Well done Ashleigh leading her first ever trad climbs, back in July! ª
Over several evenings in this summer, I did some skill sharing sessions with Ashleigh and Munky to help them take their first steps trad climbing.
It takes time. These photos are from our 3rd evening together. We had at least one more session planned after this before I sent these newbie climbers out into the world.
Before they got to this point, they were at the ideal point to start learning:
‘Lead belayed well
‘Regularly lead sport outdoors or indoors (grade doesn’t matter at all)
‘Had seconded trad before more than once
‘Active in the Clan and eager to support other people in the Clan
‘Willing to put in ~18 hours time with me, and ~18 hours afterwards to get to become an independent trad climber
Trad climbing is probably the most complex and thought-provoking type of climbing, because you have to make your own assessments of risk and safety in very variable, changing conditions.
As Munky and Ashleigh learned, it can be the most frustrating… and the most rewarding!
The plan this year was always for there to be a programme of helping people level up to leading trad and finally Ashleigh and Munky were the first fruits of that! Good job everyone!
Originally posted on Instagram
