Learn To Lead 2 - Trad Climbing

Requirements: You can demonstrate competent skills in sport-climbing outdoors, including awareness of safety concerns and the techniques to manage them. I will accept people based on safety skill, willingness to learn and level of involvement in the club.

Anyone who has gotten the "climbing bug" and wants to learn to lead climb outdoors this year, this is the third module in a 3(.5) part course designed to teach you everything you need to know about leading on trad gear.  The reason it is in 3.5 modules is to give you time to get enough experience in each module to learn the next, and to ensure that you are indeed committed to the climbing game - not just freeloading!  Remember also that the focus of these courses is on safety - not your climbing ability.

A description of all three-point-five modules to the course are as follows (more in-depth descriptions can be found by looking at the module itself):

Learn To Lead 0.5 - Lead Belaying
You've already done this one - See the (past) trip description of what you need to have learned if you missed it.

Learn To Lead 1 - Sport Climbing Outdoors
You've already done this one - See the (past) trip description of what you need to have learned if you missed it.  Catching up is possible - if you're committed you will find a way!

Learn To Lead 2 - Trad Climbing
Pre-requisites: Must have been climbing outdoors with the club at least twice, one of which involved you and a similar-level partner sport climbing.  Pre-placed trad gear is okay for this, as long as you can demonstrate your ability to lead climb safely.  You can demonstrate mastery of sport-climbing safety concerns and the techniques to manage them.

Course content: we will now take your sport-climbing skills (which you have practiced) and add the difficult element of traditional gear placements, including trad anchors.  Again, this course will not cover multi-pitch climbing, but focus on single-pitch and returning safely to the ground with all of your gear.

These skills (once you have practiced them) will enable you and a partner to travel pretty much anywhere in the world, approach any climbing destination and have fun while staying safe.  It is important at this stage to know your limitations - trad climbing is much more dangerous than sport climbing.  You should be aware enough to seek out continuous opportunities to learn and develop your safety techniques.

Homework: you now have the skills to attend nearly any climbing trip that the club offers.  Your homework therefore, is to attend those courses, as many as you can!  Before the next module, you must have been lead-climbing on trad, on an outdoor club trip at least once, and preferably you have gone out with friends to practice your trad skills as well.  Again, from what you have learnt you should be realising that this is your life - and the life of your climbing partner - we are talking about, so failing to practice these life-saving skills before you go out isn't going to help anybody.  If there aren't enough club trips going out, organise one yourself! There's nothing stopping you organising a trip and asking a leader to attend.  Work on developing your climbing skill level and continue practicing everything you have learned.  If you are committed and practicing then the next course will not be too difficult - though it will still be time-consuming.

The leader to beginner ratio for this trip is 1:3.

This module sets you up to attend the final module in the course:

Learn To Lead 3 - Multi-Pitch In the final module of this series we will take what you have learned and apply it to rock faces much higher than 30m.  See the trip description for more details.

The details of this event (location, cost if any) are still up in the air - they may change later on, but the dates and course material will stay the same.  Attendance numbers are limited and depend on the number of leaders available - I will apply a "first in, first served" rule if we need to limit numbers (as well as looking really closely at your pre-requisites!).  Don't worry though - you can catch up in time for the next course if you miss out on this one - see me for details.