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feanor007
Jul 26, 2005, 3:37 AM
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Registered: Sep 7, 2004
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So, today I had my first ever trad leads, two onsights of West Dihedral and West Crack at Eldo, while they were incredibly modest climbs, climbing ground up on gear I placed was possivbly the most rewarding experiance of my life, many thanks to msamet for catching the climbs and helping me fill out my meager rack.
We hit eldo about 10:30 and the cloudy skys cooled the place off nicely. The first climb i tried was West Dihedral, Armed with a double set of 3-.75 camalots, a few smaller cams, a set of stoppers, and reading John Long's Climbing Anchors I dived into the world of trad.
My progress was tedious as i needed several tries most of the time to match cams and stoppers to the crack, but it was increbly freeing to place protection as i needed and not as the bolts dictated. About half way up I realized a flaw in my protection on the lower half. I sewed it up pretty good, so good in fact that i was down to 4 stoppers and 3 cams. thankfully there was a slung horn and fixed cam, but I learned a valuble lesson in not over protecting routes.
At the the top of the dihedral I encountered my first serouis problem. the sloping ramp upto the anchor on which i could see no protectable features, except a perfect place ment for my red alien, 20 feet below me. i guess there was 20-25 feet of rout left, most of it an ascending traverse to the anchor at the top of West Crack.
While this probely seems like pansy stuff, it's pretty creepy for a kid who has only climbed sport routes with reitvly no runouts. to make matters worse, half way across the ledge a gray camalot--my last piece of pro--walked out on me. After crapping my pants, i traversed back over and re-set it. I guess then I just realized that this was no sport route, bailing included alot more than a bail biner on a bolt. That tought focused me on making the final moves to the sumitt. in fact, they were some the technically easyist moves iv'e ever made, but psychologically difficult for me. Clipping the anchors left me more satisfied than any other route ever had.
West Crack went much faster and was far more enjoyable because i felt like i knew what i was doing. I was also comforted in that Matt told me my stopper placements were very good (thank you john long) on west diehedral so i moved above them with more confidance than before. In fact the lead went to good.
I secured my self to the anchors with 2 quick draws and started to thread anchors for lowering. I tied a over hand on a bight and connected it to my harnness to keep from dropping the rope. then i went off belay to untie my figure-8. i rethreaded the rope than did the dumbest thing of my climbing career, possibly of my life. I united the overhand before re tieing the figure-8 (I was still anchored) and dropped the rope. with sickness i watched tumble down to matt.
Before every one jumps on me. yes i know what a huge mistake i made and exactly how i made it. i was bailed out by the fact than matt free soloed the rout to bring the rope back. But at the same time i felt like a total a-hole, jerk whatever for putting my partner in that situation. I was totaly safe, stuck, but safe. but thankfully every thing turned out all right and i learned my lesson about dropping ropes and i had an awsome morning learning to lead trad in Eldo. great way to finnish my summer in co.
matt, thanks so much, i owe you way more than the 8-ish quarters you needed.
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vegastradguy
Jul 26, 2005, 3:42 AM
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Registered: Aug 28, 2002
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i think its a good thing to have a bit of an adventure when you're first starting out-- helps keep things in perspective. better to learn early on when you're in a situation where you can make a few mistakes and someone is there to help.
as for the rope dropping thing- thats one of my biggest fears (which, thankfully has never happened)...and i can only imagine the feeling as you watched the rope drop to the ground. no worries, though, sounds like you learned your lesson and will never repeat that mistake!
all in all, good job!
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kcrag
Jul 26, 2005, 4:08 AM
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Registered: May 27, 2002
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Glad everything turned out okay, but it sure appears that you need to spend some more time following before getting on the sharp end again. There's a lot to be learned outside of reading books.
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lucas_timmer
Aug 2, 2005, 12:59 PM
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Registered: Dec 28, 2004
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It's nice to hear you've entered the beautiful world of trad.
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hammerhead
Aug 2, 2005, 1:37 PM
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Registered: Mar 3, 2004
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You might just need to slow down a bit and focus on the task at hand. I have to do this too. I have to concentrate on staying calm and in control of my fear/anxiety. I think that when you're sketched, then you are most vunerable to making mistakes.
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flipnfall
Aug 2, 2005, 1:39 PM
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Registered: May 18, 2004
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Sniff...I miss Eldo.
:cry:
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