Free climbing is a type of rock climbing

Rock climbing

Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...

 in which the climber uses only hands, feet and other parts of the body to ascend, employing ropes and forms of climbing protection

Protection (climbing)

To make climbing as safe as possible, most climbers use protection, a term used to describe the equipment used to prevent injury to themselves and others.-Types of climbing:...

 to prevent falls only.

In contrast, free soloing

Free solo climbing

Free solo climbing, also known as free soloing, is a form of free climbing where the climber forgoes ropes, harnesses and other protective gear while ascending and relies only on his or her physical strength, climbing ability, and psychological fortitude to avoid a fatal fall...

 uses no aids of any kind for protection or ascent while aid climbing

Aid climbing

Aid climbing is a style of climbing in which standing on or pulling oneself up via devices attached to fixed or placed protection is used to make upward progress....

 employs ropes, protection, and direct aids to pull or stand upon such as jumar

Jumar

An ascender is a mechanical device used for ascending on a rope. One such device is a Jumar, named after the Swiss factory which developed the first tool for sale in 1958. The device's name also leads to the term Jumaring for the process of using such a device...

s to make upward progress on extremely sheer vertical surfaces.

Used as an umbrella term, "free climbing" spans four subsets of climbing styles: traditional

Traditional climbing

Traditional climbing, or trad climbing, is a style of rock climbing in which a climber or group of climbers places all gear required to protect against falls , and removes it when a passage is complete...

, sport

Sport climbing

Sport climbing is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors fixed to the rock, and possibly bolts, for protection,...

, free soloing and bouldering

Bouldering

Bouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad so that a fall will not result in serious injury. It is typically practiced on large natural boulders or artificial boulders in gyms and outdoor urban areas...

.
The method involves a "leader" climbing a route from the ground up.