Traverse (climbing)

In climbing and mountaineering, a traverse is a section of a climbing route where the climber moves laterally (or horizontally), as opposed to in an upward direction. The term has broad application, and its use ranges from describing a brief section of lateral movement on a pitch of a route, to large multi-pitch climbing routes that almost entirely consist of lateral movement such as girdle traverses that span the entire rock face of a crag, or mountain traverses that span entire ridges connecting chains of mountain peaks.

Long traverses in rock climbing and alpine climbing may require special climbing techniques (e.g. a pendulum or a tension traverse), and pieces of climbing equipment (e.g. ascenders) to manage the risks of the lead climber and/or the following (or 'second') climber falling far off the route. Long traverses place increased pressure on the abilities of the following climber than on a normal climb. Traversing is a regular feature in bouldering, and is also a popular rock-climbing training technique on indoor climbing walls.

Notable traverses include the 4,500-metre El Capitan Girdle Traverse on El Capitan, the world's longest rock route; the Hinterstoisser traverse on the Eiger, which was the key to the famous 1938 Heckmair Route; and the Fitz Roy traverses (both directions) of the Cerro Chaltén Group, which are considered some of the hardest 'mountain traverses' ever completed. Climbers consider the 'Everest-Lhotse traverse', and the even harder 'Everest-Lhotse-Nuptse traverse', as some of the unfinished "holy grails" of mountaineering.