: How does trad climbing work Trad placements So I’ve recently started trad climbing and have only led 2 very easy ones (5. This thread will be posted again every Sunday so there should always be an opportunity to ask your question and have it answered. Nov 9, 2023 · 10 steps to your first multi pitch trad climbing adventure including necessary skills, gear, resources, and techniques. Nov 5, 2020 · Traditional “trad” Climbing In sport or indoor climbing, your route will already be bolted, whereas traditional climbing requires you to place your own protection. As a fledgling rock climber, the deluge of numbers, letters, dots, and dashes might seem intimidating, if not downright baffling. Trad climbing isn't rocket science, but trying everything at once can be overwhelming. What is trad climbing? What is trad gear? How do you learn trad climbing? Find out the basics about becoming a trad climber from an AMGA-certified Rock Guide. For more on this, check out this and finally, Trad Climbing: Trad for “Traditional”. In this thread you can ask any trad climbing related question that you may have. Learning how to place trad gear is an essential skill as you progress as a climber. Perfect for beginners seeking expert insights. It’s how rock climbing was always done until sport climbing was invented in the 1980s. What sounds like a ton of extra work is actually the ultimate Raw rock, wild landscapes, and not a bolt in sight: Trad climbing – short for "Traditional Climbing" – is climbing in its purest form. 5 and 5. Jun 5, 2023 · Some rock climbing rating scales, such as UK trad climbing, go the extra mile by incorporating a general safety indicator for routes that are tricky to protect or pose inherent risks. Trad climbing Nov 18, 2016 · The trickiest—and most important—parts of multi-pitch trad climbing are placing solid gear and building safe anchors fast. How do climbers protect a fall with our little wired pieces of metal? In this episode I cover the complete basics of nut placement and the thought process behind it. Trad is short for traditional, which is a bit like saying Proper Climbing to a friend down the pub. This Trad Climbing vs. The trad rack you need will vary from one climb to another and most definitely from person to person as each has their own way and preference when it comes to climbing. If you fell you would lower to the ground, pull the rope and start it again. Placing nuts are intuitive, they are inexpensive, and will last you a long time. Jan 21, 2021 · Trad climbing (short for “traditional” climbing) is climbing in which you place your own protection pieces as you climb. The classic misconception is that routes with higher E-grades are always more dangerous, yet, in reality, the E-grade blends difficulty and danger in order to make an overall assessment. If you're an experienced climber and want to contribute to the community, these threads are a great Dec 10, 2019 · But the climbing on this route is so utterly desperate, and harder than that on any other trad route, that it does not need to be at the limit of boldness to earn its grade. Nuts are passive protection devices, meaning that their holding power comes from their wedge shapes, cleverly placed in Learn how to place hexes; how to use them passively (like a nut) or actively so they cam into cracks. Trad Climbing Gear > Ball Nuts This 'ball nuts' article is part of the book - Trad Climbing Basics. Out there on natural terrain there's no fixed protection. Jul 8, 2022 · Trad climbing (also called free climbing in the US) is what most people probably think of when they think of rock climbing. The old school meaning of trad was to always climb from the ground up. But if you’re new to trad climbing, how do you make sure that you’re getting the best climbing nuts? With climbing experience, you build your own personal preference. Jul 10, 2024 · What is trad climbing? We consider what separates trad from other climbing disciplines, along with where you can do it and what equipment is needed When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. What happens to the rest of them when you fall on the top piece. Sport Climbing Traditional climbing, or “trad” climbing, refers generally to the predominant style of rock climbing practiced in the United States throughout the 1960’s and 70’s, and, of course, still practiced today by many climbers. Understand what is trad climbing & how it differs from sport. What sounds like a ton of extra work is actually the ultimate Nov 22, 2021 · How does trad climbing gear work? Trad climbing requires a large and somewhat complex set of gear that’s used instead of bolts to stop a fall. May 24, 2025 · Your Introduction to Trad Climbing: The Art of Placing Your Own Protection. The rope moves the same way as sport climbing, with a leader and a person at the bottom, but you place your own gear into nooks and crannies on the wall as you go, and then clip your rope into them. But don’t underestimate the benefits of their counterpart: the nut. Trad climbers use the term rack frequently. Traditional and winter grades can also help provide insight about the style and seriousness of a climb. Why does trad climbing culture pressure people to climb until falling all the time? The trending phrase "If you're not falling you're not trying", to me, is terrible advice for MOST trad climbers. Explore the gear, self-sufficiency & unique challenges. Read a ton and watch a lot of videos. Modern usage of the term trad climbing is where you place