Lead Climbing Courses
Learn to Climb Traditional Routes Ground-Up, Placing Gear and Managing Risk Along the WayTraditional lead climbing (aka “leading trad”) is a serious undertaking. It requires a complex skillset, a functional understanding of how and when to apply specific tools and techniques, and the ability to maintain calm and composure under physical and psychological stress.
Lead Climbing Overview
Lead climbing presents inherent risks of serious injury, and even death. Despite the serious nature of trad leading – and arguably because of it – climbers continue to develop a lifelong passion for it. Few activities can match the feeling of being “in the moment” like leading can.
Immersive Instruction
Solid instruction, constructive feedback, and ample practice time are critical to becoming a competent leader. We recommend a beginning lead climber schedule a minimum of two days instruction to prepare for self-guided days leading trad at Devil’s Lake.
Lead climbing at Devil’s Lake
Course Formats
We offer two Lead Climbing course formats, which accommodate most students, most of the time:
Open Enrollment: Two-day course open to public enrollment, scheduled monthly. Students must have taken our Anchors I, II and III courses, or have equivalent experience.
Private Course: Private instruction for your group only. Custom dates, curriculum and locations available, per client request. Best for larger groups, students with specific requests, and those who can’t accommodate our open course schedule.
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“If you want to learn how to set your own top rope anchors or learn how to trad climb, these are the guides you should use. The certified guides I’ve had the pleasure of working with are the real deal - from trad climbing in Devil’s Lake to big wall climbing in Yosemite, they have the experience to back up the certifications they’ve earned.”
LOGISTICS
WHEN: March through November, weather permitting. Open courses take place monthly, private courses scheduled by request.
COST: $395/person for open courses, private courses priced by group size.
PREREQUISITES: Strong command of traditional anchors skills (building anchors with removable hardware). Graduating from Anchors I, II and III would meet this criteria, or students may have prior traditional anchor building experience.
BRING YOUR OWN: Food, water, clothing and footwear appropriate for weather, camera, sunscreen. Climbers with their own equipment may bring as much as they would like to use. We can supply all climbing equipment if you do not have your own. Students who wish to purchase gear in advance of class may do so in our Client Gear Store.
GROUP SIZE: 1 to 6. Larger groups possible for private courses by custom request.
Placing gear while lead climbing at Devil’s Lake State Park.
COURSE EXPERIENCE
Efficient movement strategies & finding rest stances
Selecting the right gear the first time
Down-climbing
Falling on gear
Protecting a second/follower
Cleaning stuck gear
Supervised mock-leading
Placing gear on lead
Reducing rope drag/appropriate extension of protection
Belaying from above
The differences between top-rope and top-managed anchors
WE PROVIde
Experienced, certified climbing instructor
Harness, shoes, helmet, if you don’t already have them (but you probably do)
Hardware (nuts, cams, etc.) or software (slings, cordalettes, etc.) to supplement your own rack
Climbing and static lines to facilitate mock leads
“We want to thank you for the fantastic experience we had yesterday. Your guidance and patience helped us to step our comfort zone and realize how much we need to learn and practice. We are looking forward to our next climbing session with you!”
Lead Climbing Course Agenda
DAY ONE
We start by building top-rope anchors to demonstrate competency, review, find knowledge gaps, and set up our mock lead routes. We teach all lead climbing on "mock-lead," meaning the leader is always connected to a top-rope system in addition to a lead rope. This provides a sense for the excitement of leading, as well a calm learning mindset.
Next, we’ll introduce and get familiar with the tools every leader needs - a rack of pro and draws - and learn how to “rack up” with the lead climbing process in mind. We’ll teach you not only “what” to do, but why, and explain the many places where user preferences lead to endless variations. Your instructor will review lead-specific gear, strategies for racking up, and considerations for building your own rack of equipment.
Once we know how rack up, we dive into the rest of the preparations. Both belayer and leader have essential roles that contribute significantly to safety and efficiency. Trad lead belay is very different than top-rope belay, and somewhat different from sport leading belay. Planning your route is also a big part of success in lead climbing.
When climbing, your instructor ascends next to you on a fixed line, enabling in-the-moment feedback, consultation and reassurance. We practice gear placements, pacing, energy conservation, and communication.
Lead climbing days run longer than regular climbing days. Expect to be out from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
DAY TWO
In day two of our Lead climbing curriculum, students will continue to build upon and refine skills from day one and receive additional feedback from the course instructor. Students will work on selecting the right gear the first time, moving efficiently, and finding good rest stances as they continue to practice placing gear on lead.
We’ll also explore additional topics to prepare climbers for the wide range of circumstances they might face while leading. Expect to learn and practice down-climbing, falling on gear, protecting the second, belaying from above, and cleaning stuck gear. We’ve designed the two-day lead climbing course experience to provide climbers with a well-rounded foundation of skills to practice as they continue to progress outside of class.
As with day one, we’ll do all lead climbing on “mock-lead,” and your instructor will ascend next to you on a fixed line, providing in-the-moment feedback, consultation, and reassurance. Again, we’ll plan to be out from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM.