How safe is trad climbing reddit. 17K subscribers in the tradclimbing community.
How safe is trad climbing reddit 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. BD: big cams. Modern usage of the term trad climbing is where you place your own protection (nuts, cams, etc. 1. If you have already reached that step, feel free to try harder routes with bomber gear. After climbing in a pair of mythos for years, I like how well they smear and climb on slabs. I'm looking at 2 ropes: The Mammut Crag Classic 9. 11 you can't just miss gear to artificially make the route more dangerous (unless you're a fool, of course. What was your progression like, did you have to fall on your gear a Apr 3, 2025 路 Buying used climbing gear? Here are the red flags to look for and tips for ensuring the gear you buy is safe. 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. It's a lot more mentally terrifying, especially when you're new. But, If slab’s aren’t your thing and you’re more crack or edging, then I can honestly say the TCs are the best. Totems: smallest 4 sizes. Reply TAOspeedwagon • The best way to push your grade as a new trad leader is to first make sure you are placing good, safe gear (ask your followers). You can get a trad rack for the price of one pair of tech bindings for ski touring. I started leading the first pitch (5. 14 where you skip half the holds on a 5. At the heart of trad climbing is the idea that you make the route as safe as possible while minimising your impact. 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. I wear a 40/40. Any suggestions on what a good “starter pack” would look like as far different cam/nut sizes? and then I can experiment and add to it based on need from there. 5) and 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. You should try on shoes that are intended for multipitch trad climbing. I was leading up to about 5. I accept no substitutes when safety is a consideration. 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. 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. 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? 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. The local climbing guide books would be my first choice for information on this topic but they are often too vague. In practice, in both sport and trad, grades vary from 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. Take your time, don't rush into anything. The mere fact that you are unsure of the equipment you need to lead climb tells me that you are clearly not going to lead safely. The totems add confidence in small cracks and pockets. You’re right gear is there so that we don’t die, but what would be the fun if you pre placed all the gear on rappel and climbed up, much of the fun is making those decisions on the rock and in the moment. 25 votes, 48 comments. Well sure, but I'm trying to avoid death and injury. 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. I'm looking at buying my first rope and the information on if dry treated is important or not is all over the place with regards to trad climbing so I thought I'd ask y'all. "being easier" doesn't make sense in a sport built on looking for challenges. There are E9's that are French 7c death routes - Indian Face the obvious example - and there are E9's that Trad climbing, in essence, means "climbing to get to the top of that thing". Just look at how many people you'll see at a trad crag. I love TC pros but have always had them sized for comfort and can wear my current size all day on long multipitches and alpine routes. The old school meaning of trad was to always climb from the ground up. Not sure what rope to go with and what thickness, would like to venture into large multi pitch routes. It took me 3 days of work, and I had to really put up a fight. When the gear is placed safely, it is more likely that webbing or carabiners are to give out on you, Which is usually comforting to new trad climbers because they have already learned to trust webbing and carabiners earlier I was wondering if anyone had any options if this gear looked a little suspicious. Thank you all for feed back! Cant believe how much there is to improve. We got 2 steps out the door before he realized he had purchased the incorrect size. TR soloing can be an effective way to practice a route before leading it, and, relative to other solo climbing styles, is generally considered safe. 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! Nov 1, 2023 路 Furthermore, trad climbing fosters resilience, teaching climbers to confront fear and uncertainty head-on, transforming obstacles into stepping stones towards personal growth and accomplishment. So I'm stepping very cautiously into the space between relatively safe scrambling and pitched out 5th class climbing. I recently took an intro to trad class and want to begin learning to trad climb. 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. 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. 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 • Anyone recommend a rope? I am a relative beginer (7 months fairly solid). 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. I'm going to be mock leading trad climbs for a while before I actually begin to rely on my gear. I would spend afternoons when I wasn't climbing hiking around the base of Castle Rock (State park in ID) with my rack on a sling, and challenge myself to build an equalized anchor at various cracks I'd find along the trails. