UKC

Have come across this term on several climbing sites. Is it a aid climbing term, for when the leader frees a pitch and the second jumars up the rope? Or something else?

Silly suggestions as well as sensible ones welcomed.

Cheers

Fraser

In reply to Removed User:

I think it's a slightly sarcastic term meaning it's okay to pull on gear to get you past sketchy bits of climbing, but the majority of the climbing is as per normal.

In reply to Richard: At a guess you are right, thats how we used it in the Alps back in the 60's

In reply to Removed User:

It means climbing by pulling directly on aid, though not necessarily using aiders and all the other stuff, so your feet are climbing free, but your hands ain't!
And it's usually your own natural pro only, not usually pegs or bolts.

In reply to Al Evans:

Google seems to agree:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hs=&q=%22french+free%22+climbing

Reading all those old climbing books wasn't in vain!

In reply to Removed User: Cheers folks. You learn something new everyday!

In reply to Removed User: "French free" means pulling on gear--whether fixed or placed--to get past a hard section.It arose out of the Alpine ethic of "speed is safety", so virtually "anything goes" if it allowed you to climb faster. Since for many years on the Continent(basically 1940s thru the early '70s at least)crags were seen in most areas as merely practice for "real'--i.e. alpine, climbing, this practice was utilized on them as well. The French even had a phrase for it "tire clou"--I believe, and you would see routes or moves described with "T.C." in guidebooks.Nowadays "obligitoire" has a similar implication, meaning the grade of the hardest move that you can't "frig" your way past.

In reply to Removed User:

A lot of swiss climbs wich have one hard move that stands out from the rest of the climb will be given 2 grades; one if it's done completely free, another for pulling on a bit of gear to get you over the hard move. It's a good system, means you don't look at an amazing long climb then get put off because it's got one hard move on it you might not be able to do (also good if you're second is pants, just don't tell them that).