The most common type of rock climbing is called Clean Climbing (also called “trad” for traditional). It requires the “leader” to begin climbing the rock first. The leader wears a harness that fits snuggly around her legs and waist. As she moves up the rock face, she ascends a route where she places temporary anchors or “stoppers” into cracks in the rock wall. Her partner below, referred to as a “belay,” feeds her the rope a bit at a time so there is no slack in the rope. The leader scans the rock looking for naturally-occurring cracks