MATT_B Posted January 10, 2006 Posted January 10, 2006 I agree aid climbing is a good way to get better at placing gear but it is not the place I would start. If you have only been climbing a few months you are putting the cart before the horse. If you try it you will be trying to learn how to aid climb and place gear at the same time. Aiding is not rocket science but it can be a bit complicated at first. Learn one thing at a time. Start following trad routes. Pay attention to how gear is placed, what works, what doesn't work and ask lots of questions. Pay attention to rope management, it's just as important as knowing how to plug a cam in. Read Climbing Anchors by John Long. Your going to have to learn how to build safe anchors form something more complicated than to fat bolts. Once you have the basics down then try some aid climbing to help hone your skills. Have fun and be safe. Quote
thestidham Posted January 10, 2006 Author Posted January 10, 2006 wow thanks for all the advice guys. I have a lot to go from. I'm just about done with John Longs climbing anchors and a climbing friend of mine is going to work with me on leading in the gym on thursday so that will definitely bring me closer to where I want to be. also this may seem like a dumb question; I know what aid climbing is but in my particular circumstance are you guys refering to placing gear while top roping/sport climbing? Quote
Dechristo Posted January 10, 2006 Posted January 10, 2006 best thing is to hook up with experienced partners... ...what RumR said. Â Fuck all the tiptoeing up to the edge. You're reading good reference material, you've got an experienced partner, now, go do it. Quote
gary_hehn Posted January 11, 2006 Posted January 11, 2006 thestidham, I took them to mean aid climbing proper. In your case it could mean placing pro while on a top rope and weighting it to see that it holds. Be careful not to knock any teeth out while doing this if a piece pops on you. Doing this gives you an idea what is going to hold and what may not. When trad leading you will not want to weight or set pieces as hard as it makes retrieval difficult and time consuming for the second. Quote
whirlwind Posted January 11, 2006 Posted January 11, 2006 climb at vantage, there are a lot of good easy and straigh forward crack lines out there, word to the wise though cams tend to walk in basalt and sandstone so always use long runners and dont be afraid to place alot of gear at first untill you get better and more confident on your placements. like 5-10 ft spaceing because 5ft over you last piece is 10ft+ fall, 10 is 20+ ect.. Quote
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