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Much of the gear looked undamaged, except for some slightly bent cam stems. The gear loops are tiny compared to my dead bird harness. Trad climbing can be inherently dangerous due to various factors. 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. How Should You Place Gear For The Safest Results The way you place gear is the biggest factor in regards to the safety of using cams and nutts/stoppers while trad climbing. I mean when you consider ALL the challenges in learning trad, managing a second rope isn't hard. Trad climbing 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!). That is basically trad Vs. Oct 28, 2016 路 From cams to nuts to hexes, learn the basics of trad gear with tips for buying your first rack. The wires are in good shape and the heads 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). I am considering a sized down TC pro or I think in trad climbing a big portion of the enjoyment and process is on placing gear. Hire a guide and pump them for information about how the locals operate. I mostly climb in the Northeast, predominantly trad, but with some sport occasionally. Just listened to this interesting podcast from Alex Honnold where he talks about British trad and how different it is to trad everywhere else. Assessing and managing the risks involved is crucial to ensure a safe climbing experience. It comes down to the fact safety needs to be the priority. Does anyone know of the data to compute such an answer? I'd also be curious to compare different types of climbing Trad and sport harnesses can be different with the padding and gear loop layouts. Trad climbing is more dangerous than sport climbing because the gear isn’t permanent and can slip if placed incorrectly. These companies have earned my loyalty by constantly making the best stuff. 3K votes, 260 comments. 20K subscribers in the tradclimbing community. You now have added a dynamic component to the anchor and this can greatly mitigate the risk of high shock loads on the anchor. ;) I don't want to assume my placements are good without more experience. Any grade can be so bold you're practically soloing, the climbing just needs to be really physically easy for the grade. Climbing demands some level of boldness but it's also ok to say today isn't the day for it. Safe, hard pitches to try and onsight: Sub-Mission "10d" Dagger 11a (initial face climbing is heads up but easier) New Dimensions 11a (burly initial pitches) The Enema 11b (easy approach pitches) "Hard" multis with soft grades and safe falls that you can C1 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. I'm wondering if anyone has any insight or experience climbing on trad gear that has been dropped from a significant height. Approaches are usually more involved, multipitch, gear needs, bail options, descent, weather, etc. 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. However, it requires real bravery and real commitment. Please see my reply to tongmengjia here. Ive been trad climbing for 6 years and never had to bail and leave gear, but ive never dome anything hatder than 5. All brands fit differently as well so maybe offering to purchase one in your budget is a good idea. I've done almost all my trad climbing in the front country, but want to try to do some routes in the alpine that require an overnight (say, Cirque of the Towers or the West Ridge Mt Conness). 10: gym and sport shoes. WC: Off-fingers to fist size. I find the total opposite!! I boulder because im scared of taking a big fall on sport. 10 trad climber. In this thread you can ask any trad climbing related question that you may have. This thread will be posted again every Sunday so there should always be an opportunity to ask your question and have it answered. 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. Is this Trad anchor safe? I want everybody to give me irrelevant advice about it. La Sportiva: trad and multipitch shoes 5. That said, top rope soloing has helped me gain a lot of confidence in my gear placements. 10b sport outside when I started getting into trad, then kinda had to start over when learning on gear. 7, but it took so long to get here that it feels like I’ll never be a 5. The WCs are basically C4s with extendable slings, but only go up to fist size. 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. 11 sport climber doing a long 5. Rock climbing is super safe (when done correctly) and falling is a routine part of rock climbing. Going to multi pitch course this year. The higher heel helps support your ankle torqued over in cracks and the rigidity of the sole helps with edging. Definitely; all forms of rock climbing are inherently dangerous. Trad is weird in that there is a common pattern where people do a lot of routes to push well into the 5. As the title says, I dropped my trad rack coming down friction descent in tahquitz. Now I’m comfy to around 5. If you are single pitch climbing, it's probably fine, but multipitch climbing with a full double rack, draws, anchor material, atc/grigri, and water bottle/packable jacket gets really tight without a lot of gear loop space. I would have used threes, but didnt have any static rope with me this time. Some people are drawn towards the adventure/pushing the limits aspect of climbing which in reality is a much bigger part of its history. I’d recommend a route with an obvious crack system so placing gear and jamming is straight forward. 