quickdraws high on the anchor before beginning the second pitch. Then they thread the climbing end of the rope through the bottom carabiners. These draws act as a directional. If the climber falls before reaching the next bolt, the belayer is pulled up instead of down.
• Z-clipping occurs when a climber grabs a section of the rope below his last clip and reaches up to clip the next bolt. If you fall when Z-clipped, you will fall down to the last bolt clipped correctly. Such a fall good result in serious injury.
• Back-clipping occurs when a climber clips into a quickdraw backwards with his end of the rope against the rock. If you fall when back-clipped, you could fall across the gate of the carabiner and unclip yourself. Such a fall would likely result in serious injury.
• Be sure to check a climbing guidebook for the area in order to know the length of rope and number of quickdraws required to complete the climb.
• Climbing is an inherently dangerous sport. Seek expert instruction before participating in this sport. Most climbing gyms offer a wide range of classes taught by certified instructors.