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General Climbing Discussion

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What is Sport and Trad? 15-Feb-2005 At 10:11:43 PM Susan

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Hi Everyone!

I've been having - err - discussions with a number of people as to the definition of 'sports' and 'trad' climbing.

Many people claim that a sports climb is one that is bolted, while a trad route is one on which one uses cams, nuts etc.

I disagree. To me, it's how you climb - not what gear you use. Look at it this way: which were used first - fixed gear like pitons and bolts - or removable gear like cams and nuts? If you read the history of climbing, you'll soon see that fixed gear has been around for a lot longer than removable gear like cams and nuts. In other words, it can be argued that bolts and pitons are more 'trad' than the more modern cam and nut.

To me, it's how you climb. Put simply - very simply - climbing from the ground up and putting gear in like cams, nuts - and putting quickdraws onto fixed gear like pitons and bolts - is 'trad'. 'Sports' on the other hand, is doing things like abseiling down and pre-placing gear - quickdraws onto fixed gear or pre-placing nuts, cams etc, and then climbing up and simply clipping onto the protection.

Really, there is more to it than this, but for the sake of brevity, I won't write an essay. I hope you know what I mean.

What do people think?