In rock climbing, redpointing means to free-climb a route from the ground to the top while lead climbing, after having previously practiced the route beforehand (either by hangdogging or top roping) or after having failed first attempt (i.e. falling or resting on the rope for artificial aid). Climbers will try to redpoint a route after having failed to onsight it (free climb the route on the first attempt with no falls and no prior information), or flash it (free climb the route on the first attempt with no falls but with prior information). The first successful redpoint of a route, in the absence of any prior onsight or flash, is recorded as the first free ascent (FFA) of that route. Description Climbers can rest during a redpoint ascent, but not using the rope or any artificial aids (e.g. they can hang off the holds, or use a kneebar). Where the climber falls during an attempted redpoint ascent (and are thus hanging off the rope), they must return to the very bottom of the climb, pull their rope free of the route, and completely re-start the ascent from scratch. This is also known as "climbing a route clean" (although it should not be confused with the broader topic of clean climbing). The first climber to complete a redpoint of a route, in the absence of any prior onsight or flash of a route, can claim to have made the first free ascent (FFA) of that route. Where the quickdraws are pre-placed into the protection bolts (i.e. the climber is just clipping in the rope on their lead), it is called "pinkpointing"; in practice, most climbs on extreme sport routes are really pinkpoints, as are most climbs in modern climbing competitions, but the term "pinkpoint" is less frequently used. Comparisons The repeated practicing involved in redpointing differs from the largely traditional climbing action of "headpointing" (i.e. practicing the route on a toprope before making the first ascent), and since the 1980s, the term has become largely exclusive to sport climbing routes (i.e. with protection bolts pre-fixed into the rock at regular intervals). While headpointing was once considered a lesser form of first free ascent in traditional climbing (and an FFA that had been headpointed would be asterisked as such), leading traditional climbers eventually followed the redpointing practices of the of sport climbers, and dispensed with the stigma associated with headpointing. Traditional climbers