Too early to start?

So I've been climbing for about a year, sport leading for half that. Being new to the Northwest, I'm very interested in getting on long, moderate routes with a peak to summit and beautiful views to take in somewhere with an approach that is more than 10 minutes. Essentially, I need to learn to place gear.

However, I was speaking with someone once and they mentioned that one should spend at least 3 years (!) clipping bolts before one begins to place gear. Then I recall that sport climbing in the USA only started in the 80's, such that before then everyone climbed trad.

So I suppose my question is: is it ever too early to start learning to place gear (or have the ambition to learn) or am I trying to die?

..oOo..oOo..oOo..
Not trying to troll, I just want to know what others think and if I should worry myself with learning sooner rather than later

Nope, never too early. Learning trad is mostly about finding a good partner. Get that, and the rest will follow.

Never too early. Get started whenever you can.

I think I led sport for mayyybe 5-6 months before I started leading trad. Find someone that knows their stuff and is safe, and start climbing :)

Yeah, this isn't ice climbing, learn to place gear from an experienced trad climber and then go have fun

Your hesitation about whether you should start trad leading is already too much hesitation.

Get a rack, learn to place gear on the ground, then go up and place gear at Every stance you can find. Place more than two for belay anchors. Boom!

doug rouse wrote:Get a rack, learn to place gear on the ground, then go up and place gear at Every stance you can find. Place more than two for belay anchors. Boom!

That is kind of bad advice, Doug, especially not knowing the persons mechanical sense. Not everything that could get one killed is super obvious to a noob.
It is best to find some experienced people to lead you up a bunch of climbs and explain things. Following and taking the gear out teaches you a lot and having a number of mentors helps you learn more tricks of the trade and also lets you see where maybe they aren't doing things the best way. As a noob you may not be able to recognize when somebody is not really qualified to be teaching you without others to compare them to. No need to sport climb before learning trad at all.

M Sprague wrote: That is kind of bad advice, Doug, especially not knowing the persons mechanical sense. Not everything that could get one killed is super obvious to a noob. It is best to find some experienced people to lead you up a bunch of climbs and explain things. Following and taking the gear out teaches you a lot and having a number of mentors helps you learn more tricks of the trade and also lets you see where maybe they aren't doing things the best way. As a noob you may not be able to recognize when somebody is not really qualified to be teaching you without others to compare them to. No need to sport climb before learning trad at all.

+1

In lieu of having a good mentor (and how will you know if they are good or not?), I think that hiring a QUALIFIED and EXPERIENCED guide is your best bet. Combine that with a lot of reading and a following a lot of climbs. The typical gym - sport - trad progression is a more recent phenomenon, and not the only way to get into climbing on gear.

Awesome, thanks for all the advice. I also didn't want to go out and drop a bunch of money right away. I did have a partner when I first moved here, but he had to relocate out of the country last month so following him on routes is not really a viable option at the moment... Either way, it's been really wet lately.

I think getting my own set of nuts to practice with and finding a mentor for the spring/summer will be my objective. So if anyone wants to show me some stuff in the near future, I've gear (no trad, naturally)/will to learn, a car, a strong back, and money for beer! :D

Where I started there was no sport. It was trad from day one. We called it climbing.

Sack up, Rack up and have fun!
It seems more and more people have this education hierarchy idea when it comes to climbing.
Sport climbing is like getting a BS
Trad climbing is like getting a MA
and Ice is likened to getting the PHD.

Yes, you will be fine, find a solid partner or snag a guide for a day to show you how gear works, but there really is not a time frame when shifting to another climbing discipline.

You are going to die.

I climbed Traditionally for 6 years before I learned how to sport climb. Initially I had a good mentor, though. That's recommended.

clay meier wrote:You are going to die.

I was waiting for it!

And that is not the worst of it. You will then have to spend eternity spotting Clay.

It's never too early. My first hundred or so leads were all trad. I grew up in CT where bolts are virtually non-existent. The 'Gunks were another favorite stomping ground (again, no sport climbing). It was a year or two before I even made it to Rumney.

Get you some natural protection and get after it. Just don't fall for awhile. ;-)

There are no hard-fast rules. Everybody has their own comfort zone and the progression of leading sport first before leading trad is somewhat logical from a safety perspective.

But three years is kinda ridiculous.

No need to over-think it. Learn trad from an experienced mentor or learn on your own if you have to (I did it.) You'll be fine.

I led on gear for over a year before ever sport climbing. Nothing is stopping you, go out there and do it.

I just went through this process myself-- I'd been scrambling up steeper and steeper mountains, and it seemed like it was time I learned how to use a rope. I started climbing in the gym last summer, then climbed sport outside.

I bought four cams and a set of nuts and placed with them a lot a ground level. I'd weight them, they'd pop out and hit me in the face. I got the hang of it pretty quickly.

I'm lucky to have a couple of experienced friends who I could follow on trad, although I don't think I learned all that much by following. It still a very good thing to do, but not nearly as critical as some people will tell you. Maybe they just want someone to hold their rope and clean their gear. I did learn a lot by having them follow me, and critique my placements.

One thing that no one has said yet: Read a few books. Watch some you-tube videos. I'm not sure how mechanically inclined you are, but I learned a lot this way. I even taught my more experienced friends a few cool tricks I learned. I joined the American Alpine Club and rented a ton of books from their library (free for members!). Some good ones:
Rock climbing anchors : a comprehensive guide / Luebben, Craig
Climbing self-rescue : improvising solutions for serious situations / Tyson, Andy
Traditional lead climbing : surviving the learning years / Pesterfield, Heidi (this one was so-so)
Alpine climbing: techniques to take you higher / Houston, Mark

This guy is great: youtube.com/user/mikebarter387

Another thing no one has mentioned that got me more comfortable on gear was aiding. Just putting in a nut or cam and pulling on it to make progress taught me to trust the gear a lot more. You can do this on top rope. Once I learned to trust gear, I accepted that it would catch me if I fell on it, and I started paying even more attention to my placements (instead of just never falling!).

No, reading books and watching movies will not teach you how to pick the right cam size on your first try (still working on that!), or a lot of other skills you need to learn by practice. However, the authors of these books put a lot of thought into covering the most important stuff that you need to be aware of to stay safe.

My first leads were super easy stuff where falling was unlikely. My goal was to place as much good gear as I could.

I hope this helps.

Just get out and climb.