First Lead Climb

Will A. wrote:I didn't really get the whole "placing gear" thing. So every so often I would yell down to my belayer and ask, "am I gonna hit the ground?" when the answer was "yes" i would place a piece of pro.

That's the kind of thing that's great to hear on MP.com, but makes you cringe when you're climbing next to it. LOL. Great story.

--Marc

I'm pretty sure my first was the uber-classic 5 Gallon Buckets at Smith Rock.

My first sport lead was probably an easy 5.10 in Austin called Cactus Patch. It was the easiest climb we knew of at the time. We had tied runners for that one. My first trad lead was Sweat at Enchanted Rock then I did the 5.6 Cave Crack. I had pretty poor jamming technique for both, but at least my jams were solid! A little too solid, as in painfully overtorqued. I learned over the years to jam with less force and less pain.

Twin Oaks/Triple Bulges at the Gunks. 5.5, 2 pitch perfection.

First lead (ever): Killian's Dead, 5.6 trad, N. Table Mountain, 8/27/07.

First alpine lead: Pagoda's North Buttress, 5.7 trad, 6 pitches, 9/1/07.

First sport lead (ever): Pandora's Pebble Pinching Party Palace, 5.7, The Monastary, 10/13/07.

Guess I did it kinda backwards.

East Slab, The Dome, Boulder Canyon 1972

I should've said Ocelot 1980-ish, punk-kid free solo; but I didn't know what I was doing; not much of a lead climb, more an exposed technical scramble. I'll probably see some jail time for that one, eh??

I usually don't mention that first free solo before I discovered people climbed with special shoes and ropes. (shudders) It was also in Austin near the Urban Assault Wall. Some 50ft. system of ledges up a corner to a loose scree top out with bushes and clawing for life. Did it alone and promptly lost the memory of doing it for years. PTSD?

Scott M. Mossman wrote:East Slab, The Dome, Boulder Canyon 1972

My favourite climb of any grade in the canyon.

If your climbing in the southeast ,say around Tennessee, try afterburner 5.5 at foster falls. It was my sons first lead and its pretty straight forward and well protected!

In Alabama, Sand Rock has a couple, one is kennel club 5.8 and My dog has fleas, both are on the Holiday Block, for those who don't know.

bradkillough wrote:If your climbing in the southeast ,say around Tennessee, try afterburner 5.5 at foster falls. It was my sons first lead and its pretty straight forward and well protected!

My first was kennel club at sand rock, went from it straight to too pumped to chump, which was an eye opener, to say the least and made it, so I went from a blocky 5.8 to a pumpy, overhanging 5.10. Too pumped to chump scared the crap out of me, with it being just my second lead.......! That was maybe ten years ago...............!

My first trad lead was Foreplay at Devil's Lake, in October of 1997. I definitely remember sewing it up, and actually smearing on one of the last moves (a heady thing to do on a first lead at the Lake, even if it was only a 5.4). Had a great time, and thinking about it, I really need to get back there and lead it again for old time's sake...

Jay F. Weekly wrote:My first trad lead was Foreplay at Devil's Lake, in October of 1997. I definitely remember sewing it up, and actually smearing on one of the last moves (a heady thing to do on a first lead at the Lake, even if it was only a 5.4). Had a great time, and thinking about it, I really need to get back there and lead it again for old time's sake...

I know Foreplay well. That's a proud first lead (especially with the smearing).

My first lead was Piece of Cake (5.6 or 7?) at Taylors Falls, MN sometime in the mid-seventies

Silver Spoon

Sometime during the spring of 1991.... ahh, to be young and dumb again.

Edit:: okay, okay - to be young again... (i got the other thing covered).

First lead was about 3 weeks ago, 5.6/5.7

My brother and I have just started getting more serious about climbing in the last month or two. Bought a rope a month ago, top roped for about a week and then he bought some quick draws and started leading sport climbs at a wall just down the road from my parents house (Jemez mtns in New Mexico).

I Led a 5.9 on sat and had no prob. and decided to try a .10d last night, needless to say this opened my eyes a bit. took my first fall of ~10-12 ft. it was nice to see that the gear all held and get the feeling of taking a decent sized fall, but I think I'll stick to the lower rated climbs for a bit, until my skills progress a bit more and I'm more comfortable with being above the rope.

1977. The Trough, a bolted 5.5. face climb at Big Rock, Lake Perris, near Riverside, California.

My first gear lead was either the Shadow or Hernia, both 5.8s at Suicide Rock in So Cal.

My first sport lead was .7 way cool junior in the south seas at Rushmore. Really super easy climb, but great for a first time lead.

My first real trad lead was a 5.8 in spearfish canyon called all strung out on crack. Unfortunately I feel the climb was ruined because somebody bolted a perfect crack, but none the less I went ahead and did a trad lead on it and it was a great lead. I haven't done much trad yet, but I've got a full rack and I'm working on it, but I want to be safe and I'm learning from my buddy Todd who is very experience in trad leading.

First lead was "Movin' to Montana" in Yosemite.
First trad lead was "Holdless Horror" on Dozier Dome in Tuolumne.
The very next day we did Cathedral Peak; I led six pitches, and by the time we topped out thunderstorms were moving in. When everything around me started buzzing (including my helmet), I performed the fastest rappel of my young climbing life and managed to get down safely. In all, the weekend was a very exciting introduction to trad climbing.