Sometimes it's better not to know what you are letting yourself in for. Leading is a bit like falling in love- you don't want to think of the pitfalls and the pain, just the great bits that make you grin and think 'yeah, it was worth it, I'd do it again'.

HS 4b? I thought that sounded a reasonable first attempt at trad leading. Having done my time indoors, 4b was much less than what I was leading then (f6a- oh the difference one weeny letter can make). The 'HS' bit went ignored in my eagerness to get the gear on and be a 'real' climber. The decisions of where to place the gear on my harness, how to make the configuration of it my own, the clank of the hexes- all of it thrilled me.

My first lead came less than a year after I started climbing. I'd had one taster session a few years previously, and thought that while climbing was great, it was a sport for whippet-thin yet muscly guys and equally fearsome and impressive women- not me. A year or so later, after moving to London from New Zealand I met Tom, who patiently and persistently pushed me to achieve more than what I ever expected I could do. How do I repay the guy? Mainly with terrible jokes about my newly discovered biceps ('...is there a vet in here? Cos these pythons are sick') and the odd banana cake (much better received).

A sunny day at Birchen, me and a route called Sail Buttress. Mick chose the route ('ah you'll be fine') and off I went. Frankly, it got a bunch more real when I placed the first piece. Perched there looking at it, the reality of either Mick or myself having to trust my placement made me feel ill. At that point I discovered that fear crackles like a Geiger counter, spreading over my scalp and down my spine. But I was determined not to stop and back down, so I placed more gear, creeping left in preparation for the big step into the groove.

Heart thumping? Check. Dry mouth? Check. Sudden desire to take up a more sensible activity? Check. I didn't want to let myself down (or other women climbers, I really didn't want Mick and Tom to watch me falter and think 'what a girl'). Also, I knew how good completing a challenge felt and the lovely hum adrenaline makes in your system. So using Mick's instructions like a mantra 'once you start, keep moving, make it smooth, commit to it', I clenched my jaw and stepped out. Once I'd moved through the crux to the groove, the rest of the climb is a blur of crashing relief that I had done it and the new wave of nerves surrounding establishing my first belay.

Leading amplifies the whole climbing experience and crystallizes everything I love about the sport. I'll still second happily, but like love, once you know how good it can be... you want that buzz again.

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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