your own protection (nuts, cams, etc. Once you are comfortable with the rope systems involved and all that's left is learning to place protection, do that. Think about protecting your second - especially on traverses. Ball nuts are a seldom used type of climbing gear which offer protection in thin cracks, filling the void where even the smallest cams are too big to fit. This article teaches you how to place stoppers and cams. Bouldering Bouldering features short, powerful routes known as problems, which climbers ascend without ropes. May 29, 2020 · New to trad climbing? Our Beginner's Guide to Trad Climbing breaks down everything you need to know to get started trad climbing today. ). . How Does Trad Climbing Work? Unlike sport climbing where clip bolts are already drilled into the rock, trad climbers carry all their own pro and place it as they go. Want more in-depth training? Internationally certified mountain guides Rob Coppolillo and Marc Chauvin will teach you the fundamentals of trad climbing in our Intro to Trad 8-week online course. Should they fall, the gear they’ve You must have been talking to some old dads from Yosemite or the gunks. This intermediate-level climbing series explains how to transition from top-rope climbing to trad lead climbing. Raw rock, wild landscapes, and not a bolt in sight: Trad climbing – short for "Traditional Climbing" – is climbing in its purest form. As climbers become more experienced, they can transition into other styles, like sport climbing or trad climbing. Route finding Getting back down Cleaning and re-racking gear Jan 31, 2023 · Trad rack is a term used by climbers to describe the collection of equipment they use for trad climbing. Just exactly what is trad climbing? When I Oct 18, 2021 · Trad Climbing is the more traditional form of rock climbing where the protection from falling is placed into the wall by the climber. Jul 8, 2025 · How does the traditional grading system work? The system for grading traditionally protected climbs in BMC guides is the traditional, two-part British grade, a combination of the adjectival and technical grades. My question is, if I’ve used all my cams earlier on a climb. You're using removable gear like cams, nuts, and slings that slot into natural cracks and features without trashing the rock. They insert cams, nuts, and hexes into natural cracks and crevices in the rock, securing their progress as they ascend. Jul 24, 2021 · What are the main muscles used in rock climbing? Does it change when indoor or outdoor climbing? Are there any muscles which aren’t used? Jun 8, 2020 · However, UK traditional or ‘trad’ as well as winter climbing grades offer more information about a climb than simply how hard the climbing is. In top-rope you have a pre-built anchor at the top and in sport climbing you clip into pre-existing bolts. Oct 30, 2025 · Learn what trad rock climbing is, how it works, essential gear, and how it differs from sport climbing. This protection can include nuts, camming devices, and other gear that is placed into cracks and other features of the rock to catch a fall. They’re easy to use and contract to fit a variety of crack sizes. This protection, also called pro, is placed in cracks and fissures as you climb up, and then removed, or cleaned, when you’re done, so all you leave on the rock is a few chalk marks. Oct 28, 2016 · To learn more trad climbing skills, see the rest of our series, Learn to Climb Trad: A Complete Beginner’s Guide. Here’s how it works. But trad climbing requires that you carry gear on your harness while being able to properly place different types of protection. People climb with like 50 lbs of gear strapped to their harnesses, with no anchors on the wall. Trad grades are split into two parts. Learn to lead safely & unlock new adventures. Or the smaller rack they intend to bring up a specific climb. The ethos of this style emphasized risk, adventure, and complex problem solving. Oct 15, 2021 · In trad climbing, or traditional climbing, rock climbers place their own safety equipment as they ascend, rather than utilize preplaced bolts or other permanently fixed gear. Trad climbing standards and practices change over time. As the name might suggest, traditional climbing or ‘trad climbing’ is often referred to as the original form of climbing, but what exactly is it, and how does it differ from the disciplines of climbing we may be more familiar with? Trad climbing is a form of climbing where a climber ascends a rock face, placing their own protective gear as they climb. Traditional climbing involves carrying and placing protection (chocks, camming devices and so on) rather than clipping into preplaced bolts. We have been climbing for a while, guiding professionally Jun 23, 2024 · Traditional climbing, often referred to as trad climbing, is a style of rock climbing where climbers place their own protection as they ascend a route. Nov 8, 2024 · Whether you want to fine-tune gear placement, anchors, or crush your first multi-pitch, this comprehensive guide to trad climbing has it all. Aug 28, 2021 · The complete beginner's guide to multi-pitch climbing. What sounds like a ton of extra work is actually the ultimate The world of rock climbing is ever expanding — so in this guide we help you get a hold on the different types of rock climbing out there. Climbing is very dynamic and we have to have tools and knowledge to be able to adapt to any anchoring situation we find. Check out our subreddit wiki that has tons of useful