First Lead Climb

What's your first lead?

OR, if not yet had a lead, what would you like to try and why?

I chose Classic Dihedral for the style of climb that offered a series of solid .7 natural crack moves with great protection & anchoring for a 1-pitch low commitment that I felt offered me a true test to really get into lead climbing. After learning about gear & anchors, I just went out with a partner one day and climbed it in solitude. I carried too much gear. But, it was great & I accomplished my first lead goal. Soon after, Eldo, Turkey, & 11-Mile, furthered my participation in climbing, which has been solidified by the people that I have climbed with.

My first trad lead was Kim - a 5.5/5.6 short crack at Veduawoo. I first watched my partner climb it and place gear, then I seconded it, and then I finally led it. A little less than vertical, granite, and a crack - all of my favorite things.

My first multi-pitch lead was The Trough 5.4/5.5 in Tahquitz and it was a great climb because it wasn't too vertical (of course not so great if you fall).

First desert lead was Generic Crack - my all time favorite hand crack. I was unsure about it at first, but was promised pizza at Zak's if I made it to the top.

My first real slab/sport climb was Drop Zone (5.9+, 5.10a) in Vedauwoo. That day I had led Cold Finger and decided I had a knack for slab climbing and crystal pinching - it's all about keeping it moving before your feet cut.....

So many firsts..... but I'll leave it at that. I'm still working through leading 8's in Eldo, but alas I am moving to NC, so now I must begin working on the scary runout slabs......

Speaking of the east, my first lead in the East was Goldenlocks at T-wall, a lovely 5.8 with a rather pumpy start......

My first lead climb was a whopping 40ft, I slipped on a patch of grass in the crack took a 10ft fall, cut myself on the rock and preceeded to drip blood on the bottom half of route below. However I did manage to get back on it and finish it off. My DNA still resides up the Big Thompson Canyon.

My first lead was on a trip to JTree. Some easy climb off Geology Tour Road. Halfway up I pulled off a Nalgene-sized hand hold and fell about 8-10 feet onto a bomber stopper. Probably the best thing that could have happened to a first time leader - a fall onto good gear with no warning or freakout/grease off.
Also taught me pretty quickly to test any holds that look suspect or too good to be true.

My first lead...I'll give you a hint.

If you give up, click here

Cool story Gigette..

How's that ankle, were you really out five months???

that's harsh...

Twinkle Toes Traverse (5.5) in Pinnacles Nat'l Monument, CA. I had been toproping two, maybe three times. And I had just watched John Long's "The Art Of Leading" video. I was with a friend who was already an experienced climber, but we had not yet climbed together. We got to the base and he asked if I wanted to lead it. "Sure," I said. Back then, the first pitch had one more bolt, as it wasn't until about two years later that the army guys toproping off that single bolt pulled it out (leaving blood and a free tricam for me to find). Nowadays, it's good to place some gear on the first pitch.

The second pitch was a little run out, but I worked my way through it. Then I was hooked for good...

