Getting Into Trad

GrumpyCat, it seems like you've been getting some good advice and it's been about a month since you started the topic, so hopefully you've been reading, learning and climbing some rock.

I bought books, found resources online, and asked questions here. I was fortunate to stumble upon a mentor within a few months of first grabbing holds in a gym, and that accelerated my learning curve dramatically. But I still climbed a lot in the gym like you're doing, and bought gear early on to get familiar with how to place it.

If it hasn't been mentioned yet, there is a thread entitled 'How to get a second date', which may be a sticky in the trad forum. If you haven't read it, it's worth your time. Finding a mentor seems like tricky business (I got really lucky), and making a good impression is important. Being as available as possible will also help, but be somewhat cautious of potential mentors so you don't end up with someone dangerous. I prefer a gym session first and some discussion on safety and expectations. I would expect any experienced leader to initiate conversations about skills and safety practices with a trad newbie before even touching the rock. If they don't, that would be a red flag to me.

Practicing placing (and bounce testing) gear has already been mentioned, and I think doing so and then cleaning it, both one-handed, will be quite beneficial. Additional focus on passive pro could be helpful because it can often be overlooked in favor of more easily placed cams, though I'm not suggesting cams are plug'n'play. Teaching yourself to build anchors is very helpful because it encompasses the aspects of individual placements and direction of pull. I borrowed John Long's 'Climbing Anchors' from a friend and found it to be very informative.

If a knowledgeable mentor can't be found, but you have a partner willing to learn with you, there are still some options. Finding easy single pitch routes that can be top roped can give you a chance to learn the route, place gear, bounce test it, and clean it, all on TR first. Then if you both feel good about it, you can lead it for real. Before the second cleans the route you can look down and see how straight your rope is running and how much extension you should have used. I've taken friends who climb much harder than I do out to learn trad basics, and we've started on short 5.5 and 5.6 routes. Building your skills on really easy terrain also builds confidence and allows for objective analysis. And it can be a lot of fun!

My advice, be shy. You are in Washington, you will run into old school trad ratings. 5.11 indoors? 5.7 trad on the right old school route will eat your lunch! Avoid any Layton Kor route until you know!

My big lesson was a 5.7 on sharks tooth in RMNP. 5.7 R = 70m PITCH WITH NO PRO horrible route finding and lots and lots of chicken heads. Choose, but choose wisely!