amount of new technical information won’t hurt. If you struggle to grasp technical concepts, don’t worry. You’ll get it. It might just take longer and require more repetition. If you’ve got outdoor climbing experience, you have a significant advantage over those who do not. You’ll be even more ahead of the game if you’ve followed and cleaned trad routes or set up removable top-rope anchors. If you’re transitioning from the artificial to the organic realm, you’ve got a lot of work to do. Indoor gym climbing only vaguely resembles climbing on real rock, and the mountain environment where the majority of trad areas exist is a unique setting unlike any other. In addition to their climbing practices, transitional climbers will benefit from cultivating other outdoor interests like backpacking to help develop their high country instincts.
If you’re in a hurry to take the sharp end on a traditional route, the guidance in this book may not work for you. But if you embrace the status of beginner and are patient enough to learn this unique and multifaceted craft at a moderate pace, you’ve got the right book. Just keep in mind the information here cannot replace the mentoring of a trained professional. Use the book to supplement other resources.
In the same vein, none of the information in this book is valuable without repeated application on the rock. You could memorize every last word ever published on trad leading, but without regular, hands-on practice, every trip to the crags will be like your first. By all means—read all the climbing literature you can get your hands on. Tie knots in your living room, and practice anchoring and self-rescue off your sun deck. Just don’t believe that those sessions will ever replace realtime experience on the rock.
For learning purposes, this book refers to traditional lead climbing synonymously with gear-leading. Also, the techniques described refer specifically to roped free climbing on rock, using a single lead line, unless otherwise stated. More details about the origin of trad free climbing and how it differs from other methods and styles are discussed in Chapter 1. In the context of modern climbing, it is necessary to describe sport climbing in order to define traditional climbing. A style or methodology doesn’t receive the label “traditional” unless it is the earlier standard, and a new and different trend (in this case, sport climbing) arises to define it as such. Comparisons help you differentiate the two styles.
This book relies on a linear approach to learning that emphasizes slow and steady progress with the guidance of a mentor or experienced trad climber. Chapters 1 and 2 explain where traditional leading fits into the realm of roped rock climbing as a whole, and details the psychosocial joys and challenges involved. After reading these chapters, you might ask yourself, do I have what it takes? Chapter 3 describes the hardware and tools you’ll need. Chapter 4 explains the process of transitioning from the gym to the outdoors, and Chapter 5 emphasizes technical skill building in low-risk environments. By the end of Chapter 6, you’ll be prepared for your first single-pitch lead without relying on a back-up top-rope.
Chapters 7 and 8 are devoted to more advanced trad lead skills, including multipitch techniques, and an introduction to the fundamentals of self-rescue. Chapter 9 provides information on knot and rope craft, while discussions of ratings, climbing etiquette, and impact and access issues are found in Chapter 10. Following the main text is an afterword that encourages you on your journey as a traditional lead climber and appendices, as well as a glossary of common climbing vernacular. Throughout the book, each time I introduce a technical term or jargon, it appears in bold italics, indicating that it’s defined in the glossary.
Some of the most valuable information in this book stems from the gleanings of several of America’s most talented traditional leaders, presented throughout the book in the form of advice and tales of their own learning. These contributors shed light on numerous facets of traditional leading, from partnerships to more technical information on placing gear, falling, and retreating.
The information presented in this book is not intended to be used as a set of protocols you can fall back on at every turn. Trad climbers are most successful when they alternate between protocol and judgment-based decisions. In your beginning years, it’s certainly wise to lean heavily toward protocol. But with more experience, your judgment and intuition will mature, giving you the ability to make wise and thoughtful assessments of each situation without relying as heavily on protocol. Book-smart novices expect to be safe on the rocks if, at every turn, they simply do what the protocol suggests. Although probably intelligent and talented, these folks are often some of the most dangerous climbers out there: they never allow their judgment and intuition to blossom. Eventually they run into a problem they don’t ever recall reading about. Though ready to initiate a canned solution, they are stumped when the solution requires logic and a combination of skills they possess.
Keep in mind that most of us are out there pursuing these techniques because we want to have fun. Don’t take yourself too seriously, laugh a lot, be safe, and enjoy the journey.
Chapter 1
Rock Climbing 101
Dave Nettle Collection
W hat is traditional (“trad”) climbing, and what is its relationship to sport climbing? To free climbing? To aid climbing? Where do leading and top-roping fit into the picture? Aspiring rock climbers currently entering the sport frequently ask these questions. To learn the answers, you can begin by examining roles within the typical climbing partnership, as well as by studying fundamental ascent systems and methods. But the paradigm doesn’t really come into focus without some sort of historical context. By exploring the recent evolution of the roped rock-climbing experience, you gain a general understanding of the most common techniques and styles used today.
ROLES & SYSTEMS
Leading is a roped ascent system with two people fulfilling roles as leader and belayer and, sometimes, follower. In another system known as top-roping, the partnership involves a climber and belayer.
Top-Roping
If you are the belayed climber in this system, a rope redirected through an anchor above protects you from a serious fall. While your anchored belayer might be situated above you if you are following a route, the belayer is more commonly below you via a yo-yo or “slingshot” arrangement. (See illustrations.)
An anchor is established atop a climb—no longer than half the distance of the length of the rope—for the yo-yo top-rope. A climber either leads the route (see “Leading”) or hikes up to access the summit. If the climber attains the top via hiking, he or she threads the rope halfway through the anchor and tosses the rope strands to the ground.
The belayer of a yo-yo arrangement is situated at the base of the route and threads a bight (or fold) of the rope through his or her belay device. The rope runs up through the anchor and back down to the climber who ties into the other end. The top-rope belayer takes in slack rope as the climber ascends. If the climber falls,
