Is it stupid for a guy who can barley climb 5.10 to want to learn aid / trad?

So let’s face it 

I suck at free climbing 

However I like the technical aspect and the gear.

Since aid has much more to do with knowledge then have a 6 pack is it a stupid / foolish endeavor path to be interested in aid?

Maybe it’s a cop out since I’m not a good free climber? 

No.  It's not stupid.  There are a zillion climbers who fit that profile.  (including most aid climbers perhaps?)  That being said, don't abandon trying to get better at free climbing.  It's a worthwhile endeavor. ;)

Bobby Swrote:

 is it a stupid / foolish endeavor path to be interested in aid?

Not at all. But you need to be knowledgeable about placing gear. Aid is not as simple as it appears. Get your technique dialed in by either doing aid traverses close to the ground or aid with a top rope belay. This will also give you more confidence in your gear placements.

Edit: the thing about aid versus free climbing is that most times you can feel a fall coming unless a hold breaks. With aid, you know when a placement is sketchy, but  a piece also can blow that seems good. Good idea to wear eye protection in case a blown piece hits you in the face. More than a few climbers have had a blown piece hit them in the face.

Do what seems like fun.

If you cared about what other folks think is silly, you wouldn't be rock climbing in general, now would you?

You should definitely learn aid and trad climbing. Both open up a new world of possible climbing to you; trad gives you the opportunity to try to climb any piece of rock that definitely takes protection. Aid lets you try to climb any piece of rock that -looks like it might- take protection. I love the challenge of both. Trad challenges me to be bold and simultaneously smart. Aid climbing is like a gigantic puzzle for me.

That was kinda my point 

If your not a good read climber and learn to place good gear how does one become a good aid climbed?
part of me feels like I’m skipping a step except I just suck at free climbing 

My body type is just not right for free climbing 

I weigh like 200 and I’m 5’6 built like a solid line backer 

I eat right and I’m in decent shape I’m just not a tall lanky dude like the beat climbers and like all the technical gear aspect so thought aid might be better for me 

but without learning trad I feel like I’m skipping a step 

Warren Harding claims the hardest grade he could climb was 5.8

Them that can free climb, do. Them that can't, pull on gear. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was.

TBH, if I weren't real motivated to get skinny, I'd probably just find a bunch of really long, easy trad climbs.  

Just cause the easy aid I've done has been real, real scary and not less physical than the other climbing, just different.  And easy trad is way more interesting than easy sport climbing.

One last reflection: a lot of folks recommend aid climbing easy free routes (on cams and nuts, not pins, etc) as a road to better trad gear placements ... the argument is that if you're not falling on stuff, it's hard to get a good idea of if it'll stay put, so aid climbing lets you get an idea of every single piece you place.

But all that is just me.  Just have fun and you're winning.

John Reevewrote:

TBH, if I weren't real motivated to get skinny, I'd probably just find a bunch of really long, easy trad climbs.  

Just cause the easy aid I've done has been real, real scary and not less physical than the other climbing, just different.  And easy trad is way more interesting than easy sport climbing.

One last reflection: a lot of folks recommend aid climbing easy free routes (on cams and nuts, not pins, etc) as a road to better trad gear placements ... the argument is that if you're not falling on stuff, it's hard to get a good idea of if it'll stay put, so aid climbing lets you get an idea of every single piece you place.

But all that is just me.  Just have fun and you're winning.

It’s. Not about being skiing 

I have a 32 inch waist and a 63 inch chest 

I’m just built like a brick 

It’s hard to free climbing when you look like an inverted ice berg 

It’s not about being skinny and or not 

It’s physics , 70% of my mass is my chest 

It’s nearly impossible to be a good free climber when you look like that. 

BiTD when I started clmbing, of course trad was the only game in town so of course we started on that.  Moreover, aid climbing was much more an integral part of climbing in general.  There were many more "standard" climbs that had some aid in them as well as free climbing, and folks embarking on a new route were usually prepared to do at least a little aiding.  So many, if not most, climbers naturally learned aid and trad simultaneously, rather than one first and the other later, if ever. A beginner's climb could easily be, say, 5.4 A1.

Obviously, you'll have to get over the hump of placing at least mostly decent gear.  There's probably nothing better than top-rope aid climbing for that.

A challenge nowadays is to find places to get this kind of practice without hogging popular real estate.

It’s physics , 70% of my mass is my chest 

It’s nearly impossible to be a good free climber when you look like that. 

Especially with your T-rex arms!

Bobby Swrote:

 ...

I eat right and I’m in decent shape I’m just not a tall lanky dude like the beat climbers and like all the technical gear aspect so thought aid might be better for me 

....

Just a standard mention that plenty of people your height (or shorter) climb 5.15 and V15.

You might want to check out Andy Kirkpatrick. I'm fairly sure that I've read in one of his books that the reason he got into aid/big walling is because he wasn't very good at free climbing.

Bobby Swrote:

It’s hard to free climbing when you look like an inverted ice berg 

Free climbing is not easy even for people who do not look like inverted ice bergs.

It’s nearly impossible to be a good free climber when you look like that. 

You should watch videos of top climbers project their projects. It looks impossible, and then they send it.

More climbing, fewer excuses ;) Trad is rad, sport is fun, aid is what aid is. It is all climbing. 

Well regardless of the reasons I’m curious what recommendations there may be to learn aid with little to no trad experience other then reading lots 

I love the idea of aid on top rope 

Not sure where that is possible near me 

Will have to research a spot for that 

Thanks for the thoughts and comments 

Don't use your body shape as an excuse for giving up on free climbing though. Your body description sounds a lot like Bob Scarpelli who climbs a bunch at Vedauwoo. Crankin' 5.12 into his sixties. 

On top of that, why do you feel the need for chasing grades? Yes, I'm aware of all the threads on MP that claim that "anyone can get to 5.12". But what is the point? The more important is what grade do you need to climb to have fun? I started out at the Gunks on the east coast. This area has hundreds of well-protected trad climbs at 5.8 and lower, so many people chose not to get into any higher grades. My mentor (climbing at the Gunks) is now getting into his sixties and he is quite happy cranking 5.3-5.5 on TR. I'm now in CO and I find that if you can get to 5.9 trad, you will have a LOT of quality routes to choose from (more than you can climb in a life time). In south/central Utah, you can have a lot of fun if you lead 5.10 trad. So, even if some people claim that "anyone can get to 5.12", it doesn't mean that anyone needs to get to 5.12 to have fun.

Bobby Swrote:

So let’s face it 

I suck at free climbing 

However I like the technical aspect and the gear.

Since aid has much more to do with knowledge then have a 6 pack is it a stupid / foolish endeavor path to be interested in aid?

Maybe it’s a cop out since I’m not a good free climber? 

Go for it!

Edit: Don’t aid on top rope- aid on good stone- don’t start out using a crutch 

Go alpine!

Mugs Stump was an "inverted iceberg" and one of the most bad ass alpine climbers ever to walk the mountains.  

To add another example of big guys crushing it, check out John Dunne. British climber from the nineties, climbed E9 (about 5.14). I think he weighed around 200 lbs at the time.

John Dunne Big Issue

John Dunne Scarpa

I don't know anyone who can climb vertical barley. Rice, sure. Rock, definitely. Barley? Give yourself a break and get up those grain stacks however pleases you.