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Best video to explain trad climbing to a non-climber

Original Post
L Kap · · Boulder, CO · Joined Apr 2014 · Points: 224

Recommendation please! What's the best short video to explain to non-climbers what we do, preferably without scaring them? My elderly parents are interested in understanding but I don't want to give them heart attacks.

Ideally looking for something 10 min or less that shows a climber on easy terrain placing pro as they ascend, with closeups of the pro in rock. No need for pro tips on gear placement, though some of that is okay. Not just ground school, please. 

With a little googling I found this one which is a pretty decent match but has some shaky / water-bedropleted go pro camera footage and ideally would be on a mellower climb. 

Cherokee Nunes · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2015 · Points: 0

Show them Lexicon!



Kate Sedrowski · · Golden, CO · Joined Jun 2016 · Points: 0

This was just released by CSAR and shows a lot of what goes into climbing a multi-pitch trad route, though not a ton of actual gear placements (but some!). Seems like a good one for parents!

Climbing the Third Flatiron

D K · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2025 · Points: 0

It's too bad the video is so grainy. The first one is a joke but the second one, starting at 36:00 or so, is a good example of a trad climb with some gear placements.

Sparkington TheThird · · Kansas City · Joined Jul 2020 · Points: 20

FirstPersonBeta on YT.

Armatron Playlist   

Pitch one is Sport btw. Pitch 3 and 4 are the money pitches.  

Also it's a helmet cam, so it looks a bit steeper than it actually is. 

Tim Dolan · · New Mexico · Joined Aug 2016 · Points: 0

This one might work...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKUnHvY3xy8&list=PLJofyuybTSEzkENLWTA_D_hFa-g3B4dYR&index=2

Wren Cooperrider · · Flagstaff, AZ · Joined Jul 2019 · Points: 420

This one probably has the most gear placements in the shortest amount of time

Daniel Joder · · Barcelona, ES · Joined Nov 2015 · Points: 0
Wren Cooperriderwrote:

This one probably has the most gear placements in the shortest amount of time

That is hilarious! Started with: “I bet you can’t place every piece of our combined racks on one 20-foot pitch.”  Good shots of placing cams, hexes, stoppers, and (yes) even a tricam! Although a few of the placements weren’t ideal…

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Trad Climbing
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