Gasping for breath, my Army Bergen too big for my small back choked me as I took the steep walk up to our local crag. Arriving at the foot of Highcliffe Nab I emptied the contents onto the grass. Taking out the rats nest of gear I had bought second hand, I started to sort through the mess. Rob soon arrived and ditched some nuts and slings off his shoulder, opting not to take a rucksack so he could impress the walkers while marching through Guisborough Woods.

We had met the Sunday before and had top roped a few climbs on the Nab and soon worked out how to use these “chocks”, as the guy from the army surplus store called them. After reading a few American climbing books from our library I suggested we try lead climbing. My favourite climb on the Nab was Flaked Crack, which when in our school climbing club, I was the only one to struggle all the way to the top. The wide corner to the back of the picnic boulders, is scarred by two parallel hand cracks. In between these hand cracks are the flakes themselves, which make a dull thud when knocked. At the bottom of these flakes is a black ash pit, used to warm the teenagers from Guisborough on cold Saturday nights. Around the flakes were peoples names carved into the sandstone, some daring to climb high up the cliff, looking for clean rock to make their mark. Flaked crack was a climb I knew well, and knew I could stick in lots of “chocks”.

I tied on to our retired rope and up I struggled, wiping the black ash off my rock boots; a present for my 14th Birthday. I soon had a couple of nuts in and my shaking leg eased. Rob watched, buried from the cold in all his clothes, his frisky dog barked for attention. I began bridging up the corner, my hands dancing around the flakes looking for holds and placed my only cam, a forged Wild Country size 3, that I had bought for £15 with my nuts. I continued with the boldness of youth. Fearing the worst for my arms, I mounted the top of a large flake. From here, if climbing with my school climbing club, I would have been lowered off in the glory of success. But not this time. Ahead was a damp grass slope. I stood around for a while complaining about the wind.

My legs were shaking again, but this time from the cold. I cautiously climbed the slippery slope, my heart pounding from the excitement. I made my belay with the same spikes I would have used for my top rope. Rehearsed from the climbing book's I double checked everything. Sleet was soon added to the wind, soaking into my jacket. I encouraged Rob with some helpful tugs on the rope. Rob soon climbed the grass slope to the belay and had a bad case of the hot aches. We soon abandoned Highcliffe, dumping the rope in my sack and returning home for my paper round and to finish my homework.

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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