UKC

Ive been top roping for around 4 months now and can regularly climb to 6a, the friends i go with keep saying i should get lead climbing asap. Just after some advice on if i should carry on top roping for abit or go for some lead lessons?

In reply to littlejon86:

Do the friends that are so encouraging lead themselves? If so then why not just get them to teach you?
Either way, i'd definitely get leading as soon as you can, having an extra skill is never going to be bad thing.

In reply to littlejon86:

If you ultimately want to be able to lead, then the sooner you start the better IMO.

In reply to littlejon86:

If you want to lead, then learn...if not, then carry on doing what you do, it's all about enjoyment after all

In reply to littlejon86:

But of course, leading opens up unrestricted enjoyment of our brilliant real rock.

In reply to littlejon86:

If it's not a silly question, what do YOU want to do?

In reply to littlejon86:

Do you want to learn to lead?
jk

In reply to jkarran:

Definitely, i was just curious if i had enough experience etc

In reply to littlejon86:

Second instead of top roping so you can see how gear is placed.

In reply to littlejon86:

With the right people around you you'd have enough experience on day one. If someone in the group knows what they're doing get stuck in

jk

In reply to littlejon86:

When and if you start lead climbing has to be entirely your own decision and you need to want to make that transition. As already stated by others, it's about enjoyment. Some get that enjoyment from leading, others get it from simply being out on the rock in a beautiful place.
Encouragement from friends can be a good thing, but don't feel pushed into being on the sharp end. There's plenty to be said for seconding lots of routes so you pick up on gear placements.

Then, when you feel ready, go and lead a route well below your ability, something with good ledges so you're able to rest whilst placing gear. Have a more experienced climber 2nd the route and rate your placements etc. Steadily progress from there.
Hope that's helpful.

In reply to littlejon86:

I love the automatic UKC assumption that trad is the inevitable end-point of any climber's development :P

In reply to andrewmcleod:

Maybe that's because sport climbing in the UK is just so missing the point

In reply to littlejon86:
I don't suppose I will be the last to say something like this but, on my second go at climbing outside and with maybe one climbing wall visit, I picked up a rack and started leading outside. That was traditional climbing but the same principle applies. If you want to lead then do it, if not, don't bother. No need to take a course if your mates are competent enought to teach you - there's not really a lot to leading sports climbing in particular (and that's not to belittle it). My other half can lead but mostly doesn't often bother as she gets more from the climbing itself than the leading experience.

In reply to littlejon86:

Just had a little profile stalk and such. Looks like you mean learn to lead indoor sport routes, rather than trad, as has been assumed in some responses.

In answer... Yes! It's tricky at first, but you'll love the challenge, and it opens up much more doors for you.
Looks like your local wall in AW sheff, which is a brilliant wall, but next time you're there, look at all the lead only routes you're missing out on.

Also, I learnt to lead there, paid 25 quid for a private 1.5hr lesson, and picked the rest up from other climbers after.

Go for it!

In reply to Skyfall:

Clip all the quickdraws, don't back clip, don't Z clip, don't grab the rope if you fall off. That's most of it for indoor

(Belaying the leader, OTOH, can be a little more difficult to pick up and does require practice particularly if you want any chance of catching someone from a missed 2nd clip)

Neil

In reply to Tomtom:


No, I think people including myself don't see leading as this big thing where loads of experience is needed. You can start leading at any point. It's down to a desire to do so. Top roping another 100 routes won't help in the slightest. Indoors/sports is certainly easier than trad and no great leap from top roping in reality. The OP should get on them if he wants to.

In reply to littlejon86:

mock lead a route and see how that feels

lead a route you know well if you want to minimize the head game

it is quite amazing the difference of what moves your body will let you do when there is a rope above you vs being above a bolt/gear

i know several people that have really good lead heads and a few that dont. only one way to find out...

In reply to littlejon86:

Learn to fall on whatever you want and you will have the opportunity to develop a confident and dynamic climbing style that will improve your technique no end (9 out of 10).

