Top Rope Climbing?

I'm very new to outdoor climbing.  Was working out pretty regularly at my local climbing gym doing bouldering and top rope.

Curious why the "Partners" section of this site doesn't list top-rope as a thing you can search for.  Is TR that rare or seen as not real climbing or something?

I've been climbing a year and I'm still learning lead climbing. I've noticed that top roping is looked down on by lead climbers sometimes.  It does take longer to set up and break down.

Yet, at my local climbing spot 9 our of 10 are top roping.  Even my friends that can lead climb mostly top rope.  

Definitely subscribing to this. 

I don't think it's really looked down on. If you posted in that forum that you just want to follow or TR, nobody is going to rip you. You could teach a monkey to TR belay, so perhaps try the local zoo for partners? 

T Lego wrote: Definitely subscribing to this. 

I don't think it's really looked down on. If you posted in that forum that you just want to follow or TR, nobody is going to rip you. You could teach a monkey to TR belay, so perhaps try the local zoo for partners? 

LOL

You're probably right.  I've seen some monkey anchors out there.

T Lego wrote: Definitely subscribing to this. 

I don't think it's really looked down on. If you posted in that forum that you just want to follow or TR, nobody is going to rip you. You could teach a monkey to TR belay, so perhaps try the local zoo for partners? 

Not looked down upon but check out the zoo for partners eh?  

I was just curious why top-rope wasn't listed as an option or if there was some terminology I was missing.  

Matt Hughes wrote:

Not looked down upon but check out the zoo for partners eh?  

I was just curious why top-rope wasn't listed as an option or if there was some terminology I was missing.  

Yes, some climbers look down on top roping. Why? Because TR is seen as something new people do before they acquire more and different skills, and it is seen as not as bold since you don't have to risk a fall, and a lot of climbers are snobs. But you can find a climber who will turn their nose up at just about anything, so ignore 'em.

Why isn't there a TR option in the partner finder? It is not seen as a separate discipline. I suspect this is because toprope-only crags are pretty rare. Usually a crag with top rope potential will also have another way to access the top, either bolts or trad routes. People who are getting outside but are only willing or able to set up TRs from the top are also pretty rare for basically the same reason. You quickly run out of things to climb.

You can click toprope only in the route-finder tool, but be careful with this. Some of the routes can be set up on TR only after you lead an adjacent route. Not all routes listed as TR are accessible from the top.  

For the partner finder tool, I'd choose sport and list your grade as "follow" rather than lead. You can clarify in your personal description that you set TRs and are happy to lead a trip to local areas with lots of TR routes.  

I don't think there's any terminology you're missing. 

Matt Hughes wrote: I'm very new to outdoor climbing.  Was working out pretty regularly at my local climbing gym doing bouldering and top rope.

Curious why the "Partners" section of this site doesn't list top-rope as a thing you can search for.  Is TR that rare or seen as not real climbing or something?

I think the answer to your question depends on why you are asking. Some people do look down on toproping as a lesser form of climbing, but do you really care what others think? 

If your concern is having fewer partners to choose from, there are probably many others in your position. Be very clear (in your header) that you are looking for a TR partner.

Many routes need to be lead in order to put up a TR, so having solid lead belay skills will open up more potential partners and routes to climb.

Top roping sucks when the climber is having a very tight rope all the time. That's either aid, or someone's scared to fall a couple feet. Also, climbers flailing repeatedly, maybe even a whole group, wear down or polish the holds on the climb. Poodles Are People Too, Hemingway Buttress, Josh, is a perfect example. It's been TR'd to death.

That said, top roping with a bit of slack in the rope makes for a respectable and honest ascent. There's no shame in it at all. There's no aid from the rope, and if you can't do a move you fall two or three feet. Now so long as belayers - often at the climbers request - don't haul their climber up the rock, enabling them to flail, it's all good. If you can't do the route in some kind of style, try another. There's no shame in that either. There's no shame in making a quality attempt with the rope there to catch you, not to help you. Just keep it honest with a bit of slack in the cord, and don't wear the holds down with endless flailing. IMO.

Watch good climbers top roping Leave it to Beaver. The rope will be a little slack, and the climber is entirely on their own so far as doing the moves. 

I thought someone was going to mention how many more people TR solo than lead solo. That takes the people who just want to do some laps out of the TR partner finding market. But I dunno, that's a feeling without any actual numbers backing it up.

It is worth mentioning that while the climbing end of sport/trad following is the same as TRing, the belaying end is not. If you are only familiar with TR belaying, make that clear.

Kristian Solem wrote: [...] top roping with a bit of slack in the rope makes for a respectable and honest ascent. There's no shame in it at all. There's no aid from the rope, and if you can't do a move you fall two or three feet. 

I understand your style note. However, it's worth mentioning that the TR belayer should not be leaving extra slack in the rope when the climber is toward the bottom of the climb - maybe the first 10 feet or so. The ideal is that your climber can't feel any assist, but there is as little extra slack as possible.

I have seen multiple climbers get dropped to the ground unexpectedly on TR. It's a great way to twist an ankle or fall on your ass and bruise something. I think many new outdoor climbers (both when belaying and when climbing) are not aware of how much the rope will stretch.  Ropes used for outdoor climbing typically stretch considerably more than a beat-up gym rope. Some ropes have more elongation than others. The belayer should anticipate this especially with a long outdoor toprope. The more rope out between the belayer and climber, the more stretch there will be. The heavier the climber, the more stretch there will be too. 

Nothing wrong with TRing. Just make someone else lead et voilà you have a TR !!

Matt Hughes wrote: I'm very new to outdoor climbing.  Was working out pretty regularly at my local climbing gym doing bouldering and top rope.

Curious why the "Partners" section of this site doesn't list top-rope as a thing you can search for.  Is TR that rare or seen as not real climbing or something?

A few climbing spots with top-access notwithstanding, for the vast majority of climbing routes someone has to lead to “get the rope up there” for you to toprope.

In the partner finder you can set the “lead” grade to 5.0, and the “follow” grade to whatever you are able to toprope. That would give your would-be partners a clear idea of your abilities. 

Thanks for all the replies.  I'm very close to High Rocks in SE PA which has a lot of top climbing.  You can hook the rope up and literally walk up down a trail to get to the base.  But I definitely understand how that's probably not the norm in most places.