An un-named piece of junk located at the bottom of the Amphitheater at Moore’s Wall in NC was probably my first lead. At least the occasion was memorable enough that it sticks out in my mind. Moore’s Wall is a traditional crag and is a wonderful place to learn how to lead and place gear. Problem was that I knew less about Moore’s Wall at the time than I knew about placing gear, which wasn’t very much at all either. At least we (my reluctantly coerced, non-climber partner) were able to sneak up to the crag unnoticed and found a relatively secluded place to start climbing.
Our rack consisted of wired hexes from Black Diamond, which was all I had been able to purchase at the time. My rope was an old Army green line (Nylon, 120 ft. anyone remember those?). At least I had sense enough to be cognizant of tying my belayer to a tree. Really I can’t remember much about the climb. However, after a protracted struggle and somewhere near the top of the pitch I started to run out of steam. A thunderstorm also started to announce its presence as it came around the mountain. So, I started a tradition of mine that I proudly continue to this day when the going gets too tough… I bailed….;-)
Looking back on the affair, I am surprised that I didn’t kill myself. The gear wasn’t that bad, but being loathe of leaving a carabiner, I simply threaded the rope through the wired cable on the hex and rappeled off. I wonder how more of us don’t manage to kill ourselves trying to figure out how to climb. It wasn’t until a few years later of struggling in order to break free of the most modest of grades that I ran into sort of a mentor who pushed me to embrace the rock rather than fear it.
This kind of makes me think of what would perhaps be a good extension to this thread; what was the first whipper you took? The reason I say this is because I learned to climb trad first. So, I was terrified at the prospect of falling and it really held me back. When I finally hooked up with a better climber, I was more intimated by my need to impress the climber than I was by the route that was presented to me. I remember it as a nice line at the Junk Yard Wall in the New River Gorge. I think it was New River Gunks. Anyway, about half way up, I suddenly slipped off and took a good fall. It was over before I knew it, and I was amazed that the gear worked. After catching my breath, I quickly scrambled to the top.
This was a very formative experience for me. What had been a huge mental barrier was suddenly lifted. It was not so very long after that that I was able to lead some easier 5.12 trad, though there was a lot of training and hard effort that took place in between. It didn’t come naturally. Sadly, it has been a while since I have been in that kind of shape too.
Had the experience not taken place, I wonder what kind of direction my climbing would have taken? Since this was important to my climbing, I am wondering if there are other folks who have been through formative experiences while learning to lead or did it all get put together at once for you? So, it wasn’t so much my first lead that was such a big deal as it was my first fall.

I started leading about 3 mos. after beginning to climb. I was climbing a lot back then & dating a guy who taught me the craft. He was not nice, but he was a good teacher. I placed tons of gear & built anchors 3 ft. off the ground for him to inspect & critique. Finally, I was cleared for take off.

My first lead was "Horseman", 5.5, a single pitch trad route right near the beginning of the Trapps in the Gunks. It's a sweet route, with huge holds & offers plenty of options for pro. You can walk off this route (another factor making it a good choice for a first lead) but I rapped down with a huge grin on my face. I was so excited, I immediately walked down 30 ft. to a 5.7 called "Laurel" and bagged my second lead. I was hooked!

Like most new trad climbers I was terrified of falling. After I had 10+ routes under my belt, the boyfriend noticed I had never taken a fall on lead. So one day he yanked the rope hard while I was making a crux move, hard enough to make me fall. It was a pretty shitty thing to do in retrospect, but my gear held and it did help me to climb harder and be less afraid of falling. Still, I was mad as a hornet. When I got down off that route I made him promise to never do anything like that again ... and pretty soon I found a new climbing partner.

I remember a girlfriend's first lead. We were on a crag called Billy Goat Rock, near Yamnuska in the Canadian Rockies. I made a really sprad-out anchor at the top of the fourth pitch. Since I did all the leading, we normally swapped positions after each pitch. But this time it would have been very complicated. Since Laura was climbing solid 5.8 by then, cleaning gear and everything, we figured it was time for her first lead. The pitch was only rated 5.5, so she should be fine.

She got up about 15 feet and found her first possibility for a placement. After fiddling around with several nuts, she got in a #1 Rock, the smallest we had. She complained about how worthless the Rock was, then climbed on up. A little higher, a sucker hold broke as she pulled up through a bulge. She tumbled and slid on the nasty, rough limestone. The rope came rushing at me and I managed to pull in about 1 1/2 arms lengths before it was a mess and I just locked off. As she slid past me, the rope was shooting back away from me again, toward that little Rock. I saw Laura's helmet and daypack scraping the stone. She stopped about 10 feet below me - the Rock held!

Laura climbed back up to me and I got her anchored in. Her hands were torn up, both ankles badly sprained and other body parts had a nice cheese-grater effect. We were the only ones at the crag, so we managed to pull off a great self-rescue. We even got to the car by 10:00, just as it got dark.

How's that for a first lead? I think I would have quit climbing.

