Where to go around Boulder to get comfortable falling on trad gear
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The time has come for me to just take some falls on trad gear. I'm looking for an area around Boulder where I can do this safely (read: top rope for backup, good gear placements, good position for my belayer, clear fall line, etc.). Any thoughts? |
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i wouldn't really recommend happy hour, as a lot of the routes are over-featured (ie not steep, have ledges or corners, etc). what sort of grades are we talking? if less than 5.10, most of the routes in those ranges in the boulder area will require careful consideration of the same problem. |
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Here's some good advice to read before deciding to fall on traditional climbs Advice to the beginning trad leader around falling--don't;page=unread#unread |
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Practice falling on trad gear wont help you. It will mess up your cams and fix your nuts. If you're scared, double up on pieces and back everything up as your leading until you feel confident in your placements. There are some smaller roofs in the SSV (on Observatory Rock, etc.) you could play with if you insist, but don't waste your time in my opinion. |
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If you aren't comfortable leading trad, and worried about falling, then I'd do a few things- |
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I was going to suggest a good therapist... |
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Evan S wrote:Practice falling on trad gear wont help you. It will mess up your cams and fix your nuts. If you're scared, double up on pieces and back everything up as your leading until you feel confident in your placements. There are some smaller roofs in the SSV (on Observatory Rock, etc.) you could play with if you insist, but don't waste your time in my opinion.It helped me after spending three days taking Arno's falling and commitment class...it was a pretty awesome 3 days! If you were to avoid a practice fall because it might mess up your gear then you might be afraid of messing up your gear in addition to falling on it. Fun! |
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Agree with this being a bad practice, mileage on easy terrain is the best way to get prepared for gear climbing.Falls will happen. |
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wankel7 wrote: It helped me after spending three days taking Arno's falling and commitment class...it was a pretty awesome 3 days! If you were to avoid a practice fall because it might mess up your gear then you might be afraid of messing up your gear in addition to falling on it. Fun!I guess I've taken enough I wasn't planning for, and therefor have a different view. I don't care about my gear, it's cheap enough, I just want it in prime shape in case it actually has to save my life. |
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I just chant "leader must not fall" as I navigate tricky sections. And when I do fall, well I sure do hope that last piece was not just mental pro. |
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Diving board. |
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JonathanHillis wrote:I just chant "leader must not fall" as I navigate tricky sections. And when I do fall, well I sure do hope that last piece was not just mental pro. In all seriousness I am a relatively new trad leader and I would not practice taking whippers on my gear. If it is cheap you should probably invest in better gear. My rack is far from cheap, matter of fact it is the second biggest investment in my life right behind my car and gaining. I treat all of the pieces like babies. I do want them to be in top shape when I do need my life saved so I don't whip on them "just to be sure of my gear"By cheap, I mean an $80 cam is nothing compared my life or $30,000 in medical bills. |
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I understand your use of the word cheap... My point is that I pay a lot of money for my gear, I baby it, and because of that I expect it to hold me when I fall. Taking whippers on it is not going to build confidence in it. The only thing that will build confidence in my gear is solid placements. I slap a tri cam in give it a jerk and climb above it knowing that it is bomber. Because really you coulld place a hundred pieces and whip on them and they hold, then whip on one with a bit of a run out and it fail, purely because the placement was a little different. |
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Yes, place anchors from ground level, put a sling on it and bounce test. Wear a helmet and don't look at the piece while testing it. If it pops, it will come out like a sling shot. |
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"If you want to learn to place gear, suggest building anchors near the ground, then move to aiding some pitches. |
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If you don't trust your gear, go do a few clean aid pitches. You'll have to hang on every piece, quickly building your confidence in what works and what doesn't. A lot of placements look okay when your new and don't think your gonna actually fall (while on lead) - 'til you realize that you actually might, then of course, your perspective changes. |
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I heard you ask a question about taking your trad climbing to the next step. I'm rather surprised at some of the responses. It appears that some are assuming you are not ready to start leading harder climbs via the conservative minded question you asked. Assuming that what was written above in feedback by all the other contributors as steps in the progress of learning to climb safely have already been done, and you feel you have sufficient mileage practicing to step it up a notch then do just that, STEP IT UP. Find a climb that test your onsight ability, has good pro, is maybe on the steeper side for safety and just go for it. That is the "LEAP OF FAITH". To reccomend appropriate areas or climbs would require the grade that makes you think you are going to fall. I fall on gear all the time, on small gear and it works, every time. I have never pulled a piece in 18 years, but we all have have different experiences. |
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Until you have actually fallen on gear you haven't fallen on gear. Work on placement on the ground: angle of rope travel, scenario's, slinging gear properly, etc. Then clean, clean, clean. I think you get more knowledge cleaning gear than you get from falling on it. Pay your dues on the belay ledge and then get on the sharp end, on a climb that you aren't going to fall or get all jimmy legged on and have at it. OJT is the best teacher. |
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I learned to trad climb through a college class that dealt with "Technical Anchor Building." The final involved building a three piece anchor and loading it with 500+Lbs. I placed so much gear and had a ton of evaluations/advice... It was amazing. If you can find something like this-you ought to take advantage of such. As with the posts prior, placing gear from the ground level is great-even do it while camping, find a rock that will take gear and play around-see what happens. |
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I wouldn't take 100 practice falls onto my gear, but don't see a problem with some practice falls. I don't know your financial situation, but for most, damaging an $80 cam would be a very small price to pay to get rid of a fear a falling. |