Essentials For Trad Leading
CityROCK Cape Town Gear Shop Manager Mike Kable has already walked us through the gear required for trad seconding, and now he's clueing us in on what you'll need to take the lead!
While trad climbing as a second is a lekker time and a great way to get started, being the lead climber is where the real fun (and spice) begins! Being the trad leader involves a range of climbing skills, techniques, a strong and confident mind, and, last but not least, a great big bunch of GEAR.
Along with the obvious essentials – helmet, harness, climbing shoes, belay device, slings, prusik and carabiners – you’ll also need specialised gear to stay safe and protected on the rocks.
Here are five items to add to your rack to begin your journey as lead tradventurer…
1. ROPES
Unlike sport climbing, trad uses a two-rope system to both manage rope drag on wandering routes and maximise safety. While sport climbing ropes (known as single ropes in this context) can technically be used for trad, they are pretty heavy to haul up a cliff face.
Rather, trad climbers use thin, light ropes that are classified either as half-ropes (which are clipped into alternating draws) or twin ropes (which are clipped into each draw together). You can check whether a rope is a single, half or twin rope by finding the rating symbol on the packaging.
2. DRAWS
Trad climbing requires lightweight, versatile quickdraws, making Dyneema draws – particularly alpine draws – the ideal choice. These consist of two carabiners connected with a Dyneema sling that's doubled over so that it can be extended if needed to reduce rope drag and keep your rope from running over cracks or corners.
3. NUTS
Nuts – which are lightweight metal ‘blocks’ attached to stainless steel cables – are a type of protection, i.e. gear that’s placed in the rock and attached to the rope with quickdraws as a climber ascends to catch falls.
Specifically, nuts are classed as passive protection, which means that there are no moving parts at work and the gear relies solely on being jammed into cracks and crevices to arrest falls. This may sound dubious, but passive protection is absolutely bomber when used correctly!
4. CAM
Alongside passive protection is active protection, which is also placed in the rock to arrest falls, but uses a mechanism that allows the gear to be expanded and jammed into a crack, and later retracted and removed by the seconding climber.
Cams, which comprise two to four lobes that are controlled by cables attached to a trigger, are the most widely used active protection thanks to their reliability and versatility. Cams, like nuts, are available in a wide range of sizes, allowing you to select the correctly sized piece for each gear placement. Most trad climbers like to have at least one of each size, and many rack up with both cams and nuts to better prepare for placement opportunities.
5. Rescue Gear
Finally, you should always carry a few key pieces of emergency gear in case something goes wrong when you’re on the rock. Along with having accessory cord, locking carabiners and slings to make a prusik should you need to ascend a rope, I recommend investing in a good knife, Wild Country Ropeman and Petzl Oscillante.
For advice on how to get yourself and others out of sticky situations, come along to the gear shop and chat to the team – we’re always happy to help out!
Click the button below or visit us in-store at the CityROCK Gear Shop to get kitted out, and feel free to pop us an email at info@mountainmailorder.co.za or chat with our gear experts for more advice & recommendations.
Happy climbing!
By Michael Kable
CityROCK Cape Town Gear Shop Manager