Climbing Safety Skill Practice

- 7 mins read

For me, climbing movement has come more intuitively than climbing safety systems. But, both are required for a fun AND safe time on rock. 12 years in, and the safety systems knowledge I’ve gained has started to snowball: it seems like I’m learning safety system skills a little faster now, with a lot less overwhelm than in the beginning.

This post is about the climbing safety systems. And more specifically, practicing them. I’ve been practicing safety systems since the very beginning, but ramping up in technical complexity as I ventured from bouldering to sport to multipitch to multipitch trad. And, I’ve learned many ways:

  • a new knot from a video online and using it during a trip
  • how to place gear and build anchors at Enchanted Rock
  • how to pass a knot during rappel in Luke’s backyard and then practicing for a few more days in my own yard

Everyone will learn in their own way, but it may be from reading, watching, practicing, and ultimately getting real-world climbing experience.

For years, I’ve been tracking skills to practice in AnyList that I mentioned in Climbing Packing List so we could easily open a video to watch during a training session and cross it off when we’ve practiced it.

But now, I have more friends who want to keep learning about climbing skills, so I’m moving all of the climbing safety skill content here for easier sharing.

Overwhelm

Learning can be overwhelming. For me, I know that I can only learn and practice a few new rope skills per day before my brain starts glazing over like a delicious donut – the clear sign that I’ve hit my limit. Of course not everyone is the same, and some folks may be able to learn faster.

Either way, no stress. Better safe than sorry. Take it slow, practice, practice, practice.

If it’s overwhelming now, it will probably get easier to learn as time goes on.

How to practice

Get somewhere with a mentor, guide, friend, etc and practice on the ground as much as you can. A tree can help you practice rappelling and ascending. And of course, getting out and climbing as you and your partners feel confident enough in your skills.

Gear

While practicing, you’ll probably discover more gear you want to buy. You can see what I use in Climbing Packing List.

A progression

When reflecting on my own learning progression in How I’m Learning Trad Climbing, I wished I had learned more skills before getting into trad and multipitch climbing. So, here’s my high-level take on a gym-to-multipitch-trad progression:

Be interested

:) You don’t have to climb anything you don’t want!

Find a mentor or guide

See How I’m Learning Trad

Be communicative, vulnerable and receptive to feedback

Be direct with your concerns, fears, skills, goals, etc. Ask questions. Good partners will explain things to you - either because they judge now is a good time, or when you ask. Good partners will also tell you when you’re not ready for something yet.

Lead belay

While you can have some multipitch experiences without lead belaying, it’s ideal to know how to before you multipitch. And, to lead belay with the device(s) you’ll use in multipitch - I prefer using a GigaJul on multipitch even though I use a Neox or GriGri for single pitch. Learn how to be a GOOD belayer, too. Ask for feedback from people on the ground, and from your lead climber.

Lead sport climb

Practicing sport leading with ready made permanent anchors is a low stakes way to get experience reading rock, placing draws, not backclipping, etc – all of which will come into play leading trad.

Cleaning a top rope anchor

While not strictly required for all trad, knowing how to clean top rope anchors gives you a little practice with anchor craft in a safe situation and will unlock sport climbing outside. Austin’s Greenbelt and Reimer’s Ranch are unique sport climbing areas where folks are suggested to clip the lead rope directly into the sport clips / mussy hooks at the anchor. But most other places have a local ethic of building your own anchor on the top bolts for your rope - so get ready for those places like Inks Ranch and Enchanted Rock in Texas - both of which offer great trad routes and sport routes, with 2 bolt anchors.

Rappelling

Before doing multipitch, you should know how to rappel so you don’t have to learn during your first descent! You can practice this from the ground by walking back to tension the rope, or rappel a few feet down a tree with a crash pad below you. I think it’s important to know how to rappel off with your device on your belay loop as the basic approach AND extended from your belay loop (which makes self-rescue easier).

Belay and rappel without a device

Someday, you’ll drop your belay/rappel device. It may be on your first multipitch. Some people carry two. I still don’t feel comfortable with skill today, so it’s one that I want to practice.

Ascending ropes

I didn’t learn this until after having a near epic on Epinephrine with ropes getting stuck on rappel. But, I think it’s smart to learn this before you need to rappel since it can help you get to a rap station you went past and other self-rescue scenarios.

Multipitch sport

If you have an opportunity to do some easy multipitch sport, you can work on your multipitch comfort - the height, the anchors, the rappelling, belaying, rope management, etc. Keeping the rope organized during belays is a skill we all need to learn - both for lead belays, and for follower belays. Communicate with your leader if big loops of rope are forming below you as you’re belaying, because if you let those get stuck below, you or the leader will probably need to lower/rappel to unstick the ropes and climb/ascend – which is time consuming and complicated.

Follow trad

I had 6 super fun enjoyable trips to Red Rock before I even really tried jamming cracks, so you may be able to follow a trustworthy friend, and definitely a guide, up trad routes to see how you like the style of climbing, the exposure, the adventure.

Trad gear placement & anchor building

I led a trad route before ever following one – I assumed it’d make sense and just led a route. As I’ve said in other posts, I’m glad I didn’t fall on any of my gear placements. Ideally you spend a lot of time at the ground placing gear, making a few different kinds of anchors, and maybe even build up to practicing trad gear placements on top rope/rappel like Dave MacLeod suggests in How I learned to place trad gear I’d trust with my life.

Jamming cracks

With the proper shoes, gloves, time, and determination, you may just learn to love crack climbing! While not required to follow or lead trad, it opens doors to more routes and enjoyment, in my opinion.

Skill references

Here’s my collection of useful skills that I want to keep so I can easily reference them when I want.

Getting down

Anchors

Multipitch

Knots

Ascending

Scenarios

This is a list of scenarios I’d like to be prepared for. And I’ll keep adding to this list over time.