What is Reddit's opinion of Advanced Rock Climbing: Expert Skills and Techniques (Mountaineers Outdoor Experts)?

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The "number of draws" rules were made for gyms, and will only apply on rock for certain vertical sport routes. The more general solution is to simply always be aware of two things:

1. What will happen to the leader when they fall
2. What will happen to the belayer when the leader falls

This question should be constantly asked. Every time the leader makes a move, and especially every time they place a new piece (or clip another bolt), the context of a fall changes. On some easy trad routes, a soft catch may never be appropriate. A ledge or protrusion midway up a sport route may require you to "reset" the draw counter that you mention. Etc.

Does the belayer have room to preform the movement required for a soft catch? Or are they positioned near a hazard, either in front of them or above them? If so, perhaps a ground anchor is wise, in which case the catch will be hard by default. Is the belayer unable to position themselves under the first piece of protection due to the terrain? If so, a hard catch may give a direction of load on the first piece which is not downward, and cause a zippering of the pieces above. If the climber is above a ledge, then how do you weight the pros/cons of these sorts of scenarios?

Suffice it to say that there is a lot to consider as soon as the terrain is anything less than vertical, and the belay position is anything but flat.

I highly recommend the "Belaying for Mastery" chapter of Topher Donahue's Advanced Rock Climbing.

Topher Donahue's book fantastic!

Advanced Rock Climbing: Expert Skills and Techniques (Mountaineers Outdoor Experts) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1680510126/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Zz6XzbKH1BSKG