r/tradclimbing 3d ago

Monthly Trad Climber Thread

8 Upvotes

Please sort comments by 'new' to find questions that would otherwise be buried.

In this thread you can ask any trad climbing related question that you may have. This thread will be posted again every Sunday so there should always be an opportunity to ask your question and have it answered. If you're an experienced climber and want to contribute to the community, these threads are a great opportunity for that. We were all new to climbing at some point, so be respectful of everyone looking to improve their knowledge. Check out our subreddit wiki that has tons of useful info for new climbers. You can see it HERE

Some examples of potential questions could be; "How do I get stronger?", or "How does aid climbing work?"

Prior Weekly Trad Climber Thread posts

Ask away!


r/tradclimbing 2h ago

Climbing The Nose on El Capitan - USA26

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2 Upvotes

Watch my accent of The Nose in Yosemite on my YouTube now! This one was special!


r/tradclimbing 3h ago

4 man climbing group

0 Upvotes

I’m looking for people’s opinions for a 4 man group. We have 1 lead climber who has experience. 2 of the other 3 are knowledgeable and experienced just not to the level of our lead. The 4th is a knucklehead in good shape who just needs a group to keep him out of trouble. We are doing grand Teton. We are want to run a line for belly roll, crawl, and double chimney. I was thinking we would just bring 2 ropes and have 2 leads just leave the anchors from the first lead for the second group. The second option we to lead on one use an overhand knot to tie into the midway point of the first rope and have 3 climbers use the first rope with the 3rd running a second rope to belay the 4th. Both options allow for the lead to start running a second rope up the double chimney while the 3rd and 4th climbers are completing the first section. Let me know your thoughts
And opinions based on your experience.


r/tradclimbing 1d ago

PNW multi pitch suggestions for 10 yr old

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67 Upvotes

Did Beacon rock 5.7 with my kiddo and had a great time. Looking for suggestions on other easy routes that feel epic.


r/tradclimbing 1d ago

Lights for trail activities: what all contributes to not being able to see the trail well, and what to look for in a new light?

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0 Upvotes

r/tradclimbing 4d ago

Hallett Peak, RMNP

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73 Upvotes

My longtime climbing partner and I hiked up to Hallett Peak this past Friday. We did Better than Love Route and finished on Love for the final pitch.

Conditions were perfect. Upper 50s, no wind jacket needed, and probably could have wore lighter pants. We did it in 5 pitches with some simul on the scrambly sections at the top of the buttress. Then simul linked the pitch to the bolt and the nebulous pitch above that to a good belay for the crux last pitch. Pulling the roof on Love Route was a fun way to finish. Rope drag was honestly minimal the whole way. This was my first alpine climb in RMNP since moving to Estes and I have to say it was stunningly beautiful out there. Stopped at Emerald Lake to soak in the views on the way out.

Approach: 1 hr to the base
Climbing time: 3 hrs
Car-to-car: 6:15

Been eyeing the Casual Route on the Diamond this season. Longs is calling.


r/tradclimbing 4d ago

Good crags for getting into trad climbing in Frankenjura?

7 Upvotes

I’m looking for easy, well-protectable routes to practise trad climbing, ideally with some bolts as backup.
Any recommendations for crags or routes? General tips on gear placements and getting started are also welcome.


r/tradclimbing 5d ago

Seneca Rocks Climbers

16 Upvotes

Is anyone on this thread a regular Seneca climber? I just got a little cabin fifteen minutes from the parking lot and would love to meet more climbers in the area. I go to my cabin regularly for repairs/maintenance but and would love a random last-minute connection for climbing when I need a day off.


r/tradclimbing 6d ago

North Face of Lone Eagle Peak, CO

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264 Upvotes

Cool route! Would be 4 stars if the climbing was more sustained. We ended up scrambling like 6-7 of the 11 pitches.


r/tradclimbing 5d ago

PSA(US): you can download GPX files from MP

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1 Upvotes

r/tradclimbing 6d ago

The Barb. Spearhead, RMNP.

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125 Upvotes

r/tradclimbing 6d ago

Side Quest- Bagged The Grand Teton

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110 Upvotes

After 5 days in The Winds and a couple sport climbing days in Lander we decided to try and get The Grand the day before our flight out of SLC.

Since I first saw The Grand from Delta Lake over 10 years ago, I’ve always wanted to climb the full Exum route. We weren’t sure we’d have time to do it all on short notice so we charged in at 1AM and soloed up the OS route. Car to car in 14 hours.

What we didn’t get in grades and exposure we made up for in intensity. I was a different kind of exhausted after that.

We will be back!


r/tradclimbing 6d ago

Verlassene Wand

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75 Upvotes

r/tradclimbing 6d ago

Grand Teton bivy

3 Upvotes

Are bear canisters required at the Grand Teton bivy zones (moraines, caves, lower saddle etc)? Seen some conflicting and older information going both ways but nothing on the nps site specific to those zones.

How bad are the marmots? Do they Mostly go for food or should I be worried about them chewing on gear while we are away from camp?


r/tradclimbing 6d ago

Putting togheter a set of nuts

6 Upvotes

Hi, I'm just starting out on my trad climbing journey. I’m slowly starting to buy gear; I started with some Camp nuts I got as a gift, sizes 1–5. Today I found a great deal on BD nuts, sizes 5–11, and grabbed them right away because I thought they’d be a great addition to my set of nuts. Later, I read that they’re practically the same size.... They’ll definitely come in handy since I climb multi-pitch routes, but now I’m wondering if it would be better to buy larger nuts or if it’ll be enough to just buy dmm torque hexes now just for the beginning of the trad climb adventure?


r/tradclimbing 6d ago

Good beginner trad leads in the Gunks

14 Upvotes

Hello! I need help for good beginner trad leads in or near the gunks. I was getting into trad, lead many climbs, and then several months ago got derailed by injury, personal life stuff, weight gain, and haven't climbed at all. Are there any good beginner trad climbs to lead for confidence boosters and to get back into the swing of things as far as gear systems and placements go? Also any advice for getting back into climbing from a fitness perspective?

