Just getting into trad, and I'm looking for places around socal where I could set up a mock lead. Obviously the thin wall in Joshua tree, but other than that i have no idea. Being able to use mostly passive pro would be a plus. Any ideas?

Just get right to the real thing. Get on a route well below your level and with quality rock. Place lots of gear. Have someone follow and give you criticism. You will grow personally and as a climber from this.

I'm sure I'll get flamed for this. These days the REI, gym, sport, coddle me society would say go to the gym. Top rope for 6 years. Do mock leads in the gym while clipped to the auto belay (this is especially annoying when I am at the gym without a partner and the autobelay is occupied by a party of two). Then top rope outside, then sport climb, then, then, then....


Now go climb!

A couple walls come to mind, but at at this time it seems like it might be HOT in jtree. Hopefully you can find the shade

Anyways Atlantis, dairy queen, playhouse, granny goose.

While their are benefits to just getting out and leading. I find that beginner leaders might be pushing their game at pretty low grades to begin with and finding grades far below their abillity tend to be pretty low angle, not good falls and can end up with people hurting themselves. It is not a bad idea to take a conservative route when getting in to a more serious activity.

If your intrested in coming up on the south side of the ten. We might be able to work something out, and have some sort of class. Pm me if your intrested.

A good mock lead will take obvious gear, be fairly easy for you, and ideally be vertical so you could simul-rap with an experienced partner who would talk to you about each placement.

False Lieback on Cap Rock is shady, has a nice walkoff and is pretty easy, but has lots of gear opportunities.

Nectar is a great one too, a high quality easy crack with a bolted anchor, with afternoon shade. It takes mostly hand sized pro though, especially cams, and both the approach and the scramble to the top are 4th class.

Sail Away has bolted anchors, takes pro easily, has terrific stances, and is shady in the afternoon. Unfortunately, its a tad hard, you need to lead a short pitch of 5.5 to set it up, and it could be inconsiderate to spend 45-90 min on such a popular route. I wouldn't worry about it in the summer though, especially if you go on a weekday.

I second Greg- a mock lead does nothing for your mental skills and you can get pro practice on the deck.

Go find a well protected super easy climb and just lead the thing. If you must, TR it first to make sure you know the moves, but just get after it!

If you're interested in learning the ins and outs of leading on gear, why not just take a weekend course through a guide service? Seems like it would save you a lot of hassle and you'd get solid instruction and feedback from a professional. And then, like Greg and John suggest, just get out there and get after it.
Just a thought.

+1 on a guide taught class. I took a 2 day lead course at J-Tree with Vertical Adventures and found it well worth the money. The other plus side is that we were using the guide's teaching rack which had everything and the kitchen sink which was also a good learning experience as we got to use all sorts of pro.

WTF is a "mock lead"?

Is that in any way related to a top rope on-sight FA?

If you don't feel ready to lead then you shouldn't be. You should be following someone who know's WTF they're doing.

Just get on something really easy and put in lots of cams. Something will hold. Better yet, just learn to aid climb. If you can't deal with the mental aspect of climbing on gear then this sport isn't for you.

This isn't really a serious question though, is it?

Jeezeus. Did placing gear get more difficult recently or something?

I did one mock lead starting... It did nothing for me. I went back to a climb a route that I had wired on top rope, led it, placed gear, gained confidence. Repeated that on other climbs. Sometimes I have top roped a route, then pulled my rope and led it. It is the best practice I have found. And my belay follows and evaluates my placements. Much better than top rope leading, and as I saw on another thread, taking whippers on your gear.

Thanks for the recommendations, to everyone else, I just want to get some practice placing gear off the deck, I wasn't planning to do much of this before actually leading.

Just lead the Bong

What I would recommend - get on some lines in the area so you are familiar with the rock, follow someone who places gear well so you can see how often/where to place gear (cleaning their gear will teach you lots), and then get on a climb you are VERY comfortable with the grade and go for it. I haven't used a guide service and don't want to bash them too much, but most local climbers are willing to take you out for free and let you follow them a bit, show you how to place gear, give you good feedback on your gear placements, and help you through your first lead. I took out three different beginning trad climbers and did this on separate occasions, and by the end of the day they led their first trad lead without issue, and their gear placements looked great (including a gear anchor). Placing gear isn't hard at all, at least at the easier grades, so don't be afraid of it!

It is better to start leading trad sooner than later. A bad tendency of people is to get really good at sport and then transition into trad. The problem with this is that you want to get on lines at your grade while trying to figure out how to place gear. Lower grades may be boring for you if you are already a strong climber. But learning how to trust your gear and knowing that it is going to hold you when you fall is a must before you start leading harder stuff. Personally I started out in trad and started doing some sport about a year after I led a lot of trad. You may end up leading 5.8 trad for a while, even though you may climb harder sport. Finding places to put in gear while leading is a skill you have to develop, and even though you may be able to place bomber gear, a lot of beginning trad climbers have a hard time figuring out what a good gear placement option looks like and how to "look ahead" and find their next gear placement before leaving the gear they are at. Climbing the bolt line is a hard thing to transition out of since all protection is easy to see and plan for.

Big Bear also has some good moderate areas. Wilbur's Tombstone in Holcom Valley Crags has a few good moderate lines that protect well. I second the Atlantis Wall in Joshua Tree - great place to start on some easily protectable routes with gear anchors. And it's in the shade right now!