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No 186, June 15, 1999
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Rock Craft | Trad Rock | Destinations | Training
Recommended Reading | Gear | Higher Education | Ratings

Path of the elders

Traditional climbing is all about breaking rules

By Jeff Achey

Traditional rock climbing? Sounds like a bunch of old-timers wearing knickers and following the rules. But what rules? On California granite in the days of yore, "traditional" first ascents were led on-sight, placing bolts. Drillers! said the Coloradans. Over on English gritstone, bolts were shunned (still are) — tradition said rehearse relentlessly before leading (soloing). Sissy topropers! said the Californians. No bolts in the Gunks of New York, either. There, climbers worked in teams of 12, stringing dubious gear ever higher up the pitch. Gang-bang yo-yoers! said the sport climbers. Fact is, trad climbers have never agreed on much, except breaking rules.

If there's a common thread in the trad world, it has something to do with seeing a bigger picture, taking natural rock as it comes, and climbing in a way that matches. If sport climbing takes gymnastics outdoors, trad takes mountain scrambling and gives it wings.

Key to the feeling is invoking the spirit of mountain and crag, the inherent hazards and joys. As a trad climber, you can't be squeamish. You'll be up on the cliffs when it rains. You'll use loose handholds. On a great day maybe you'll get lost, cold, scared, and hungry. And when you make it back, a can of beans never tasted so good, and the campfire feels like the warm embrace of Mother Earth herself.

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Leading

Bolts and hardware don't grow naturally on cliffs. One of the defining characteristics of trad climbing is that you climb raw rock, and protect your own ass. How?

Fixed gear. Bolt? Don't trust it — that hanger's attached to a rusted 1/4-inch stud an inch deep and 20 years old. Piton? Probably loose. Don't just clip and go. Back up fixed gear (figure 1 image). Learn how to climb hard in control.

Placing gear. Now you're talking. This is half the challenge of trad climbing, the part number grades don't tell you. Placing pro is an art. You're on a ledge, and the wall above is as pristine as when nature made it. Fifteen minutes later you've laced it with a dizzy embroidery of rope and trinkets. Fifteen minutes after that you and your partner are above that section, and it's spotless again.

Placing gear helps you pay attention to every crease and crevice in the rock. Marvel at the fine crystals and caress the features — horizontal and vertical cracks, pockets, horns, knobs. Ferret out secrets. For efficiency, identify protection opportunities quickly and accurately. For elegance, use the simplest piece that works.

If you're a 5.10 sport climber switching to trad, start on 5.6. Difficulty will come later; for now, you want good stances where you can tinker and learn. If you're new to rock climbing, spend some time on the ground placing and testing gear. If possible, put yourself under the wing of a partner who knows the mystic arts.
Slings. There's no pro more solid than a runner hitched around a stout tree, and none more satisfying than a cord wrapped around a solid chockstone and tied off securely.
(figure 2 image). Slings are your most basic tool. Use them to loop rock horns and flakes, extend delicate nut placements, equalize, organize — and bail if need be. Six over-the-shoulder runners carried bandolier style is a minimum (see Tech Tip No. 181).

Carry a half dozen or more quickdraws, and a few full-length slings "trick-tripled." Use these as quickdraws or drop the loops for full extension. You can drop and double for something in between. Half-inch webbing is standard sling material, but carry a few 6- or 7mm cord slings to use on rock holes and small horns, and as emergency prusiks. Sewn slings are sleek, but knot up a few of your own in case you need to untie one and thread something or leave one at a rappel station.

Nuts. The next simplest form of pro is "passive" gear, more high-tech than rope and sling, but without moving parts.

For smaller cracks, carry wired nuts. Small and medium-sized wires — 1/4 to 3/4 inch — are useful almost everywhere. Solid rock will safely hold the tiniest wedges — brass or steel micro-nuts. Hard sandstone and quartzite face-climbing areas abound in such micro-placements (see Tech Tip No. 183). Avoid the tiny stuff in soft stone.

For all crags except those with extremely parallel-sided cracks, carry a good selection of larger hex-shaped nuts that fit finger- to fist-sized cracks. These are lighter and less expensive than spring-loaded cams, work better in tapered
slots, tangle less on your rack, and help you tune in to the rock's subtle contours, which will soothe your soul and make you happy. As you climb a pitch, look for passive placements first, saving your cams for places where nuts don't work. Use plenty of runners to keep the rope running straight and help the nuts stay put
(figure 3 image).

When placing any pro, give it a solid yank to test and seat the placement. For passive pro, make sure the nut conforms to the crack with as much of its surface touching the rock as possible; avoid placements where the nut relies on crystals, which could break under force (figure 4 image).

Cams. Spring-loaded camming devices (SLCDs) may look like kitchen appliances, but they work — so well that many climbers carry nothing but cams and stoppers. SLCDs go in fast, and in some climbing areas, nothing else works. Place cams thoughtfully — don't just jam them in. The stem should point down, toward the direction of anticipated pull, not straight out from the rock. Look for "nests," places where a crack constricts slightly above and below. Ideally, the cams should be at mid-expansion range; especially dangerous are tipped-out placements (figure 5 image). Horizontal cracks can give good placements, too, but watch out that you don't place a rigid-stemmed cam so that it can be weighted over a rock edge — this kind of force can break camming units.

