Free climbing a route with the security of a rope from above

A rope that is passed through a fixed anchor at the top of a climbing wall or cliff, with each end tied to the climber and the belayer at the bottom. A top rope (with a watchful belayer) ensures that the climber is always protected from falling very far, and is thus a good way to learn to climb. "Top-roping" is the term for this type of climbing.

The situation where the belay point is above the climber. This describes most climbs in ‘climbing gyms'.