Intro to Trad Climbing

Season:

This is your stop for learning all about trad or traditional climbing: using specialized gear in the natural features of the rock to protect yourself as you climb. Don't worry if you haven't committed to buying all of that expensive gear yet, you can still learn all about it using our gear.

Placing your own gear opens up boundless potential for climbing. These skills are crucial for most multi-pitch climbing and big walls, but also give you options for new top rope anchors and amazing single pitch climbs.

Participants receive private instruction with a guide for themselves or the group they booked.

Quick Info

Spring, Summer, and Fall

Skill Level:

Intermediate

Length:

6 - 8 hours

Group Size:

1 to 6 people

Overview

In this course you will learn essential techniques and skills for trad climbing. We will start with a review of basic climbing skills including belaying, climbing knots and hitches, and climbing movement. Then we progress into trad specific skills where we will cover:

Equipment overview
How to organize your harness
Terrain assessment & reading routes
Placing gear
Cleaning (removing gear from the rock)
Evaluating placement quality
Building anchors using gear and natural features
Considerations for leader/follower
Mock leads with possible live leads

Of course all of these skills are taught and supervised by a Certified Rock Guide to provide the best education and highest level of safety.

Building skills through first hand experience and expert instruction is a great way to learn. In this course we'll make sure you not only understand how to safely place gear, but make sure you have time to practice under our expert supervision.

Participants should have previous experience climbing, top-rope belay skills, and familiarity with knots and hitches (figure 8, overhand, and clove hitch). Lead climbing experience, in a gym or outside, is not required but can be helpful.

Details

Required Climbing Equipment:

Helmet
Shoes
Harness

*Helmet and harness must be UIAA certified for climbing use.

Additional Recommended Climbing Equipment (bring it if you have it):

Rope
2-6 locking carabiners (HMS style preferred)
Anchoring material (ideally a 120cm sling, a 180 or 240cm sling, and a 18-22ft cordalette).
Quickdraws/Alpine draws.
Assisted breaking belay device (ie. Grigri)
Trad gear & Nut tool

Other Gear:

Appropriate footwear for hiking on rocky, uneven ground.
Athletic clothing that doesn't restrict your movement.
Layers for insulation, it can get cold any time of year in the mountains.
Rain jacket/pants. While we hope for nice weather, we can often still climb when it's a bit rainy so it's nice to stay dry when walking around.
Lunch & Snacks - your body needs food to keep moving.
2+ Liters of water, at least 3 for a hot day.
Sunscreen (we recommend SPF 50 or higher).
Personal care items such as medications, skin care, etc.
Backpack (25-35L) to fit all your gear inside.