info for new climbers. Dec 12, 2024 · Many climbing gyms offer routes specifically designed for beginners, making it easy for them to start their climbing journeys. Aug 8, 2022 · This article originally appeared in our print magazine in 2013. Your complete guide starts here! Nov 1, 2023 · Unlike sport climbing, where climbers rely on pre-installed bolts for safety, trad climbers are the architects of their protection. The belaying partner stands below and feeds rope to the leader as they ascend. This makes trad climbing a more dangerous and challenging form of the sport. While sport climbing practice rappelling, anchor building, belaying up a follower. I have friends who say that they have been climbing for a decade but refuse to learn new things and change their systems. From what I’ve been hearing, don’t place nuts in horizontal cracks and place cams instead. If you're an experienced climber and want to contribute to the community, these threads are a great opportunity for that. Grading the latter therefore needs to take into account how hard it is to place that gear and how hard the moves are. May 1, 2022 · Short for traditional climbing, trad climbing is a form of free climbing where the lead climber places temporary protection equipment into cracks and other features of the rock while ascending the climbing route. Getting into leading trad routes? Learn how to choose types of passive protection, such as chocks, nuts and hexes. Sep 10, 2021 · Every climber should know these three simple, yet effective anchors. This article explains the physics of how climbing cams work, and also how to place, remove and rack them. A trad climber’s trad rack can be their entire collection of trad gear they’ve collected over the years. Please sort comments by 'new' to find questions that would otherwise be buried. Oct 26, 2025 · Traditional climbing is risky and tricky for those who haven't thought of special equipment, so lets choose the best trad climbing shoes with our reviews! In this thread you can ask any trad climbing related question that you may have. Start here! Mar 19, 2024 · The British E-grade system is rumored to be one of the most sophisticated methods for classifying trad routes, yet it is also surrounded in myth, causing many new climbers to be baffled by its workings. Nuts are an essential for every trad climber. When many people start trad climbing, cams become their new best friend. Read about the basics of lead climbing, including what lead climbing entails, how to learn to do it and what gear is required. In this video, Julie Ellison, Climbing's gear editor, shows how to place and clean Nov 27, 2020 · Traditional or “trad” climbing is a style of climbing whereby a leader free climbs up a rockface placing various pieces of metal equipment (known as protection or gear) into the natural cracks and slots in the rock. 7). All the basics in one place to help you transition from single-pitch to multi-pitch routes. Instead, trad climbers rack up with their own gear, slot it into cracks and features as they go, and clean it all when they're done. As a climber ascends they place pieces of gear – like cams or nuts – into faults in the rock, then clip their rope into carabiners that are also clipped to the gear. Trying to master my gear placement though. Top rope climbing is what most people imagine when they think of climbing, as it’s the most commonly practiced in gyms around the world. In the simplest terms, sport climbing focuses almost entirely on physical challenges, while trad climbing involves a mental game as well. They then clip the rope to this gear as they go in order to protect against a fall. Learn how to place, remove and rack climbing hexes. Some additional things you need to think about: How your gear placements affect the system. You need to be careful though, most of us got addicted after our first top rope route! Nov 19, 2025 · Climbing nuts are one of the first pieces of trad protection climbers will purchase. Just like with any extreme sport, educating yourself about the sport of trad climbing is a great way to start. If you are interested in learning more about traditional mountain climbing, keep reading! Climbing magazine is producing a series of how-to videos to demonstrate a number of basic skills and techniques. While the status of traditional climbing waned during the rise of the safer disciplines of sport climbing (and its related sport of competition climbing), and latterly bouldering, contemporary traditional climbers continued to set new "traditional climbing" grade milestones. The gear doesn't get left behind – your partner cleans it all as they follow, which is what trad is Learn how to place climbing cams. No hanging on the rope to work out the moves (hang dogging). What sounds like a ton of extra work is actually the ultimate Traditional climbing is a type of rock climbing that relies on gear placed by the climber as protection from falls, instead of pre-placed anchors or bolts. This article explains everything about using climbing nuts: placing, racking and removing them. You can see it HERE Some examples of potential questions could be; "How do I get stronger?", or "How does aid climbing work?" Prior Weekly Trad Climber Thread posts Ask away! Trad climbing is a lot more than placing gear and clipping it. There are lots of different forms of rock climbing, from bouldering to multi-pitch trad climbing.

How does trad climbing work. We have been climbing for a while, guiding professionally .