Leading a Sport Climb 101

In the summer of 2002, many of the new rock grads had the grand idea they'd run out and try some sport leads at Rumney. Half of the crew didn't own quickdraws or their own rope, fewer had beta, and only one or two knew even how to get off the ground. Upon getting wind of the plan, Richard Doucette hastily forwarded these tips to the crowd, perhaps hoping as a result fewer people would sustain permanent injury. It was of great help, we all emerged alive, exuberant and, with the exception of one twisted ankle and a motley array of bruised shins, unscathed.

1. When leading, it’s a good idea to “stack” the rope nicely…so that there are no tangles for the belayer.
2. If the climber seriously outweighs the belayer, then anchoring the belayer might be a good idea; otherwise it’s not. The belayer can best help out in case of a fall by having a clear path behind him/her. In a fall, the belayer can run backwards and take up slack fast, shortening the fall. This technique works great.
3. Tie into the rope in a manner that gives you a neat and tidy knot, with no excess tail.
4. Count the bolts (if you can see them) to see that you have enough quickdraws. Sometimes the book says how many there are. Bring 1 or 2 extra no matter what. Arrange the quickdraws on your harness in a manner that makes them easy to get to. Put them on the gear loops close to the front of your harness. Don’t put too many on each loop (4 or 5 max).
5. Bring at least two longer (over the shoulder) slings for the top; in case you want to set up a top rope or just to have around in case you get tired/scared and want to clip into a bolt and hang for a while. Bring a couple of spare non-locking biners and at least one (preferably two) locking biners. Like the slings, these will come in handy somewhere.
6. As you climb, the belayer needs to know when you are about to pull up the rope and clip it into the biner; so they can give you some slack just a half a second before you pull up on the rope. There is nothing more aggravating than pulling up on the rope to make a clip and find the belayer has his thumb up his ass. To make sure the slack is there, some climbers say “clipping” just before they pull up on the rope.
7. When you get near a bolt you must relax. Don’t get too focused on the bolt. Show good technique. When you get near enough so you can touch the bolt, look for good footholds and get as much of your body weight on your feet as you can. Your feet do the work (and the bottom of your shoes must be clean from the start).
8. Clip the quickdraw into the bolt, with the gate on the lower (rope) biner facing out away from the midline of the route. Comprendez – midline of the route? You want the rope biner facing out away from the route so that if you fall it's almost impossible for the rope to unclip itself as you fall past the biner. Note that some quickdraws come with one bent gate biner. That is the rope biner, and facilitates ease of clipping.
9. If you find yourself getting tired, just say “take” to your belayer right after clipping the rope into the biner. The belayer puts the rope in a brake position and you can lean back and rest. Hang your hands at your side and rest. This is accepted practice while sport climbing, and is less messy than falling. Chalk up. Breath.
10. When you get near the top, you have a few options, depending on (a) do you want to set up a toprope or is somebody else going to lead it next and (b) what type of anchor do you discover up there.
    • If you plan to toprope it next, its good to clip a couple of slings/biners (shoulder length is good but not required) into the anchors. If you find chains or some other metal thingy, you can clip into the end of that. But if there is room go right back into the bolt next to the rock. A chain with fewer links is a little safer. It is generally not good form to toprope right off the anchors (with no slings/biners). If too many people do that, the anchors can wear out…and it ties up the anchor ends.
    • You might find some funky looking anchors in a sport climbing area. It could be regular climbing bolts, construction eyebolts, anchor chains or big rings. At Rumney (and other pure sport climbing areas) you might find this thing that looks like a biner fastened to a bolt. It has a spring-loaded gate so when you get to the anchor you don’t need any of your own gear, just clip the in the rope, yell “take” or “on you”, and be lowered.
11. Once at the top, if you want to set up a TR then add slings and biners (but protect yourself first, clip in). If someone else wants to lead it, you could clip into the anchors and lower off a couple of quickdraws, but then you will pull the rope and those quickdraws are up there for no reason…you might want them for another climb. In this instance its better to clip into the anchor and untie from the rope, feed it through the anchor and retie, then be lowered. This can be a tricky procedure if you have never done it. Do not drop the rope in mid thread or you are stranded. There are ways to ensure that this won't happen and you can read up on them in John Long’s book or elsewhere.
12. Do not forget to chalk up every now and then. Learn to love your chalk bag. Caress it…fondle it… oooohhhh…that feels good.