Traverse (climbing)

A traverse is a lateral move or route when climbing; going mainly sideways rather than up or down. Traversing a climbing wall is a good warm-up exercise.

When moving laterally, the technique of crossing through is more efficient than shuffling. In this, the limbs are crossed so that the moves are longer and more fluid. The longer extension requires coordination between the hands and the feet to avoid over-extension of the upper or lower part of the body.

If two climbers are roped together for protection, the leader should secure the rope both before and after a difficult move when traversing. This enables the following climber to remove the anchorage before making the difficult move while still having good security from the anchor point which was placed after the move.

References

Glossary of climbing terms

This page describes terms and jargon related to climbing and mountaineering.

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