Systems. Every piece you set is part of a larger whole. An unwise placement low on the pitch can create unwanted forces and rope drag. When you leave the ground, the rope will run from belayer to rock, through the first piece and then up, usually creating a bend in the rope. This can cause an outward force on the first piece — and if it lifts out, those above can zipper. Use opposition (figure 6 image) or a multi-directional cam for this first crucial piece. (On multi-pitch routes, the leader should place such a piece as soon as possible after leaving the belay.)
As you continue, your rope's path should be fluid. Now, imagine it pulled guitar-string tight. Does it make a sharp bend, or drag over the edge of a roof? If so, extend your runners. Don't, however, runner blindly. If your climb follows a straight crack you may be able to safely clip directly to cams and slung nuts, at least for a few placements. Most wired nuts, though, should have a quickdraw, since the wire levers the nut and can easily pop it free. Opposition is another good way to secure pieces. Place one nut normally, then hitch it to an upside-down nut that won't hold a fall, but will keep the normal nut in place. Anticipate and understand.

If your gear is dispersed side to side, even longer runners might not let the rope run straight. In some climbing areas, scattered pro is the rule, and here you'll see many parties using two independent lead ropes (figure 7 image). Try it. The belaying is a bit tricky, with two independent lead ropes, but a double sticht plate helps keep it straight, and once you get the hang you might never switch back. Some hard trad pitches are impossible without double-rope technique.

Your rope runs clean, and you placed good pro right before the hard move — then you ran it out across the easy traverse. Loser! You hosed your second.
He'll clean the gear before the move, then face a monster swing if he peels
(figure 8 image). It's your job to foresee such hazards. Get your sorry self back across that traverse and place something after the hard move.

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Technique

Crack climbing. Trad climbers must learn the gamut of climbing techniques, the most foreign — but satisfying — of which is jamming. Start with finger cracks — these simulate face climbing but you'll get gently schooled in the basics of wedging. Wide chimneys, too, are easy to learn. Next try hand cracks. Oooh, they're different. To the uninitiated, jamming hurts and it's unnatural. Keep at it; soon hand cracks will feel like best friends. Then you're on to fist, offwidth, and flares — there's a whole new world waiting for you.

Whole books could be written about jamming. Here's a brief explanation of the basic moves.

Finger jams. In the most basic finger jam, slot four fingers into a crack as far
as they'll go
(figure 9 image). Look for a wide part in the crack, just as if you
were placing a nut. Your thumb can point up or down, depending on how you want to face the rock, and what kind of twisting action will best help your
fingers hold. Experiment until you find something that works. One great thing about jams is that once you get one, you can lean out on it as well as pull down, which helps your feet press into small holds and smears that would be impossible to use otherwise.
Fingertip jams are the hardest. Almost as bad are wide-finger cracks, where your fingers fit in loosely and don't wedge. You're on advanced terrain now. Get the jam by camming your fingers against the thumb (see Technique No. 177).
Hand jams. For these, slip your hand in the crack as if you were shaking hands, then tuck your thumb in your palm and flex your fingers to press the back of your hand against the crack
(figure 10 image). This technique works on cracks from just large enough to fit your hands in (these are the easiest to jam), to almost fist sized (called "cups," a painful size). For cracks bigger still, fit your hand in knuckles up or knuckles down and wedge this "fist jam" by tensing your hand muscles as if you were squeezing a lemon.

Foot jams. Where hands go, feet must follow, so there is a whole repertoire of pedal jam techniques. For thin cracks, drop your knee to the outside and insert the tip of the shoe sideways into the crack (figure 11 image). Sometimes the toe won't really fit, and you'll get little more than a smear with the rand of your shoe — hence, thin cracks are strenuous if there are no face holds to help out. Slippers or pointy shoes help here. For hand-sized cracks, you can get the whole front of your foot into the crack when you drop your knee sideways. Straighten out the leg and the foot wedges firm — sometimes too firm! A long stretch of such jamming can be murder on your feet. Wearing socks inside one-size-larger shoes can save you pain.

When cracks get a bit wider than fist, foot jams start to rattle around in the crack. A little heel-toe twist can help in this difficult size.

Body wedges. Cracks bigger than fists are called offwidths. This is a bad name. Such cracks are not "off," they are merely wide. To jam them, insert one arm deeply in the crack and flex it, pushing with the palm of your hand to press the back of your elbow against the crack. The outside hand can grasp the edge of the crack, press palm down against the wall (especially useful in dihedrals), or cling to any face holds that might appear. Use these wedging techniques to hold yourself in place, and make progress mostly by pushing upward with the feet. Use the heel-toe techniques shown in figure 12.

More advanced offwidth climbs may involve "Leavittation" (aka "stacking"), a technique named after the California climber Randy Leavitt. To Leavittate, get a good hand or fist jam by stacking one hand against the other (figure 13 image). That's the easy part. The trick is to finagle the foot or knee jams that will allow you to move both hands at the same time.

