How safe is trad climbing reddit. 10: gym and sport shoes. Something like lowering in guide mode is more commonly needed than, say, escaping the belay -> prussik jugging -> transfer leader to new anchor -> tandem rappel. This was my first route with no bolted anchors and it was too much fun! The route was staircase at eleven mile in Colorado 5. Even most repeated trad lines os DWS are pretty safe. Just listened to this interesting podcast from Alex Honnold where he talks about British trad and how different it is to trad everywhere else. With climbers breaking through into the 14's, sending routes that looked literally impossible (ozone and brozone come to mind in the gunks), and gear gettin better and better, I would say that while your mentor's very specific view of trad climbing may be "dying", I would wager a better description of the shift would be "trad climbing is changing". You now have added a dynamic component to the anchor and this can greatly mitigate the risk of high shock loads on the anchor. The home of Climbing on reddit. As the title says, I dropped my trad rack coming down friction descent in tahquitz. This thread will be posted again every Sunday so there should always be an opportunity to ask your question and have it answered. , hauling systems for crevasse rescue) and how well such things "stick" for you. Most new age climbers are relying on the simplicity and functionality of climbing hardware without the foundational understanding of the principles of climbing safety and more importantly what to do when your climbing hardware either fails or falls off the wall. Dave Macleod (one of the strongest scottish climbers these days and also in general I recently took an intro to trad class and want to begin learning to trad climb. He seemed skilled and calm, so I shrugged and kept climbing. I’ve been climbing about 8 years, leading trad consistently for maybe 3. Is this Trad anchor safe? I want everybody to give me irrelevant advice about it. Only recently has the safety culture changed with the rising popularity of climbing to insist on guides and mentors (and yes, get a guide and support the industry if can and want one!). Going to multi pitch course this year. Thanks! Last night my friend (who is probably reading this) and I were discussing the safety of using accessory cord to re-sling hexcentrics. I recently took a 3 day trad climbing course and have gone out several times since then with experienced folks. They also come in different colors, so you can differentiate the rope biners from gear/bolt biners if you want. My gym is hosting a gear swap soon, and I'm thinking about buying some used trad gear at the swap to start my rack. I have done top rope, lead and trad climbing courses. The minute you start down the road of eliminating fear, you are, at least in my opinion, heading in the wrong direction. I accept no substitutes when safety is a consideration. The anchors I'm sharing below are for toproping, and not trad, but I think this subreddit is a good place to get opinions from other experienced climbers on anchor safety. In theory, a trad route of a given grade should be similar in physical difficulty to a sport route of the same grade, but will feel harder because of carrying a cumbersome rack, the knowledge and skill needed place gear effectively - and/or the mental control required when opportunities to place gear aren't as frequent as you might like. Creating safe and controlled falls will help you not be in one tiny exposed move for 45 minutes while your belayer neck is getting sore wondering if you’re gonna make a move. After that I took a trad anchors class through rei and started leading trad routes. 20K subscribers in the tradclimbing community. Your climbing skill and ability to place good gear will both keep you safe. Just look at how many people you'll see at a trad crag. Trad climbing is about a lot more than just how to place a nut. I currently have a friend of mine trying to sell their used climbing nuts (some of them ABC Huevos and some BD). Absolutely. I bet you would've been fine, but this internet stranger is proud of you for making the tough choice to bail in the face of uncertainty of your safety. 5, 5. Jun 25, 2023 · Trad climbing can be dangerous if proper precautions are not taken or if the climber is not experienced enough. That's not how UK trad grades work. The gear was in a backpack, slid maybe 40 feet before falling straight down to the ground. Traditional climbing: use at your own risk. Trad climbers carry more biners, so some will go for the weight savings and either put up with the snagging or pay more for wire gate biners that have anti-snag stuff. A thing about trad-climbing is being able to improvise with what you got, in the most efficient and safe manner. Don't practice both at the same time. So while I am definitely a beginner I believe I am safe and understand the necessary concepts to safely climb a multipitch route. it's dangerous. 