Trad Climbing Clinic
The ability to climb traditionally protected routes lets you access some of the coolest positions on Earth! This rigorous two-day course teaches you to place, evaluate, and trust your cam and nut placements.
What is unique about this course is that you will fall on gear right away, and it won’t be scary! After learning the basics of placing gear and practicing on the ground we will begin mock-leading trad climbs and weighting the gear with a top rope backup. We will slowly build confidence with takes and small falls below the gear and potentially work up to taking falls from at or above the gear if you are comfortable.
The biggest obstacle people have when learning trad climbing is trusting the gear. We nip this right in the bud by first, learning to place and evaluate solid gear placements, and then start building a foundation of positive experiences weighting your gear.
Whether you are completely new to trad climbing or already have some experience and want to build grounded confidence in your skills; this clinic is for you!
4:1 ratio maximum | 2 participant minimum
Operated by Vertical Pursuits LLC | Special Recreation Permit 2023-00166
- What is Trad Climbing?
- Cam and Nut Overview
- Rock Quality Assessment
- Cam Placement
- Nut Placement
- How to Evaluate Gear Placements
- Understanding Crack Shape
- Removing Gear from the Rock
- Trad Leading Considerations
- Extending Pieces
- Racking Gear
- Placing One Handed
- Understanding How Much Gear to Place
- Mock-Leading
- Fear of Falling Progression
- Anchor Building
- Advanced Gear Placement Considerations
- Rock Type: Sandstone vs Granite etc.
- Basic Crack Climbing Movement Skills
Included:
- Ropes
- Non-stop stoke and instruction from me; an AMGA Certified Rock Guide, big wall first ascensionist, soloist, and speed climber.
- All photos taken during the trip! Including top-down photos from a fixed line!
Not Included:
- Airfare
- Lodging
- Local travel/car rental
- Food or Snacks
- Travel/Trip Cancellation Insurance (recommended)
- Anything on the What to Bring tab
- Helmet
- Harness
- Some Anchor Materials (lockers, slings, cordalette)
- Assisted Braking Belay Device (GriGri, Jul, etc.)
- Some Alpine + Quick Draws
- Gloves
- Any Trad Gear You Have!
- 30+ liter backpack
- Sun Glasses
- Sun Shirt
- Sun Hat
- Thin Pants for climbing
- Solid Shoes for the approach
- Warm Puffy Jacket
- Rain Coat
- Please bring your own lunch food.
To make the most of our time together please observe these prerequisites:
- Some Lead Climbing Experience (sport or gym)
- Some Outdoor Climbing Experience
- Fitness for some steep approaches and long days at the crag.
**We highly recommend insuring your travel arrangements!**
Moab is the adventure hub for South East Utah and has all the amenities you’ll need.
For lodging, I recommend camping at one of the below campgrounds that will be close to our climbing venue:
Moab has plenty of Hotels and Motels to choose from as well which will all be ~30 minutes from the climbing.
Moab does have a nearby airport (Canyonlands Regional) that can be convenient and offers car rental. This is about 20 minutes from Moab.
Another option that’s often more economical is to fly into Grand Junction, Colorado which is 1hr 45mins from Moab.
You could also look at Salt Lake City which is a 4-hour drive to Moab.
2 Participant Minimum: Clinics are priced relatively cheaply with the assumption that more than one person will attend. In the event that you are the only person that signs up, I will either refund you or we can arrange private instruction!
Weather (PLEASE READ):
We cannot control the weather. The soft sandstone of Moab is very fragile after becoming saturated with rain. It is standard practice for climbers to wait 24 hours to climb after the rock becomes saturated. We will do our best to work around the weather and small, non-saturating sprinkles. We may have to make significant changes to our itinerary to avoid damaging the rock.
Cancellation:
If you cancel more than 30 days from the start of the trip you will receive a full refund minus a 20% deposit.
If you cancel within 30 days of the trip you will not receive a refund. If you are able to find someone to fill your spot you may receive a refund.
If I cancel the trip (due to serious illness or extreme weather) you will receive a full refund for the cost of the trip, however, I cannot refund travel costs (flights, car rental, etc.) so please strongly consider travel insurance.