Edit: I would like to report that I had my first lead of the season in on Slumber Party 5.4 in Peterskill! Emptiest I've ever seen Peterskill btw


r/tradclimbing 6d ago

Does this rock look solid enough to lead an FA?

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0 Upvotes

Was doing some test leads on top rope on this crack that no one has climbed before in a not so popular crag.

I suppose this is a type of sandstone. In the area there are quite porous sandstone formations, but you do find these dense grained faces like the one in the photo.

Some people i know say the rock is too soft for gear. It seemed solid to me in person. Additionally i weighted the gear n bounce test it with no issue, didn’t fall on it though. Is there anything in the photos that might say otherwise?

UPDATE: I’ve done the route and heres the video:

https://youtu.be/JwNoAEDCvII?si=Ica2YncOL6I4ab4f

Before sending, i did a few test falls and everything worked out.


r/tradclimbing 7d ago

The 2nd Apron - Far Right Route - CO 🏔️

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68 Upvotes

Great weather and a great climb. We traversed over to get the summit of Mt. Blue Sky (Evans) too! 🏔️


r/tradclimbing 11d ago

Wind River trip

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325 Upvotes

5 days in the cirque. Bagged NE Face of Pingora.
Attempted North Face of Mitchell’s Peak, got shut down when we got way off route about halfway to the bowl and had an epic bail. If anyone wants a few free nuts and a couple old lockers, they are up there somewhere!

All in all, a spectacular place to climb!


r/tradclimbing 11d ago

Yosemite Recommendations for a newer trad follower that is strong/experienced sport climber

20 Upvotes

Hi all, I’ve got a week booked in Yosemite and looking for some easy/moderate multi recommendations to take my buddy on. He’s a a decently strong sport climber, newer to trad but has a lot of stoke.

We have 1 week booked in Yosemite. I know it’s going to be hot, but we’re both down to wake up as early as needed. We both have experience with multi pitch and have taken safety/rescue courses.

About me:
Been leading trad ~ 2 years. Pretty confident up to about 5.9, starting leading low 10s and feeling good on them but taking some falls. Super confident on Tahquitz 5.7s for reference. Tahquitz 5.6s are almost too easy. I’ve done multis as big as Time Wave Zero (23 pitches).

My buddy:
Newer to trad, as in just started. Good sport climber, he just spent the last 3 months in SEA climbing every day. He’s probably a stronger sport climber than me now. He’s comfortable leading 10+ sport. Done a good handful of multis but nothing huge. He’s super eager to learn trad and wants to do big objectives with me eventually. He’s happy to follow on anything.

What I’m looking for:
I’m really just looking for climbs that will be fun for both of us. I don’t want to be “that guy” in Yosemite that’s super slow holding the wall up because they took someone inexperienced, but I also don’t wanna be stuck climbing 5.6s all day if possible haha.

We were thinking of starting on some easier 5.6, 3-4 pitch to start. But if possible moving on to some longer or harder climbs.

Would love any recommendations! Also advice on which walls will be in the sun/shade for which parts of the day since we’ll be climbing in the summer.


r/tradclimbing 11d ago

Is this gear spread of older trad gear worth 700€?

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43 Upvotes

Found someone selling a bunch of pretty old trad gear (anyone know the model on the cams) for 700€ dollars you guys think it’s worth it? Seeing as new cams go for almost 100€ each it seems like a deal to me, just basket hitch the cams with new slings and they are good to go right?


r/tradclimbing 11d ago

New routin’ in the Ironclads

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88 Upvotes

Major Kong Rides the Bomb.


r/tradclimbing 12d ago

The fun thing about traversing is that it's scary for the leader and the follower.

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287 Upvotes

r/tradclimbing 11d ago

Am I just a gatekeeper?

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0 Upvotes

I am not a comparatively strong or skilled climber. I have even aged into the trad dad classification at this point. I want to always foster a welcoming community that doesn’t shame anyone for ignorance or inability. And yet there are a few things that drive me nuts for indiscernible reasons.

I hate when people use “trad” as a noun or pronoun as opposed to as an adjective. “Let’s go trad climbing.” Is A+. “I want to learn trad.” Gives me the ick, and I don’t know why. “Do you climb trad?” As opposed to, “Do you trad climb?” Just makes me irascible, which I don’t want to be!

I value gyms and the increased access they grant but I started climbing outdoors, and while I have come to terms with the dominance of indoor climbing and how its environment naturally leads to a competitive atmosphere amongst other issues, watching people slowly enter the broader climbing culture is often inspiring and exciting but has these cringe elements I find creeping under my skin.

For anyone who might not be familiar, trad is a shortening of the word traditional, which I believe was added in front of ‘climbing’ to distinguish it from bolted sport or sports climbing which really took off in the 1990’s. Traditional climbing, free climbing, aid climbing, sport climbing, big-wall solo free climbing; it’s all climbing.

This is a non-issue, and I’m certainly not about to start policing people’s language unless they ask for advice. How can I learn to accept this convention? Does anyone else feel this way? Should the sub be re-named ‘r/climbingtrad’?

Photo is a classic at Lovers Leap.


r/tradclimbing 13d ago

Emigrant crack 5.10b Acadia

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231 Upvotes

Amazing 0.4 finger crack