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Coolcarl
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Jul 17, 2012 - 04:01am PT
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I actually started trad climbing, then sport, then gym only about 2 years ago. Following a guide/friend/ mentor on trad early in my career helped me learn trad placements quick, and I was leading trad after 2 months or so. I only started going to the gym after I started to sport climb, and that's when I found I needed to train to break past my physical barriers. I have been extremely fortunate with my mentors, and I have even started mentoring a climber myself to keep the cycle going.
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NigelSSI
Trad climber
B.C.
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Jul 17, 2012 - 11:14am PT
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I'm 29, and started climbing about 10 years ago... It all began with a few trips to a tiny gym at the urging of my girlfriend at the time. Heights were an issue, interest waned, and it seemed like it wasn't for me at all. A couple months later, I tagged along with her, and a few other climbers on a trip to Josh with the intention of soaking up sun, and PERHAPS climbing something. Borrowed gear had me climbing everyday for two weeks after a taste of the real deal.
After that there was no looking back. Much is owed to a few climbers who shared years of experience. A borrowed stack of Largo books fired up my imagination, and hammered home the hint of ethics imparted by that first trip to Josh.
Thank you so much, John Long.
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MtnKit
Trad climber
Vista, CA
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Jul 18, 2012 - 09:04pm PT
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TGT, we were with you up at Lunch Rock when you were getting ready to pack out -- and got to see how stoked Tran was on her lead, and what a great day was had by all!! I walked down the descent with her -- her fantastic day was due to someone mentoring her, taking the time, taking the trouble. She'll play it forward for sure! (I'm Kit, with Greg Davis that day)
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Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 18, 2012 - 09:52pm PT
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dingus, you'd move to a city in a minute if someone took your internet connection away.
glad someone else mentioned largo's books--a real contribution to the sport, giving history, ethics and technique in his greatly appealing style. they've been through many editions--the illustrations, layout and other refinements keep getting better.
had a great time at camp 4 last week, taking a promising beginner up harry daley and jamcrack, a first introduction to trad pro and lead climbing after a solid start in the gym, which afforded me a very reliable belay. also met a young so-cal fellow whom i'll take climbing before he goes off to college. if you still have the steam, give back to this sport.
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Guangzhou
Trad climber
Asia, Indonesia, East Java
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Jul 18, 2012 - 10:17pm PT
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Yikes, learned to climb a long time ago on trad routes, mostly in Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. Trad is my first love, but it doesn't stop me from clipping bolts when that's all I have around. In over 25 years of climbing I spent less than ten days in a climbing gym before I opened one for myself here in Indonesia.
Over the years I've met lost of climbers who learned to climb indoors or on sport routes. Many were very interested in trad climbing and many spent time with me placing or cleaning gear. California, Tennessee, and North Carolina offered some great options for taking new trad climbers out.
I agree, many of the people who learn to climb in a gym don't transition outdoors, more of those who do head for sport climbing areas, and a few learn to climb on gear. Take it one step further and and even fewer learn to aid climb or are interested in Big Walls too.
I think the biggest hurdle for climbers wanting to climb trad is financial. The cheapest place to climb is the gym, followed by sport climbing. Trad and walls both cost significantly more.
My two cents
Eman
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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My climbing beginnings were in 2000 outside at a local crag. My ex-girlfriend took me in my basketball shoes, my feet were sliding all the time and I hated it. The next time we rented shoes and liked it a lot better. I already had a harness that was required for a heli skiing trip and she convinced me to buy shoes. We went out quite often that spring. She was in an outdoor guide training course and had done her basic rock training, so she taught me all the essentials.
We did Diedre a local beautiful dihedral and I was hooked. I wanted to climb multi pitch, all the time after that. Then the Ex went away to Canmore to hike guide for the summer and I was left without a partner. I went to the gym a bit and met a few people who climbed outdoors or wanted to, and got out a few times with them and learned a lot, but still had no solid partner.
My buddy Kyle showed interest and I took him out. He was hooked right away. We climbed sport because I only had a rope and 10 clog draws cause they were cheap and I was (and still am for the most part) a broke ass snowboard bum.
I knew enough to keep us safe clipping bolts, and when my ex got back that fall she had suffered a traumatic incident while leading in the rockies. She fell and the choss she had protected ripped out, which resulted in a broken jaw that had her sipping her meals for the next 6 weeks. Needless to say, she was a little shaken to lead again, and ended up lowering off halfway up a 5.8 in the bluffs one fall day.
She said that I would have to finish it. That was my first trad lead. We didn’t go out much after that and winter set in. She left me on valentine’s day. Kyle and I went to the gym a lot that winter and I brought a short membership, which entitled me to participate in the wild country spring order at a good discount and I purchased a shiny new rack of friends with my meager savings. From .5 to #4 and two #2’s plus a set of nuts.
