18/01/2019
Hey guys!
Sooooo letâs talk lead climbing. Lots of you guys have spoken to me and Brandan about learning how to lead and weâre up for teaching you guys how to do it. So if you want to learn:
We (myself and Brandan) need to see you consistently doing good top rope climbing. To be clear this does not mean HARD top rope climbing, grades do not matter. We need to see that you are consistent in good safety practices (so excellent belaying, rope management, buddy checks, textbook knots and a working knowledge of harness and belay device usage in the context of indoor top roping). We wonât do an exam style thing where you prove you can do stuff once, we need to see you guys do these things consistently in an informal setting and see a clear desire to progress in roped climbing.
If you donât feel like you could do this but still want to learn to lead, no problem! We donât expect you guys to all be completely ready to go. Talk to us about things youâre not sure of or if you want a refresher on anything. It goes without saying but itâs better to double check if youâre uncertain than get someone hurt/killed.
Lead climbing is really rewarding and lots of fun, but is enormously more complex than top roping. So you must master top roping before you move onto leading as there are more variables and therefore more things that can go wrong.
Once we feel youâre ready weâll start teaching you. Thereâs a lot more to learn than with top roping, so itâll be a longer process. After that though, youâll be able to lead climb and take your climbing further. Leading starts to open up roped climbing outdoors and more interesting indoor climbing.
Either myself or Brandan will always be in the main arena every training session so if you need a belay or want to practice your own belaying just let us know! We really hope you guys do decide to consider leading as itâll take your climbing so much further!
Hope to see you guys tonight,
Joe