godan verb (-ru)
climb up by holding on; shin up
Describes climbing up something such as a rope, pole, or cliff by gripping and pulling oneself along, often with a sense of clinging or inching upward.
ロープを伝って登る。
Climb up a rope.
彼は崖を伝って登った。
He climbed up the cliff, clinging to it.
よじ登る also means to climb up, often with effort, but 伝って登る emphasizes moving along a surface or rope by holding on, while よじ登る can be used for scrambling up something like a tree or wall.
Compound of 伝って (the te-form of 伝う, 'to go along, to cling to') and 登る ('to climb'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the combination naturally expresses climbing by holding onto something.