Needless to say this inspired quite a few looks and comments… “Wow that gear looks new, ever place any of it?” I gained experience slowly but surely and sought to repeat all the easy classics before getting in over my head.
That fall, Kyle either decided or was encouraged by myself to lead Mosquito 5.8 a local classic. He got super runout above his last piece after the crux and froze because he couldn’t figure out the pro. I begged him to get something in, anything or downclimb! Eventually gravity took it’s toll when his foot slipped and I pulled in two giant rope lengths as he fell. When he hit the cam it held! Thank God! I brought him to a stop, mere inches from the ground. He busted up his foot pretty good when he hit the bulge, and it flipped him upside down.
Here is the video: Fall at 2:20.
[Click to View YouTube Video]
He was back in the gym that winter climbing before he was even snowboarding, and that spring we focused on sport as he refused to lead trad anymore. We did a lot of hard sport, and some multi with me leading all the pitches. It was good for my tick list ;) Kyle didn’t want to climb crack anymore really, so I had a hard time finding someone to go to Squamish with.
Over the years we took lots of different friends out, and a few have stuck with it. I trained Luke, outside and on his first multi we were swapping leads. It definitely helps to have a mentor.
I would say it matters less about the venue, than the mentor, and the values they pass on. Climbing in the gym does bring unrealistic expectations of “safety” outdoors though which can be challenging for some people.
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Wade Icey
Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
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entry level trad>bouldering>sport>gym>aid>entry level trad. a 40 year circle.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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And later on there is the trad> sport> gym..........nursing home.
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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I went from:
top roping -> bouldering pre-crashpads -> traversing glued-on rocks on a retaining wall -> more toproping -> following a trad leader -> leading a few trad pitches -> gym -> bouldering with crashpads ->trad -> sport -> trad -> aid walls -> free soloing -> all of the above.
I toproped and bouldered for a year and a half before ever leading anything. If you had told me at that point that I'd eventually free solo near my roped limit, I'd have laughed you out of the room.
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go1dens4
Trad climber
Melbourne, FL
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I started climbing in a gym about 5 years ago now then outside last memorial day as part of a last minute trip to RRG ever since then I am fascinated and blown away by climbing outside. Any trip I get to take I will go if possible, so started by learning some stuff in the gym from an experienced climbing friend. Then first was sport climbing wow I thought that was really cool, even the first time we went out I 2nd a trad lead from our now climbing partner. So then last labor day (the 2011 one) went back to RRG my wife and I did a bunch of sport climbs in a couple of days there and our friend showed up a bit late but he did show. So last day it rained there... usually bad, well for us it was pretty nice because we went out and started to learn to place some gear on the ground. Getting boring i know, so this labor day we went up to NC (we are all from FL so this is hard to learn in the first place) and swapped trad leads up some multi-pitch. Not our first time on multi-pitch but don't want to give too much detail, so here I am a year and a few months in and I am ready as ever for my next trip. Favorite type of climbing, proud to say I love crack climbing and getting better at it day by day.
places I have been so far: Red River Gorge KY (buncha walls but sport and trad), Looking Glass NC, Table Rock NC, The Amphitheater NC, Rumbling Bald NC (started raining climbing to be done in future), Tennessee Wall TN, 90 ft wall (trad and tr) lake tahoe, luther spires (sport and trad), lovers leap (no climbing but did the walkin on my bday June 4th it was raining :) it snowed an hour later what a trip!)
to sum it up from gym to sport to trad I have fun with it all but the amount of fun I have increases as you move in that list left to right.
And John Long books yeah...
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snowhazed
Trad climber
Oaksterdam, CA
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wade and jim- HAHA- awesome
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gonzo chemist
climber
Fort Collins, CO
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Jul 29, 2013 - 12:33am PT
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Hmmm, two glasses of wine and not much to do tonight....I guess I'll thrown down my story about starting climbing...
Ten years ago (to the week, actually) I went out bouldering, at the behest of a good friend. Didn't even know what rock climbing was. But I grew up running around in the woods, getting muddy, etc. I played water polo and wrestled...so even though I'm not a very good natural athlete, I like heavy duty physical activity.
After that one day bouldering, I was hooked. We went out several time a week to work on some manky boulder problems in northeastern PA. After that, it was climbing through the grades on a set of hexes and nuts at the GUNKS! Learning from reading books, and talking to experienced people, and getting SCARED!
We were dedicated...walking the carriage road at sunrise....walking back to camp after dark. Climb as many pitches as we could.
I didn't even know--or even would have cared--that gyms existed (and this was 2003!).
