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clee03m
Apr 28, 2008, 2:53 PM
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And it was awesome.
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granite_grrl
Apr 28, 2008, 2:57 PM
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Nuff said.
Keep 'er going! Gear climbing is where it's at.
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macherry
Apr 28, 2008, 3:02 PM
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very nice.......details?
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theclimbergirl
Apr 28, 2008, 3:09 PM
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woot woot! Do tell!
I'm also a relatively new gear leader (and learning to LOVE it). Welcome to the club!
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clee03m
Apr 28, 2008, 4:52 PM
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The gully at Leavenworth. It is only a 5.0, but I thought it was really cool. It was easy enough that I could hang out and try a few gears so I wasn't all that freaked out. And my partner who has 30 years of climbing experience who followed me up told me that my gear placement was good. I was afraid he would follow me up and say something like "Don't ever try this again or you will surely kill yourself."  I've always loved rock climbing, but this is like falling is love all over again.
Just read the guidebook. Edited to say 5.0 as appose to 5.3. With a skull next to it! Sorry, the grade keeps going down....:) And, by the way, holy crapola, gear is expensive!
(This post was edited by clee03m on May 12, 2008, 5:55 PM)
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theclimbergirl
Apr 28, 2008, 4:57 PM
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Oh, awesome! That's fantastic! I would have loved to have been in Leavenworth this weekend, but had a work commitment so couldn't. I haven't done the route you're talking about, but will have to look it up.
Good partners give you good feedback without terrifying you into not wanting to gear climb. :) I find, with my climbing partners, that their scrutiny of my placements is much less than my own -- I'm a lot harder on my placements than other people are. Still learning to trust them... I actually weighted my own gear for the first time a few weeks ago... didn't take a whipper, but did have to gently take on a route. I was about halfway up a route, trying to pull a roof move, and had plugged in a red Camalot and a similar-sized Rock Empire under the roof. I went up and down and up and down and finally was so pumped (and scared) that I had to take to calm myself down. Let me tell ya... weighting my own gear took a real leap of faith, but the pieces held and I pulled myself together and finished the route. It was, overall, a really good experience.
Still not looking forward to my first whipper on my own pro, but, I'm sure it will happen sometime! :)
Are you local to the PNW or were you just visiting?
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lhwang
Apr 28, 2008, 6:49 PM
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High five!
(Does this mean that you're done the boards? If so, double high five!!! I write my boards in 4 days. Eep. Still went climbing this weekend though).
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tavs
Apr 28, 2008, 8:18 PM
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Congrats indeed! Just a suggestion--one of the best things I ever did for my trad lead head was do some aid climbing. Even if you have no interest in aid for its own sake, having to weight your gear on every move teaches you A LOT about what good gear looks like. And since on a lot of aid routes, even easier ones, the placements are often less-than-textbook, you can develop a real comfort level when you realize that even a "crappy" piece can still hold body weight.
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livvy
Apr 28, 2008, 9:58 PM
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That is such a great idea (the aid climbing). I've been leashing into and sitting on pieces to see what they do.
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kostik
Apr 29, 2008, 2:51 PM
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Congrats, Chris! I'm too scared to gear lead even 5.0.
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zenelky
Apr 29, 2008, 6:11 PM
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Congratulations! That's awesome to hear about.
We need more good news like this ladies...keep it coming!
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lena_chita
Moderator
Apr 29, 2008, 6:49 PM
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Woohoo!!!
(And that means you found someone to climb with this weekend afterall!)
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maww
Apr 29, 2008, 10:24 PM
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That is so awesome!!! Congrats!
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lena_chita
Moderator
May 27, 2008, 2:02 PM
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My turn! I did my first gear lead this weekend!
The route was short and not interesting in itself. I just did it because it was there, because I have been itching to try a real trad lead ever since the Goddess on the Rocks weekend, and because someone was willing to let me climb with their gear.
Boy, did I spend a lot of time fumbling with it! But I didn't drop anything, did not get anything stuck too badly, and did not get any placements that were outright bad. Though on the flip side, there were only two gear placements that were pronounced excellent and bomber by the person who checked it for me after I finished the climb... the rest were just "O.K."
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clee03m
May 27, 2008, 3:06 PM
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That's awesome, Lena!!!!! Congrats! I just got back from a trip where I did nothing but trad the whole weekend. My brand new gear is not so shiny now. Hehehe, so no more dead give away that I'm a total noob. And found a sport climbing project! We'll have to go to Red Rocks or something and rock the house!
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lena_chita
Moderator
May 27, 2008, 6:50 PM
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You have your own gear now, wow! Cool! I can't justify buying any right now, since we are in a big financial crunch, but in my mind, I already know what I want to buy first...
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lhwang
May 29, 2008, 1:51 PM
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Hey, good work clee03m and lena!
(Was that post-boards gear? I'm going to buy myself a Wii!)
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lena_chita
Moderator
May 29, 2008, 2:44 PM
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lhwang wrote: I'm going to buy myself a Wii!)
A Wii? Do they have climbing-specific games now? :)
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lhwang
May 29, 2008, 6:35 PM
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Tut tut... there's more to life than climbing, you know... like Raving Rabbids, and House of the Dead!
Actually, surprisingly enough, I do not need any new gear. Might get a new pair of AT skis but that won't be until the winter.
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granite_grrl
May 29, 2008, 6:49 PM
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lhwang wrote: Actually, surprisingly enough, I do not need any new gear. Might get a new pair of AT skis but that won't be until the winter.
Common. Trad climbers ALWAYS need new gear.
Well, maybe not need, but we could use it.
Well, maybe not use it that often, but if I got bigbros and larger cams I'd do large cracks every once in a while.
Well....maybe.....
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clee03m
May 29, 2008, 7:31 PM
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Yes, yes, my post boards rack. She's pretty, too. I still have gear to come in the mail, and I am already thinking I need to supplement my rack. Seems to be lacking in small and very large cam department. Huh, does that mean I can count myself as a trad climber, now?
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rockgirlCO
Jun 8, 2008, 3:22 AM
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This is what I love about females: we are very supportive of each other. Last weekend I was at a crag when a Womens Wilderness Institute group arrived. WWI does trips for inner city girls and women recovering from abuse. They also do trips for any women through Outdoor Divas. I don't know which "category" these women came from. They had fabulous instructors who were also very supportive of the ladies. They asked me how long I've climbed and how often I climb (my answers are not relevant but I think they might've liked getting insight from a female who wasn't climbing in their group.) While I climbed with my partner I heard them cheering each other on and laughing and having a really good time. I knew that they were finding it a safe environment to try the sport, and I'm so glad there are opportunities for women to take women-only classes. It's just dynamically different. (I'm not saying women should always climb just with women, just that as a starting point, it's really positive to have the feedback women naturally give.)
BTW, today I lead my first sport route outdoors. (I've been leading indoors for about a year; outdoors has been very daunting.) I don't think I'm interested in trad leading: so complicated and so expensive (and heavy!). :) I'm happy following trad.
(This post was edited by rockgirlCO on Jun 8, 2008, 3:26 AM)
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lena_chita
Moderator
Jun 9, 2008, 6:07 PM
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Congratulations, rockgirlCO. The 'firsts' like these stick in your mind for quite some time. I still remember my first sport lead outside...
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