My first 5.9 ever!!!!! WOO!!!

So I've been climbing at the Lake since the begining of spring. I missed the first couple of weeks, but since then, I've only missed one weekend of climbing. I've climbed many 5.7s like Pete's Project and Birthday crack. I climbed my first 5.8 about a month ago, Queen's Face. I was stoked when I finished it up. So we decided it was time to head back to the sandstone and defeat Curving Crack. So this Saturday, the 18th, we arrived at the Lake around 7:30 am. We knew we had very little time before it started to rain. We setup "Curving Crack" and began. I finished it up quickly and came down for Paul to take a go at it. He got halfway up the curve and fell. Shit... I thought to myself.... But not to worry, he went back up and poned that biznitch. I was super happy for him. That was his first 5.8 . WOO!!! So I was itchin' to try a 5.9 . "Out There" was right next to us, so I figured I'd give it a try. I followed the flakes and crimpers. I got about 5 ft from finishing and I was about spent, I couldnt find the holds. I was worried I wouldnt finish it. But Paul was on the ground rooting for me. He said "Come on John, just a few more moves and you've finished your first 5.9!!!! Come on, you can do it!!!!!" That's all I needed to hear. I was back in the game and ready to go. I found my next hold and continued to the top. It was the most exciting finish. I got to the top and yelled "WOOHOO!!!!"
I can honestly say that was the best climb I have ever done. Full of sequence and super fun moves. The flakes were super bomber and the crimpers on the pieces of quartzite are just crazy fun to use as holds. And being my birthday weekend climbing, it was the best climbing I have done yet. We both climbed better than ever that day and I will always remember it. And the most important thing to remember about that day was that without the support of my climbing partner below me, I wouldnt have finished up that climb. A good partner is worth his weight in Gold.

Until next time.....

Climb On!!!!!

Congrats bud. Once you hit .9, the rest is gravy...well, not really, but it sounded good.
Keep pulling down. Later.

Good work man! That quartzite makes 5.9 seem even harder, especially in the heat. That's no small feat. Keep loving what you do and inspire others to join in the adventure. Cheers, Scott

Thx guys. Scott, it was on Sandstone, so a bit grippier than the quartzite. But I'll be hitting up some 5.9's on the quartzite soon.

way to go! I'd much rather read about this type stuff than scroll past the bolting/fixed draw/whatever debate of the day!

Go get 10 now! ;)

MikeP wrote:way to go! I'd much rather read about this type stuff than scroll past the bolting/fixed draw/whatever debate of the day! Go get 10 now! ;)

I couldn't agree with you more, Mike P.

Way to go John. Out There is a proud one.

Not to get off-topic, but thanks John for taking the time to create a detailed, thoughtful post on this worthy topic. I thought I'd been desensitized to similar threads on RC.com, with the useless ADD spray-drivel that usually follows. But this was a breath of fresh air!
Nice work. I think 5.9 may be the hardest grade to crack. At least it was for me. Anyone else agree?

Nick Stayner wrote:Not to get off-topic, but thanks John for taking the time to create a detailed, thoughtful post on this worthy topic. I thought I'd been desensitized to similar threads on RC.com, with the useless ADD spray-drivel that usually follows. But this was a breath of fresh air! Nice work. I think 5.9 may be the hardest grade to crack. At least it was for me. Anyone else agree?

I agree Nick. 5.9 took me forever. I remember my first 9...it was Between the Queens at Devil's Lake. I had been doing 8s pretty consistently at DL, but it took me a whole summer to break into 9s. For me it seemed that the holds started to get a lot smaller on 9s compared to 8s.

For sure 5.9 is hard. Especially "old school" 5.9, ticking your first one is surely an accomplishment.

Breaking into 5.9 trad was very hard for me and I still think twice about getting on a Henry Barber 5.9.

There is something about 5.9 not only as a physical barrier but as a mental one too.

Great job getting your first 5.9!

In general, 5.9 seems to be the grade where you actually start needing climbing-specific skill. I've taken a lot of people (granted, ones with an athletic background) out for their first time climbing and they were able to toprope most anything up to 5.9 without falling. Some were able to do the same on 5.9 (and harder!), but they were either
A) naturally strong and able to monkey their way through it, or
B) naturally gifted, and had good technical climbing sense.

That all changes, of course, when talking about 5.9 cracks of any size!

I think 5.9 has the most variation of any grade. If it's been put up recently, it's, well, a little harder than 5.8. If it was put up many years ago, it could be anywhere from a little harder than 5.8 to way dang hard. I think in the past, there was a psycho-mathematique mental block about grading something at 5.10 or harder and so we have many older 5.9's that humble us all.

Great post, John, and congratulations! My first real .9 is seared into my brain (and unfortunately, I'm still afraid of most 5.9 cracks)

Ladd, Nick - I agree, 5.9 is where the money starts. Definitely a noticeable mind f*** beyond 5.8

And Richard, you're right. In fact, there are a lot of old 5.8's that if put up today would be .10a or b. Back in the 50's a lot of climbers were hesitant to rate an FA as 5.9 - denoting the hardest climb in the world. I hear Royal Robbins got a lot of flack when he tossed that barrier aside and rated his Open Book at 5.9

Nick Stayner wrote:In general, 5.9 seems to be the grade where you actually start needing climbing-specific skill.

I cannot agree more with this statement. This is a gross generalization, but any reasonably fit person can follow up to 5.8...throw them on a 5.9 then you're talking business. Also remember, 5.9 used to be the hardest grade there was. I've never been there, but I've heard if you are a solid 5.10 leader and want to be taken to school, go to Seneca and hit up some 5.9 (or even better...5.9+) routes.

Congrats, John!

Way to go John!!! It's really refreshing to hear someone really psyched about climbing.

Thanks.

I am a moderate climber, I've led a bit of 5.11, only a few times on gear. There are still plenty of 5.9's that are proud routes though. Especially in Yosemite, Eldorado Canyon, Seneca, and other bastions of historical grading. I'm nervous about trying "darkness till dawn,9+"
even after having climbed "Grandmother's challenge, 10c"

Just wait until you get to 10a!