10 on gear, which is good for Beyond the nitty gritty of risk analysis in mountain sports (which is a deep and nuanced topic) I'll say a couple things. Does anyone know of the data to compute such an answer? I'd also be curious to compare different types of climbing I've only started building climbing anchors recently, and although I can confidently build a safe anchor, I don't know enough yet to inspect all the anchors other people set up. The skillets aren't exactly the same (trad is more endurance, and sport is more power endurance), but if you get good at one, you get good at the other. I prefer rope for swapping leads, and just use slings other times so I don't have to carry a cordelette. Its really strange to me that you find trad safe as where im from its regarded as the most dangerous form of climbing you can do! Wire gates are lighter but snag on things. I was so frustrated watching people trying to shove unbelievably over-cammed 3s when they had a 2 on their rack. Some people are drawn towards the adventure/pushing the limits aspect of climbing which in reality is a much bigger part of its history. May 29, 2020 · New to trad climbing? Our Beginner's Guide to Trad Climbing breaks down everything you need to know to get started trad climbing today. 7). There are E9's that are French 7c death routes - Indian Face the obvious example - and there are E9's that 47 votes, 41 comments. Any popular trad route will typically either have: An anchor at the top of the route off which to rap down A dedicated rappel anchor (or multiple anchors for a multi pitch rappel) that serves multiple routes The ability to walk off the backside of the crag If you are in a new route, get off route or have to bail, then you will need to find natural anchors or leave gear to get yourself down. This will also help you build your trad lead confidence, which makes trad climbing an enjoyable experience and not some anxiety-inducing ordeal. In other words if you were to spend an hour climbing (sport lets say) or an hour driving a car, which one is more likely to kill you? I've a friend that finds the idea of rock climbing very dangerous but I suspect it might not be any more dangerous than driving to work. Yank on the pieces. Any Gunks climbers have insight? My partner and I are learning to trad climb, started with mock placements and now are climbing very easy grades (5. Understand why a system would or would not work and come up with your own. Because there was so much slack in the system (distracted belayer, but no hard feelings) I fell 20+ft! Trad is a different beast - different style of climbing, different headspace for placing gear, different safety concerns of placing properly. 1. I'm still pretty new to leading trad, this was my first time falling on my own gear placement! I suspect bold trad climbing is vastly over-represented in stories and climbing media though, because sending a bunch of well-protected moderates doesn't lead to accidents or good stories. There's a higher concentration of quality beginner routes at Squamish too, so you don't need to keep moving from place to place. Get somebody to show you the basics, read the anchor books, and have fun crushing something five number grades below your skill level with easy retreat options. I also did extensive research on my own about gear placement. If you plan to climb anything higher than 30 meters (half a rope lenght), the self-rescue book is also mandatory, for your partner and your safety. Ideally you could place gear on top rope and have an experienced partner follow and assess your placements. I want to get some different peoples opinions on this one. Reply TAOspeedwagon • Hi, Quick background on myself. Modern usage of the term trad climbing is where you place your own protection (nuts, cams, etc. All brands fit differently as well so maybe offering to purchase one in your budget is a good idea. The WCs are basically C4s with extendable slings, but only go up to fist size. Imaging yourself falling is really common (it’s currently holding back my lead climbing big time), imagining yourself cleanly climbing is harder, it’s more involved, but it’s beneficial. 3M subscribers in the climbing community. Just from the looks of it, the crack was nearly perfect hands 2s and 3s the whole way with plenty of rest and jugs. New trad climbers often get in a fairly dogmatic frame of mind about "nuts go in constrictions and cams go in parallel cracks" when in practice, most of my placements are cams in constrictions. In principle, any E-grade can also be perfectly safe, it just needs to be physically harder than a scary route of the same grade. 10 trad climber. A fair chunk of trad climbing in the UK is face climbing. If you're very familiar with your system and know what the failure modes are it's pretty safe. I guess I can’t really imagine the situation where you’re climbing trad at your limit and you’re going to climb up and place a piece, but rather than continuing, you’re going to down climb and reset? It does also seem different to rest at the base after placing gear. g. There are probably all sorts of other mitigating circumstances to take into account. Don’t just psyche yourself up, methodically review a climb and how you’re going to cruise up it. ) But like others have stated the right mentorship/guide is key to building confidence and staying safe. Learn how gear works and why you use it in some situations and not others. Hi all, been climbing for 7 months, trad for 2. If you can consistently boulder v3/v4 outdoors you should be more than strong enough to navigate any crux climbing on 5. The local climbing guide books would be my first choice for information on this topic but they are often too vague. Finally, my guide asked if I wanted to lead it - and I said yes! The start had 28 votes, 34 comments. Much of the gear looked undamaged, except for some slightly bent cam stems. Any grade can be so bold you're practically soloing, the climbing just needs to be really physically easy for the grade. 