My first lead was on a route called One-Ten, a nice 5.6 at Sunset in Chattanooga that's probably seen many a beginner lead. Great gear, no route-finding puzzles, ring anchors at the top so no gear anchor-building to deal with.

I guess the climbing gods decided that a first lead was not quite enough excitement for me, because I started hearing thunder in the distance as I was about halfway up the route. By the time I reached the anchors, the wind had picked up, the first drops of rain were spattering me and the thunder was no longer distant. I got set up to rap and started down to clean my gear; about the time I got the first piece out and was well below the topout, there was a big flash and a simultaneous deafening bang of thunder. I was really glad I wasn't at the anchors when that happened!

I got back to the ground without incident and moved under a convenient overhang to flake my rope and sort my gear without getting more soaked than I already was. By the time I finished, the storm had blown through and the rain had stopped.

Pretty exciting start at leading trad!

JL

Christian wrote:Cool story Gigette.. How's that ankle, were you really out five months??? that's harsh...

Not completely out; but my ankle, and foot didn't heal as quickly as it should have, mainly because I didn't take care of it. I begged the doctor to give me the okay to return to work, full duty, and started working too soon (And you have to be on your toes, and quick on your feet where I work). I didn't go to PT, because I tried to do my own PT at home, started hiking on it too soon, before it was healed,and without trekking poles, because I can be a dumb ass. Walked about 10- 20 miles a day for 10 days when in Argentina , and forgot to bring my brace, and hated to wear one anyway. I did do a little bit of climbing here, and there in those 5 months though.

Anyway, I'm doing fine now. It still hurts going down steep hills but I did just buy some trekking poles recently, and wow, what a difference!

Classic Dihedral was my first lead and my third ever climb. Yea, that was interesting.

My first lead was a harrowing ascent of Turk's Tooth, a 40 foot 5.2 at Devil's Lake. I brought along ALL of my gear--hexes, chains of oval biners, fifty feet of webbing "just in case."

My first sport lead was some 5.6 route at Jackson Falls, IL. Nice, easy, and fun. My first trad lead was (I think) the standard route on the First Flatiron. I try to do that one once per year, just for fun. And fun it is!

My first trad lead was on a heap of limestone crap in Curtis Canyon, across the Jackson Hole valley from the Tetons. It was 5.6 or 5.7, but sported a committing (at least I thought) hand traverse with tiny feet, runout past a large hex.
I haven't placed gear on limestone or used hexes since!

Disappearing Crack, The Dome, Boulder canyon. Lite rack, good exposure, had a blast

First lead = first climb. Buttermilk Falls in Leroy NY. The word "choss" was coined to describe B'milk Falls. I read some books, bought some pitons and jumped out on the sharp end. Lucky I didn't kill myself. Or was it?

Gigette, I also was on crutches and under-did the recovery and overdid the workouts. Bad move. I can tell with amazing accuracy when it is going to rain. Fortunately it never rains in Colorado.

My first trad lead was a short 5.6 on Lookout Mountain near Golden. I had climbed it several times on toprope prior to leading it and was able to build an anchor from the top adding some piece of mind on the top out. That same day I drove to the Catslab in Clear Creek Canyon and did my first sport lead on Grizabella (5.7). That was a good day. My first multi-pitch, and lead fall, was the standard Lover's Leap route. Thanks again Mark for returning my #2 camalot!
Kirk

Kirk Ranney wrote:... Thanks again Mark for returning my #2 camalot! Kirk

It's all good K-Dog, just pay it forward.

Pretty wild posts for some first leads.

1st outdoor lead climb - Mosquito Burrito, awesome 5.8 sport route up Boulder Canyon.

1st sport/trad mix climb - Bihedral Arete up Boulder Canyon, super climb with bolts only where you need them and takes excellent gear, even from trad rookies. Also, double thumbs up for exposure over arete edge!

1st trad lead - Five Eight Crack on Rincon wall in Eldo. The R rating is great for a first lead because when you're 25 feet up at the first opening for gear, you better make it a good one!