The term, “trad climbing” refers to the traditional style where climbers place their own gear in the rock for protection instead of relying on bolts already placed along the route. The protection pieces, or “pro”, are placed in openings in the rock—so trad routes tend to follow lines with cracks or seams.
Early climbers used natural features like knobs and horns for protection. They also used pitons, which are steel pins with an eyelet that were hammered into a crack and then clipped to the rope with a carabiner.
Hammering and removing pitons can chip pieces of rock off the wall. Over time, widespread piton use left its mark on popular routes with cracks pocketed by piton scars and actually becoming wider from all the damaging climber traffic.
In the late 1960s, American climbers began using removable protection that didn’t damage the rock. First developed by British climbers, they were called “nuts” because early models were made by attaching wire loops to machine nuts. Once placed in a constriction within a crack, a nut will hold in place if a climber falls. The second climber can then easily remove it when they clean the pitch.
Bolts were originally used to protect blank sections of rock that did not have cracks for pitons. Using a hammer and hand drill, climbers drilled holes in the rock to install bolts. This bolting was typically done while on lead once in a suitable stance. Routes established in this style often have longer spaces between bolts than modern sport climbing routes.
Pitons, nuts, and bolts are all types of passive protection. These pieces are fixed in place to hold if a lead climber falls. Once set, passive pro stays put until removed. Nuts are the most common type of passive protection for trad climbing.
Nuts are used in vertical cracks and wedged into constrictions. They are also called chocks because they wedge into cracks like a chockstone. Modern nuts have a chock made from aluminum, brass, or copper that’s attached to a steel cable loop. They come in a range of sizes for different sized cracks.
The most common type of active protection is the spring-loaded camming device (SLCD), such as the Black Diamond Camalot. These feature spring-loaded lobes that can be retracted to enter a crack and then push outward on the walls of a crack to stay in place. When a climber falls, the load force increases the camming force of the lobes and the SLCD stays in its placement.
Most trad climbers’ racks contain a mix of nuts and SLCDs. Nuts work great in vertical seams and thin cracks where an SLCD may not fit. For wider cracks, a single SLCD will protect a greater range of crack sizes compared to large nuts—so climbers typically use nuts for smaller cracks and SLCDs for larger cracks.
Trad climbing has an increased level of risk because climbers are placing their own protection. Climbers are responsible for assessing that risk and choosing what they want to climb. Keep climbing areas safe and inclusive places for all to enjoy. The Access Fund has great information on best practices for the crag. And if you’re interested in trying rock climbing with an experienced professional, then check out our guided climbing trips below.