I have recently been trying to get comfortable with leading some (easy) bolted multi-pitch climbs in Austria. Couple of things are making are giving me a bit of a headache.....
1. Some climbs e.g. yesterday have only a single bolt at the belay station. Is it accepted practice to belay off a single bolt??
I looked through my guidebook, and depending on the climb, some are protected by only a single bolt at each belay station. I would probably be comfortable it it was a good belay stance, whereby the belayer is really tied is as a precaution, and the belay is only effectively protecting the climber until they reach the first bolt of the pitch.
However, I would not be comfortable is it is a hanging belay, therefore taking the weight of both climbers during the changeover, and then subsequently protecting the second whilst the leader climbs. I am also not really comfortable abseiling off a single bolt, in case I need to retreat.
2. The spacing between bolts, particularly in the lower grades i.e. V are very far apart e.g. sometimes 6-10 m. Even on easy climbs this is making me very uneasy, with the potential for a very long fall.
Are people placing additional gear in between bolts?? or just accepting that it's relatively easy so you shouldn't fall off??
I have a set of nuts, plus slings etc, but most of the climbs around this grade tend to be slabs with little opportunity for placing additional gear.
Cheers