I have been informed that there is still demand to learn/practice lead climbing so will be running another workshop at St Peters on Monday the 29th September! This is open to people who have never lead climbed before as well as people who just want some practice or to get their St Peters lead pass.
Details below shamelessly pillaged from the MVP Ameila V:
To sign up for this trip you will need to be comfortable top rope climbing an 18 as minimum experience. This means being able to both climb and top rope belay comfortably and competently. Lead climbing experience is not necessary. T
What is Lead Climbing?
Some definitions for those who are unsure:
Top roping is how you normally climb in indoor gyms. The ropes are already set up, and all you need to do is climb whilst your belayer takes in the slack as you go. If you fall, you hang in the same spot.
Lead climbing is a bit more complicated. When you go climbing outdoors, the ropes arenโt already set up. So, the climber will have to put upย quickdrawsย along the route to clip the rope into as they go. If you fall and youโre above the bolt with the quickdraw, you can fall a few metres. In indoor gyms like St Peterโs, the quickdraws are already in place. For outdoor climbing youโll need to carry them with you and place them yourself.
We will be teaching how to lead belay with two devices:ย GriGriย andย ATC. Youโll be placed in a group of three and doing โmock leadingโ where one person will top rope belay you, and the other will be lead belaying you. St Peterโs does not allow leading with ATC so only mock leading will be allowed with this device, which is still good practice for outdoor trips. If youโre competent with a GriGri, you can do your lead test and move from mock lead to lead climbing and belaying. You are not allowed to lead climb without passing a test from the gym staff.
We can also teach how to clean anchors if we have time.
Pre-Reading
If youโre keen to come along, have a read-through of the following resources:
- How to Lead Climb
- How to Lead Belay (ATC)
- How to Belay with a GriGri
- Petzl Access Book 1: Belayingย (Page 10 in particular)
- Petzl Access Book 5: Sport Climbing
Bonus:
- How to Clean a Sport Anchor
- Note that the club teaches to use a safety/personal anchor system (PAS) instead of a second quickdraw.
Cost
Note that all attendees will need to pay the St Peterโs entry fee. For UNSWOC members who are uni students, we have a discount on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays that will reduce entry to $14.50. Please bring a club card and student card. If you do not have a club card, let me know in the comment and I can bring one for you.
How to Attend
To attend, sign up below and answer the following in your comment:
- Your climbing experience
- If youโve lead climbing or lead belayed before
- What youโre hoping to learn (e.g. try lead for the first time, tips and tricks to improve, or help in getting your lead pass)
- How many toddlers (3 yo) you think you could simultaneously beat in a fight (so I know you’ve read this far)
Also please make sure that a link to your Facebook is included on your UNSWOC profile so you can be added to a group chat. If you donโt know how to edit this, please included it in your comment.
Attendees
- Carmen An
- Campbell Jones
- Jack Lane
- Dominik Schwaiger
- Ruochen Zhang
- Greta Bogren
- Phoebe Sloan
- Simon Pechan
- LIYANG LI
- Gabi Burge