Quote Originally Posted by friendowl
so what do you do
do you just put up a bunch of anchors in
case onr breaks you have back up or what

are the holes already placed in the rocks or do you make em
and if you make em what do you use.

what is a good beginner climb that i can look into.
have you been up matterhorn peak in the sierras[dharma bums]

i really want to learn the technical side.
Yes, you definitely want to have multiple anchors for back up.

You have two choices for anchors. 1- You can climb up a crack and wedge anchors in constrictions. The person who comes up behind you removes them.2- On rock faces without cracks the climbing routes are bolted. Basically someone climbs up(or rappels down) drills holes in the rock, then puts a bolt and hanger in. The bolts and hangers are then left for others to use.

The best beginner climbs are short (<80') ones that can be top roped. I know tons of them locally. There's shitloads down in your area too. If you're really interested I'd check out somehting like the climbing school out at Josua tree http://www.rockclimbingschool.com/guide.html they have lots of different classes and are a really well known group. Your local REI probably offers classes too. Or, if you want to make a drive, Yosemite Mountaineering School is one of the best in the business.

A really cool beginner route is to go up Unicorn Peak in Tuolumne. It's actually just a 3rd/4th class climb but it will put you on top of a great summit with an incredible view.

Yes, I actually have been up Matterhorn Peak. It's in a spectacluar area in the Northeastern part of Yosemite. I just did the 3rd class route from Matterhorn Pass, however. I was backpacking with some non climbers and since we were going over the pass I couldn't resist the urge to bag the summit.