Not until I moved to CA for grad school, at least.
Gyms are a tool for building strength. That's it. But to climb well (and safely) on rock, you need to climb rock.
So I guess my "progression" was: bouldering-->trad-->sport-->gyms. Anymore, I just want to climb sh#t....doesn't matter what it is...I just want to climb it.
Looking to start ice climbing this winter.
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rgold
Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
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Jul 29, 2013 - 02:47am PT
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My official climbing career started in 1957 with a guided ascent of the Grand Teton. The hiking was strenuous and the climbing was cold and a little icy. We had goldline ropes tied around our waists with a bowline. We used a classic body rappel on the standard catwalk-to-upper saddle rappel. Most of the people in my group felt once was more than enough, but I was totally hooked, now for more than a half-century. It wasn't any one aspect of the experience, it was the totality, everything that went into an ascent, the passage through ecological zones, the high bivouac, the sunrise high on the mountain, and then reversing everything, coming back from the mineral world to the lowland vegetation.
At the time I totally bought the "Freedom of the Hills" concept. Climbing skills and techniques were learned in the service of striving for the freedom to wander the mountains unimpeded by glacier or crag. And when we climbed on cliffs, it was of course for fun, but primarily, with our eyes fixed firmly on the horizon, to prepare for adventures to come in the greater ranges of the world's alpine regions.
I might add that, unlike DMT, I was a city boy, born and bred. My family didn't even own a car, so escape from the urban milieu was problematic. Our family's idea of a back-country adventure was a week in a bungalow in the Catskills. My wilderness was Central Park, which every now and then, for instance when covered with fresh snow, or when I painstakingly adjusted my position so as to momentarily block out the sight of any buildings, provided an evanescent whiff of real wildernesses far away.
Of course, perspectives shift over the years. Climbing first at Devil's Lake and then the Gunks, I surely got fully engaged in the delights, frustrations, and terrors of harder and harder climbing---the moves for their own sake. But every trip, even if it involved lots of cragging and bouldering, always had a mountaineering component, because that's where my lifetime romance with climbing was rooted.
Sport climbing has passed me by; the opportunities are basically too far away compared to what beckons from the Gunks in my back yard, and the idea of long projecting efforts, something I might have embraced in my youth, is now too removed from my desire to just climb stuff. But the gym has become an essential ingredient in the now pitched battle with father time. I can't climb outdoors with anything like the regularity of, say, Donini, and so the the world of taped plastic holds, placed for maximal awkwardness and arranged so no rest is available, a realm entirely removed from all the environmental elements that drew me to climbing and yet in keeping with my urban roots, is the only way I can try to slow the ravages of time that accompany the onset of my seventh decade.
And so I find myself on the opposite trajectory from today's climbers, with, no doubt, as Donini has observed, the challenge of raising unaided from my easy chair as the likely culmination of all this striving. Meanwhile, I'm still getting out on the rocks and finding struggles that satisfy the urge for some new difficulty to resolve, the same urge that sprung to life in that romantic boy's heart a half-century ago.
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i'm gumby dammit
Sport climber
da ow
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Jul 29, 2013 - 03:19am PT
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i started at the gym and transitioned sloooooowly to top roping and then more quickly to sport and trad. made it a goal to climb every damn day in some fashion or other. finding partners (mountain projectiles) has helped alot as has having daughters that can't say no. problem is when your leading a pitch 50' feet up, getting a little gripped and you hear them fighting below (they're 12 and 14). i have to say though, the gym has helped immensely by letting me climb on days with no partners, and mountainproject has helped immensely by providing the partners that taught me what little i know about trad.
the interwebz should be a part of this discussion too.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Jul 29, 2013 - 10:06am PT
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Nice synopsis Rich. I too, perhaps because of my climbing roots, always feel the mountaineering component in my climbing DNA. Unlike Rich I am situated (I live in Ouray) where climbing outdoors is easily done. Sport Climbing (in the real sense) has also passed me by. That said, I sport climb often on the crags around Ouray (my outdoor gym) but I don't spend endless hours projecting a route.
At 70 I still have the desire to explore alpine terrain. In a week I will be leaving for the Pamirs in Tajikistan and in late Sept. I will be off to the mountains in Western Sichuan Province, China. This Winter I hope to renew my quest to do a new route on San Valentin...the view from my home in Chile and the highest peak in Patagonia.
One must always be realistic, but it would be a shame to look at the numbers "70" and say "well, I'm too old for that." Your body talks to you and should be your clock. Given that, unlike a clock that ticks inexorably as it eats thru time, you can pamper and tune your body for, with luck, some more service that you would not have expected a decade ago.
Yes, it will come to an end....but it is tremendously satisfying to steal a few more years from Father Time.
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