UKC

My First Outdoor Lead (97) - Rope Between Your Legs

© Frederick Crowley
photo
Me on Agags Groove a few weeks before
© Frederick Crowley

"Well you sort of have the rope between your legs, rather than hanging above you....." Explaining this to the friends I lived with in student accommodation wasn't easy. The feeling, the thrill, the excitement of climbing was hard to describe if you are a lad from Bradford. Emotion isn't really in our vocabulary, but climbing was in my blood.

December the 5th on the Aberdeen sea cliffs was hardly hot rock sport climbing, but to me it was paradise. Puffin Wall (V.Diff) stood above me, 10 metres of cliff, the waves crashing below me. I knew I could climb at that grade, Agags Grove had been climbed a few weeks earlier, but only as a second, could I do it as a lead climber? My belayer looked at me with utter fear in her eyes. It was her first time on real rock after climbing solely indoors, and she was having to belay my first lead. The experienced climber, who should probably remain nameless, who had taken me on my first multi-pitch whilst wearing a sombrero as we only had one helmet between the two of us, and a pair of girls knickers he'd found in the bothy the night before, and decided to leave on for a whole weekend, was supervising my climb. I strangely felt safe with him there, I borrowed his rack, clipping as much gear onto my harness as I thought I'd need. Which was way to much! I looked up, already trying to think of placements. I felt cool with all the rack on my harness, and if I looked cool, surely everything would be fine?

I'd only been climbing since September, signing up for Aberdeen University mountaineering society, the Lairig! I was by now completely obsessed, my tiny room coated in posters, magazines, my sweaty leggings, harness, helmet and more climbing paraphernalia. Every Thursday night I'd sign up at the pub to go away at the weekend, Glen Etive, Toriddon, Northern Corries, places I'd never heard of before September.

My first moves on the climb felt weird, maybe nerves, feeling surreal, the ledge was only a few metres above me and I reached it without placing any protection, standing on the ledge, with a bundle of nuts in my hand I looked for the first placement. I tried every nut in a crack, until I finally managed to get one, it stayed. Would every placement take this long, feel so clumsy? The next piece of protection was a cam, probably placed just because they looked cool, but I was quicker on the second piece, it felt more natural, another small nut and then the top was reached. Although there was a splattering of disco leg, I felt my climbing was smoother, I had to think, rather than simply seconding and dragging myself to the top. This was how I wanted to climb, it was hardly an E11, but i felt like Dave MacLeod, pushing myself, searching for a ceiling on my performance. What could stop me? If my first lead couldn't stop me, then bring on the next one!

dmm-writing_comp

www.dmmclimbing.com

Write approximately 500 words about your first outdoor lead and supply an image of you climbing (not necessarily your first lead) and submit to: http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/send.html

The competition will be judged by us here at DMM and the winner announced on Monday 24th December and will win a complete DMM rack worth £500.

But more than that, everyone who submits an essay will receive a spot prize.

More details HERE



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