I just received my first bit of trad gear today. I've been wanting to do trad climbing (where you place your own protection) for a year now, but never got around to buying gear or going out and practicing. This weekend we're heading over to Smith Rocks for a friend's birthday so I will get my chance. I'm hoping that for the Moab trip in 2 weeks I'll be able to lead up some easy stuff with Ron.
I don't have a full rack, or even a partial rack, in fact this is pretty pathetic, but it's a start. I also bought a set of Black Diamond stoppers earlier at REI. I even have a few Yates Screamers for sketchy placement.