sounds like you have two different fear sets.

1st- is the whole leading above gear thing. this one just takes time and rate- and i would advise two things- if you're resting on gear, then you're climbing a route that's too hard for you- your first leads shouldnt involve resting on gear, this isnt sport climbing. second, if you cant have your feet above your last piece before you're placing gear again, then the route is too tough. you can push your limit physically or mentally, but not both. keep cranking it down until you can climb the route by scoping a stance, getting to it, placing gear, climbing until your feet are at or above the gear and repeating.

second- fear of heights/exposure. this is completely different from lead head- although it can affect your lead head, it may or may not, and really, there's no way to know whether it will until you're up there. the best advice on this one is 1) dont look past your feet until you're at an anchor and 2) dont climb a super-exposed route. not many routes in RR are that exposed at the 5.8 and below level- i'd say Birdland and the last pitch of Cat in the Hat are the only ones that have any sort of real exposure (the feeling of being WAY up there). oh, and dont worry about the heights thing at all- that shit will either fuck up your head or it wont and there's no point in working yourself up over it- most likely, you'll be fine. very few people really shut down at 500' off the deck.

the single most important issue with multipitch is time management. do not underestimate this. lets put it this way- in 7 years of climbing in red rocks, i've walked by the base of Solar Slab at dusk probably 50-60 times, and only ONE TIME in all those years have i been by and seen no one high on the route about to either spend the night or have one cold ass night trying to get down. and, seeing as you can retreat at any point on that route, i can account for all of those (or damn near) as bad time management.

All in all I am only looking to climb easy, basic, safe multi-pitch routes. I am not looking to push my limit or transfer over to being a trad climber. I just would like to enjoy some nice solid climbing on a multi-pitch route with good placement options. So what route suggestions do you have for a beginner? My partner(s) are / is also inexperienced and so we want to keep things simple and safe. The number one thing I would like to avoid, if possible, is run outs / crappy placements for extended lengths. I know that they are a part of serious multi-pitch climbing and I have to get use to them eventually, but I think it would be a really bad idea to face them at the beginning.

As a reference, I have seconded Crimson Chrysalis and I would not feel comfortable leading that route as my first multi-pitch lead. I remember there were slab sections that offered no placement opportunities and a bolt only every 20 - 30 feet for the first few pitches.

If you do that one, don't stop at the big ledge right below the roof crux, stop a little lower because the bolted belay on the ledge is missing a hangar on one stud(and the stud is super loose/hand removable). Better to build a gear belay below it, or use the prior bolted anchor and link the pitches.

we fixed that anchor last spring, so it should be good to go now. (replaced the hangar, tightened the stud)

dude you lead 5.12 confidently. It's more or less the same thing. Dont' sell yourself short by leading 8 letter grades below what you lead confidently, that would be embarrasing.

Unless he has no crack climbing skills, at which point even a 5.6 might terrify him in practice.

Get your ass on some routes and lead them. If you want to lead, LEAD. Stop hiding behind a training regime.

Suck it up buttercup - On Belay. Now STUF and start climbing, we have a route to send.

Birdland, 5.7 - not really run-out, but it may feel like it as the 4th pitch requires some creativity to get good gear.

TIE KNOTS IN THE BOTTOM OF YOUR ROPE WHEN RAPPELLING!!!!

Dark Shadows would be a good route
or cat in the hat

I don’t have any multi-pitch where I live to climb. That’s the point of the thread.

So I have a reasonable amount of experience leading in general.

I don’t have any multi-pitch where I live to climb. That’s the point of the thread. I am trying to figure out what I can do in the two months I have left to help prepare for the multi-pitch routes when I get to Red Rocks.

And I have been leading. I have lead 90% of the last 75 sport routes I climbed. I always prefer to lead as so long as the route is not R or X. I have been messing around trying to lead some 10a trad routes lately instead of my normal 11+ / 12- sport regime to train for the multi-pitch routes and that’s helped a lot increasing my confidence climbing on gear. I figure if I can get to the point where I am confident on 5.10- on gear I will be fine on the 6's, 7', and 8' in Red Rocks.

After skimming your ascent log, it looks like you TR more than anything else. Not to be a dick, but don't get in over your head, that's when bad things can occur. At this stage, if you want to climb a multipitch, find someone more experienced who's willing to lead the whole thing and give you some pitches if it's something you can handle. Challenge yourself in the right ways (like what vegastradguy said) but don't rush!

If you're going to Red Rocks at the time of the Rendezvous sign up for the Multi-pitch efficiency clinic and refine what you learn from now until then.

I was considering that. Right now I am signed up for hard sport, soft catch but I was thinking of changing it. Do you know specifically what that class entails? Obviously it’s about multi-pitch but is it a ground class or do they actually take you to a multi-pitch route?

This is your chance to learn Muti-pitch systems with a focus on options for equipment, route finding, reading topos, belaying, safety, speed and rope management.

I don’t TR more than anything, I lead more than anything. Many of those TR assents are TR only routes; they can’t be lead. Many of my redpoints are not logged for the routes are not in the database yet. Others are R rated and thus I don’t lead them. Some are 5.11 trad and I can’t lead trad that hard so I only TR'ed them. But I do get a lot of mileage on lead. I lead every chance I get. The only time I don’t lead is if my partner does not know how to lead belay or if I am trying to work out the moves on a specific climb or if the route is overly dangerous (R / X). I would be absolutely insane to think I could lead any multi-pitch if I backed out on leading safe sport routes.

I don’t have any multi-pitch where I live to climb. That’s the point of the thread. I am trying to figure out what I can do in the two months I have left to help prepare for the multi-pitch routes when I get to Red Rocks.

And I have been leading. I have lead 90% of the last 75 sport routes I climbed. I always prefer to lead as so long as the route is not R or X. I have been messing around trying to lead some 10a trad routes lately instead of my normal 11+ / 12- sport regime to train for the multi-pitch routes and that’s helped a lot increasing my confidence climbing on gear. I figure if I can get to the point where I am confident on 5.10- on gear I will be fine on the 6's, 7', and 8' in Red Rocks.

Obviously it’s about multi-pitch but is it a ground class or do they actually take you to a multi-pitch route?