How did you learn to trad climb?

I’m interested in how people learned to trad climb. I practiced placements on the ground and on TR. 

Just followed my dad when I was a kid.

I read a book in how to climb during my standby time at work. (Never bought it, just read it in the bookstore.) Then I took a one day class on anchor building to confirm I had some idea what i was doing, bought some used great in craigslist, and started dragging out a couple of friends. 

No other options

When I started climbing there was no such thing as “trad climbing”. 

I learned to trad climb from Rim of the World Climbing Club

Followed a more experienced leader A LOT. 

Found a mentor in a local climbing community, started following them, then bought and learned to place pro. Practiced placing pro on the ground and on mock lead. Got feedback on placements and took falls on gear while still backed up on TR until I had confidence in placing consistently good gear. Got feedback on placements from mentors on placements as well during that time and then eventually took over lead. This is a very conservative approach, but I had that luxury.

This doesn't have to take a long time, but getting progressive education and feedback is really important, particularly if you aren't already very confident in lead climbing and establishing anchors and belays. 

Read rock craft and advanced rock craft by royal Robbins then went out and played with stuff until it made sense. 

Went on a couple guided climbing days, then started leading very easy climbs, very slowly worked through the early grades while getting used to the systems. 

Self-taught from pamphlets and such.

Combination of what’s mostly already been mentioned …

climbing club, books, climbing forums, ground practice, hired guide for a day to check placements, then lots of following and leading, periodic self-organized self-rescue training and lots of climb-related discussions with a long-time adventure partner - mostly via email as we lived in different states but still learned together.

… but also learned from climbing with equal parts veterans and novices, of which the latter seemed especially beneficial.

Hahaha these people with the old crusty ass comments….classic! They definitely understood the question and could have answered it without the teenage sass hahaha. It wouldn’t be mountain project without the gatekeeping I guess.

By the time I was interested in trad I had become an efficient sport climber through books/YouTube for about a year and a half. I learned about placements and crack skills by asking on Reddit for a mentor, meeting up with that person, then following him for a few days before  trying to lead the sickle crack and out of sight on Woodson. I fell a lot lol.  It was nice not having to buy any gear though for quite some time since we’d climb on his for a few years after that. 

Mark Hudonwrote:

When I started climbing there was no such thing as “trad climbing”. 

What this guy said, we just went climbing!

There should be a link on the front page to Zay’s latest posts.

Was taught how to make an anchor in the cracks of a picnic table at Tuolumne meadows campground, then read books, watched youtube, and tried to make as many different placements as possible while leading. I followed After 6 in the dark and then 2 pitches of Cathedral the next morning, then never followed again for probably a year.

On my own with a friend who was also a trad noob. Being a modern gumby helps as pretty much all the required info is available in youtube.

Overall wouldn't recommend. First dozen routes felt like soloing until I learned to trust good placements.

None of the trad climbers I knew were interested in dragging us along, so we weren't left with much choice.

Back in the day when I was living on the east coast and a sport climber, I went to a MITOC event at Arcadia that was meant to take new trad climbers out for a weekend. First day I fumbled my way up some 5.7 at a sea cliff and thought trad climbing was stupid and it was easier to just solo that stuff, because none of the gear was gonna hold and they were just weighing me down and getting caught in cracks and around edges. 

The next day we went to the Precipice. Our veteran leaders were timidly trying Connecticut Cracks and one after another bailed. I volunteered to give it a go and retrieve the bail gear. I remember placing small nuts and C3s for the first time, and standing on a perch before the crux section, watching one piece after another pop out and sliding down the rope to my belayer. I had never been a person to shy away from a good challenge (and was obviously too ignorant to know the danger I was in) thus I pressed on. I essentially soloed the route with a rope and got away unscathed. 

The next 5.10 I led was wet and I prompted fell on an undercammed #3 shortly after leaving the anchor but it held. That was my first weekend trad climbing and first fall on gear and it blew my mind away. By then I was completely hooked. 

Mostly trial & error plus a friend who knew a little bit about climbing in 1953-54 in the Deep South. Then a trip to Colorado in August 1954 and instructive comments by a few practitioners. No books on the subject that I was aware of. Little by little over the next few years in the Tetons and elsewhere. Pretty much an exploratory journey that led to soloing (free soloing) and bouldering, two subdisciplines that I liked better.

Mr. Gill is a legend!

'nuff said.

In 1976 my  wife gave me a week at PSOM for my 39th birthday.I had backpacked and peak bagged but never roped climbed. On  the trail to the PSOM camp at Third Lake ,I ran into a tall character named TM Herbert who was an instructor there .