Hi everyone, Newbie older climber wannabe here with my first post. I've been lurking for a while and want to thank all of you who post some great information and useful suggestions.

I started climbing top rope at the Columns outside Tieton, Wa last year and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately last August I slipped on rock descending from Camp Muir and severed my left quad tendon. Surgery and rehab have gotten me back to abut 70% on the leg. I've been climbing indoors with my daughter for the last two months and this has really helped mobility (and provided a lot of fun).

Last weekend I lead my first bolted route at Frenchman Coulee. I was amazed how leading versus top roping changed my perspective and increased the difficulty. The relief when I clipped the second bolt was pretty great, as the reality of a potential ground fall didn't sink in until it was possible. Certainly I knew intellectually the potential consequences, but real life is different than imagination. Rigging the top rope anchor was also a concentrating experience, as I was fully aware of the consequences of error. I certainly checked everything multiple times but loading the rope, even while still clipped in, was sobering.

I had a blast and look forward to improving both physically and intellectually and thanks again for all the great posts.

NEW FOLKS…
We are a dynamic community and some of the regulars have been around since the inception of rockclimbing.com. There are lots of covered topics so if you try to jump right in and start new threads, it will make everyone sad. Try responding to someone else's thread first, rather than starting your own.

Please do not, make a "hello" post or thread.

On a slow day 10 people may join the forums, on a busy day it may be 100. It's not a special occasion when somebody joins. So when you start a "hi everybody I'm new here!" thread it's like you think you're the Queen of Sheba or something. You’re inviting the lurkers to come out and toss you up a bit. {see above remark} So unless you are familiar with forum boards and can stand a bit of flaming right off, it would be better to just respond to a thread rather than start your own. Don't take it too seriously when someone calls you a "n00b", and accept that other users ask you to make a forum search before asking some over debated topics.

So gee, welcome and all, but we just don't care that much about you at the moment.

"we"? .... speak for yourself asshole

See what I mean?
Oh, we don't care about you, either.

My question was implicit in my post, and that was addressing the transition from top roping to lead climbing. A more useful reply might have been some analysis or advice re leading.

But I guess I won't be able to ask a question that hasn't already been answered so I should shut up.

Neither of you sub-10K wankers are even a blip on the radar.

Hi everyone, Newbie older climber wannabe here with my first post. I've been lurking for a while and want to thank all of you who post some great information and useful suggestions...

...Last weekend I lead my first bolted route at Frenchman Coulee...

Sorry, I'm not being clear enough. Alpine descent on foot, not on rope.