This course is for indoor lead climbers or those who have been seconding trad routes outdoors and wish to progress to trad lead climbing.

This course progressively builds the skills required to lead climb on trad gear in a supportive environment. The course covers the following topics and skills:

• Equipment overview: ropes, protection, belay devices, helmets, and harnesses.

• Understanding grades, route selection, and guidebook use.

• Fundamentals of placing traditional protection (nuts, cams, hexes, slings).

• Anchor selection: assessing rock quality, direction of pull, and redundancy.

• Building safe and equalised belay systems.

• Seconding practice and gear retrieval.

• Lead belaying techniques: rope management, communication, and dynamic belaying.

• Practice placing gear on lead (mock leads with a top-rope safety line).

• Evaluating and testing placements.

• Building and using multi-point anchors.

• Setting up safe stances and belay transitions.

• Route reading and efficient climbing movement on trad rock.

• Selecting appropriate routes for ability and protection.

• Placing and extending runners to reduce rope drag.

• Managing rope systems on single-pitch trad climbs.

• Building safe top anchors and managing the second’s ascent.

• Common problems: rope snagging, poor placements, and how to resolve them.

• Coaching on lead tactics and psychological management (fear, pacing, resting).

• Safe abseil set ups for retreat or planned abseil descents.

Participants should have experience indoor lead climbing or outdoor seconding routes prior to the course. They should be able to lead belay and have a level of outdoor fitness to spend a full day at a crag.

All ropes, climbing hardware and emergency group kit is supplied. Climbing harnesses and helmets can be supplied on request. Participants will need outdoor clothing and footwear, climbing shoes and food for each day according to the kit list supplied.

This course is run at a maximum of 2 participants to 1 instructor.

Meet at Caban Cafe, Brynrefail LL55 3NR (near Llanberis) at 9am on the first day of the course

For full terms and conditions please follow this link https://www.roammountains.co.uk/terms-conditions

In case of bad weather we will find relevant skills and activities at low level.

We try to stay outside but may suggest going to an indoor wall if it will provide a better learning environment. Climbing wall fees are not included.

If a participant cancels less than eight weeks a refund minus the deposit and booking fees, between 4 and 2 weeks before the course 50% can be refunded. If less than 2 weeks no refund is given.

We recommend taking insurance to cover unforeseen events like illness.