8 in red rock, normally comfortable leading at the grade but this was my first proper crack climb (RR tends to be face climb-ey with cracks for pro) and I whipped on a green totem at knee level. and did some mock leads on a fairly short (maybe 40ft?) slabby crack route that is typically used an approach climb to a ledge where a bunch of harder climbs start. After that the difference isn’t as pronounced, but they are truly far better - particularly in places like Squamish or Yosemite where you’re constantly plugging gear in old pin scars. Trad climbing A year or two ago I was climbing 6 pitch moderate trad climb (Cathedral Peak, Yosemite) and was passed by a soloist on the 4th pitch. Otherwise, it's just like any other trad climb, albeit with slightly more route finding, slightly more vegetation, slightly colder, and more exhausting due to the elevation. I was wondering if anyone had any options if this gear looked a little suspicious. I know it's not optimal to buy second hand pro, but unfortunately, much of the trad equipment I can find in Brazil are used. All of that took two years and hundreds of dollars. Most things in climbing systems are redundant so if an aspect of the gear system breaks you are still safe from falling. The more you learn about the physics and the mechanics of rope climbing you come to learn the danger involved with rope climbing stems from human complacency and not gear failure. 5 and we did it in 3 pitches. I'm wondering if anyone has any insight or experience climbing on trad gear that has been dropped from a significant height. But I highly recommend PAS for beginning climber so they get in the habit of anchoring the same way each time without having to problem solve or decide which piece of gear to use in which way In short, trad climbing, more formally known as traditional climbing, is a form of rock climbing that requires placing your own gear for protection, rather than solely relying on pre-placed bolts. 183 votes, 96 comments. ). com Traditional climbing: use at your own risk. What advice would you give a new trad climber? A genuine nugget of wisdom. 9 multipitch/alpine route), running it out between good stances is a decision that moves you closer to the free-solo end of the spectrum in terms of trading risk for I took a lead climbing class at my gym, bought some quickdraws, and started sport climbing inside and outside. Take your time and be safe. My gym is blocking the trading of soft gear and helmets; so I'm only looking at hardware. There's a particular part of this comment which is useful 'climb classics'. hardware Petzl: belay devices and harnesses Sterling, Mammut: ropes And once you can manage all the variables of trad climbing with a cool head sport climbing feels like a vacation (or weirdly with less occupying your head it can be more scary because your mind has space to wonder. And yes we are scared of falling. 6, 5. I have a full set of hexes that are old enough that rope was used to create the slings. You must have been talking to some old dads from Yosemite or the gunks. 7, but it took so long to get here that it feels like I’ll never be a 5. For those of you who went sport->trad, did you re-do any fall practice, getting comfortable falling on your pro/placements? Just curious if it was a big thing to deal with, a little thing, etc. Its a method I use for projecting hard trad routes. They are really two separate things, the relatively safe sport/movement aspect like bouldering or sport climbing versus climbing where risk is part of it like trad and mountaineering. I asked a few climbing partners and they said it is fine but I thought I would get the input of r/climbing. Assessing and managing the risks involved is crucial to ensure a safe climbing experience. Generally, trad climbing is less athletic as opposed to gym climb particularly, which is why there is the stereotype of the “trad dad” that’s out of shape and only climbs 5. If you fell you would lower to the ground, pull the rope and start it again. Also I refuse to believe the first crack route is actually a 12. Trad climbing 101 Learn everything you’ve ever wanted to know about trad climbing including the skills, gear, and popular destinations. 10 on gear. If you're already good at elevation, and you are a confident trad climber at the grade of your alpine climb, you'll be fine! Reply reply thE_best_cookies • For more specific to rock climbing and trad, I would recommend Craig Leubben's book, "rock climbing: masterising basics". Sport climbing isn’t it? Apr 3, 2025 · Buying used climbing gear? Here are the red flags to look for and tips for ensuring the gear you buy is safe. I got it from one of my good friends who is a very experienced climber. It’s not something to take lightly. 19K subscribers in the tradclimbing community. What was your progression like, did you have to fall on your gear a Feb 14, 2022 · A comprehensive analysis of 30 years worth of data of climbing accidents recorded in Accidents in North American Climbing. I think most popular climbing disciplines are really safe, those are sportclimbing and bouldering, either done at boulder gyms or outside. 6 is a good start if you supplement with sport draws for long pitches. Get a TR up, and practice placing gear on a mock lead. I trust this guy and he said he has and would fall on these cams but i Oct 28, 2016 · From cams to nuts to hexes, learn the basics of trad gear with tips for buying your first rack. These companies have earned my loyalty by constantly making the best stuff. 