Learn To Lead 0.5 - Lead Belaying and Indoor Lead climbing

Requirements: Must have climbed indoors at least 3 times since the beginning of the semester (basically I want to know you are committed to climbing and really want to lead). Also must have been to Cliffhanger in Altona before, as this is a requirement of their insurance. If you haven't you will need to go during the week. Turning up on the day for the first time ever at that gym will result in you not attending the course.

Anyone who has gotten the "climbing bug" and wants to learn to lead climb outdoors this year, this is the first module in a 3(.5) part course designed to teach 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
Pre-Requisites:  Must have been indoor climbing at any Melbourne climbing gym at least 3 times since the beginning of the semester (I climb 3 times a week, surely you can manage 3 sessions in a month or so).  You must also have mastered the clip-training board in the MUMC clubrooms (under 55 seconds with NO fumbling). You must also have been to Cliffhanger climbing gym in Altona at least once before this module (so they can check your top-rope belaying).  Location and directions are at http://www.cliffhanger.com.au/

Course Content:  The focus of this one-day course is to teach people who have never belayed a leader before, how lead belaying works. 

This belayer (at the bottom) is belaying the lead-climber (hanging) who has just fallen.  Belaying keeps the climber safe from falling to the ground (falling is OK - hitting the ground is not!).

This skill, once learned, is applicable to all areas of climbing, and the same knowledge is used a lot in mountaineering and abseiling as well.

Homework: Practice!  To practice, you will need to gain a lead-pass in an indoor climbing gym, and go there a LOT with a climbing partner.  To get the pass you will need to demonstrate all skills taught in this module, as well as demonstrating your ability to clip efficiently (there is a training board in the clubrooms for this, and we'll go over it again during the session - it's harder than it looks, and needs plenty of practice!) and to take a lead-fall while climbing.

Gaining an indoor lead pass at any climbing gym in Melbourne is a pre-requisite to the second module of the course - Learn To Lead 1 - Sport Climbing Outdoors.   You will also need to have used that lead pass to climb at least 3 times in an indoor climbing gym before attending the second module.  (HINT: taking part in this year's "Leading Ladder" round of competitions is a great way to get your experience up.  See a post in the mumc.org.au news-feed about that, or just visit www.bloc.nu for details.).

I recommend this module before attending any outdoor lead climbing trip (you are still a beginner, but have the skills to lead climb WITHOUT setting anchors).

The max leader to beginner ratio for this trip is 1:5.

This module sets you up to attend the follow-on modules:

Learn To Lead 1 - Sport Climbing Outdoors will take what you have learned (and practiced) indoors into the outdoor environment, and we will teach you how to set up anchors on pre-bolted rock, as well as returning safely to the ground with all of your gear!  Multi-pitch climbing will not be covered until module 3.  See the trip description for more details.

Learn To Lead 2 - Trad Climbing will take what you have learned (and 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 to the ground with all of your gear.  See the trip description for more details.

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

Attendance numbers are limited and depend on the number of leaders available (ratio is 1:5) - 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.