UKC

Just started to think to learn about getting into multipitch climbing. 
Any advice on course to take, book to read, video to watch, gear to buy. Really anything that can be useful to know! - Cheers!

I run climbing courses, website below... It’s good a few blogs on it including one about what stuff to buy for a trad rack.

Http://www.jbmountainskills.co.uk

Theres a book called Rock Climbing by Libby Peters that’s pretty easy to follow too.

If you're already competent on single pitch then there's not really a lot to it. Just pick a two or three pitch route at a grade you're comfortable with and get started.

This site is great, read it for the beginner stuff and also loads of advanced techniques that you you won't be needing for a long time yet. I can't remember the author's name, but he posts on here.

http://multipitchclimbing.com

Where are you hoping to climb? Trad or sport multi-pitch? (There's not a lot of the latter in the UK, but it does exist.) What sort of experience do you already have?

If you can give a bit more info, it'll be easier for people to give advice that's relevant to your situation.

I second the Libby Peters book, though -- that's always gold.

Hi, I'm more confident in sport climbing and in a way, I prefer it, as when you travel abroad you travel way much lighter, I can train in the gym etc. (I'm a novice so these can be totally silly reasons). 

Let's say that the hardest thing I've led outdoor has been 6b in El Chorro (it took me 2 hours to finish it....). Usually, I can lead up to 5+/6a. The route in El Chorro was a crazy idea of mines.

I will go with a friend who is very experienced in trad and most probably we'll go for a trad route. But I wanted to learn something before to get out. Unfortunately, I didn't find any course in London that runs before the end of March, when I'm planning to get out. 

You said that sport multi-pitch does exist but rare. Where about?
I'm based in south London. Do you have any recommendation?

thanks in advance!!!
 

Cheddar gorge has a handful of bolted multipitches (check access requirements), and the slate quarries in north wales has some too.  I think there's one on Portland  (middle pitch is a traverse)

yes, I've been to Portland last summer but I didn't do any multi-pitch. 
For Cheddar George do you recommend this guidebook? https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/books/south_west_climbs_-_volume_1-1095

Or there is a more recent one?

Glenmore Lodge's youtube channel is ace:

Stance management on a multipitch climb:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXGMSX84RBM&t=64s

Building a belay using slings (if you're on a small stance and you can build your belay using runners in the wall behind you it's way easier doing it this way than faffing with loops of the rope when your second comes up:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQOtbLYCOTI&t=5s

Multipitch abseil (because when you're on a route for 2+ hours you never know what might change and you might need to back off):   youtube.com/watch?v=xddVyQUyJlE&

I also have Libby's book and it's excellent.

Gear - lots of slings and screwgates.  You need to make sure you have enough gear for two complete belays and a full pitch between them, as your second will still be anchored while you're climbing and then when you build your belay at the top of the pitch.  I actually have seven or eight screwgates in total, including the ones attached to each sling I own.  For single pitch most of them stay in the bag, but I have often used all of them on a multipitch route.

This one:

https://www.dicksclimbing.com/products/cheddar-gorge-climbs-martin-crocker?...

as said i think there's only the one at portland that i know of::

Voices in the Mind (5c)

It's not my area of expertise, but there's some amazing-looking multi-pitch slate, for example:

A Grand Day Out (6b+) (if your mate can lead the 6b+ pitch!)

Or, for a trad version:

West Face of Australia (Link Up) (E1 5b)

Plas-y-Brenin and lots of the other climbing instruction companies will do private instruction, where you hire an instructor for a couple of days. If you could go with your friend and split costs, it could work out quite reasonably, and that'd be a way to focus very specifically on the skills you need for your goal route/routes.

Clarification: I probably wouldn't rec those as your first ever multi-pitch routes, just because it's better to practice new skills when you're not at your limit, and things like changing over at belays can end up taking a huge amount of time when it's all unfamiliar and scary.

But they might make inspiring goals for you to work towards!

Multipitch is only a bunch of single pitches stacked on end. 

Hey,

I work as a mountain guide/instructor in the UK.

I’ve sent you a PM about climbing together.

Tom

Neil Chelton (super experienced big wall climber) has a series of instructional ebooks and cartoons, you can download them on a 'pay what you want' basis as he's terrible at capitalism. 

https://www.vdiffclimbing.com/trad/

https://www.vdiffclimbing.com/multipitch/

I did get this gently pointed out to me on one of my early multi-pitches, when I got very anxious, overthought everything horribly, and started trying to build a belay which would withstand forces in all possible directions.

Nope. Build your belay and bring up your second like you normally would.

Then if there's anything fancy that needs doing (like maybe adding an extra piece if you might need to protect against an upwards pull, or wanting to be in a slightly different position to belay the leader on the next pitch, or whatever) you can figure it out together.

I do think multi-pitch stuff can be challenging and daunting in all sorts of ways if you've only done single-pitch stuff before (and especially if you've mostly done single-pitch sport and are thinking about maybe doing a multi-pitch trad route). It is far more committing if anything goes wrong.

But yeah: one pitch at a time.