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Introduction

Most seasoned rock climbers agree that lead climbing often evokes a state of consciousness so focused that many compare it to the act of meditation. Life is distilled to pure simplicity when you lead a climb. In this concentrated state, free from both internal and external distractions, you rediscover your innate ability to experience the present moment. Zen practice never seemed so easy. Offering yourself to the rock wall above, you navigate up mysterious rock pathways, shifting your focus between motor skills and intellect. Emotions emerge and dissolve, spilling in and out of your consciousness. Angst, fear, confidence, relief—each feeling fades into the past as swiftly as it emerges.

Moving skyward, the objective of taking “the sharp end” becomes more obvious. Leading is a game of exploration and discovery. Linking together a chain of holds not visible from the ground, you deftly navigate over bulges and plug your feet and fingers into cracks, all the while looking for ideal protection and rest opportunities. Decisions are made intuitively, as your body embraces a ritual memory entirely its own: placing or forgoing safeguards, resting or not resting, moving right, left, or easing back down to a stance. Your personal orchestration of each individual route as the leader is a creative and unique process. No two lead adventures are alike.

Leading gives you opportunities for independence and freedom. Without leading skills, your climbing experience is limited to top-roping or following others. A partnership in which one team member takes every lead cannot be as fulfilling as sharing lead responsibilities. And top-roping opportunities are limited by logistics: arriving with only top-roping gear to explore the celebrated granite cracks of Yosemite Valley, the soaring sandstone towers of southern Utah, or even Bouox’s famed limestone pockets in France is like arriving at Northern California’s Pebble Beach Golf Course with a croquet mallet.

A climber who successfully completes a challenging lead possesses an almost ethereal clarity. The climber who was disagreeable at the base sheds all emotional baggage by the summit. The formerly reticent individual is animated and talkative. Your postlead “buzz” defines the phrase “on cloud nine” in a way that Merriam or Webster never could. Meet the leader.

Spanning almost two decades, my rock climbing experience features venues that support various styles and methods. Some highlights include bouldering at Hueco Tanks in Texas and Fontainbleu, bolt clipping in southern France, free climbing on desert towers, big-wall climbing in Yosemite Valley, and climbing backcountry routes in the Dolomites, the Rockies, the Alps, and the Sierra Nevada. While each is a treasured memory, most cherished are the free-climbing experiences that required what is known today as traditional (trad) lead climbing skills.

Trad lead climbing is fundamentally about placing your own protection and anchors. While you may clip an occasional bolt or piton already in place as you lead, you mostly place your own gear; you set Stoppers, camming devices, Hexes, and other devices into cracks as temporary anchors to protect yourself from long falls. As the leader, you must balance technical gear skills with physical capabilities while remaining relaxed and focused.

Despite its many joys, traditional lead climbing happens to be one of the more dangerous climbing activities. While it offers you adventures aplenty, you enter an arena where risks are extremely high and mistakes unforgiving. Therefore, without expert guidance, learning to lead with gear will be frustrating and could be life-threatening.

I first became motivated to write this book when several newcomers asked me to recommend a book that would teach them specifically how to lead with gear. I was certain such a book existed and erroneously recommended The Art of Leading, which turned out to be a short video. After some research I learned that, while the information is available in chapters of several instructional texts, a book had not been written. Now it has.

Another reason I wrote this book stems from my own challenges learning to lead in Yosemite National Park in 1984—a few years prior to the advent of sport climbing (before gear-leading was referred to as “traditional”). It was a dangerous and frightening undertaking, but I didn’t know it at the time. I was young and, like many of my friends, far too consumed in the glory of it all to realize the risks I took. I haphazardly borrowed equipment from (understandably) hesitant friends, and thrashed my way up anything relatively “easy,” which, in Yosemite Valley, amounts to a humble smattering of routes you can count on two hands. The instructional information available at this time was sparse, and what was available wasn’t as accessible as resources are today. Although the copies I owned were obscenely outdated, Basic Rockcraft and Advanced Rockcraft were my bibles, and probably helped save me numerous times.

Today, learning to lead with gear doesn’t have to be the dangerous undertaking it was for me. Besides progressive developments in climbing technology, climbers learning to lead in this century have a tremendous amount of instructional information available in frequently updated books, videos, and CD-ROMs, as well as on the Web. Comprehensive classes offered through guiding services and accredited outdoor programs can provide the new leader with excellent information and hands-on experience in relatively safe environments. Learn about all the resources available to you and take advantage of them.

It took me 10 years to develop competence as a leader; the skills required are many. Traditional leading is a major undertaking—one significantly more complex than sport climbing, bouldering, or top-roping. This complexity differential is perhaps best illustrated by the analogy of open-ocean (blue-water) sailing to sailing in a bay, where land is always in sight, swells are gentle, and challenges predictable. Like open-ocean sailing, traditional lead climbing involves discovery, adventure, and risk. Without a commitment to learning, your chances of staying alive, let alone truly enjoying yourself, are slim. To embark upon learning this is to commit to a lifetime of education.

