Intro to Trad Climbing

Intro to Trad Climbing

Or call/text us at (916) 299-0711

Unlock access to the most rewarding experiences climbing has to offer!

Begin your trad climbing journey! This course will guide you through the fundamentals of placing gear, building anchors, and leading with confidence on the “sharp end”.

Whether you’re transitioning from sport climbing or are completely new to outdoor climbing, this hands-on experience focuses on skill-building in a supportive environment. With personalized instruction, you’ll gain the knowledge and techniques to safely explore the world of traditional climbing at your own pace.

Who is this course for?
You already lead sport climbs indoors or outdoors and want to make the transition to trad.
You have climbed some trad with a mentor but you want to get some professional instruction.
You’ve taken a trad course before but its been a while or you just want to review the material.

Itinerary

We’ll start off with some discussion about what trad climbing is, how it differs from other forms of climbing, and what we can expect from the day. We’ll discuss some new equipment and terminology before getting some practice with placing trad gear into the rock. After some time with that we’ll move onto the ropes and do some mock trad leads while backed up with a top rope. You’ll get feedback on your placements and perhaps even take some small falls on them. We’ll wrap up with some basic 3 and 4-point traditional anchor-building considerations before calling it a day.

  • Trad vs sport considerations
  • Trad climbing equipment
  • Cam and nut placement basics
  • Assessing rock quality
  • Where/when to place protection
  • Trad anchors
  • Incremental falling practice
  • Ropes
  • Trad Gear (Cams, Nuts, Draws) Bring your own if you have it!
  • Anchor Building Material
  • Personal Climbing Gear (if requested in advance): Harness, Helmet, Shoes
  • Harness, Helmet, Climbing Shoes (let us know if you need to borrow these!)
  • Trad rack (not required), alpine + quick draws, locking carabiners, slings/anchor material, belay device, crack gloves.
  • Personal food, water, clothing, and backpack for a day outside
  • Lead climbing experience
  • Solid lead and top rope belaying skills
  • Capable of top roping 5.8 outside
  • At least 6 months of climbing experience

*unsure of these prerequisites? Contact Us.

Possible Course Locations

Or call/text us at (916) 299-0711

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Kevin Heinrich

I grew up mostly in the North Eastern US but began traveling and climbing after high school and never looked back. I’ve been lucky to climb in over 10 countries and have done many first ascents on 3 continents. Now I mostly travel in my janky van in the Great American West with occasional trips abroad. I’m surprised to say I’ve been guiding for nearly a decade on rock, ice, mountains, and skis but now mostly focus on delivering highly personalized and precise rock climbing instruction.

It would be fun to list more accomplishments but I truly don’t think that’s what climbing is about. My goal is to be a damn good teacher of the skills people need to prepare for and take on some of the biggest challenges of their lives; not so they can brag about it on Instagram or in a website About page :), but so they learn about themselves, the people around them, and the world we live in.

I’m an AMGA Certified Rock Guide and have some expensive other bits of paper too. I pride myself in thinking hard about the skills I teach and how best to present them to you in a way that’s clear, concise, actionable, and appropriate for your skill level. Above all else I care. I care about you as a human being and hope we can get outside and learn from each other soon!

Professional Certifications
Personal Climbing Resume