Too early to start?

I probably led close to a hundred pitches on gear before I ever climbed sport. I don't think sport climbing will really help you at all in the beginning stages. When you first start leading trad you will be climbing stuff you aren't going to fall off of any way. Once you get proficient at placing gear (preferably verified by an experienced climber/mentor), you can start to up the grades to the point where you're actually falling on gear and learning to trust it.

AT THAT POINT, sport climbing might actually be helpful since you will be climbing stuff hard enough that the movement skills / physical training from sport will have some carry over.

Of course there are also some parts of trad climbing that sport climbing won't really help, like crack climbing. A couple weekends ago I watched a 5.12 sport climber get totally shut down by a 5.8 hand crack at Jtree. Once he learns to jam I'm sure he'll crush but all the hangboarding in the world won't you do any good until you learn the techniques.

Ryan Watts wrote: A couple weekends ago I watched a 5.12 sport climber get totally shut down by a 5.8 hand crack at Jtree.

I started out on trad years ago , with a dude who climbed trad , same for aid climbing , same with Ice climbing .

Not one of them was a guide or crusty old mentor . Just plain old folk who climbed.

I didn't know of or care about sport back then .

Trad climbing is not rocket science , it's not some mystical undertaking taught by zen masters to only the chosen few , as much as most would like you to believe. Anybody with half a brain and at least one ball can trad climb . However It takes two balls to climb really hard trad though .

Placing gear is no big mystery ether, if you want to know the quickest way to learn how good your gear placements are try some top roped aid on a few hard lines , this will speak volumes to you with immediate feed back on the quality of your placements.

If aid climbing taught me anything it was how to judge a placement well and to
Immediately tell which nut, hex, tricam or cam regardless of the brand / style fit the placement in front of my nose.

Just my .02

iceman777 wrote:I started out on trad years ago , with a dude who climbed trad , same for aid climbing , same with Ice climbing . Not one of them was a guide or crusty old mentor . Just plain old folk who climbed. I didn't know of or care about sport back then . Trad climbing is not rocket science , it's not some mystical undertaking taught by zen masters to only the chosen few , as much as most would like you to believe. Anybody with half a brain and at least one ball can trad climb . It takes two balls to climb really hard trad though . Placing gear is no big mystery ether, if you want to know the quickest way to learn how good your gear placements are try some top roped aid on a few hard lines , this will speak volumes to you with immediate feed back on the quality of your placements. If aid climbing taught me anything it was how to judge a placement well and to Immediately tell which nut, hex, tricam or cam regardless of the brand / style fit the placement in front of my nose. Just my .02

"Just get out and climb."

Seriously- This is all you need to do. You will learn placements and confidence in your placements as you do it more. Forget the rest, just get out there and do it. (But stay well within your means).

Thanks again everyone. Ya, as soon as it's not raining on a weekend, I'll be out climbing.

Not at all—I was climbing trad within 3-4 months of my first day in a gym, and even in retrospect I don't feel I was unsafe. I went out with mentors a couple times to confirm I was understanding gear placement, and then I was good to go.

Word ! VAGenius !

To Mr D.Buffum , Perhaps sir I did as anyone with the skills can indeed be a mentor, I guess what I was getting at was debunking the myth of " the crusty old fart" mentor .
As the first/last/only option .

My advice may not have covered all aspects involving getting into and out of trouble. My personal experience learning to climb in the mid eighties involved "thinking" myself out of having an epic. I cannot speak towards Noobs' ability or mental facility, but would hedge towards semi-resourceful evidenced by his willingness to take up trad climbing. When I gave advice to place as much gear on the ground, I was hoping that to be interpreted as "before" he ascends. Placing gear at all possible stances comes from cutting teeth in Eldorado when a passed opportunity to place gear can be very regretful. Trad is not for everyone, and requires additional mental fortitude while fiddling in RP's from a pumpy stance etc. I think as long as you approach it with respect, and take a mindset with you that is calm, yet covering "all ends". Impossible to think of all ends as a beginner, but I'll wager he'll improve with each day out!

Its already been covered a lot. But its never to early to start. I started climbing and trad lead climbing in november this last year. As long as you have a solid partner who knows their stuff, you'll be set.

Also, take a fall on some gear you know is bomber that you placed. You'll forget about being above the gear soon enough. The best way to get good at climbing...is to climb more.

My first lead ever was trad... But I had spent time meticulously studying several reputable books, practiced placing gear on the ground, and had a pretty good idea as to what I was getting myself into.. I placed a multi directional piece first, solid gear all the way up, built an anchor and brought up my second.. its all simple but requires attention and sometimes creativeness.

I'm new but I feel with a bit of competence, study and caution you can find your own way into trad.
Or better yet find a mentor.
And wear a helmet!

I climbed trad for three years before I tried learning to clip bolts. Never really got the hang of it, so now I'm thinking I might need at least 10 years of gear placement under my belt before I'm truly ready for bolts.

You're ready. Get a mentor.