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alpnclmbr1
Apr 27, 2024, 6:43 PM
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tallnik
Aug 24, 2004, 1:10 PM
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Alpnclmbr1,
AWESOME Posts, keep em' coming. I'm really interested in getting into some trad climbing, and I'm learning a lot from your posts. Thanks a lot!
Nik
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jumpingrock
Aug 25, 2004, 5:32 AM
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Awesome post man. Just one addition that I would suggest.
Cleaning:
If the leader places a nut or cam and uses a trad draw. After freeing the piece from the rock, clip the biner with the piece into your harness before unclipping the draw from your rope. This will help prevent dropped pieces.
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vegastradguy
Aug 25, 2004, 6:16 AM
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excellent post. i remember my first follow and i hung on the rope because i couldnt get a stuck stopper. after hanging, took me another 10 mins, but i got it. if that happened now, i'd leave it. course, i'm better at cleaning now.
another thing for the follower- dont feel the need to unclip the piece from the rope right at the moment you clean it. if you're struggling and you havent got a stance, let the piece hang at your waist on the rope until you get to a better position to unclip it and move it to your harness. this will also help prevent dropping pro.
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squish
Aug 25, 2004, 6:25 AM
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In reply to: After freeing the piece from the rock, clip the biner with the piece into your harness before unclipping the draw from your rope. This will help prevent dropped pieces.
This will also keep you from looking like a total noob. Or, at least it might help.
(You know the ones I'm talking about: rope-end biner clipped to their harness, and nuts dangling below their knees...)
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tradbum
Aug 28, 2004, 6:35 PM
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In reply to: This will also keep you from looking like a total noob. Or, at least it might help.
Climb safe,
Smitty
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alpnclmbr1
Aug 28, 2004, 7:08 PM
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So, you want to learn to follow a trad route?
How to follow a multi pitch trad route.
(Make sure you have read the prequel. So, you want to learn to trad climb?) as for the most part, I am not going to repeat anything already covered.
So you are back for more???
Pre climb routine
First step is to find a good leader to follow.
Maturity, experience, and a willingness to teach are the traits that you want to look for.
“I have been climbing for ??? years.” can mean a lot, or it can mean nothing. Be careful about trying to judge the difference.
When only one person in a party is a skilled leader then the route needs to be well within the capabilities of the leader. Preferably, a familiar route as well. i.e. If the leader falls on the first pitch, seriously consider going bouldering instead.
You do not want to rope up with someone who runs it out in an unsafe manner. (Judgment call. Remember, everything is relative.)
A beginning multi-pitch trad follower should absolutely not be falling or hanging on the route. (except to clean stuck gear)
Some people like to place gear in such a way as to make it hard to remove every time. I don’t know how these people find climbing partners.
Decide on whether or not to wear a helmet. Bring a small headlamp for all multi pitch routes.
Evaluate potential escape routes and the point of no return.
Basic personal equipment: (for me anyway)
Shoes
Harness
Chalk bag / chalk, knife, headlamp,starburst.
2 shoulder slings / trad draws
Daisy with a dedicated locker
Belay device / dedicated locker
Nut tool / dedicated oval
1 or 2 locking light D’s
water – clip on or pocket or camelback
When I am climbing with someone who likes to go really light on gear, sometimes I will bring a few supplementary pieces for beefing up the anchors. (don’t get carried away with this)
=--=-=-=-=-
The leader is carrying a 50 meter 8.1 bail rope, butterfly coiled on his back.
9.4 mm 60 meter lead rope.
Cheating.
No one is going to shoot you if you pull on a piece of gear. This is much less of a transgression then taking ten minutes to figure out a move would be. You should be skilled at “French” freeing a route, on gear or bolts. You can use shoulder slings as an aider. You can use the rope as the first handhold off of a hang. If the leader knows that the follower is not going to be able to do a certain move, then he can fix a sling for the follower to pull on. These can be lifesaving skills on a rainy day.
If you want to take a rest, clip into a piece instead of hanging on the belayer.
Traverses
Make sure that you have a leader that knows how to protect the second on traverses. If the leader fails to do this in a situation where he could have? Then you have every right to complain about it to him.
The rule is to place a piece right after a hard move in a traverse when it is possible. There are exceptions to this rule and a competent leader should know them. One of them is if the hard traverse move is followed by a straight up part of the route, delaying placing gear can provide a top rope for the traverse move.
A traverse across the face of a roof can leave the follower subject to the possibility of being stuck hanging in the air with no rock within reach. (this is one of the reasons people carry prussics) Place lot’s of gear and / or don’t fall.
