Newbie vs. Multipitch Sport - Round One

[BreezyD]

I am looking to step my climbing up a notch and test my mettle on some multipitch sport climbing. I am looking for someone who is perfectly happy teaching someone inexperienced and leading every pitch while I get familiar with the mechanics of multipitch climbing.

 

Now for the "resume" (if you can call it that). I just started rock climbing this summer. All of the climbing I have done has been top roped sport (aside from cleaning two short trad routes), and have only led one 5.7 route so my experience is really limited. I am pretty strong, a quick learner, not a quitter, and pretty enthusiastic about climbing in general.

 

If you think you might be up for it ... PM me.

 

 

Brianna

 

No spray please.

[Dru]

It sounds like you are perfectly qualified to seige up da Toof!

[Rodchester]

To clarify: Do you want to learn multi-pitch trad, or multi-pitch sport? There really is not that much mutli-pitch sport climbing, at least in the PNW.

 

Either way, I wish you luck and have fun!

[BreezyD]

I was advised that it is best to perfect sport before fully taking the step into trad ... so I guess I am interested more in multipitch sport, HOWEVER, I'll take what I can get.

[jhamaker]

What dificulty do you follow? Do you have a preference yet for one type of rock or type of climbing?

[ashw_justin]

Hmm multipitch sport. Where is there multipitch sport (besides Infinite Bliss)? If it was me I'd start leading sport instead, starting easy or on a gym lead wall. Then once you can lead (or if you already can), practice some multipitch-like skills by leading a route, converting to rap at the anchors, and cleaning your own route on rap. That will give you some experience with hanging off of the anchors and switching from one mode to another up off the deck.

 

Or, just find a trad climber and follow them up a route on the Great Northern Slab at Index...

[shapp]

best way to learn is to climb, if you want multipitch sport sounds like you will be heading to smith

[Alpinfox]

There is multipitch sport in Leavenworth, Darrington, Static Point, Smith Rock, and I'm sure many other places in the PNW.

 

I agree with Justin that learning how to clean an anchor and rappel down is something you should learn soon if you don't already know how to do that.

 

If you aren't leading, it doesn't really matter whether it is a sport or trad climb except that sport climbs will generally require face climbing skills and trad climbs will generally require some crack climbing skills.

 

You should try to make it to the rope-ups at Smith and Leavenworth. Good place to meet partners and there might even be some special clinics for beginning climbers.

[jefffski]

i have often taken beginners on routes up the apron in squish. they always have a great time.

[Dave_Schuldt]

Don't forget about Static Point. I will be going up there once it cools down. BreezyD, I will drop you a line when I think it's cool enough. Maybe this weekend.

[selkirk]

Leading Sport is a good place to start Breezy, but the gear management skills don't really cross over a whole lot. If you can lead the pitch, avoid backclipping, and set up either a top rope or a rappel from the chains or bolts when you get there, that about covers what you can get for gear management experience out of sport. I would guess you could get most of the down pretty pat in a day or less. However it's still pretty valuable for learning to stay in the right "head space" For me it seems leading is only 1/2 physical and the other 1/2 is mental, being comfortable out on the sharp end of the rope, and being able to stay calm and work through whatever shows up. I think that's actually the hardest part to learn.

 

I would say your best path is to start trying to lead some sport routes that you feel comfortable and confident that you can climb to start getting the right head-space down. At the same time though I'd say you should try and find someone to drag you up some trad climbs as well so you can start getting a feel for what good pro placements are, how to avoid rope drag, how to build gear anchors, manage the rope etc. In addition, make sure your comfortable rappeling and possibly lean to use some form of back up.

 

This may be the Mountie in me showing but a weekend in Leavenworth doing more ground school stuff than actual climbing (gear management, anchor building, pro placement and cleaning, rapelling, knots and maybe some simple rescue stuff like escaping the belay) would almost certainly get you ready to follow trad and evaluate pro, after that a few days spend doing multipitch trad, followed by another couple of days doing mock leading while someone climbs the pitch next to you and evaluates your placements (top rope the pitch, but drage a rope and take a rack and protect it as if you were on lead. Then once your out of groundfall danger loosen up the toprope so that it's primarily a backup.) and then some easy leads well below what your capable of climbing, again with someone experienced following to evaluate your placements, anchor settup etc.

 

All that said, it would probably be useful to pick up a book and do a little reading on pro placements, anchor building, knots, etc, etc. John Longs, "Climbing Anchors" is pretty good, and of course Freedom of the Hills seems to cover just about everything, but probably not in quite the depth that something more specific to rock would.

 

Good Luck and Have Fun! Once you get out on the sharp end you may never want to go back!

[mattp]

I was advised that it is best to perfect sport before fully taking the step into trad ...

 

That is standard advice these days, but I disagree. Rock climbing is in part about strength and technique, but it is also about judgment and keeping a cool head and knowing your limits and finding the way when there may not be an obvious route in front of you.

 

I believe that today's standard approach emphasizes the strength and technique to the detriment of these other aspects. You don't have to master everything in the gym before going outside, on the sport crag before going trad, and on a top-rope before leading.

