Does free climbing mean climbing without a rope?
Nope. Free climbing means using only your body to ascend a climb, while your equipment is only there for safety reasons. Climbing a rope in gym class, for example, is not free climbing. Bouldering is a type of free climbing, as are trad climbing and sport climbing. The opposite of free climbing is aid climbing. Often times, uneducated people use the term free climbing to mean climbing without ropes. What they actually mean, however, is free soloing.