The ability to climb traditionally protected routes lets you access some of the coolest positions on Earth! This rigorous two-day course teaches you to place, evaluate, and trust your cam and nut placements.
What is unique about this course is that you will fall on gear right away, and it won’t be scary! After learning the basics of placing gear and practicing on the ground we will begin mock-leading trad climbs and weighting the gear with a top rope backup. We will slowly build confidence with takes and small falls below the gear and potentially work up to taking falls from at or above the gear if you are comfortable.
The biggest obstacle people have when learning trad climbing is trusting the gear. We nip this right in the bud by first, learning to place and evaluate solid gear placements, and then start building a foundation of positive experiences weighting your gear.
Whether you are completely new to trad climbing or already have some experience and want to build grounded confidence in your skills; this clinic is for you!
4:1 ratio maximum | 2 participant minimum
Operated by Vertical Pursuits LLC | Special Recreation Permit 2023-00166
- What is Trad Climbing?
- Cam and Nut Overview
- Rock Quality Assessment
- Cam Placement
- Nut Placement
- How to Evaluate Gear Placements
- Understanding Crack Shape
- Removing Gear from the Rock
- Trad Leading Considerations
- Extending Pieces
- Racking Gear
- Placing One Handed
- Understanding How Much Gear to Place
- Mock-Leading
- Fear of Falling Progression
- Anchor Building
- Advanced Gear Placement Considerations
- Rock Type: Sandstone vs Granite etc.
- Basic Crack Climbing Movement Skills
Included:
- Ropes
- Non-stop stoke and instruction from me; an AMGA Certified Rock Guide, big wall first ascensionist, soloist, and speed climber.
- All photos taken during the trip! Including top-down photos from a fixed line!
Not Included:
- Airfare
- Lodging
- Local travel/car rental
- Food or Snacks
- Travel/Trip Cancellation Insurance (recommended)
- Anything on the What to Bring tab
- Helmet
- Harness
- Some Anchor Materials (lockers, slings, cordalette)
- Assisted Braking Belay Device (GriGri, Jul, etc.)
- Some Alpine + Quick Draws
- Gloves
- Any Trad Gear You Have!
- 30+ liter backpack
- Sun Glasses
- Sun Shirt
- Sun Hat
- Thin Pants for climbing
- Solid Shoes for the approach
- Warm Puffy Jacket
- Rain Coat
- Please bring your own lunch food.
To make the most of our time together please observe these prerequisites:
- Some Lead Climbing Experience (sport or gym)
- Some Outdoor Climbing Experience
- Fitness for some steep approaches and long days at the crag.
**We highly recommend insuring your travel arrangements!**
Moab is the adventure hub for South East Utah and has all the amenities you’ll need.
For lodging, I recommend camping at one of the below campgrounds that will be close to our climbing venue:
Moab has plenty of Hotels and Motels to choose from as well which will all be ~30 minutes from the climbing.
Moab does have a nearby airport (Canyonlands Regional) that can be convenient and offers car rental. This is about 20 minutes from Moab.
Another option that’s often more economical is to fly into Grand Junction, Colorado which is 1hr 45mins from Moab.
You could also look at Salt Lake City which is a 4-hour drive to Moab.
2 Participant Minimum: Clinics are priced relatively cheaply with the assumption that more than one person will attend. In the event that you are the only person that signs up, I will either refund you or we can arrange private instruction!
Weather (PLEASE READ):
We cannot control the weather. The soft sandstone of Moab is very fragile after becoming saturated with rain. It is standard practice for climbers to wait 24 hours to climb after the rock becomes saturated. We will do our best to work around the weather and small, non-saturating sprinkles. We may have to make significant changes to our itinerary to avoid damaging the rock.
Cancellation:
If you cancel more than 30 days from the start of the trip you will receive a full refund minus a 20% deposit.
If you cancel within 30 days of the trip you will not receive a refund. If you are able to find someone to fill your spot you may receive a refund.
If I cancel the trip (due to serious illness or extreme weather) you will receive a full refund for the cost of the trip, however, I cannot refund travel costs (flights, car rental, etc.) so please strongly consider travel insurance.
Not Scheduled
This program isn't currently being offered as a group class. You can use the form below to request a private course or more information in general!
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