It is virtually impossible to gain the skills of an expert trad leader in one season, or even in a year. After five years, you’ll realize there’s even more to learn. And in 10 years, you’ll still be making mistakes you thought only beginners made. Accidents can happen even to very experienced and seasoned climbers. Statistics compiled in Canada and the U.S. in 1997 indicate that climbing accidents occur equally among beginner, intermediate, and advanced climbers, a fact that should deter you from complacency at any climbing skill level.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

This book is intended for the intermediate, nonleading rock climber who has a desire to lead with gear. It’s also ideal for the climber whose leading experience has been limited to clipping bolts in a sport-climbing setting. It is not designed to provide instruction for beginner climbers with little or no prior experience. You should own and have working knowledge of basic climbing equipment, including a harness, rope, belay device, and carabiners. General comprehension of simple systems like belaying, top-roping, and leading is essential, and a desire to absorb an enormous amount of new technical information won’t hurt. If you struggle to grasp technical concepts, don’t worry. You’ll get it. It might just take longer and require more repetition. If you’ve got outdoor climbing experience, you have a significant advantage over those who do not. You’ll be even more ahead of the game if you’ve followed and cleaned trad routes or set up removable top-rope anchors. If you’re transitioning from the artificial to the organic realm, you’ve got a lot of work to do. Indoor gym climbing only vaguely resembles climbing on real rock, and the mountain environment where the majority of trad areas exist is a unique setting unlike any other. In addition to their climbing practices, transitional climbers will benefit from cultivating other outdoor interests like backpacking to help develop their high country instincts.

If you’re in a hurry to take the sharp end on a traditional route, the guidance in this book may not work for you. But if you embrace the status of beginner and are patient enough to learn this unique and multifaceted craft at a moderate pace, you’ve got the right book. Just keep in mind the information here cannot replace the mentoring of a trained professional. Use the book to supplement other resources.

In the same vein, none of the information in this book is valuable without repeated application on the rock. You could memorize every last word ever published on trad leading, but without regular, hands-on practice, every trip to the crags will be like your first. By all means—read all the climbing literature you can get your hands on. Tie knots in your living room, and practice anchoring and self-rescue off your sun deck. Just don’t believe that those sessions will ever replace realtime experience on the rock.

For learning purposes, this book refers to traditional lead climbing synonymously with gear-leading. Also, the techniques described refer specifically to roped free climbing on rock, using a single lead line, unless otherwise stated. More details about the origin of trad free climbing and how it differs from other methods and styles are discussed in Chapter 1. In the context of modern climbing, it is necessary to describe sport climbing in order to define traditional climbing. A style or methodology doesn’t receive the label “traditional” unless it is the earlier standard, and a new and different trend (in this case, sport climbing) arises to define it as such. Comparisons help you differentiate the two styles.

This book relies on a linear approach to learning that emphasizes slow and steady progress with the guidance of a mentor or experienced trad climber. Chapters 1 and 2 explain where traditional leading fits into the realm of roped rock climbing as a whole, and details the psychosocial joys and challenges involved. After reading these chapters, you might ask yourself, do I have what it takes? Chapter 3 describes the hardware and tools you’ll need. Chapter 4 explains the process of transitioning from the gym to the outdoors, and Chapter 5 emphasizes technical skill building in low-risk environments. By the end of Chapter 6, you’ll be prepared for your first single-pitch lead without relying on a back-up top-rope.

Chapters 7 and 8 are devoted to more advanced trad lead skills, including multipitch techniques, and an introduction to the fundamentals of self-rescue. Chapter 9 provides information on knot and rope craft, while discussions of ratings, climbing etiquette, and impact and access issues are found in Chapter 10. Following the main text is an afterword that encourages you on your journey as a traditional lead climber and appendices, as well as a glossary of common climbing vernacular. Throughout the book, each time I introduce a technical term or jargon, it appears in bold italics, indicating that it’s defined in the glossary.

Some of the most valuable information in this book stems from the gleanings of several of America’s most talented traditional leaders, presented throughout the book in the form of advice and tales of their own learning. These contributors shed light on numerous facets of traditional leading, from partnerships to more technical information on placing gear, falling, and retreating.

The information presented in this book is not intended to be used as a set of protocols you can fall back on at every turn. Trad climbers are most successful when they alternate between protocol and judgment-based decisions. In your beginning years, it’s certainly wise to lean heavily toward protocol. But with more experience, your judgment and intuition will mature, giving you the ability to make wise and thoughtful assessments of each situation without relying as heavily on protocol. Book-smart novices expect to be safe on the rocks if, at every turn, they simply do what the protocol suggests. Although probably intelligent and talented, these folks are often some of the most dangerous climbers out there: they never allow their judgment and intuition to blossom. Eventually they run into a problem they don’t ever recall reading about. Though ready to initiate a canned solution, they are stumped when the solution requires logic and a combination of skills they possess.

Keep in mind that most of us are out there pursuing these techniques because we want to have fun. Don’t take yourself too seriously, laugh a lot, be safe, and enjoy the journey.