2's unroped. Finally if you are going to try carry on climbing to a point you could, with a higher risk margin, decide on lead-rope soloing. If you fell you would lower to the ground, pull the rope and start it again. 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 Yes, I am talking about the Solution Guide. The minute you start down the road of eliminating fear, you are, at least in my opinion, heading in the wrong direction. 10 on gear, which is good for 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. Just as someone would laugh at you for claiming a 5. Build the anchor and tether yourself using the climbing rope with a clove hitch to the master point. I've seen things said about it that it takes away the risk and that sport and trad should be kept separate. Some may argue it is more dangerous than sport climbing, because self-placed protection isn't theoretically as strong as a bolt, and there is a higher chance for user error in placing said protection. 5 (which seems to have replaced the Mammut Infinity, which appears to have been As you mention, half ropes allow you to ice or do odd group sizes and handle "the rare" wandering trad route (I've only ever seen wandering trad routes). 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. I think most popular climbing disciplines are really safe, those are sportclimbing and bouldering, either done at boulder gyms or outside. Additionally, you can only place protection where the rock allows it, so sometimes there are large, dangerous runouts between pieces. I'm climbing well below your route grades, so still have a ways to go. ) Oct 16, 2018 路 Hi everyone, I recently started trad climbing after ~3 years of climbing. 11 on gear. 17K subscribers in the tradclimbing community. I do certainly understand that old school trad mentality of never calling take and just keep going until you either ascend or fall. Generally, there are a lot more logistics to a trad climb. Adam: I am very happy and proud to make the 2nd ascent of this James Pearson’s @onceuponaclimb masterpiece 馃憣 Not that I am an expert in trad climbing, but it could be (physically) the hardest route on trad gear in the world. Black Diamond: cams, nuts, quickdraws, slings, misc. Thanks! comments More than skills, the right group of climbing partners from whom you can learn is most crucial. Because learning to actually all when it's safe is a huge part of hard trad climbing. The most confident climbers out there climb really hard because they aren't afraid of falling. I'm British and I've always climbed in the 'British way' so never considered that people would do it differently. For more specific to rock climbing and trad, I would recommend Craig Leubben's book, "rock climbing: masterising basics". As a result they get a lot of positive reinforcement and start to consider themselves experts despite never really testing their placement habits. 10's without ever taking a real fall. The route felt challenging in many different ways, and apart from being very runout (but probably safe That's not how UK trad grades work. 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). 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. The home of Climbing on reddit. I currently have a friend of mine trying to sell their used climbing nuts (some of them ABC Huevos and some BD). May 1, 2022 路 What is trad climbing? Is it safe? Expensive? Is it the best type of climbing? Discover the answers and get started. No hanging on the rope to work out the moves (hang dogging). Hello everyone! Recently i've started to buy my own trad rack, and I need some advice on buying second hand gear. PSA: REI is required to destroy any climbing harness, rope or trad gear that is returned I was with a friend who purchased a climbing harness from REI. A lot of Reddit has this do-it-yourself attitude and this is not a safe approach for rock climbing. 5. I trust this guy and he said he has and would fall on these cams but i We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Face climbing strength does not tend to transfer particularly well to crack climbing. Jan 21, 2021 路 Trad climbing is dangerous, fun, and addictive. I climb mostly in Utah in rock canyon and Ibex with the occasional moab trip. 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). 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. 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 To become proficient at climbing trad you first need to be proficient at climbing. Moved PermanentlyThe document has moved here. The gear was in a backpack, slid maybe 40 feet before falling straight down to the ground. 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. I have done many normal anchors, some anchors to threes, but never before with trad gear. The Saturday before last me and a couple of friends were heading to the gunks again to climb High Exposure. Even most repeated trad lines os DWS are pretty safe. 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. My gym is blocking the trading of soft gear and helmets; so I'm only looking at hardware. 14 votes, 13 comments. Climbing by headlamp makes easily seen features, like smears or side pulls, much harder to spot. 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. 