Cheating techniques:
You can climb with three people on a traversing route and the middle person can be belayed from both ends at once.
Traverse off a bolt with a bad fall potential as soon as you unclip. This is being chicken but sometimes that can be a good thing. The trick is you thread a shoulder sling through the bolt hanger and use it as a handhold as far as you can reach with it doubled up. Be careful retrieving the runner by letting the half without the bar tack go and pulling it through. (Also look into a pendulum.)
Belaying
Buddy check: check each other’s knots and harnesses.
Generally, you keep a looser belay then you normally would sport climbing.
Leading a trad climb takes a long enough time that the belayer needs to relax a little bit. This does not mean to fall asleep. Grigri’s are not recommended for multi-pitch trad due to the increased forces produced by the device in the event of a fall.
Climbing.
Try to pace yourself, yet go as fast as you can. Get an even flow going and stick with it.
Squeeze chimney: Hang all of the gear on your harness and the pack if you have one off a shoulder sling connected to your belay loop with a locker.
Evaluating the leader’s protection system
Why did he place that piece here?
Why did he not place another piece there?
What would I do different?
Why did he choose “there,” to set the belay?
Where could I have gotten off route?
Critique and analyze everything. (Sometimes it is best to keep it to yourself and sometimes it is best not to.)
Cleaning Gear.
If the leader places a piece puzzle fashion, it goes in (or out) one way only, it helps if he tells the follower which way he placed it. Or ask.
Be careful about jerking on gear to clean it. Sometimes it will work sometimes it will make things worse. Visual inspection will often tell you which is which, and in either case be gentle. You do not want to tweak the cables.
Do not yank on small wires! Use your nut tool, carefully.
The backbone of a carabiner or the sideplate of a camalot can work as a hammer. Again, be gentle.
If a cam really won’t come out, clip into another piece of gear (place it if necessary) or hang in order to free both hands for working on the cam. Stuck cams are often the result of someone trying to remove a cam in a direction other then the one in which it was placed. Keep in mind that cams usually walk upwards. (in the direction of the stem) Keep this in mind when a cam gets stuck from walking.
As long as you can wiggle a cam, you can usually remove it. You have 10 minutes max, be diligent and efficient in your efforts.
Re-racking the gear. As you clean the pieces, try to rearrange the gear in the manner that the leader carries it. i.e. close up a trad draw, or put all the stoppers on one biner.
Belay transitions:
Belaying to following:
Once you take the leader off belay, you have a number of options. If it is a hanging belay, clean and organize down to two pieces, then wait to be put on belay before cleaning the last two. Sometimes if I am on a ledge, I will clean down to one piece in order to speed things up. Make sure that the rope is not tangled and that you are not going to forget anything.
One unusual situation is a rope stretcher pitch. The answer can vary from taking the rope out of the anchor to disassembling the anchor and simul-climbing for a few feet. (this is an advanced technique)
Following to belaying
Reconfigure the anchor to make you the belayer as you are following all five pitches. Often this will be as simple as clipping into a cordelette powerpoint and backing it up. Rope only anchors are slightly more involved. The key rule is to always be attached to the anchor by at least two points.(one of which can temporarily be a tied off belay device)
Re-stack the rope.(end for end) or handover the coil, while flipping it over.
Re-rack the gear. Be very careful not to drop anything. Develop a specific procedure to ensure this.
Descent
Make sure that you know all of the various options for descending from a given route. Given a choice between rapping and walking, we will walk.
After action analysis
Evaluate:
Teamwork
Efficiency
Communication
Mistakes
Headgame
If you are scared following, just think about what it will be like when you are leading.
Safety
Buddy check.
Second rope for emergency retreats. Usually carrying a second rope to allow full length rappels in the event of a storm or accident, is a required safety procedure.
If you feel sick, tell your partner, then suck it up if you can. Often times it is mostly nerves.
Know the difference between when it would not be so bad to fall and when it would be very bad to fall and climb accordingly.
The fact of the matter is that anytime you have two people in the middle of a 600 foot wall, The follower can suddenly become the leader and theory is about to be tested by reality. A multi-pitch follower needs to know his “rhymes w kit.”
Continuing learning
Climb and learn as much as you can. It’s that simple.
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tradbum
Aug 28, 2004, 11:02 PM
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Registered: May 9, 2004
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What a great assessment and a lot of thought put into it!
I need my seconds (and some leaders) to read that!
Thanks!
Climb safe,
Smitty
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picaco
Aug 28, 2004, 11:44 PM
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Registered: May 7, 2004
Posts: 204
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very in depth. Thanks
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