suggestions for new trad leaders

Two ideas:

1) Since you're learning how to place gear, checking it out, tugging on it, seeing what will work and what won't, you want to do that from a good stance rather than when under stress. So practise with routes that have good stances for the gear. That doesn't NECESSARILY mean super easy routes, though it can. There are a lot of 5.7s that don't have no hand rests when you have to place gear. There are also a lot that do.

2) When you're new, you can't trust your gear... so place more of it. In Eldo, this often means you place a nest of suspect gear and then scoot up to a good stance rather than try to fiddle in crappy gear under stress. The point is if you're at a no hands rest, better to put two pieces in and go to the next no hands rest than put one in and try to place mid crux. That's how it's different than sport climbing, because it takes TIME to place gear...

Practicing aid is a good way to become very proficient and confident with your gear placements. I'm not saying everyone finds it fun, but it helped me get over my horrible trad lead head.

Learn to place good passive gear...save them springy-thingy's for when you are twittin shinky's. And also learn when it's good to just send...instead of dicking around at a less than stellar stance, fiddling in bad gear, burning up.

Or do like me and carry 20 cams on a 70 foot pitch lol

But seriously, even if you carry doubles, sometimes there's 3 placements of the same size on a pitch and passive gear can save your ass..

I'm probably not at that stage yet, but like was said, "when in doubt run it out" can be useful, but quite scary when you mostly onsight..

Along the lines of the suggestion for aid climbing, to learn to place and trust your gear, the following drill was really helpful for me as a newbie trad leader:

Lead a relatively easy climb placing gear every 2 to 4 feet or so, especially at the start of the climb, but deliberately hang on every piece. (not taking whippers; just hang body weight.) (place more pieces early on, and use good judgement and/or get a spot to avoid a groundfall; but once you have a few pieces in that have held bodyweight, your risk if a piece pops is pretty minimal.)(And, good to try this on a route with bolt anchors, tree, etc., in case you really do use up all your gear.)

More like "normal" leading, and no need to figure out an aiding sequence, etc.

For me, this made me think long and hard about finding good placements, and then made me trust that the damn things really work!

PS. Don't make your belayer clean the gear; that's just rude.

Another good thing to keep in mind as discussed in Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills (which if you don't own and haven't read would be my first step towards starting to trad lead) is that there are three options in climbing when one gets to a section which is hard for them and doesn't have good available placements:

1. Down Climb
2. Stay there and try to find a spot to put in a piece
3. Climb up

1 and 2 are the worst options in this scenario. Generally speaking down climbing is much harder than climb up and if there isn't pro then sticking around getting tired and more scared is conducive to a fall. The easiest way out of this situation is usually to keep your head strong and confident and power through the section to where good pro may be available 5-10 feet or a couple moves from where you are sketching out.

I don't think that is very good advice. Downclimbing is often a very viable option. In fact, I think downclimbing is a necessary skill for leading.

Each foot that you downclimb toward your last piece is two feet less you would potentially fall; whereas each foot you upclimb is two feet more.

It is sometimes useful to downclimb out of a crux to a stance, rest, then try it again with "momentum;" perhaps even doubling up on the pro at the stance.

Many excellent climbers actually practice downclimbing, at least partially because it makes you stronger at upclimbing as well. For novice leaders, I would also suggest this tactic: lead a route you are comfortable with, and downclimb it on TR when finished (instead of lowering or rapping).

I agree that down climbing is an important thing to be able to do and I have down climbed before when pussing out or just too scared to move on but in a lot of cases continuing up is in all reality is the easiest way out in a pinch. Sometimes this is undoubtedly not the case but for example if you're 15 feet from your last piece and have another hard move or two to get to a spot with some pro you're better off going up than risking 15 feet of down climbing that could result in a fall. Analyzing the situation and acting appropriately is what leading is all about and that comes through practice.

Another thing is have a good selection of gear and be CREATIVE and skilled with it. Nothing wrong with walking around the crag just placing gear, to see what works (give those snickering "hardmen" the finger). This will also help familiarize you with what size gear fits what size crack. This can save you later, when you need to pull the right piece off the first time. I see too many new leaders with a double rack of cams, and nothing else. tricams, hexes and nuts....in many cases, go in where a cam may be crappy. Sling things. Equalize things, thread things....trad leading is an art, and art of any kind takes creativity.

Fall. Yup, that is right take a fall on trad gear when learning. All climbers must practice safe and clean falling. Find a route that has a good clean fall about 50' up the route, place about three pieces of gear (testing each one to make sure it is bomber), go a couple of feet above the pro and take a controlled fall. Often new trad climbers doubt the strength and security of trad protection. If you are ever to climb to your ability you must trust that the safety systems you are using will actually work. If not, you might find yourself wigging out on something that is well within your ability. Of course wear a helmet and have a trusty belayer.

Something a leader might consider doing is building an anchor in the middle of the route if there is a good stance, and if there is a hard section ahead where a fall might occur. Equalize 2 or even 3 pieces and use 2 opposed and reversed biners. If practicing falls, I wouldn't hesitate to do this.

The skill of falling can save injury and life. Be a cat in midair!

Dave Holliday wrote:Another thing to consider for the downclimbing vs "going for it" debate is that this advice is geared towards new trad leaders who are probably on routes that don't have clean falls. A fall of any significant length could indeed hurt.

I agree. You really shouldn't get into falling practice on something that isn't at least dead vertical, if not overhanging. That's a good way to pendulum into the rock and break an ankle. Climbing with the "leader must not fall" style may stunt your progress through the number grades, but it will also serve to keep you out of trouble. Do the falling after you have led a couple hundred routes.