Sport or trad enjoy it and keep climbing.

Billy

In reply to littlejon86:

An added bonus of learning to belay a leader is that you've hugely increased your pool of potential climbing buddies. As above though, if you want to lead, (sport climb), then give it a go. I went straight from bouldering to leading and by-passed top roping completely.

In reply to Tomtom:

Im booking inwith aw for the start of next month for the lesson you mentioned, is it a 1 person lesson? Or do you need two for the different type of belay?

In reply to littlejon86:

Yes, there isn't much to it, it's only clipping a rope.

Also ask yourself: should you learn to boulder? Hint: this is how you get strong and learn technique.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

I cant do much boulder work, had to stop any type of big impact sport due to breaking my left knee at rugby a few years ago,jumping onto mats causes me some bad ligament pain,wall climbing is nice and fluid so not many harsh landings

In reply to littlejon86:

Ah. Yes, bouldering is not the best sport for injured knees.

Don't over-think leading though, just try on a route you know you can do with a competent belayer. All you have to do is clip the rope. After a couple of routes within your range, try a hard one and fall off. It's fine.

Leading on well bolted or even with quickdraws places (all of UK gyms do that as far as I know) is easy thing. It's not something you need lessons for if you have friends who climb.

But as many said before it's about fun. Think that you enjoy the most. I know few people who are climbing only in gyms only top rope well above my grade and doing that for many years (tbh I think they know how to lead actually, just don't do it). For me climbing is the means of getting to the place I want to get to. For them climbing is the target in it self. That is it for you?

In reply to littlejon86:

The main benefit of leading indoors is that you can pretty much sport climb outdoors using the skills you learn whereas I don't know of many crags where it's easy to setup a toprope without having to climb the route first (grit I suppose but you'd have to know how to build a safe belay as opposed to just clipping into bolts).

I'd already bouldered for a while before I climbed on a rope but I think I top-roped a few routes then went and lead my first route on my first time on a rope. The only couple of things I got wrong was this 'z clipping' and clipping quickdraws onto the bolts facing the wrong way but latter is not an issue indoors.

Leading trad climbing is more dangerous and you'd want someone competent to teach you that.

In reply to littlejon86:


You'll need two people on the lesson

In reply to Jon Stewart:


Unless you've managed to get your leg between the rope and wall of course, in which case you'll probably flip upside down and smash your head into the wall.

This is why it's better to learn from an instructor than the internet.

In reply to littlejon86:

Must be my age and/or "cultural disconnect", but I can't see why anyone would want to climb without being a leader.

In reply to Andy Long:


Have you never seconded a route?

In reply to Andy Long:

If everyone thought that, we'd all be doing a lot more abseiling for gear.

In reply to aln:

Are you & teh_mark misunderstanding that post on purpose? He means he can't see why anyone would want to climb without ever leading. I agree: seconding is fine, you just wouldn't want to do it *all* the time.

In reply to littlejon86:

7yr old daughter is into climbing (I just belay). I took her with a couple of experienced climbing pals to the local wall and spent an evening learning knots and belay etc. She top roped everything that evening with me belay with my friends advising.

Spent a week relearning the knots and belay technique to make sure. Then we revisted the climbing wall together and got on with it. As she is 7 there is no option other than for her to lead. Started with any hold leading and as she got more confident she is now doing 6a+ without too much trouble.

I would say waiting is only going to make it a bigger deal than it really is.

In reply to littlejon86:

You usually want to drop a grade when you start out leading, so that means find an indoor place with a 4 or 5 you can lead. Get someone who is experienced to belay you and practice, once you are happy with the clipping then move back up a grade and see how you get on.

Then if you are you happy to lead 6a indoors try a 5 sports route outdoors. Once you have that sorted then think about some trad

In reply to treforsouthwell:

or maybe a 4 (or even a 2 or 3 in Portland) given indoor gradings/less experience on rock

In reply to andrewmcleod:

True, or even top rope some VD's like we did with the kids recently