The 10 Trad Commandments

bryans wrote: The 12 R/X stuff just detracts from solid advice. Sometimes less is more.

I agree with you to some extent.  I like knowing where the person giving advice is coming from.  I probably would have looked at his ticks or something.

Commandments that don't start with "Thou shalt" are hard to take seriously.

Also these should be 10 Commandments to climb trad better

The actual 10 Trad commandments may be:

1. Thou shalt climb ground up
2. Thou shalt only bolt when absolutely necessary
3. If thou shalt think #2 applies then thou shalt come back when thou a better climber
4. If thou is in doubt, thou shalt run it out
5. Thou shalt never, ever retro-bolt
6. Thou shalt never abandon gear then ask for it back
7. Thou shalt not inflate grades
8. Thou shalt not sandbag
9. Thou shalt put fun first, speed second, and safety third
10. Thou shalt wait for no friends on a powder day. Wait a minute that's a skiing commandment.

greggrylls wrote:

I agree with you to some extent.  I like knowing where the person giving advice is coming from.  I probably would have looked at his ticks or something.

I did. No 5-12s there. Doesn't mean anything, though.

Shit, climb like an atheist!

Is it me or there’s a recent uptick in humble brag spraying bros?

So the below is a post shared by Brutus Of Wyde from 2007, either on Supertopo or here on Mountain Project.  I am not sure a better summary on how to stay alive as a relatively new trad climber has ever been written.  Unfortunately Brutus of Wyde is no longer with us, http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/880640/The-Passing-Of-A-Dear-Friend-Brutus-Of-Wyde.  By his posts and from all accounts by his friends and climbing partners he was a delightful man was always looking to reach out, in many ways, an helping hand to someone else.  I know I benefitted from the wisdom, information and experience he freely and articulately shared online.  Brutus only shared nine "commandants"  below.   But perhaps we can add a tenth,  Be Like Brutus Of Wyde .

Let me see if I can contribute in any meaningful way to this thread, recapping some points and adding others.

First --

Your first placement when starting a lead off the deck, all other things being equal, should be a multi-directional placement, able to resist loading in all directions in which it might reasonably be loaded.

Come to think of it, additionally, whenever the rope changes direction significantly, such as when starting and ending a traverse on lead, or when placing multiple pieces in line along a horizontal traverse where the pieces must protect both the leader and the follower (direction of loading can change up to 90 degrees depending on whether the leader or second falls) these loading directions must be taken into account and your placements constructed accordingly.

Second:

If that first piece on an upward lead is solidly multi-directional, able to resist outward and upward forces as well as downward, that piece can serve to protect subsequent pieces from outward and upward loading (which results in back-zippering.) If so protected, the subsequent pieces can often then be placed to resist only downward loading from the leader fall, given no unusual changes in rope direction thereafter.

Third:

No particular clean climbing piece is inherently multi-directional. Even well-placed pitons and bolts have stronger and weaker axes, ranging from shear to pullout. Cams have the ability to sometimes rotate and hold, however trusting your life to this generalization rather than to construct each placement based on the rock, the equipment available to you, and the equipment you may need later in the pitch, is foolhardy. Keyhole nut placements, though rare in many kinds of rock, can be very resistant to multi-directional loading. Every placement is unique. That said, when possible a properly constructed placement incorporating opposition is an extremely valuable and powerful tool in resisting multi-directional loading. Sometimes this kind of placement is the only thing that will work safely, be it constructed of cams, hexes, nuts or a combination.

Fourth:

Given equally spaced pieces and all other factors being equal, protection placed at the start of a pitch will see far higher forces if they catch a fall than pieces placed later in a pitch.

Fifth:

When the opportunity presents itself, it is a good idea to double up pieces before obvious cruxes, before obvious runouts, where the pro is marginal, and in other situations where either the likelyhood of a fall is high or where the consequences of falling are more serious. It may also make sense to double up on pro after long runouts, where the failure of a single piece may result in extreme consequences. If concerned about "rationing" pieces, take into account that 1) if you fall and die, you won't need the rest of the rack anyways; 2) if you're looking at a runout ahead, the runout itself will ration your pieces; and 3) if you've just finished a runout, you have some extras that you would have otherwise placed. That said, always maintain an awareness of what is on your rack, what you may need for the rest of the pitch (including the belay anchors) and look for the opportunity to place pieces accordingly.

Sixth:

Always be aware of the potential consequences of a fall. Many many times in Trad climbing, whether just stepping off of a spacious ledge onto a crux, seconding a traverse with the protection a long ways away, finding yourself in difficulty with poor to non-existant protection, or running it out on easy ground, you are, in effect, soloing. Learn to recognize these situations and climb accordingly.

