The article was written by my friend and colleague Peter mason.

Headpointing is leading a climb on gear that has already been worked, or practiced, on toprope. There is a play on words with the more common “redpointing,” meaning a climb realized after multiple tries. Headpointing is the result of climbers seeking new ways climb in areas where the ethics prohibit the practice of bolting; common to sport climbs throughout Europe. In Great Britain and America, many climbing areas strictly forbid the placement of expansion bolts under the premise that they cause permanent damage to the rock. Expansion bolts require drilling holes into the crag, and can be unsightly, as they are left in place, and are metallic silver. (No mention of the unsightliness of white chalk splotches in climbing areas, though eventually these may be washed away or cleaned…) The result of the bolting ban led climbers seeking routes outside of the easily protected cracks to resort to headpointing.

When a route is difficult physically for a certain climber, and hard to protect, soloing the route or working a ground-up style ascension becomes very dangerous and potentially mortal. Climbers wishing to do a route install topropes to practice the route, learn all the moves, and eventually lead the route with a prior knowledge of what awaits them, at least physically, on the crag above. The mental game is another story.
When is it ok to try and lead a route? When you toprope it successfully every time? 3 out of 5 times? This is obviously the leader’s choice, but one can imagine that a route lead from the ground up on sketchy or non-existant protection will engage the leader not only physically but mentally as well, as a fall entails serious injury or death. This adds a certain mental control to the climbing game, which, while always part of climbing, is more easily ignored with a fat bolt at belly button height- a climber can try whatever move he wishes in total security. Three meters above a nest of crappy wires and eight meters off the deck- a climber can’t help but think of the possibilities…
Headpointing originated in Great Britain and spread to the states, but seems to be non-existent here in France. To be fair, the abundant limestone doesn’t lend itself to gear like granite or sandstone- imagine the headpointing possibilities…. The continental ethic, however, allows for the free reign of sport climbing ethics, and in many places even the cracks are bolted. The advantage- all climbs can be enjoyed in relative safety with a minimum of equipment. The disadvantage- those who look for a bit more adventure, and who find the bolts harmful, distasteful, and unsightly are out of luck. There is also a certain pleasure in applying a “leave no trace” ethic in the vertical world; impossible when climbing on fixed gear.
Is our recreation worth the permanent altercation of a limited natural resource? Can we find creative solutions to ethical issues? Is climbing meant to be a purely physical endeavour? Or can the mental aspects be just as important? Is climbing meant to be safe? Why lead a dangerous route at all? To each climber his or her own opinion. The practice of headpointing puts these questions under focus, as it privileges not only what may be challenging physically, but also mentally, and offers solutions. Even if one never leads one’s intended route, toproping is (usually) both safe and fun, and a day at the crags is never a day wasted, regardless.