9 In this thread you can ask any trad climbing related question that you may have. Build slowly but surely, and remember to have a good time! Trad climbing is friggin awesome I use Camp Nano 22 for my trad rack. HOWEVER safety first, and second, and third. Thank you all for feed back! Cant believe how much there is to improve. With trad climbing, I think other options should be used to mitigate a weight difference, dependant on the situation, such as ground anchors/tethers, belaying off an anchor with upward pull resistance, and my personal favorite-- not falling. I got my first ever trad lead this weekend! I was out with a guide for two days learning about proper gear placements, building gear anchors, etc. I put some gear in the other day to backup a rather runnout pitch but felt better when I got to the shiny bolt and clipped into that. In this thread you can ask any trad climbing related question that you may have. As far as brands go, I absolutely recommend the mammut dyneema slings. I was leading up to about 5. Some climbing routes should be safe and some should be test peices, but what annoys me is refusing to update routes with old decaying gear or updating something that if the technology was available at the time, would have been made safer. In practice, in both sport and trad, grades vary from Build the anchor and tether yourself using the climbing rope with a clove hitch to the master point. I’ve always had dedicated PAS but am leaning toward ditching it entirely and primarily anchoring with the climbing rope (I mostly do multi-pitch trad). Ive been trad climbing for 6 years and never had to bail and leave gear, but ive never dome anything hatder than 5. 5. A climbing mentor of mine was recently injured when multiple pieces popped and he took a big fall, and he is definitely much better at climbing and gear placement. There are a ton of variables and systems you have to learn and get familiar with, and doing so safely without being an "apprentice" can be really hard There are probably good writeups about this on the UKC forums. So I'm stepping very cautiously into the space between relatively safe scrambling and pitched out 5th class climbing. Sep 9, 2023 · Trad climbing can be inherently dangerous due to various factors. I've seen things said about it that it takes away the risk and that sport and trad should be kept separate. If you're an experienced climber and want to contribute to the community, these threads are a great opportunity for that. Commiting to a crux 5m above poor wires with solid groundfall potential if they rip feels very different to a crux above some 12mm Trad climbing is complex but easy multipitch isn't the rocket science people make it out to be. 10b sport outside when I started getting into trad, then kinda had to start over when learning on gear. Sport climbers are so strong that they can pull a snagged solid gate draw off of anything. At what point in a person's rock climbing career would you say it's ideal to start trad climbing? And how would one go about starting this? To me trad climbing is sort of a big goal in my climbing career that I hope I can do. 25 votes, 48 comments. Sep 5, 2023 · If I can do something that profoundly stupid and just have some scratches, a broken phone screen, and a damaged camelback that sent three liters of water down my leg, then I think trad is pretty safe, actually. See full list on scoutorama. Mentors can be useful, but a bad mentor is worse than no mentor, especially in the age of quality free online resources. I’ve been climbing hard sport for a long time but just started trad climbing this year and I’m hooked! I’ve been climbing trad way below my limits to be safe. Exact frequency of practice depends on what you're climbing (e. WC: Off-fingers to fist size. First trad experience this Sunday with my friend ! we were supervised by a guide de haute montagne and learned a lot! Maybe a smaller proportion of climbers are climbing trad (which is almost guaranteed since for a while trad climbing was simply called "climbing", but for sure there are more trad climbers now than ever before. c crack and people with no trad or crack experience onsighted it. I'm going to be mock leading trad climbs for a while before I actually begin to rely on my gear. 14 votes, 13 comments. In short, trad climbing, more formally known as traditional climbing, is a form of rock climbing that requires placing your own gear for protection, rather than solely relying on pre-placed bolts. Trad climbing is more of head game than anything when you first start. Hello everyone! Recently i've started to buy my own trad rack, and I need some advice on buying second hand gear. Black Diamond: cams, nuts, quickdraws, slings, misc. • r/climbing : r/ClimbingCircleJerk Scan this QR code to download the app now TOPICS Gaming Sports Business Crypto Television Celebrity RESOURCES POPULAR POSTS Go to ClimbingCircleJerk r/ClimbingCircleJerk r/ClimbingCircleJerk Mike is our patron If you’re serious about trad climbing get doubles in totems up through yellow. 