Seventh:

Trad is a different beast than sport. The ability to place effective protection, sometimes when in strenuous, scary, or otherwise stressful situations, is a completely different skill than the ability to climb hard technical moves, sometimes when in strenuous, scary, or otherwise stressful situations. Competent, safe traditional climbing requires a high degree of skill in both of these areas. Never challenge yourself in both areas at once. And be aware that poor routefinding can quickly put you over your head in both.

Eighth:

Routefinding is more than following dotted lines in a guidebook. It is a multifaceted skill ranging from being able to "read" the rock in terms of protection, rest stances, hard moves, probable ratings, and downclimbing opportunities; to being able to envision the entire route including the descent, from a distance, and translate that into competent decisions when presented with the limited, extremely foreshortened view when actually climbing the route.

Ninth:

Trad falls, especially when learning the ropes and climbing easier routes, are particularly dangerous, due to the nature of the terrain typically found on easier routes. Even good protection is no guarantee of injury-free falls with ledges and footholds to flip you upside-down or sprain or break an ankle on low-angle terrain. (Nearly every year, someone breaks an ankle on Nutcracker in Yosemite.) Traversing, pendulum falls for both the leader and the second are more common on trad terrain, develop as much momentum as vertical falls, and expose vital organs to impact. Add to all of this, inexperience at placing gear, and the rule "the leader must not fall" is a good policy to live by, particularly in the first year or two.

hth,

Brutus of Wyde
Old Climbers' Home
Oakland, California

Fehim Hasecic wrote: Is it me or there’s a recent uptick in humble brag spraying bros?

Probably has nothing to do with the InstaSpray culture yougin's are now raised on. [excuse me while I go take my engagement photos on a Joshua Tree]

These are actually super helpful. I’m pretty young and not very strong but as I’m reading all this I can vividly remember me doing all of the thing your saying not to do, and I can remember most of them because they all ended in taking big, scary, or just stupid wipers. Thanks for the grate advice and keep crushing!

Glowering wrote: Commandments that don't start with "Thou shalt" are hard to take seriously.

Also these should be 10 Commandments to climb trad better

The actual 10 Trad commandments may be:

1. Thou shalt climb ground up
2. Thou shalt only bolt when absolutely necessary
3. If thou shalt think #2 applies then thou shalt come back when thou a better climber
4. If thou is in doubt, thou shalt run it out
5. Thou shalt never, ever retro-bolt
6. Thou shalt never abandon gear then ask for it back
7. Thou shalt not inflate grades
8. Thou shalt not sandbag
9. Thou shalt put fun first, speed second, and safety third
10. Thou shalt wait for no friends on a powder day. Wait a minute that's a skiing commandment.

Over the yeara my #10 rule has evolved from no friends on a powder day to no friends on a ski day to just no friends.

tl;dr

Hobo Greg wrote: What you’re saying is valid, but the 2.5 years of experience from which you speak is not. I’ve got twice that time in the trad game and barely feel qualified to give advice.

Advice from advanced beginners can be still good for less-advanced beginners, because they have a fresh memory of the struggles less-advanced beginners go through. Commandments, though... admittedly, pretty bold.

AndySalo wrote: Dang and all this time I've been out climbing thinking there was only 7 commandments   

you may have been right, he only got to six.

eric r wrote:

you may have been right, he only got to six.

I say he died last night in the gym zippering cams out of a fake crack - the remaining 4 will never be known.

Andy Eiter wrote:

Advice from advanced beginners can be still good for less-advanced beginners, because they have a fresh memory of the struggles less-advanced beginners go through. Commandments, though... admittedly, pretty bold.

They read more as skills to hone your game when onsight/redpoint and translate to both trad and sport. Besides, it’s not like there’s a ton of literature for beginners to learn. There  must be a chosen one to bring forth the word of thy Lord, holy is his name, Tradiban, and spread his gospel how shall one go about sending 12 R/X.

eric r wrote:

you may have been right, he only got to six.

This reminds of the Mel Brooks movie "History of the World." 

Glowering wrote: 

10. Thou shalt wait for no friends on a powder day. Wait a minute that's a skiing commandment.

You are a greedy bastard aren't you. Saving all the pow for yourself...

This reads like "6 tips for transitioning to roped climbing from bouldering". They are decent tips, but almost none are trad specific.  The post above by Brutus is much closer to the expectations a title like that would set.

This is the greatest trolling of all time.

Chuck D wrote: I want to hate this guy and his 12 R/X spraying so much but so far these tips are actually pretty good

You can still hate him.

Buck Rio wrote:

You are a greedy bastard aren't you. Saving all the pow for yourself...

Ever try to ski pow with a buddy(s) on a snowboard? It's like Chinese water torture.