Simul climbing

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Part of a series on
Climbing
Simul climbing on the traverse of the Aiguilles d'Entrèves (AD 4c)
Lists
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Types of rock climbing
Aid Big wall Multi-pitch Bouldering Highball Competition Speed Free Sport Traditional Solo Free solo Deep-water solo Rope solo Top roping
Types of mountaineering
Alpine Mixed Via ferrata Himalayan Alpine style Expedition style Ice Dry-tooling Scrambling Hillwalking
Other types
Buildering Canyoning Crane Grass Commercial Parkour Pole Rock hopping Rooftopping Roof hacking Slide Tree
Key actions
Abseiling Belaying Leading Redpointing Jumaring Self rescuing Simul climbing Traversing Techniques
Key terms
Anchor First ascent FFA FFFA Grade Route Beta Guide Pitch
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Simul climbing, also known as climbing with a running belay,^[1] is a climbing method or style where all the climbers climb at the same time while tied into the same rope. Protection is placed by the first member of the rope team and the last member removes the pieces of gear. The length of rope used during simul climbing varies but is often between 15–30 metres (50–100 ft). In most cases, the climbing team maintains multiple pieces of protection between them to prevent a system failure if one of the pieces was to fail. Usually, a belay device is not used. However, the first climber may be belayed by the second until enough rope is out for the leader to avoid a ground fall. Similarly, the leader may use a belay device as the second approaches a belay station to avoid the potential for a large fall.