Cracks large enough to climb into — chimneys — are sometimes the easiest to climb of all cracks, but not always. The techniques are numerous — press your back against one wall with your hands and feet on the other, toggle up with one hand and one foot on each wall, or mash yourself in a crack almost too narrow to fit and squirm for all you're worth (figure 14). One trick for extending the secure heel-toe jams of offwidth climbing to narrow chimneys is the "T-stack," formed by heel-toeing one foot against the ankle or instep of the other (figure 15). It's good to have somewhat polished chimney technique, because though relatively secure, these cracks are often unprotectable.

By now you're probably keen to the fact that there's a lot more to trad rock climbing than just pulling down. Sketchy protection, bizarre techniques, pain, uncertainty ... Try to explain trad climbing to your ego. Your successes will be a blend of difficulty, style, and control. If you need big numbers, stick to ticking sport routes.

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Other skills

If you're coming from the wild world of sport climbing, you'll be able to hang on like a bat and scoff at crux moves, but you'll find a few deficiencies in your repertoire. For example:

Routefinding. Bolt routes go from quickdraw to quickdraw. Trad routes wander more cryptically. They'll follow one crack until it ends, then sneak over to the next feature. But right or left? Scout both from the ground, and as you go. Easy climbing might lead you to a dead end. In general, trad leaders will gun for protection features, not holds. Look ahead. Imagine yourself in the first-ascensionist's shoes.

Loose rock. Your route has not been cleaned and bolted on rappel. There may be loose holds, unreliable flakes, even huge blocks. Tune in. Listen. Thump and test before yarding. Consider climbing around loose blocks and bands instead of through them. Warn your belayer, who may want to step to the side when you have to weight a suspect hold or block.

Running it out and downclimbing. Trad routes aren't always safe. The cracks end but the climb continues; there's no bolt, and the climbing gets harder.
Caveat emptor!

A trad climber must know how to climb without risking a fall, and downclimb out of trouble if things get too sporty. In sport climbing, downclimbing is usually stupid. In trad, it's survival and you do it all the time. In theory, downclimbing is easier; in practice, it feels blind and desperate. Reversing boulder problems or routes on toprope are good ways to practice.

Multi-pitch routes. Trad climbing is about getting off the deck, climbing routes that go somewhere. Gain a commanding position above the Hudson River Valley, then launch into the crux headwall of High Exposure. Summit Yosemite's Half Dome, and the snowy Sierra sprawls all around you. Climb out of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and regain the surface of the earth.

Multi-pitch routes are inconvenient though. There are approaches and descents, uncomfortable belay stances. You might need to climb with storm gear, water, food. Get used to free climbing with a load. Fanny packs are OK, but stick out behind you and interfere with harness and chalk bag. Better are the small, close-fitting, high-riding biking and running backpacks. Leader and second can each carry one, distributing the load.

Speed is safety in multi-pitch climbing, but should come from efficiency, not rushing. Always be moving or accomplishing something. If you pause to rest, use the time to place a nut. The instant you figure out a hard move, do it. Instead of matching feet, place the next one higher. Keep your momentum, climb through the burn, and rest at belays.

Hauling. On really hard long climbs, you might want to haul a bag instead
of climb with it. This is strenuous, will cost you time, and is potentially epic.
Haul lines can snarl. And be careful your bag or lines don't knock rocks onto
your second. Still, it's nice to free climb unencumbered, even if it adds an hour to the day.

If the route is steep and straight, things should go well. Climb with a 9mm trail line, get to your stance, and hand-haul the bag (clip it in at the belay!). Do this before you belay your partner up, so he can unstick it if necessary. The two
ropes will try to tangle. If your belay doesn't have a ledge, loop-stack the haul rope across your tie-in, then transfer it to a sling (figure 16.) Do the same with the lead line.

If the route is slabby, the bag will drag and snag, and if it traverses, it will
swing — possibly wedging in a crack far from the rescuing reach of the second. In these cases, consider going lighter. You also can haul some pitches and
carry others.

Aid. Know how to aid the odd move efficiently. When you've decided not to free climb a section, make an aid plan. Don't let it get ugly. Don't just grab a piece and thrash. Make aiders from slings, use gear your second can clean easily (TCUs or cams instead of stoppers), aid the section, and resume free climbing. Consider how your second will pass the move, too, since he will have to remove the piece you stood on.

For rappelling safety tips, see "Rappelling's do or die" sidebar, page 124.

Whenever you climb, protect yourself, your friends, and also the mountains. Travel lightly, in soft shoes if you can. Camp on hard surfaces, leaving delicate vegetation alone. Strip and pack out old slings. Don't "clean" alpine vegetation from cracks or from around the bases of climbs. Respect cliff-dwelling birds and know their habits. Chalk lightly and never leave so much as a tape scrap behind; camouflage fixed anchors. Your actions express your feelings, and create your mountain karma.

Traditional climbing ... it's not about rules, it's about diversity. There's so much more to it than just movement, we should call it "additional" climbing.

Jeff Achey is Climbing's editor at large.

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