Teach me multipitch

I'm looking for someone to help me multi-pitch for the first time. I've only been climbing for 7 months, 4 months outside. Need some help doing some first time multi-pitch (2-3 pitches) climbs. I'm in the Portland area and eager to climb Tuesday- Friday any time of day. I climb up to 5.10d, very comfortable with 5.9
text, call or respond directly to this post.

Dan
503-250-4431

You may want to offer something in return instead of just demanding someone go out of their way to help you out

Since you're super-duper green, I think that you should be given a bit of a pass for the entitled tone of your post - you obviously do not realize it yet, but to an experienced leader, taking a total newbie out on a multipitch climb is a pain in the ass, usually not very fun, and a not-inconsiderable liability. The best leader in the world can do a lot to keep you relatively safe, but if you turn out to be an idiot (I'm not saying that you are, but we have no way of knowing that you're not), you can endanger not only your life, but the life of the person who devoted their time and effort to teaching you. My response is not intended to be mean, or to dress you down, but to help you realize that you are asking for a Very. Big. Favor. You'll buy yourself a lot of karma by recognizing that fact and adopting a more gracious tone when looking for a mentor.

As someone that decided last September that I wanted to start leading trad multi pitch I can tell you you're gonna have to do a lot more than post here asking for help. (Or get really lucky) I started in a gym and have taken many classes, read a bunch of books, bought all my own gear, and have been networking with a bunch of people (meetup.Com has been great for me). When I show up to climb I help set anchors, flake the rope, etc... and have gotten some awesome climbing partners because of it. You're probably gonna have to put yourself out there and do a lot of grunt work to prove yourself.

If you have $13 to spare, consider this:

amazon.com/High-Advanced-Mu…

It might kick start you assuming you already know how to place gear etc. And might allow you to offer something back to those you climb with as they will have to teach you less and you won't slow them down as much.

PS. Are there any climbing clubs in your area?

Book learning is never a substitute for hands-on guidance and mentoring. Any information read in a book is liable to either /both error and misunderstanding. Appealing to members of a public forum for assistance is fraught with danger since we are all unknown with sometimes questionable competence.
Instruction from a proficient professional guide in a one -to-one situation may be the safest and most expedient answer. The American Alpine Institute in Bellingham WA would be a good start.
alpineinstitute.com

Wow! I wonder if the OP edited his posting because what I see up there now should have in no way caused this sort of response.

Welcome to climbing Dan. I'm sure you will find someone to take you out if you keep trying. A lot of people actually find it fun to introduce new people to climbing.

Schaps wrote:Book learning is never a substitute for hands-on guidance and mentoring.

Not a substitute, but often a worthy addition.

Daniel, I hope you find someone to help you progress.

Hire a guide. That's what I did years ago. When you do, let him know what you goals are for the time spent. Practice those skills on your own until they are refined. Repeat as necessary and buy your climbing buddies beer for good karma.

Rick Blair wrote:Wow! I wonder if the OP edited his posting because what I see up there now should have in no way caused this sort of response. Welcome to climbing Dan. I'm sure you will find someone to take you out if you keep trying. A lot of people actually find it fun to introduce new people to climbing.

My thoughts exactly, a real a-hole response if that's the unedited original post. Good luck dude.

Unlike some of the commenters above, I’m a subscriber to the benefits of book learning. But, it really depends on whether the person has an analytical mind and actually analyzes what they read (and practices it, where reasonable).
I’ve climbed with many people over these 35+ years. In my experience, the people who knew the most, learned it themselves. The ones who relied on others to teach them (using guides for instance), knew the least. The effect seems to be due to personality differences. I’m not saying that you can’t/shouldn’t learn from other people. But, some personality types end up knowing more than anyone else they climb with. Be one of those!

It was an analogous situation in graduate school. The people that learned how to teach themselves, learned much more, and ended up better off than the ones who relied on the professors. To get a PhD, you need to know more than your professor/advisor on your chosen topic.

On the other hand, using guides is a good way to get up climbs that you couldn’t do safely with your present partner(s). Things will tend to go smoothly though, and you won’t be learning to deal with many of the things that typically go wrong on big adventure climbs.

Read? Sure. You'll find things there that you may not encounter outside; more likely, you'll look at a part of a book and think, "Oh. Okay. Now I see."

Definitely hire yourself a guide, and figure on it being more than a one-time thing. If you have frequent or steady partners, convince them to join you. That way you're all learning the same things and will know what to expect when you're out on your own together.

No guide? Find yourself a mentor, then be a generous, respectful, attentive student. You're going to learn every single time you go out, and you'll learn different things from different people. Some things you'll keep, some you'll adapt, some you'll never do again.

When you and your buddies do go out on your own, dial down the difficulty several grades; you're a beginner, which means it's your God-given right to make all the mistakes. It's your job to live long enough to learn from them...so you can make different mistakes next time!!

This should get to be fabulous fun for you. Enjoy the progression!

how far north can you make it? I'm in seattle with no car, but I'll run you up some leavenworth 5.6's if you want to make a weekend out of it. and promise not to be a dick or kill me or judge me for smoking t0o much weed

basically what I'm saying is, if you pick me up, pay for gas, and bring me some weed, and want to climb/learn some multipitch/trad stuff..... I'm game.

actually buying some burgers and pizza for the weekend would be nice too.

Daniel Bookless wrote:I'm looking for someone to help me multi-pitch for the first time. I've only been climbing for 7 months, 4 months outside. Need some help doing some first time multi-pitch (2-3 pitches) climbs. I'm in the Portland area and eager to climb Tuesday- Friday any time of day. I climb up to 5.10d, very comfortable with 5.9 text, call or respond directly to this post. Dan 503-250-4431

If you are solid on 5.9, here's a PNW multi-pitch tick list for ya:

First Kiss 5.8 (3 pitches?) Smith rock
Wherever I May Roam 5.9 (3 pitches) Smith rock
Condorphamine Addiction 5.10b (7 pitches couple moves of 10, mostly 5.8-) Leavenworth, WA
Prime Rib of Goat 5.9 (11 pitches) Mazama, WA

All these routes are well protected with all bolts. Practice belaying from the top of a single pitch climb with your single pitch partners while you hang from an anchor. Practice rappelling. Once you are solid at these basic skills, go give one of these routes a try!

Learning multipitch from Elleanor, nothing could possibly go wrong.

dude I'm no troll. Multi-pitch sport climbing isn't rocket science. A little common sense will keep you from dying.

Rick Blair wrote:Wow! I wonder if the OP edited his posting because what I see up there now should have in no way caused this sort of response. Welcome to climbing Dan. I'm sure you will find someone to take you out if you keep trying. A lot of people actually find it fun to introduce new people to climbing.

Agreed.

Don't let MP d-bags discourage you. You'll find someone who isn't totally obsessed with themselves that will be willing to take you out.

Eric Chabot wrote:dude I'm no troll. Multi-pitch sport climbing isn't rocket science. A little common sense will keep you from dying.

Tronald Dump dude. Your post just happened to come in before mine.

Thank you everyone who was helpful! And everyone who was a Negative Nancy, well ya'll wouldn't be very fun climbing partners anyways.