How to lead a climb indoors?

Lead climbing indoors is an advanced and exhilarating discipline that requires precision, trust, and a thorough understanding of safety protocols. It involves ascending a climbing wall while clipping your rope into pre-placed quickdraws as you go, with your belayer feeding out rope from below.

Understanding Indoor Lead Climbing

Unlike top-roping, where the rope comes from an anchor above you, in lead climbing, the climber is always above their last point of protection (the quickdraw they last clipped). This means that if you fall, you will fall at least twice the distance from your last quickdraw, plus any rope stretch and belayer give.

Essential Gear for Indoor Lead Climbing

Before attempting to lead, ensure you have the correct equipment, all in good condition. Most indoor climbing gyms provide the quickdraws permanently attached to the lead routes.

Climbing Harness: A properly fitted and secure harness is fundamental for safety.
Dynamic Climbing Rope: A specific rope designed to stretch and absorb the force of falls. The rope's length should be appropriate for the gym's wall height (e.g., 60m-70m).
Belay Device: An appropriate device such as an assisted-braking device (e.g., Grigri) or a tubular device like an ATC Guide for controlling the rope.
Locking Carabiner: Essential for attaching your belay device to your harness.
Climbing Shoes: For optimal grip and precision on footholds.
Chalk Bag: To keep your hands dry and enhance grip.
Helmet (Optional Indoors): While less common in indoor gyms, some climbers choose to wear one for additional protection, especially when learning or on busy walls.

Pre-Climb Safety Checks and Communication

Safety in lead climbing is paramount and relies heavily on rigorous pre-climb checks and clear communication between the climber and belayer.

The Partner Check

This crucial routine ensures both climbers are prepared and safe before starting:

Knot: Verify the climber's tie-in knot (typically a figure-eight follow-through) is correctly tied and dressed.
Harness: Confirm that both the climber's and belayer's harness buckles are double-backed and snug.
Belay Device: Check that the belay device is properly threaded and securely locked to the belayer's harness with a locking carabiner. Ensure the rope is running correctly through the device.
Rope Management: Confirm sufficient rope is flaked out and free of knots or tangles for the entire climb.

Standard Climbing Commands

Clear and consistent commands prevent misunderstandings:

Climber: "On belay?" (Asks if belayer is ready)
Belayer: "Belay on!" (Confirms readiness)
Climber: "Climbing!" (Announces the start of the climb)
Belayer: "Climb on!" (Acknowledges)
Climber: "Take!" (Requests belayer to take in slack and hold the rope tight)
Climber: "Slack!" (Requests belayer to give out more rope)
Climber: "Lower!" (Requests to be lowered back to the ground)

The Indoor Lead Climbing Process

Executing a lead climb involves a series of coordinated steps and mindful techniques from start to finish.

1. Starting the Climb

After completing all checks and exchanging commands, the belayer takes up any initial slack, and the climber begins their ascent. The first quickdraw is often clipped from the ground or a very low bolt.

2. Clipping the Quickdraws

This is the most critical skill for lead climbing. As you ascend, you will clip the quickdraws that are pre-attached to the wall.

When to Clip: Aim to clip when the quickdraw is at or slightly above your waist level. Clipping too low increases your potential fall distance.
Positioning: Find a stable stance, ideally maintaining three points of contact on the wall (e.g., two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand).
Clipping Technique:
- Grab the quickdraw's bottom carabiner.
- Pull a loop of rope through the quickdraw.
- Push the rope into the gate, ensuring it snaps securely shut.
- Always ensure the rope strand leading to the belayer is on the wall-side of the quickdraw, and the strand leading to you is on the outside. This prevents rope friction on the quickdraw gate during a fall.
Critical Safety Alert: Avoid "Butt Clipping"
- Do not butt clip; it can result in a ground fall. Butt clipping occurs when you attempt to clip the rope from below the quickdraw's gate, or from below the quickdraw entirely, pulling a loop up through the gate. This can cause the rope to unclip itself during a fall, or be incorrectly routed, leading to severe consequences. Always ensure you are clipping from above the quickdraw, feeding the rope down into the gate.

3. Managing Rope Drag

As you climb higher and clip more quickdraws, the cumulative friction of the rope passing through them can create "rope drag," making it harder to pull up slack for clipping.

Try to climb in a relatively straight line, minimizing sideways traverses.
On very easy sections, experienced climbers may occasionally skip a quickdraw to reduce drag, but this significantly increases fall distance and is not recommended for beginners.

4. Falling Safely

Falls are an inherent part of lead climbing, and learning to fall safely is crucial for reducing injury risk.

Anticipate: If you feel a fall is imminent, try to position yourself to avoid hitting protruding features on the wall.
Relax: Tensing your muscles can contribute to injury.
Tuck Legs: Pull your legs up to avoid hitting the wall directly with your feet or knees during the fall.
Belayer's Role: A skilled belayer will provide a "soft catch" by allowing a small amount of dynamic rope movement, which reduces the impact force on both the climber and the gear.

Belaying a Lead Climber

The belayer's role is just as critical as the climber's and demands constant attention and skill.

Constant Vigilance: Always pay attention to the climber, ready to give or take slack instantly.
Active Belay: Feed out rope smoothly as the climber ascends, and take in slack quickly after a quickdraw is clipped.
Ready to Catch: Maintain an athletic stance, prepared to absorb a fall at any moment.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Beyond the critical "butt clipping," be aware of these common errors:

Back-clipping: The rope runs between the quickdraw carabiner and the wall, then through the gate. This is dangerous as the rope can unclip itself from the carabiner.
Z-clipping: Accidentally clipping the loop of rope that leads down to the belayer, rather than the active strand going up to you. This creates a massive amount of slack and a potentially dangerous fall.
Lack of Communication: Misunderstandings between climber and belayer can lead to serious errors.
Inattention: Both climber and belayer must remain focused throughout the entire climb.
Not practicing falling: Understanding how a fall feels and how the belayer reacts is vital for building confidence and safety.

Training and Progression

To become proficient and safe in indoor lead climbing:

Take a Lead Climbing Course: Most climbing gyms offer dedicated lead climbing and belaying courses. This is highly recommended as it covers all safety procedures and proper techniques.
Start Simple: Begin on easy, straight routes to build confidence in your clipping technique and movement.
Practice Falls: Under controlled conditions with an experienced belayer, practice taking falls to understand the dynamics and build trust in your belayer and the system.

Lead climbing is a highly rewarding discipline that deepens your climbing skills and understanding of movement. By prioritizing safety, practicing diligently, and learning from experienced climbers, you can safely enjoy the thrilling challenges of leading indoors.