Wanna get into trad

I want to get into trad climbing. All I do is currently is sport. Any suggestions? Where do I start?

Find an experienced mentor who is willing to take you up the wall and show you the ropes, there is a lot involved with trad climbing. All the information online and in books is helpful, but it can't replace hands on instruction from someone who knows what they're doing.

You've got your start right here on MP !! Find the forums for your region, learn about the trad climbing areas near you, and the area's ethics, link up on the partners forum with experienced climbers in your area that are willing to teach (which is almost always easy, as long as you are willing to learn) and you're on your way ! If you are a gym climber, see if any of the trad climbers head over there to train. Similarly, where ever you scale bolts, ask around to see if anyone trad climbs as well.

Climb with people that climb trad. Plain and simple.

Also I see alot of people with disposable cash that just go out and buy like a whole rack and sometimes double rack. Sure it's your money, but I remember growing up buying piece by piece. Hell in the beginning I couldn't even climb trad because I didn't have enough gear. Buying biners on sale, or maybe even a couple cams at a time is they were clearance.

This way I researched what I wanted, sometimes traded some out and I really value my equipment. And you won't see me selling it here 50% off because I found out it wasn't my thing.

haha a double rack with all the slings and all the biners is a SHIT TON of money.

Oh and I loved reading books about the old day on people like Henry Barber, Yvon, the stonemasters, Underhill, layton Kor. Man you wanna talk about balls.

Find a *competent* leader/s and follow many pitches. Seeing and cleaning well placed gear is a better way to learn proper placements than any book or Internet forum can offer.

I agree with Scott - buy your gear (passive and active) slowly, and make a point of using what you have as frequently as possible, filling out the missing pieces of your rack with your partners' gear.. It's a good way to really master size recognition and quick, proper use - plus you won't be dropping 1000$ or more in one go.
Plus, It's always fun seeing yuppies decked out in underarmor and struggling to move under the weight of double racks of brand new gear, huge amounts of accessory cord, a PAS, etc crawling up routes that require perhaps 1/8th of what they're carrying. Not really a safety or technique issue, but it'll save you from quiet judgement and derision at the crag.

What they said. I followed some very experienced leaders in the past and learned a lot, but never started leading myself. Now I am about to work toward that again, and I have so far resisted the urge to go buy a bunch of gear. I'm spending some money next month for a day of climbing with a guide in the area I plan to climb most. After that I'll start picking up some gear when it is on clearance piece by piece. The leader will have a rack, so if you have even a few pieces of whatever is most common for the routes you'll be on, you have something to contribute. You don't need everything on day one.

Gabe.calderon wrote:Any suggestions? Where do I start?

Don't do it! Its expensive, less sexy than steep sport climb, not as brotastic as bouldering and you will end of spending all your crag time sitting at the base of the cliff talking about "ethics"

Seriously though,

Easiest method is to make friends with gear owners, otherwise, buy a set of stoppers (they are all pretty much the same) and a single rack of cams (3"-.5") is probably good to start. Place all your gear at the base of a crag in as many configurations and anchor setups as possible. Once you feel cool with that, lead routes WAY under your limit and grow from there.

Eric K wrote: Don't do it! Its expensive

Word.

Scott McMahon wrote:Climb with people that climb trad. Plain and simple. Also I see alot of people with disposable cash that just go out and buy like a whole rack and sometimes double rack. Sure it's your money, but I remember growing up buying piece by piece. Hell in the beginning I couldn't even climb trad because I didn't have enough gear. Buying biners on sale, or maybe even a couple cams at a time is they were clearance. This way I researched what I wanted, sometimes traded some out and I really value my equipment. And you won't see me selling it here 50% off because I found out it wasn't my thing. haha a double rack with all the slings and all the biners is a SHIT TON of money. Oh and I loved reading books about the old day on people like Henry Barber, Yvon, the stonemasters, Underhill, layton Kor. Man you wanna talk about balls.

Agreed. Best time to build a rack: during the winter. Start with a set of nuts, then follow the sales and buy a cam every month or two. You don't need doubles off the back since you'll be climbing with other people who have gear. Climb with experienced people to see what gear you like and follow a ton to get a feel for placements, keeping the rope straight, extension, etc. If there's a crag near you that is accessible from the top, start off by setting TR anchors. Your first lead should be something you would feel comfortable soloing, because that's how it's going to feel (and very well may effectively be). Do a LOT of easy leads, bounce test your pieces, take practice falls with a TR backup, before you even think about pushing your grade.

Edit: and in case it wasn't clear: learn how to place passive gear! I witnessed a 40' whipper last weekend where the guy pulled two X4s before finally being caught by a nut. They ended up having to leave the nut because it was so wedged in there, but he walked away unscathed.

Start posting in the partners forum and climb with people who climb trad. If you have the money it might be worth picking up a rack...I met up with more than a few people who were down to climb because I had a rope and rack.

May also help taking an anchors class, which should teach you a good amount about gear placement as well. I know I found more success when I told people I wanted to learn trad and could back it up with *something* indicative of my desire, if only to get hesitant partners to come up.

After following a few routes you'll get better at knowing what is a good placement (assuming a competent partner). It's more about experience, so hit up the partners forum every time you can climb, climb trad, bring coffee/gear or drive.

Also, read the thread in the beginners forum about getting asked out on a 2nd date. Things like having a Prussick, knowing your knots (which you probably already do), and offering to supply gear go a long ways to getting that "second date" with a partner. The entire thread is worth a read.

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