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. If you're a real trad climber, you're looking for the easiest route to get to the top, so you shouldn't need to protect that often, since you shouldn't be scared of falling that often. And yes we are scared of falling. Perhaps not surprisingly, this is a description of how much of trad climbing used to be practiced, which explains why so many more climbers BITD were completely safe and comfortable, say, downclimbing 5. 47 votes, 41 comments. . There's a higher concentration of quality beginner routes at Squamish too, so you don't need to keep moving from place to place. I've climbed sport and I boulder and can make the obvious distinction there. Feb 14, 2022 路 A comprehensive analysis of 30 years worth of data of climbing accidents recorded in Accidents in North American Climbing. If you're an experienced climber and want to contribute to the community, these threads are a great opportunity for that. After a couple years trad climbing, here's what I would do if I had the money to build a new rack from scratch. Sep 9, 2023 路 Learning the proper placement and removal techniques for these pieces of gear is crucial for the safety of the climber. 10 on gear. Since it'll I do appreciate that we're all big tough experienced trad daddies who whip on nuts all day erry day, and hiring climbing guides is some weak ass shit. This will also help you build your trad lead confidence, which makes trad climbing an enjoyable experience and not some anxiety-inducing ordeal. Being out that far, I want to have a good handle on how to deal with emergency situations, injuries, etc. I have done top rope, lead and trad climbing courses. 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. As others are saying though, it’s not for beginners. With a lead-rope solo you can limb to a point where you can build a solid anchor and then assess further. 395 votes, 90 comments. Been trad climbing with some buddies for a while now and ready to commit and buy my own rack. Beyond the nitty gritty of risk analysis in mountain sports (which is a deep and nuanced topic) I'll say a couple things. Very overwhelmed on where to start. Trad climbing is more of head game than anything when you first start. 26 votes, 114 comments. You must have been talking to some old dads from Yosemite or the gunks. 5 in my approach shoes and my TC pros are 39. ). Sport climbing isn’t it? 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. Have stuck to indoor climbing but have ventured out recently into trad. Feb 5, 2024 路 Find rock climbing routes, photos, and guides for every state, along with experiences and advice from fellow climbers. I’m looking for recommendations for a shoe for hard single pitch trad. 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. 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". 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. May 29, 2020 路 New to trad climbing? Our Beginner's Guide to Trad Climbing breaks down everything you need to know to get started trad climbing today. Any recommendations would be highly appreciated! I’ve been trad climbing for 3 years now and am starting to break into 5. As far as brands go, I absolutely recommend the mammut dyneema slings. I’ve been climbing about 8 years, leading trad consistently for maybe 3. We went to return it, and the woman at the counter said “it’s a shame, we have to destroy it now”. 6 is a good start if you supplement with sport draws for long pitches. 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. Getting comfy with falling in safe terrain is an absolute must if you want to become a confident climber. After taking a two day course with a local guide, I followed up with a couple of successful multi-pitching easy routes days at the gunks and got super excited about trad. Don’t just psyche yourself up, methodically review a climb and how you’re going to cruise up it. Everyone’s route to trad climbing will be slightly different, and our guide can help! 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. Traditional climbing: use at your own risk. In essence, trad rock climbing embodies the essence of adventure and exploration, marrying the natural world with human ingenuity and determination. I hesitate to recommend this since it involves more risk than standard trad climbing. • 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 Nov 18, 2016 路 The trickiest—and most important—parts of multi-pitch trad climbing are placing solid gear and building safe anchors fast. If you can consistently boulder v3/v4 outdoors you should be more than strong enough to navigate any crux climbing on 5. 3M subscribers in the climbing community. Dave Macleod (one of the strongest scottish climbers these days and also in general The best shoe is the one that fits your foot and meets your needs. hardware Petzl: belay devices and harnesses Sterling, Mammut: ropes 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. it's dangerous. 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. It lets you evaluate trad placements while hanging around on the ground at a sport crag or bouldering with friends. The main thing is 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. I got it from one of my good friends who is a very experienced climber. I've always wondered why it's not OK to bolt, say a trad route. bfquuvzaqbayhpixstkcamkhzlizziivroyewkzxqnajkpvcxfmzmovhjzzajlyzaypnfadvdzupyxqt