Increasingly, new climbers are entering the sport of climbing by starting off indoors or at a local sport climbing crags. Usually climbers first climb on a top-rope then over time they may have the courage and skill to try their hands at leading a pitch. The vast and ever-growing availability of these types of climbing venues is terrific for the growth and recognition of the sport as a whole but it seems many climbers are left unprepared for a transition to traditional climbi

In my observation one common stumbling point for climbers of a surprisingly wide base of experience is that of safely and efficiently setting and cleaning sport-climbs. In theory the process is easy but the reality of the situation is that many climbers unintentionally expose themselves or their partners to large degrees of unnecessary risk, time after time, without realizing the magnitude of the risk they are exposing themselves to. I will not go into the nitty-gritty of a