Here is an updated version. I incorporated much, but not all, of your input and
added some more of my own. Still open for comments.

Many thanks to the following folks on the net who responded: Al Black, Everett
Fee, James Gattiker, Tom Lambert, Tom Bunch, Doug Josephson, Tom Huckin, John
Morton, Steve Shostek, Bill Gooch, Bab Harrington, David Jaffe, Cheyenne Wills,
Ken Cline, Chuck Spiekerman, Martin Leroux, Jerry Bargo, Ken Weins, Elmar
Stefke, and Brian Cairns. If I left you out, I never saw your post.

Assorted Trad Tips

Never trust your life to any one piece, no matter how good it appears.
Especially, never trust fixed anchors and old slings. Gym and sport climbers
tend to be overly reliant on equipment.

Throw in a piece occasionally even when you are on easy ground. It wont slow you
down that much and could save your butt.

Test those holds before cranking on them; unlike the gym, things pop off in the
real world, even on trade routes.

Practise down climbing whenever you can; this acquired skill is immensely
useful. Like Oddball said, you want to get out of trouble faster than you got
into it.

Put your nuts on different color slings; it helps identify individual pieces.
This can save valuable time when your arms are burning.

Mark all your gear with tape, paint, or heat shrink if you want to hang on to it
(and renew the marking from time to time). Otherwise your rack will keep getting
lighter and your various partners will somehow grow.

Make sure your slings for nuts are long enough, about 10 - 12 after tying. A
triple grapevine (recommended for spectra) eats up a lot of rope. Varying the
length slightly reduces the sleigh bell effect of nuts banging into each other.

Rack your micro wedges on one biner, your medium wireds on another, and your
large wedges on yet another. Some overlap between sets helps too, especially in
smaller sizes.

Rack from smallest pro in the front to largest in the back. It makes finding the
right piece much easier.

When learning, and on steep terrain, remove the racking biner (gate opening up
an facing in) from the rack. This makes it easier to find the right size
quickly, especially when you dont guess right the first time.

Once you have developed your eye for sizing, avoid removing the racking biner
biner from the rack (gate opening down an out). It is often faster and more
efficient to pull pieces off individually.

Use keylock biners for racking wired nuts, they make removing a piece one-handed
easier.

Learn not to drop things! Belive it or not, this is an acquired skill. Losing an
entire size range can have dire consequences in the middle of a climb and is an
expensive mistake.

Large hexes and figure-8s echo loudly when dropped  everyone at the crag will
know you screwed up! Dont forget to shout Rock!

Triple up runners and rack them like quickdraws; it is much easier to retrieve
them than pulling over your head and shoulder.

Warn your partner if you arrive at a fixed nut so they wont waste a lot of time
trying to retrieve it.

In addition to the usual commands, learn to communicate with your partner
non-verbally. There will be many times it is impossible to even shout at one
another.

Dont set your pieces too hard or your second will be hating youand life. Rarely
do you need to tug hard on them repeatedly.

The corollary is dont set your pieces too losely or you will be hating yourself
(and life) when you look down to see them fall out. Learn how to use an
opposition nut to hold the a critical piece in place.

Seconds who are vertically-impaired (i.e. short) really get peaved at tall
leaders who place pro just out of reach.

It is not a bad idea for both climbers to carry a nut tool. If you dont, the
leader invariably gets three quarters up the pitch before realizing they forgot
to give the only tool to the second. Also, she who has a nut tool gets the
bootie!

Take advantage of natural pro when possible; tied off knobs, threaded slots,
slung chockstones. These can be very strong and are somehow more rewarding.

Avoid using small trees and bushes for protection or holds, this kills them.
Protect our resources or we will lose them!

Do not rappel from large trees by running the rope around them; when the rope is
pulled it cuts into the bark and eventually kills the tree. Use a natural
colored runner (for reduced visual impact) with two descending rings instead.

Only pussies chip holds or modify the rock to meet their pathetic abilities.

Beware things with sharp nasty teeth, stingers, fangs, or talons and plants with
three shiny green leaves. We share the rock with a living world that is not
always benevolent.

Learn how to properly equalize anchors. Use Yates Screamers on particularly
dicey placements.

Learn how to tie a prussik and remove yourself from the belay anchor while
holding a fallen leader.

Remember to protect traverses for your second; they are essentially leading the
climb too.

Dont get dependent on your own rack. A good trad climber should be able to pick
up just about any assortment of gear and do the route.

*** Continued in next message... ***