Falling TERROR?

I'm learning to lead climbs on gear, and I'm terrified of falling. Part of this is learning to trust my gear placements. I've only taken small falls on sport climbing lead but not while placing gear. I feel like this fear is keeping me from just going for it and continuing to learn.

How do you get mentally comfortable that your gear is going to hold?  Is there some way to expedite this process?  Does anyone have suggestions on how they got more comfortable falling?

Falling on gear is more dangerous. Even a piece you think is totally "bomber" can pull. Listen here for such an example: https://www.thesharpendpodcast.com/episode-24

If it's at a crux or there is a bad landing (ledge below), consider doubling up on pieces.

As you gain experience placing gear, you will get a sense for what is a good placement, hence, your confidence will increase.

Also, don't be afraid to back off, or leave gear to bail.

oskar blueswrote:

How do you get mentally comfortable that your gear is going to hold?  Is there some way to expedite this process?

Aid up a route while on TR.

Fall on gear placed on lead while having a TR backup. Requires two belayers. However, this can be tricky as you really don’t want the two belayed ropes to come taught at same time - harsh catch!

After a gear lead, have your follower take and watch what gear placements fail or look compromised. Good gear placement takes a three dimensional perspective.

Does anyone have suggestions on how they got more comfortable falling?

Don’t focus on feeling comfortable.  That will come naturally as you gain more knowledge about placing gear.  Similar to what Frank said, a little suspicion about your gear placements will see you uninjured for a long while. :)

Sounds like getting comfortable falling on your belayer in general is the first step. Sport climb until you trust your belayer completely, then go back to plugging gear. No more taking.

Milage. I was so terrified at one point that I sent all types of hard (for me) routes. But falling is inevitable.  Throughout the years I just got more and more comfortable with the gear. But I fall more now because I dont try as hard because I know its typically a protected fall. Fear can be a powerful motivator.  

I climbed in an era (early 80s) where the mantra was the leader does not fall. A skill that was important to us was the ability to down climb to a rest. If you were approaching a questionable section then you place gear as high as you could and then if you felt comfortable you could fire though it or down climb to a rest and reassess it.  Sometimes I would bail but most of the time it was work a little higher getting gear and eventually pushing it through. I got to the point where I was able to lead some 11s and in my career I probably took less than 10 lead falls. I think if I was willing to take falls I could have pushed the grade faster but that wasn’t really the style at the time.

Mark Thesingwrote:

I climbed in an era (early 80s) where the mantra was the leader does not fall.

1880s?

Increase mechanical ability- that is the ability to assess rock quality, find placements where gear will hold, and find them quickly.  

Increase climbing skill- technique and strength.

Do not try to increase both of these simultaneously on the same routes.  

If you're not at a point where stopper placements are jumping out at you, or where you can pull the perfect size cam for a parallel-sided placement, or where you know that you can slot in a tricam where the opening to a horizontal is constricted at the front, and opens up inside, then you're not ready to be falling on gear yet- at least not in legit leading scenarios.  This is just my opinion, and I base this off my own progression over 12-13 years.  If you're still at the stages where you fumble and have to stay in stances for longer than is necessary if you had pulled off and placed the correct piece, then you're going to be gripped and scared the entire time and your learning curve is going to shoot through the roof.

Try going somewhere that has top access.  Go with two other trusted belayers.  Set up a top rope on a gear-protected route.  Once you get about 30-40' up, or at least a1/3 of the route off the ground, have your top rope belayer tie a backup knot below their device and NOT pull any more slack out as you go up.  Your other belayer will be lead belaying you.  The idea is that you can go up, protected from splatting in a groundfall because of the top rope backup, but you can still test your gear placements by falling on them on a lead line.  If this is confusing to you in the slightest, don't do it.

If I were you, I would employ a pyramid foundation.  Do a shit ton of routes that are way under your physical ability and place tons of gear.  Place gear where you don't think you need it.  Try to find obscure placements.  Try to find stoppers more than cams.  Learn how to do everything with one hand without dropping anything.  Learn how to extend placements with slings, when to do it and when not to.  As your need for mechanical skill decreases, slowly increase the grades of routes you're trying.  So go do 100 5.6s, then maybe 90 5.7s and so on. If you do this, by the time you get to 5.10a hand cracks, you'll hopefully have the skill needed to fire in bomber pieces that will hold falls, and you'll be on cleaner terrain in which to take falls more safely.

