Can Dave Macleod help me send my hardest trad lead? 

Check out Dave's video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Y0Ku-Meo8jU.htmlsi=69Qi14Yk3ivABphA

I love that Mike has learned hundreds of skills, and only got really sucked into climbing (and kind of biking, but that is part of his background). It goes to show how addictive climbing is.

Dunkeld was where my dad taught me to climb. This was before there was sport climbing in Scotland. We had the exact same conversation about having to place gear on the upper slab after I failed to do so. This video took me back over 30 years to those days. We’re both still climbing, him in his 80s. I’m glad you’ve also fallen in love with such an awesome sport.

Nicely done Mike 💪 and great job Dave. Just so you actually know what grades you've done up to this point, (as I noticed you put VD for Stanage)😅 At Stanage you lead VS 4c and seconded E1 5b In Norway you lead up to S and seconded up to E1 5b 👍 Keep it up and stay safe 💪

Retreating to a ledge is not only something you shouldn't be ashamed of it's good strategy for preserving energy. Sometimes i will plan to do it ahead of time if i know it's going to be tricky to place a piece of gear.

Dave’s a fantastic teacher, for such a bold climber he doesn’t play with peoples safety by stoking egos. “The main goal is to survive the days climbing” such a great outlook for reeling yourself back in when on the verge of making sketchy choices.

I’d definitely be up for trad if I was taught by Dave Macleod and Pete Whittaker, super cool stuff, loving these videos

I SOOOOO love the fact that You decided to start a new climbing channel just because You climbed ones as a challange on You main account.

Excellent video, I really enjoy these sorts of videos, the tutorial from Dave would benefit so many people. Most climbers are normal people and make silly mistakes, the shared wisdom in these videos is invaluable. Don't worry about the shooting, there is a clay ground nearby, it is a far safer sport than climbing!

Last weekend I was on my first outdoor bouldering trip. Getting out on the rock is so fun, no matter how many routes/boulders you did and how hard they were. Especially if you have great company

5:10 This is very relatable for people who haven't climbed outside much. Knowing you could easily do the route and not finding the ''correct'' way can make you feel really insecure on the rock. Great video Mike.

really loved this video man was a good laugh seeing me and my mate in the background but good climbing from yourself. and thanks for taking the time to chat to us in between ur climb

Thank you for showing and talking about your mental approach to getting spooked. Very relatable and good to normalise this as part of climbing and learning and skill! 12:50

You've really started gettin addicted avent't ya? Been climbing for about 10 years now, really love seeing you learn from some of the best. Love the ambience they're bringing, with your enthousiasm to pair. Keep it up, will be climbing in Scotland somewhere next year (Im Dutch so no climbing here). who knows, might see ya hangin around!

I love your chalk bag

IMHO Dave is the greatest of all time, he's the GOAT.

@12:50 downclimbing is NOT bailing and both allowed and sometime absolutely necessary. There are routes where the only protection leads up a dead end. So you climb up the side route, place protection, downclimb and climb the proper way. In fact... You can downclimb all the way to the ground, rest, do it again with the all gear you placed previously and still onsight the route.

It's funny how many times the word "bomber" came up in this video, a term I've never heard before. ha

I love Dave and his calm attitude so much.

20:09 dont take your hand of the dead rope!

Love hearing Bomull on this channel. I remember the first time you used one of their songs, I got so excited!

That downclimb was a really solid decision. Congrats, Mike!

Nice video! Congrats for the lead!

Loving your climbing journey

Let’s gooo!! Loving the climbing videos.

lovely video, i like how i could watch both of your videos and they were complementary! lowkey a little jealous of all these experiences you are getting, definetly going to tradclimb myself in the future!

Really interesting to watch your climbing journey, as you started at the same time I did. So cool to see you do all this trad stuff so quickly after first learning to climb - really inspiring.

Just like with the routesetting video, again I'm super jealous! Super cool to see you climbing more and more, as I've been watching you for ages. Hoping to get out on some trad routes myself :)

I haven't watched Dave's video yet so he may address this point. You identified that the first wire at the bulge should have been extended, but the second (blue) one seemed to only have a single crab. Chucking a quickdraw allows more wiggle in the system, which helps avoid the wire being lifted out. This is particularly important when you're on sketchy ground where the placements are a bit dodgy. I'm really enjoying your climbing journey Mike, and will happily take you to a crag or two if you're ever in Sydney, Australia.

Great work with the video and climbing. I really enjoy watching the thought process behind "why" - something I'm paying close attention to right now as I'm just learning. The lesson on this video about extending your draw was a great example of one of the thousands of things to think about while climbing. Yes, running an extended alpine sling off that would add more slack in to the system (leaving you a little more exposed) but having a lot of rope drag also amplifies the exposure (especially if you had a deadpoint to reach out for at some point above!) Which is exactly the type of thought process I'm trying to build in my head since I'm a beginner who is still learning! Trad climbing is so interesting because it's not just a physical exercise but also quite a mental workout. Thanks for the great video and the beautiful location. A huge chunk of my ancestry comes from Scotland (according to my DNA test) so seeing the land where my ancestors lived is also quite amazing and special. Someday I'd love to take a trip to visit that region.

Great progress. That said, I recall when you posted your 100 hours of bouldering video, there were multiple posts suggesting you work on foot placement. I was surprised when you reacted with surprise to Dave’s suggestion you focus on careful foot placement. This is a pattern. You’ll climb much harder and more safely when you put in the work.

That was a treat, cheers Mike

Awesome video.. Binge watching now that I've just come across the channel

Nice one mate, as always quality vid, please do keep them coming 👌

Banger video mate, what a great day. Looking forward to filming your next one in a little more sunshine 😉💪🏻

Hi Mike, great video thanks. The route you led at Stanage was VS not V Diff

I just saw Dave Macleod in a video with Climbing Stuff, I guess he's going around

funny how when placing you want a short runner because youre thinking about the fall, then 20 feet later you feel the drag and wish you had extended it. hard thing to balance

doing great, mike!

I'm loving the climbing videos.

Hell yeah brotherrrr

Great Video! This the main channel now, or u still uploading to the other one?

You could try to attemt a crack technical. Stay toprope but always kinda loose. And work yourself up with only nuts and friends. Takes its time but actually noticing how everything holds your weight. Really nice, helps many of my students.

I use the same La Sportiva shoes outdoors and I found the rubber to be super sticky on real rock its amazing, one thing I noticed though was that the heel of the shoe felt very large for the shape of the shoe in general, how do they feel for you? (I'm so jealous you climbed with Dave)

Hi Mike, great video what route was this?

Hey Mike, or anyone in the comments who knows. Where did you get your chalk bag? :D I neeeeeed one haha

Epic

Does mick Ryan still own rockfax?

Have to learn some proper communication instead of shouting down “that’s me safe!”. Just pull in ~5m of *one* rope (preferably you also agree on a color before, I’d pick the orange one) and the belayer knows you are safely at the anchor. Once you’ve pulled up all the rope you only pull the orange rope taught once you’ve inserted it into the belay device and it’s safe to follow for your partner.

My sport grade is 7b my trad grade is somewhere in the 5s lol. Wheres the 7a send btw

Will all your videos be about climbing from now on?

Trad dad

Aaaaaah, I just opened up RU-vid wondering if you’d posted another video or not - and here we are 🥹

Watching this was very relatable. You and I are at the same place in our trad journeys. I am working on getting more reps on 5.7 yds climbs (similar grade to severe I think). Dave's wisdom is so helpful and reassuring.