Our Roped Area
Top-Rope Climbing
WHAT IS TOP-ROPING?
Top-roping (otherwise known as bottom-roping) is another great way to keep things interesting, pushing your strength, stamina, and technique to yet another level. A top-rope is a pre-fixed rope threaded through a strong anchor point at the top of the climb, with both ends on the ground. The climber is attached to one end of the rope, while the other end is threaded through a belay device and continually adjusted in order to remain reasonably taut as the climber makes progress. Having reached the anchor point the climber is lowered back to the ground by the belayer (source: BMC).
TOP-ROPING AT REDPOINT
Get your harness, shoes and chalk at the ready! Redpoint Worcester offers a massive 1000m2 climbing space, housing 45 top-ropes and over 135 routes which are tailored to offer a wide variety of top-rope climbs for all skill levels.
Fear not, if you are a novice and you are uncertain about belaying or what knots are safe to climb with, we offer great courses tailor-made for new climbers. So you can learn all the basics and quickly build your confidence so you can start climbing to new heights!
Forgot or don’t have any equipment? Redpoint have you covered, we hire harnesses, climbing shoes and chalk bags. We also stock a small supply of climbing essentials at reception, sure to keep you going through your session.
LEAD CLIMBING
WHAT IS LEAD CLIMBING?
Now here comes the challenge! Lead climbing requires strength, stamina, technique and mindboggling confidence. Here the lead climber trails the safety rope from the ground upwards, clipping it into quickdraws as progress is made. Lead climbing is thus both more exciting and inherently riskier than top roping or “seconding” a climb, and it should never be forgotten that an attentive and skilled belayer is essential. Communication is important, often distilled to curt unambiguous commands such as “slack!” when extra rope is required by the leader (probably in order to clip the rope through a quickdraw), or “take-in!” usually meaning that the leader is nervous or about to be airborne (source: BMC).
LEAD CLIMBING AT REDPOINT
We have a range of slabs, overhangs and even a crack to test your lead climbing skills. Redpoint Worcester offers a great variety of lead climbs with over 150 lead routes ranging from 3+ to 7c in grade difficulty. The highest route at Redpoint spans up to 14 meters and all lead climbers are required to use a minimum rope length of 30 meters.
Want to learn to lead climb?
Redpoint Worcester offers comprehensive lead climbing lessons with fully qualified lead climbing instructors. These are suitable for those who have a reasonable amount of climbing experience using top-ropes and can competently belay. For those wishing to take full advantage of these lead climbing sessions, we recommend a confident top-roping grade of 5a or above.