Saturday i took my first fall while leading. it was only about a 6' fall. But it was also my belayer's first time catching a fall.

it was "middle earth" in the trapps, at the start of P3. there is a small roof, then a small bulge on the face (crux). the book says harder if short - i'm 5'3. i could see the move (chalk stains) but couldn't reach it. a few more inches would have made the difference.

anyway, it took me about 4 tries, so actually i took my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd lead falls all trying to make that one move.

It wasn't bad! the impact of coming to the end of the rope was gentler than i expected. and i was less "shook up" than i thought i'd be. in fact, after the first fall, knowing the cam would hold made me confident to keep trying (and falling) until i made the move.

Dan

your first lead fall ever was on trad?

that's bold!
i practiced allot on sport and in gyms taking huge falls before i ever went on trad.

that's bold, good job!

in fact, after the first fall, knowing the cam would hold made me confident to keep trying (and falling) until i made the move.

Dan

your first lead fall ever was on trad?

that's bold!
i practiced allot on sport and in gyms taking huge falls before i ever went on trad.

that's bold, good job!

Did you remember to re-check the cam after each fall?

...Did you fall going for a move or pop off looking around for a way to reach those out of the way holds?...

At the least. I've found falling repeatedly on a piece to be a good motivation to look for a backup placement before going for it again. It's tempting to just get up and go for it, but as for a piece holding a fall, like they say in the financial industry: Past successes do not guarantee future performance.

GO

At the least. I've found falling repeatedly on a piece to be a good motivation to look for a backup placement before going for it again. It's tempting to just get up and go for it, but as for a piece holding a fall, like they say in the financial industry: Past successes do not guarantee future performance.

GO

In the future, after a fall, I will ALWAYS re-check the piece(s) that I fell on before trying the move again. Thanks for the advice.

In the future, after a fall, I will ALWAYS re-check the piece(s) that I fell on before trying the move again. Thanks for the advice.

I always tie backup [i.e. stopper] knots in my rappel rope now, which I learned from these forums.

Anybody else have any first fall stories to share?

Even though I've led a handful of 5.9's, Middle Earth's roof is a thorn in my side!

your first lead fall ever was on trad?

that's bold!

People should be required to climb trad for two years competently under the supervision of a properly skilled mentor before being turned loose on their style of choice, just for the good of the community in general.

Well, that's why I read and sometimes post here - I have learned a lot of good practices from these forums,

what the F?

what came first, the climber or the climbing instructor? i have nothing against the person who seeks instruction. but who the hell is anyone tell others they HAVE TO HAVE any required amount of instruction before tying into the sharp end. i suppose i should have asked you, before going on this rant, if you climb trad, and if you had 2 years of instruction? if so, thats great, but because you didn't have it in you to figure it out on your own dosen't mean the rest of us have to take the path you chose.

...You mean you weren't constantly bombarded with "STFU NoOb!!" and "Do a f**kin' search next time, noobtard!!".

In all seriousness though (and to get back on-topic) congrats on the fall.

Glad to see this wasn't another gymbie article! First fall from p3? dayamn @_@ well deserved my mang.

I'd be glad to stop climbing sport every time if there were a grab bag of trad mentors out there to show me proper placements. Unfortunately it's just not that easy... Anyone in the Denver area looking for a pupil?

...That said, don't ignore sport...A good mix of bouldering, sport, and trad will get you better rounded and improve your skills considerably over specializing...

I'm sure that's true. So far, almost all my climbing has been in the gunks. as far as i know there are no sport routes there. maybe i'll try some sport climbing if i ever get to visit a place where there are some. there's definitely bouldering in the gunks, but i'm getting kinda addicted to the height element involved with multi-pitch climbing. bouldering doesn't look like much fun to me, though to improve my skills, i may just venture into that a bit too.

Short description of you: your 5'3", your name is Dan, and you climb at the Gunks

Short description of me: I'm 5'3", my name is Dan, and I climb at the Gunks

long lost twin? Evil twin?

Anywho... I've been trying to get to the gunks every weekend. If your looking for a partner any weekend hit me up.

People should be required to climb trad for two years competently under the supervision of a properly skilled mentor before being turned loose on their style of choice, just for the good of the community in general.

hear hear, perhaps we should make eveyone look after kids for two years before having sex too.

BUT who wants to trust their kids to parenting n00bs?

it's accutally kina ironic. i was the first one to reply to this one about my fall.

2 months ago i took a 60' trad fall and broke my
leg/ankle/foot.

My first lead fall was on pitch four of a multi pitch sport climb. I should have run it out instead of stopping to clip the bolt that was obviously put there by someone who was a little challenged in the height department. I had to clip the damn thing at my knees and when i did off the face i went without clipping the stupid thing. The catch was less than spectacular due to the fact that the next bolt was three feet above a section of slab. my heals caught on the slab and i ended up on my ass with my helmet against the rock.

My first real lead fall was on a 5.10b trad route (Summit Attempt, Bee Rock TN). I had the climb linked on top rope and immediately started leading it. I ran out the headwall under the impression that it was in my best interests to focus on the climbing and get it over with. The end result was me whipping onto the only bolt on the pitch, 15 feet above the ledge that sits above the headwall. Unfortunately for me, I was about 15 above the bolt. The outcome was me coming to a halt on the ledge. The rope took the momentum out of my fall, but I still decked.

What pissed me off the most was that I knew the risk, took it, and still screwed up.

That same day, I popped one foot on a 5.8 slab climb that I was goofing off on. I ended up sliding 20 feet of the face on my ass and landing on my feet at the bottom. Before you ask, there was no protection so 20 feet was pretty good considering the options.

Oh well, after that one day I figured I can't really take any worse falls without killing myself so I'm not too worried about whipping anymore.

Anybody else have any first fall stories to share?

People should be required to climb trad for two years competently under the supervision of a properly skilled mentor before being turned loose on their style of choice, just for the good of the community in general.

People should be required to climb trad for two years competently under the supervision of a properly skilled mentor before being turned loose on their style of choice, just for the good of the community in general.

My first, and only, lead ice fall was onto a tied off stubby screw that had grounded out on the rock underneath. I was on top of the climb slinging a tree when my crampon rocked back and caught a soft spot in the snow, so now there was nothing under my heel, I swung to try to grab the sling and missed as I lost my balance backwards. I fell head over heels over the last bulge of the climb (about 20'), hit the slab below (right by the screw), and slid on my back another 30 ft before coming to rest. I got up, borrowed my buddies tools, mine were stowed at the top, and re-climbed the route, pretty embarrassing.