Criterions in multi-pitch climbing to be considered a free ascent
How free climbing compares to other styles of climbing is well explained in the question Bouldering vs aid climbing vs free climbing vs free solo climbing and more specifics are given in What does it mean to free a climbing route?. A recent answer to the question What is a “sling belay?” mentioned that such belays are considered "aid" in big-walling and makes an ascent non-free. First, I do not yet get the reasoning on how this is aid, for me it is just belaying which is fine. In general:
What specific rules like the one mentioned are there, that make an ascent non-free?
As this is often not uniform in area and time, any elaboration on where and when certain rules apply are appreciated.
This is not really relevant to a casual climber (as long as I do not put any force on the belay chain, for me I am free), but records and first ascent play an important role in professional climbing. Especially nowadays with more and more sponsorship involved, "regulation" and comparability are needed and I would like to understand the current "state of the art" of free climbing.
1 answer
It is not the sling that is the issue, its using the sling to form a hanging belay.
Using a hanging belay allows the climber to sit down and have a rest at any location on the wall (i.e. its no different to loading a piece of Pro to take a rest when on the climb), as opposed to having to position the belay where the belay is purely providing protection. At the extreme, this rest allows a climber to complete a climb they might otherwise be incapable of without it - and therefore considered aid by some people. Others argue that as you are not advancing, it is not assisting you in making the climb, it should not be considered aid.
As far as the debate as to is it Aid or Free and what the answer is- the SE format does not suit the kind of discussions needed to resolve it.
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/9764. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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