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i have been sport climbing for about five years and have recently become interested in trad. i have bought a few cams and plan to buy a set of stoppers to start my trad rack. first question: what other pieces of pro should i look into buying for the red? second question: can anyone suggest easy (and i mean easy) routes to pratice on, maybe also routes that i can set up a tr on to backup as i learn pro placement.

thanks for the insight.

Don't know where you live but I've gone to Cherokee Park to practice placing pro on the ground. It's very helpful to have someone experienced with you to analyze your placement & tell you right vs. wrong, overcammed vs. undercammed, etc. etc. etc.

As for pro for the red, I've been told that a set of nuts or tricams are good things to start with. I haven't had the cash to start buying yet though.

Hope that helps a little. I'm sure more experienced people will have better advice to offer but that's where I am.

Fortress has a lot of easy stuff, 5.2-5.6 range for you to practice on. You could also go to Roadside and sport climb C Sharp B Flat to set a top rope up, then climb the 5.3 crack just to the right of it which shares the same anchors.

A rack of nuts are good to have and some of the smaller tri-cams are helpful

Everytime you're at the crag start walking around and placing stuff for body weight. Then start bouncing on the pieces to test them. With practice, you'll start to see what works and what doesn't. It's also not just about holding a fall, but about being able to grab the right piece from the rack qucikly and be able to clean it easily. These things only come with experience.

Also, learn to equalize and use clovehitches and cordalettes.

A good set of camalots will forgive you of your novice sins. get some runners and biners. a couple of lockers, a cordelette, set of stoppers, set of the first five tricams, set of hexes. Aliens are a very nice addition later on. definately get in ground practice before f***ing up off of the deck.

I think you need a full set of trango flexc cams I have for sale sizes 1-8 for $210 thatd be a great start for you!

just say no to hexes...hexes are like driving a chevy nova..

pigsteak wrote:...hexes are like driving a chevy nova..

Retro cool?

I HIGHLY suggest taking a class. It helped me a tremendous amount.

also, tag along with people climing trad and get experience cleaning and replacing gear while seconding. This will give you an idea of what sized piece goes where.

thanks for the advise, keep it coming.
as for gear, i think i am going to have to pratice with what i have for a while until i can buy more. my full list of gear is as follows,
-flex cam no. 4, 5, 6
-bd stopper set, no. 4 - 13
-bd hex no. 11 (used for bomb anchors during my tr days)
-12 draws (various lengths)
-6 lockers
-10-15 extra biners
-hand full of slings
-20' cordlette
-various webbing lengths
-60m x10.5mm rope

i will probably take a class in the late spring to get more knowledge. fortress wall was suggested as having easy routes, any others....