5 and below), and we're stoked!! But also I'm wondering if there's any Gunks climbers in here who have advice on what walls to hit to keep practicing on super easy grades. After a couple years trad climbing, here's what I would do if I had the money to build a new rack from scratch. Totems: smallest 4 sizes. Climbing isn't about blindly following one single set of rules, A, B, C, but about assessing risk given the particular circumstances at the time. I find the total opposite!! I boulder because im scared of taking a big fall on sport. Cause I've only just started sport climbing from being a boulderer and I don't understand the ethics (UK) but can't someone who is climbing trad just not use the bolts? More than skills, the right group of climbing partners from whom you can learn is most crucial. I personally dont like using sport draws for trad climbing so I carry 10 regular shoulder length slings and 2 double length slings on longer stuff, all racked with 2 carabiners on my harness. Looked maybe 5. Nov 18, 2016 · The trickiest—and most important—parts of multi-pitch trad climbing are placing solid gear and building safe anchors fast. It comes down to the fact safety needs to be the priority. La Sportiva: trad and multipitch shoes 5. It’s been said a number of times already, but it’s something that I think comes from experience. . A full set of climbing equipment that is enough to start doing trad can be had for the price of a decent mountain bike or a road bike. This will give you a slow and steady progression that will probably keep you safer in the long term: You're developing your climbing skill, climbing strength, and technical trad skills in parallel, rather than becoming an awesome sport climber that gets in dangerously over his head on a difficult trad route. When 90% of climbers have never lead a trad climb, democratic decision-making organisations like the BMC are unlikely to primarily represent the view of trad climbers. What is dangerous is that people group trad climbing with sport climbing, or even indoor climbing. Trad (short for “traditional”) climbing involves placing removable gear, such as nuts and cams, into cracks and other features of the rock to protect the climber in the event of a fall. Now I’m comfy to around 5. The totems add confidence in small cracks and pockets. 11 sport climber doing a long 5. BD: big cams. I would have used threes, but didnt have any static rope with me this time. Ive only been leading trad about a year, but Im confident in my ability to assess a piece of gear. Climbing demands some level of boldness but it's also ok to say today isn't the day for it. Since it'll Trad and sport harnesses can be different with the padding and gear loop layouts. A big if, but that is part of trad climbing: managing fear in a rational way that enables you to stay safe while still pushing limits. A friend and I learnt trad climbing with a guide, and he told us to avoid using static materials for building anchors, as it can be harder on the anchor points in case of a fall, which is more likely for them to fail. That is basically trad Vs. 17K subscribers in the tradclimbing community. Reply reply more replyMore repliesMore replies sneakpeekbot • Aid through the crux by pulling on gear Some routes have bloted anchors Bail on gear in the moat efficient way possible (maybe sling a tree). If you don't feel you have the ropework experience for that then don't do it. I have done many normal anchors, some anchors to threes, but never before with trad gear. I've climbed sport and I boulder and can make the obvious distinction there. 17 votes, 60 comments. I've always wondered why it's not OK to bolt, say a trad route. No hanging on the rope to work out the moves (hang dogging). So I'm looking for a good book/textbook to supplant what I learned and act as I’ve been climbing about 8 years, leading trad consistently for maybe 3. Start slow, learn from legitimate sources, and other trad climbers. This was his backup rack and he was in the process of making a new primary rack so he gave me it along with a full set of nuts and tri cams for a really good deal. 3K votes, 260 comments. Climbing very obviously means different things to different people, and just like there is a difference between mountaineering and climbing, there’s a difference between climbing for the exposure / risk, and climbing for the physical/difficulty asked. You can get a trad rack for the price of one pair of tech bindings for ski touring. The best advice I have for you is to boulder a ton so that you start to develop proper technique so that you don't get elvis leg (as much) while placing gear. Went out today on a 5. I'm British and I've always climbed in the 'British way' so never considered that people would do it differently. Go slow, place lots of gear, climb classics, climb with different partners, try different gear, never get complacent, keep trying to learn. I wouldn't just copy some other system you see people using and hope it works. This being said, it depends whats holding you back. Start with climbs much easier than you'd think (5. Making risky decisions about the kinds of safety systems you choose to use in consequential terrain can be fatal (see the death on Blitzen Ridge in Colorado last summer). The old school meaning of trad was to always climb from the ground up. The wires are in good shape and the heads If you're not climbing close to your technical limit, but instead interested in climbing quickly and efficiently at a "moderate" grade (eg, a 5. I used to care about solid gates and gate flutter, but I stopped giving a toodleboot about To become proficient at climbing trad you first need to be proficient at climbing. qbtk qtpe thshppz lil wostpr xdyi fdnwb heck ebkh iuxs
26th Apr 2024