Beginning Trad

The best way to learn trad imho is to follow a good leader. See how they place their pro, when they put slings on their pieces to avoid rope drag and walking cams, see how they setup their belays, how they rack their gear, and how they go about route finding. There is a lot more to leading trad then just placing gear. Setting up a safe belay and route finding are two very important skills. When you do start leading I suggest climbing well below your limit on routes with very obvious lines with good pro. Single pitch trad routes with big trees on top for belays are great places to learn trad without the pressure of setting up a belay with gear.

Like DD said, find a good leader and follow them up some routes. playing with gear on the ground can really help also. Gear is a funny thing. just about everyone will reccomned something different. climb on other peoples gear to see what YOU like before buying.
I also agree with leading well below your limit at 1st (and most of the time on trad) 11 mile has some awesome 5.5 routes you can start on. Its getting a bit cold to climb up there, but lemme know if you'd like help.

Another few thoughts. Be very careful about assuming a 5.7 trad route will be similar to a 5.7 sport route. It often takes a lot of energy and is very easy to get pumped when you stop to put in pro. As you learn, you will get faster at it but at first you often pick the wrong size cam or nut and having to re-rack it and get off another can really get the pump going. Also, be very very wary about hanging on your gear if you get tired as is the norm in sport climbing. The word "take" is not part of normal trad climbing and is very risky. Maybe it's just me but I am old school (leader doesn't fall school) and don't like to ever weight my trad pro unless it is absolutely necessary. But, ultimately, trad climbing opens up the wonderful world of multi-pitch climbing.

Thanks for the advise.

Anykineclimb; we will deffinatally take you up on the help, we haven't met many people who climb and are willing to help out newbies. we could use all the advise and knowledge we can get. We have never climbed in 11 mile, we mostly climb down at Red Rocks and Castlewood Canyon. Let me know if you would willing to show us the ropes...

I know a lot of people say just go out and start following a good leader. But would you learn scuba diving by getting some tanks, etc. and start following around somebody who was a good scuba diving? From someone with over 30 years of climbing experience, go out and get some professional instruction. That is how I started. I would highly recommend you sign up for the Intro to Climbing program held during the Red Rocks Rendezvous 2008. _____________________________________________________________________ Support the Red River Gorge Climbers' Coalition. Join the RRGCC's growing group of friends on MySpace.

Take a class in addition to finding a good leader. Finding a class is easier than finding a good leader. Also following a trad lead is not always the best place to closely observe gear placement. Most of the time while climbing you are primarily concerned with not coming off the rock. The class is also a safer environment to experiment. It never hurts to have a little foundation knowledge before you follow someone, that way you have an idea of what you are looking at, and a better determination of whether your leader is indeed good.

I took the womens' trad seminar at Red Rocks Rendezvous last year. I really got a lot out of the instruction on gear placement, building anchors, etc. But it would never take the place of FOLLOWING A GOOD LEADER. I guess the question is, who IS a good leader to follow, merely someone who climbs well, or someone who teaches well? It almost seems like a 'chicken or the egg' sort of scenario to me. I was following a good leader for several months before the class, and I feel that I got a lot more out of the class because I knew what she was talking about. If you've never done it before, the mass of information can be overwhelming! Its good to have a point of reference when talking about kilonewtons, lobes, vectors, etc. 'Where the rubber meets the road' kind of stuff is what you pick up when you follow someone.

I recently started trad climbing about 2 1/2 years ago. Luckily, I had a number of experienced friends who took me under their wing and taught me everything that I needed to know.

A few thoughts:

- Following an experienced leader can be helpful if you use it as an opportunity to see what 'good' placements look like.

- Climbing well below your limit will allow you to place gear from comfortable stances and focus more on learning to place than worrying about getting tired out climbing.

- A class is probably a good idea if you don't have many people to climb with who are experienced.

- I found that a couple of good books can be helpful for some background on gear, placements and anchors. Freedom of the Hills, Rock Climbing: Mastering Basic Skill and Climbing Anchors (by John Long) are all great books.

- Finally, on the question of hanging on gear - I generally try to climb everything clean, but occasionally you do get pumped out and I find it not a problem to take on a good piece of gear.  If I'm going to place a piece that I can take a long fall on, I sure as hell better be able to weight it! 

 Hope that is helpful!

Jon St. John

Get the latest climbing weather, where you want it! Visit http://www.climbingweather.com

Thanks for all the great info. I think we will take a class a little closer to home (Colorado Springs, CO)

Two more questions;

what about starting a beginers rack? what types of items are needed usually? we will wait to collect it but it would be nice to know how much this is going to cost us. We have a one year old so we will have to start saving! :)

Anyone know a good leader/teacher in the colorado springs area that would be into showing us the ropes?

THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE INFO!!!!!

I have been following trad leaders for a few years and this year dove into leading myself. My rack is slim but gets me by: a set of black diamond stoppers, some of the larger hexes, some tricams (pink, brown and red) and I'm slowing growing my c4 camelots collection. The size cams you choose will depend on where you climb, so get advice on that. This is the most expensive part of your rack. Once you get a set that meets your criteria, you'll want to double up on the most popular sizes. You probably want at least 6 and then some of the smaller active camming devices, either TCU's or C3s or aliens. Oh, and from the beginning you will need slings, a cordalette, and extra locking biners for building anchors, and many many alpine style runners. As I'm learning to place my own gear, I place a LOT, and sometimes run out of draws/runners. So you should have at least a dozen! Buy John Long's Anchors book (2nd ed) for the latest on building anchors. I found that the best time to take a class was after you spend time following a leader so you know what to expect, and are commited to learning. Take a class with just a few participants, rather than a clinic. I did last summer at Seneca Rocks and it was the best thing I could have done. Afterwards, I took a clinic that reinforced what I had learned in my class.

It seems everybody here is giving great advice. I recently started following on trad leads with a leader. I haven't done a lot yet, but I am learning. I would encourage you to find somebody willing to teach you. I am not sure of Co. Springs has a mountaineering group you can join like we have in North Texas (but I have they do as I might be moving there soon) but they would be good to hook up with, that is where I have meet many trad leaders.

Trad is a totally different experience and from what I can tell really opens up an entirely new realm of climbing. There is so much more you can climb once you start trad. A few weeks ago I was up three pitches on Quartz Mountain in Oklahoma and was just blown away. It was a point I would have never seen on sport. I myself am excited about learning. I hope you can find somebody.