Good Beginner Leads in Boulder Canyon with a Starter Rack

Hi all, I'm a .11 sport climber whose finally making the transition into trad. I'm looking for some good beginner leads to get going but I only have a very entry level rack and don't want to get in over my head. Currently I'm working with a double set of nuts and a single set of C4s from .3-3. I've seen it mentioned a lot here that Cob Rock and The Dome are good starting points but I'm hesitant to get on something only to find out I don't have enough pro. Especially considering NFC on Cob is a multi so I'll need to build an anchor in addition to what I place leading. So bearing my entry-level rack in mind, anyone have any good recommendations?

Check out Nip and Tuck, it has short & easy trad lines. Also, you could look into areas with mixed routes, for which one set of cams and a set of nuts (along with quickdraws) would mostly suffice. Some areas that come to mind: Tonnere Tower (Garden, Creekside), Bihedral, Avalon (Three Dihedrals).

Happy Hour Crag.

You have plenty of pro.

Thanks for the recommendations everyone. I'll have to check out the Tonnere Tower's mixed routes since I'd be able to push harder routes (Fields of Gold in particular looks pretty fun). I should've added that I've been soloing up to 5.6s for awhile now so I think I'd be comfortable trying lines up to 5.9 depending on how long/sustained they are. For instance I soloed The Dome's East Slab this morning and while I love the line and will probably be back to do it again, I feel like it might take the fun out of the route to do it on gear. Should I still practice on the easier routes just to dial in my placements though?

Drew Megura wrote:Should I still practice on the easier routes just to dial in my placements though?

Practice is the only thing that will make you confident your gear will hold in the case of a fall in the upper grades. Lots of mileage while placing gear in different types of rock is the only way to master knowledge and trust in natural protection. Do short aid climbs, bounce test every placement. Make it hold your weight. Take controlled/safe falls. Do not underestimate practice.

Mauricio, I like your idea that I should try short aid climbs. The reason I've been hesitant to try the easier stuff was because my thought process was that if it's not hard enough, I'll never fall, and then I'll never actually be testing out my placements. Although now it sounds like if I practice on some aid climbs to learn what holds/what doesn't, I can then apply that to the easier climbs where I can practice placing lots of pro while actually having an idea of whether my placements are shit or not. Thanks!

You don't need an aid climb just take one aid ladder with you and clip and bounce. Not nearly the force of a fall but it is something. you can take some whips with a backup top rope or on a route with good bolts as a back up.

There are a lot of fun climbs at the lower grades just because you place some gear and have a rope doesn't have to take away from the climb. Maybe you run it out a lot instead of placing pro (don't forget your second though).

If you don't practice putting in good gear with a good mentor you can get into trouble in the future on hard climbs.

Happy Hour Crag is good - you can also go up around top and setup a top rope and mock lead - placing gear on top rope - if you want some safer practice...

I highly recommend you purchase this excellent book to help you decide what to lead in the front range as you learn. A friend gave it to me and I've passed my copy on to another friend. Steve's illustrations and discussions about the routes are informative and entertaining. Glad I got to meet him once.

amazon.com/Serious-play-ann…