 

If you have an opportunity to try something new - say a true multipitch climb - and the circumstances seem safe (you have a competent partner who you trust), go for it. If somebody says "you can lead this pitch, and I'll watch you to see that your gear is OK" and if you trust that person's judgment and especially if you are looking at a short and relatively easy pitch on a developed crag, go ahead and try it -- even if you haven't yet mastered the SRENE anchor system or the fall-factor calculus equations or even practiced placement and removal of gear in any great deapth.

 

In my view, we make things too complicated these days, and too much of a focus on technique and technical stuff holds many climbers back.

 

Like you said: take what you can get - just try not to take too big of a bite of it.

[minx]

Might I just point out that if you want to climb a multi pitch route, it won't matter much weather it's sport or trad if you're not doing the leading. If you're climbing a gear route, you'll have to clean a few pieces and maybe an anchor, maybe not depending on the route. The mechanics aren't much different for the second. Unclip the draw or clean the piece. You'll do fine either way.

[Alpinfox]

 

All this advice and the poor girl still hasn't gotten any offers to actually TAKE HER OUT CLIMBING (except by DaveSchuldt) which, I'm guessing, was her hope since this post is in the Climbing Partners forum.

 

Hey Brianna, what is your schedule? Maybe next week sometime we could head out somewhere?

 

[minx]

you never know what's happened via PM now do you?

[nalo]

I think what's happened here is that we didnt realize she was a girl... now she'll get all kinds of offers!

[SnowByrd]

Thats the kewl thing about the partners forum....it doesn't matter what gender you are....you get responses from people who just want to climb, regardless. I learned that lesson already and had a great time climbing with the boys who didn't even know I was a girl until we met in the parking lot! I'd definitely feel very comfortable posting on here looking for a climbing partner (s). Its true though....the more you know, the more valuable of a climbing partner you are. Good Luck Breezy D and make sure you post pics and a trip report.

[dmuja]

I'd like to do "da toof" if we could get an early start to beat the Mounties. Or I wouldn't mind just "practicing" on the mountaineers dome (buttress). Someone PM (or EM) me please if I can come too.

 

I have some experience (mostly sport craggs and alpine snow), have rack, can build 3-4-5 point mulitiDir anchors.

 

I been wanting to do the "Tooth" for a while now but it seems like most "rock gods" just yawn at it -yes I know its a 5.4, but it is exposed, it is multipitch , and it is a mountain. I'd probably do GNSlab too if that happens.

 

And hey, ther's now a weekly noobs "girls" climb, why not a ("politically correct" non gender specific ;-) "easy climbin" group type thing that meets every week or 2. This wouldn't mean you can just show up and be an idiot etc.. but just a group of *serious* climbers that still lack some of the experience that I have found at places like index LTW. I'm mean, not all climbers started out in Yosemite, are 5'10 140 lbs, are 20-30 years old and or mentioned in Jim Nelson books.

 

(BTW, I hope I don't get tagged as asshole for pointing this out - as I really would like to climb with you guys - but I've run into this kinda thing at index; A group of "experienced" climbers doing a 5.9 to 5.10+ route guy with their girl-friends or girls with their boy-friends, whatever. They were good *physical* climbers, but they were laughing and making jokes the whole time they were climbing and belaying. all the sudden I here "clink - whizzz - chink" etc..as a nut goes flying down nearly onto the belayer. The climber says "oops" to the group's chorus of laughter. Just minutes later - following more laughs and jokes - I hear "look out" and down comes what looked like a pack to me, again nearly missing the belayer. "Hey its getting dangerours down here" one of the group says, then more laughter. As I was there just to practice anchor building with my brother we decided to stay as far from these "experts" as we could. This is the kind of thing I'd like to avoid in a group climb, wether with experienced or novice climbers. CLIMB FIRST, PARTY LATER.

 

 

Doug

[Stavrogin]

i'd be down for a "easy climbin" group.

[BreezyD]

Thaks ya'll for the advice and offers to climb!

 

B

[eric8]

what mattp said

[shapp]

Mayhap this thread should be moved to rockclimbing.com

 

I think learning trad first makes you a better sport climber, and sport climbing first leads to not trusting your gear. If you become a compitent trad climber first under the supervission of a honed trad guru, you won't be scared to fall once you hit the bolts. Conversely if you start on bolts first you will have trouble getting used to falling on trad gear. Maybe this is over generalized but I think it is true. Also if starting sport first is the way to go, then how did lynn hill and john long become such good climbers? Me thinks that after having run it out on many a scarry trad route, and then coming into the sport climbing scene it was much easier to push the limits on the bolted terain since the new bolted routes seemed so much more safe.

[BreezyD]

I'd like to get this thread back on track ... I am looking for partners that would be interested in climbing with someone at my level (see first post in thread).

 

PM me if interested.

[shapp]

How did people learn to climb before the internet? and how did they ever find a climbing partner?

[dmuja]

My apologies if I sidetracked the thread here, sorry (got some pretty strange PMs, pissed some people off I guess).

 

Thread topic is per BreezyD looking to partner with someone for beginning Trad...see post #1

 

Doug