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downsouth
Feb 19, 2007, 5:42 AM
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Can Anyone direct me to any articles regarding placing protection. am a novice ...?
Thanks Brad
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drfelatio
Feb 19, 2007, 5:46 AM
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downsouth wrote: Can Anyone direct me to any articles regarding placing protection. am a novice ...? Thanks Brad
Read John Long's "How to Climb" and "Climbing Anchors" then find an experienced person to mentor you.
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musicman1586
Feb 19, 2007, 5:48 AM
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downsouth wrote: Can Anyone direct me to any articles regarding placing protection. am a novice ...? Thanks Brad
No, find an experienced leader and get them to teach you in person, you can't read something online and learn how to place gear, it takes practice and people telling you what's good and what's bad. That's why such articles are few and far between. If your going to read something though, get John Long's new Climbing Anchors book, read it front to back and then find some trad climbers to take you out anyways.
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moose_droppings
Feb 19, 2007, 5:53 AM
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Borrow some hexes or nutz from a friend and go out at ground level and start placing them and pulling on them.
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downsouth
Feb 19, 2007, 5:58 AM
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Cheers Guys found the book ordered it .. Now Just to find those Experienced mentors in the area... the mission begins.....
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fearlessclimber
Feb 19, 2007, 6:02 AM
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ya find a mentor, i never had one and learned by asking and reading, but i can lead harder tad than most so it just shows what you can teach yourself. the faster and better you place youre gear the better climber y9ou can become
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downsouth
Feb 19, 2007, 6:06 AM
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Ha Mentors probably arent easy to come by at this point especially living in Coonabarabran.. small town.... Close to Warrumbungles so There must be someone hiding out there,....
How did you teach yoursel... just playing round at ground level and trying things out???
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granite_grrl
Feb 19, 2007, 1:51 PM
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Playing round with stuff on the ground is a good start. I started getting confidence and practice placing gear by using it for TR anchors. Took me a dogs age to set up an anchor, but I felt I learned a lot.
I did have some very experianced people to follow at the same time, so I think that helped a lot to see what a solid peice looks like.
Even better is to have someone to critic your placements, first on the ground then after when you get on a route.
And many people poo-poo on the idea of faux leading, but I think it gives you a safe atmosphere to practice placing gear while you're climbing. So not as something to make you warm and fuzzy and get you to lead something over your head, but something to make sure you can pick out the right sized nut when you need to while hanging out on the route.
And take it slow!!! Know your anchor systems first, know how to bring someone up from the top, there area ton of things to learn with leading beyond how to place gear.
There's no need to rush into leading. 2 months isn't a very long time to be into climbing before wanting to lead, but it shows desire and motivation. But don't rush into it and do something stupid.
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jgloporto
Feb 19, 2007, 3:23 PM
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downsouth wrote: Ha Mentors probably arent easy to come by at this point especially living in Coonabarabran.. small town.... Close to Warrumbungles so There must be someone hiding out there,.... How did you teach yoursel... just playing round at ground level and trying things out???
Placing gear at ground level, building belay stations at ground level, and mock leads have all been suggested and are probably your best bet for self-coaching. You probably would need to really study something like JL's new climbing anchors treatise. I am still not convinced that hanging on gear at ground level in and of itself proves that the placement is bomber and it cetainly doesn't prove that the placements are properly oriented to anticipate the direction of a fall. I would still try and find an experienced leader to climb with or short of that, take a lead course from a guide service. Having someone to critique your placements in a real world setting until you are comfortable with it is important.
To quote carabiner '96, mistakes in this sport means you go "bang, bang, squish, squish."
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cellardoor
Feb 19, 2007, 3:30 PM
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One cool thing about rockclimbing is it helps you know yourself. This is one of those instances where you must know yourself and know what you need. If your a slow methodical person who doesn't do something without completely understanding it, then pursue it yourself and read a bunch until you understand gear placement, then practice it at the ground and on easy leads. If, however, you wouldn't trust yourself to not take a risk or do something without understanding it completely (the majority of people), find someone to teach you and observe mistakes you might be making before you commit your life to them.
The keys here are to be honest with yourself and safe above all (see the quote in above post)
2 reds
(This post was edited by cellardoor on Feb 19, 2007, 3:32 PM)
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deltav
Feb 19, 2007, 3:47 PM
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moose_droppings wrote: Borrow some hexes or nutz from a friend and go out at ground level and start placing them and pulling on them.
Even with a mentor, this is great advice
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stymingersfink
Feb 21, 2007, 1:18 AM
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here's a start, as echoed above. The main thing is to stay safe in your practices. The problem is, you don't have enough experience yet to recognize when you're being unsafe... hence the recommendations for a mentor.
Not that mentors are totally necessary to get started, but they can really help your progression once you have enough basic understanding to absorb the information you will be seeing. You need to be able to recognize what you DON'T know in order to know what questions you need to ask.
The key when learning on your own how to place gear is: don't climb anything you have any fear of falling from. If there are any doubts about your protection system you are in essence soloing, and you must be willing/able to pay the consequences of such actions in the event of catastrophic failure.
That said, I was entirely self-taught and roped-solo in my first year of trad/sport/ice climbing. I survived it, but only because I didn't do anything exceedingly stupid. Things began progressing much more quickly when I started climbing with someone more experienced than myself (or my books).
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kixx
Feb 21, 2007, 2:39 AM
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DownSouth - sounds like you got a good head on your shoulders.
I'm the kinda person that can learn way more by being self taught through reading and practice... The best practice I had placing pro was to aide up some easy pitches.
Seriously, try aiding... Not only do you learn to place gear but you learn to trust your placements. If you're placements are really sketchy then do it on a TR. That's what I did... I just did it in a place where I knew nobody would see me aiding a free route on a top rope.
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androids
Feb 26, 2007, 7:55 PM
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try and find bomber placements in youre apartement or house ...its good practice and u never have to leave home... ive placed half my rack in my kitchen alone!
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madclimbr13
Feb 26, 2007, 8:03 PM
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I taught myself and the best thing for me was to stand at the base of a crag and choose three or four pieces, build the anchor with those pieces, equalize them, etc and then choose 4 more pieces and repeat. Also, follow lots of routes and you will start to see where experienced climbers place gear.
Peace
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