Trad Lead Climbing Course from Seattle
DETAILS

Join Us on 2 Days Trad Lead Climbing Course

Trad (short for “traditional”) climbing involves climbing natural features such as cracks and placing your own rock protection. Trad climbing is the primary type of climbing used to ascend bigwalls and technical routes in the mountains because it does not rely on pre-placed bolts. This course teaches students with previous rock climbing experience how to lead trad routes in a single-pitch setting. We use world-class trad climbing destinations such as the Index Town Walls to conduct this course.

Previous experience top-roping trad routes and belaying a lead climber is required to participate in this course. This can be gained on our Trad Climbing Course and combined with this course for a thorough introduction to lead climbing with traditional protection.

Skills Covered during Trad Lead Climbing Course:

  • Rope management: stacking, flaking, coiling
  • A good rack for first-time trad climbers
  • Review:Types of traditional protection: Nuts, cams, tri-cams
  • Racking protection
  • Placing protection on lead
  • Extending protection
  • Removing protection
  • Clipping rock protection
  • Movement skills for trad lead climbing. The bulk of the course will focus here.
  • Building and equalizing top-rope anchors
  • Lowering
  • Cleaning top-rope anchors

We will have a logistics meeting and gear check at least three days before your trip is scheduled to depart.

Duration
2 Days 1 Night Camping
Passport
Not Required for Americans

  PRICE BASIS
PRICE INCLUDES

  • Group climbing equipment
  • Guide Services
  • Pre-trip Planning/Information session on packing and gear
  • Backpacking, mountaineering, and general outdoor safety skills
PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE

  • Transportation (We will help arrange carpools)
  • Personal clothing and equipment
  • Parking or entry fees
  • Meals/Snacks/Drinks
  • Gratuities for Guides
ITINERARY
Day 1:
We will arrive at our instruction area by 9am. Instructors will present some safety information before showing students the equipment they recommend for first-time trad leaders. Once at the cliff instructors will have students practice placing protection and will check the placements. Students then move on to constructing simple trad top-rope anchors. Instructors then set-up a moderate crack climb and have students practice placing protection while they top-rope the route (mock lead). Instructors will provide feedback to improve the quality of student climbing movement. After instruction we head to our campsite to relax.
Day 2:
Today we wake early and head to the cliff by 8am. Students continue to practice the skills and techniques from the previous day. Students will also practice building anchors at the top of a route and lowering off their own anchors. In the later half of the day those students who have demonstrated excellent application of knowledge and who have good climbing movement skills can do their first lead climb of a trad route without the protection of a top-rope (students will not be forced to do this). Students will continue to lead climb, place anchors, and descend until around 4pm.

Reviews

Testimonials
  • Mount Olympus Summit

    Sandeep is possibly the best person (Miyar and guides) in the business to take you on the mountains. Anyone who has trained with him to summit Rainier over the years can tell you how much he cares about his peeps. Talk to him and he can always find a way to make it happen. I have been trying to climb Rainier for few years with personal constraints (need to be always available, can return anytime, 24*7 sat phone access etc) and many times I had to return mid climb from big ones like Baker and Rainier. It was really easy to talk to the guides about this situation. I never once felt unsafe on the mountains. This is a big deal given how much we learnt when it comes to snow skills and glacier training. Be safe and go with Miyar!

    Vivek Garg
  • Climbing Mt Baker

    What an awesome experience to go on climbing Mt. Rainier with Miyar Adventures. Sandeep and his team of guides ( Kirk, Alexis, Joe, Ben, Chris, Jasmin ) did an awesome job to lead the multiple rope teams trough snow skill preparations and guiding through safely on glacier journey. The amount of efforts put into multi-month preparation, pre-trip meetings, accessibility to gears for rent and attention to details with food/weight/personal gears were all instrumental in almost all of us (in a group of 24) able to summit Mt. Rainier and have wonderful memories. We knew we were in best company and safe hands with prior experience with Miyar Adventures led climb to Mt. Baker and few other preparation trips. And guides calibrated their approach from novice climbers to experienced climbers to push enough to have an enjoyable experience. I highly recommend to go with Miyar Adventures on amazing trips they have lined up around the Puget Sound Area and internationally.

    Harshit Shah
  • Mt Baker

    If you are interested in doing any climbing or hiking but need a guide , I highly recommend Miyar Adventures...Sandeep is a wonderful person and you will actually learn (and practice ) climbing and crevasse rescue techniques in addition to the trip/climb ...it is definitely beyond a just a "get you to the summit" experience. He genuinely cares and brings in other excellent guides for bigger groups. My husband and I recently successfully made it to the summit of Mount Baker with Sandeep, two other guides and a group of friends and we had a fantastic experience. He and the guides he works with are very knowledgeable so I had confidence in their abilities to lead us but they are also very friendly and fun so that overall trip was enjoyable. I will definitely climb with Miyar Adventures again!

    Monica Henry