A Weekend of Leads

Night Climbing on Green Goblin (5.8)

A month later and here I am back at HCR. My confidence is up, I was pleasently surprised with my outdoor climb a month ago and treated myself with 5 new quickdraws and a promise to myself I would lead every route below a 5.10. The weekend started off with night climbs, a 5.7 and 5.8. I was hesitant about leading and starting it off at night helped with the hesitation. I saw nothing but what was in front of me so the reality of the situation wasn't there and I just climbed. All went well that night and the following afternoon we found ourselves at the Roman Wall. I warmed up on a 5.7, top-roped a 5.10 and decided to lead my first 5.9 for the weekend. I watched another climber in our group have some issues with it towards the end and tried to make note of that. All goes well and I am less than a body length from the top bolts when I hit the crux. I was well above the last quick draw and didn't expect the fall. It was the longest fall I'd taken on lead and it freaked me out a bit. Being that close to the top I couldn't quit now. I gave it several more good goes with the direction of fellow climbers below me who had just topped it. I was focused and convinced this was the one when again I fell, but this time I had inadvertently backstepped the rope and received my first rope burn. Between the adrenaline of falling and hitting the wall I didn't feel it until after I came down. I didn't finish the climb but I had taken a pretty good lead fall and gave it everything I had. I don't know the name of the route but I know exactly where it's at. My next trip is over Labor Day weekend and I will be back.


Rope Burn

The Return to the Outdoors

It's been over a year since I have climbed outside, or at all for that matter, and over Memorial Day weekend I decided to go with a girl I had climbed with in the KU Rock Climbing Club and her friends. I can't lie this trip had me a little worried. I moved to Manhattan, Kansas over a year ago and unfortunately the closest indoor wall is over 1.5 hours a way and thus, I had stopped climbing. I knew I was going with an experienced crew so safety was never a concern just my own ability to keep up. The first set of routes were at Cliffs of Insanity in HCR. I climbed a 5.6 that I found to be a little pumpy and was worried for the rest of the weekend. I had just climbed one of the easiest routes around and was completely tuckered out. I had climbed for three years before I moved and reminded myself that technique goes a long way. The next few routes I calmed myself down, kept a loose hanging grip on the rocks where ever I could and made a mental note to use as many balance and leg moves as possible. I quickly remembered the technique I used to have and found myself leading a 5.9 by the end of the weekend. It wasn't a weekend of clean climbs but I was surprised at how much of a role technique plays in this sport. There were some moves and spots I couldn't get passed because I simply did not have the strength, but all in all after a year of no climbing I was happy to see what my body could still do.