The key philosophy here is to increase risk incrementally, as your skills and abilities also increase incrementally.  Find partners that are near your range, and that have similar goals in wanted to climb above gear and be confident and increase skillset.

FWIW, I've been doing this shit for a while.  I've always had a love for trad climbing just a bit more than the other disciplines because I love the mechanical and self-sufficient aspects of it, and I'm still scared of falling even on bomber gear.  The fear doesn't decrease so much and the rationality and the management of that fear through rationality increases.  Good luck, take your time with it and don't rush it.  Don't get mangled trying to be bold on some chosspile.  It ain't worth it.

I've experienced the terror since I started climbing.  It comes back nearly full-force every time I have a hiatus of a couple months or more.  Here are some random thoughts:

• trad falls really can be dangerous.  Learn to know when it's not OK to fall (probably best learned through mileage).  A lot of easier climbs have ledges etc. that make falling a bad idea.  "Just going for it" and "no more taking" strike me as terrible philosophies for newer trad climbers, but then again I'm a scaredy cat.
• practice falls on bolts. Leading in the gym, we used to take a fall at the top of every route instead of clipping the anchors.
• start weighting your gear in low-risk situations. Aid up a route on TR. After you lead a trad pitch, go back and TR it, bounce testing your pieces. While leading, call for a "take" when you have two good pieces right below your top piece. (None of this requires the extra belayer and rope)
• I think practice falls on gear is a good idea, but I've almost never done it. You'll eventually have to do it without all the backup shenanigans because your mind will use the presence of the backup as a crutch
• Dave McLeod has some controversial ideas about how to progress in trad climbing -- starting from really easy free soloing, learning how to downclimb/back off, progressing to practice falls on gear, etc.  Worth looking into.

The Warriors Way courses are super helpful.  Falling on gear on mock lead helps too.  Climb a route with clean fall zones.  Plug some gear.  Have your TR belayer give a lot of slack and tie a catastrophe knot.  Only the lead belayer will catch your fall, the TR is so you don't deck if your gear rips. Fall with your gear at waist level.  If you're comfortable, fall again at knee level, ankle level and so on.

if you're not scared, you are probably not testing your limits. it's called an "adventure" sport for a reason

+1 Jaggz for general falling mileage. Ensure that you are getting situationally-appropriate soft catches from your belayer, then take lots of safe sport falls to train your mind to accept the experience of falling. Make sure you're high up on the route and on non-ledgy terrain. 

+1 Bill for aid climbing. Not only will this give you more experience in placing lots of gear, it will give you instant feedback on whether your pieces are good, because you're weighting each one.

"Mock leading" with a TR backup can be facilitated by one attentive belayer wielding a Grigri for the loose TR backup and another device for the lead. They just need to keep the TR belay loose enough that it gives your gear a chance to catch first.

If you have access to mixed routes or sport routes that also can take gear, you can find spots to fall on gear where the bolt will catch you if the gear blows.

If you're practice-falling on nuts, make sure you have a beefy nut tool and hammer lest you leave fixed gear. And make sure your cams are placed properly so the cables don't get kinked. And maybe don't use your nicest cams for the practice falls ;-)

Falling on gear at first is dangerous because easy first leads are usually on slabby and ledge filled terrain. I did a bunch of no fall mileage, then selected a harder steep climb with clean falls to actually push myself in a safe manner on gear. The Creek, places with basalt columns, or anywhere with steep easy cracks are good places to seek put when you feel like your placements are decent and you want to start practicing gear falls.

best of luck!

I have to agree about aid climbing, there's no better way to get immediate tactile feedback on your placements than putting your body weight on them and feeling how they respond. Probably with a toprope is ideal, but you do you. I also think pinkpointing a partner's lead can be a valuable experience, then you can have an extra set of eyes on what pieces are good and where might be a good place to take a practice fall. And the finally, I would suggest going somewhere with bomber gear and just taking some whips (backing up your placements if you can) and getting used to it. That said, I think all but the most fearless of us are probably lying if they say they have no fear of falling on gear.

other simple option is to place gear while on TR and bounce test placements by tethering your harness to each piece. Not the same forces as a fall, but easier to do than having a lead rope and top rope belay at the same time.