Lead Climbing

okay my friends and I have been having this discussion on lead climbing on where the rope needs to be when leading a route, either over a knee or between the legs? I have only been climbing a year or so and dont know that much but when i was just starting out my intructor told me to keep it over the knee. My buddy of mine has been climbing for a couple years now and he said just keep it between the legs.

Someone to shed some light on this would be nice.
Have a wonderful day and climb on.

There's no single rule that works in all situations. Just make sure to always position yourself such that if you were to fall you'd have the cleanest fall possible without the rope getting in the way. If you're in a situation where a fall could catch your leg or some other body part on the rope, there's a good chance you're in the wrong position. A basic understanding of physics can go a long way.

There is no single rule. I know a route that the crux is setup so your best foot is right on top of the bolt. It is stupid but sometimes you just have to deal with it and be ready to kick off so your foot doesn't get caught in case of a fall.

I would say most of the time the rope will be going through your legs but if you are traversing sideways through the leg could be bad. Just try to think through if I fall here where will my legs end up in relation to the rope when I fall.

You just don't want to fall and have your leg catch, flipping you, and the back of your head hitting the wall.

Default between your legs. Ask... "if i fall here, will the rope get caught on my legs?" If the answeris yes, it's in the wrong place.

Rule of thumb: the rope should never go behind your heel.

In general, between your legs when the rope is routing straight below you. When you start to traverse and this would put the rope behind your leg, then keep the rope in front of your leg.

ViperScale wrote: You just don't want to fall and have your leg catch, flipping you, and the back of your head hitting the wall.

I've only been leading rock for three years. Take that for what it's worth.

I agree about there's no good answer. I find that having the rope over the knee until the first piece is in or til i get to the first bolt puts the rope in a spot that won't be in the way after i clip the rope. I also like the rope over the knee if the route wanders.

Google backstepping lead falls... not backstepping climbing technique.