In reply to margauxsmale:
For what reason do people not start lead climbing
* They have no sense of adventure
* They want to live in a health and safety world where everything is cushioned in cotton wool for them
* They see or hear about climbers falling a reasonable distance and it goes against their instincts to do the same
* It seems more complicated to belay a leader
* Their belayers are not experienced enough to safely belay a leader
Why should they ignore this excuse and do it anyway?
* Leading is more exciting
* It opens up so many more climbs to them
* With a good belayer and on the right route it is not much less safe than top-roping
* Leading is part of a natural progression which will lead to bigger and more interesting things
* Top roping isn't really climbing - you may as well be going up in a lift or cable car
* Setting up a top rope is more time-consuming than jumping on a route and leading it, so you will do more routes per day (and annoy less people being made to queue for a route)
2) What should first time lead climbers DO
* Read up as much as possible from reputable and up to date books and other sources eg internet (courses could be useful to supplement this)
* Practice setting up anchors at ground level before embarking on routes (trad)
* Practice clipping quickdraws so you know which way the rope should be orientated and don't back-clip
* Learn when it is a good idea to extend gear (trad)
* Learn the standard climbing calls and agree with partner which ones to use
* Wear a helmet, even on sport routes
* Build up a network of experienced climber friends/partners. Clubs & internet forums can be useful for this.
What should they NOT do?
* Z clip
* Back-clip
* Carry just short quickdraws on a trad route
* Jump on a hard route before learning the nuts and bolts of how to protect it safely
* Expect a course to equip them fully as a trad leader - they need to do their homework too