IsayAutumn
Sep 16, 2011, 4:35 PM
Post #51 of 51
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Registered: Oct 8, 2008
Posts: 355
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rtsteed wrote: Like many others I starting climbing at a gym and then moved outdoors into the outdoors. Since the transition two years ago I have not taken a lead fall. I am a rookie who is starting to transition to trad climbing and I am wondering if me not falling has caused me to not push myself. while placing pro I get nervous once I get above the pro. but I constantly stay on routes I know I can handle. Will this come back to bite me in the butt?
I don't think it will come back to bite you in the butt if you don't end up taking more falls. However, it will hold you back from progressing through the grades if that is something you are interested in.
Like some others in this thread have said, I started leading trad my first season and never got on anything I thought I would fall on. Even then, I was still scared above my gear. Much of that went away when I made the decision to climb harder routes that were easily protected. For one thing, I agree 100% that the potential to fall on a low-angle, chunky route is much, much scarier than it is on a harder route with nothing but air underneath.
If you are comfortable with your gear placements and feel they are good, then my advice would be to get on a harder climb that protects well and see how it goes. Placing gear isn't rocket science, and it doesn't take all that long for a competent person to figure out how to place good pro. Find a crack climb that takes good, straightforward cams and nuts and will challenge you a little bit and go for it ... if you desire to push the grades.
Once I started falling on trad, I got much more comfortable with tackling harder routes. Now, falling over gear doesn't give me much anxiety at all. Still a bit more than over bolts, but knowing your pro is good and that it works does wonders for your head.
Also, take sport whippers.
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