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Lead climbing practice
Sep. 6th, 2016 09:22 pmWent climbing after a last minute change of plan. While I was warming up on the autobelays, I bumped into a friend who offered to do a spot of lead climbing. Keen to get more practice in ahead of going away, I jumped at the chance. We did a few easy routes to warm up and although I started to settle into things, despite still feeling a little nervous even though my abilities weren't particularly stretched.
After warming up, J tried a 6b+ route which had featured a lot of slopers — not ideal given the humid weather — and a tricky crux that required clipping from a bad sloper. Conceding defeat J used an easier route next door to set up a top rope and we both gave it a try. Even without the hassle of clipping, it was hard enough that it took me a couple of goes to get and I'm pretty sure I couldn't have led it — I tend to climb far too front-on when I'm not feeling confident and as a result, I make things much more difficult for myself and can't climb nearly as hard as I'm capable of.
It was a fun evening and it's made me more determined than ever to get my lead climbing mindset back this autumn.
After warming up, J tried a 6b+ route which had featured a lot of slopers — not ideal given the humid weather — and a tricky crux that required clipping from a bad sloper. Conceding defeat J used an easier route next door to set up a top rope and we both gave it a try. Even without the hassle of clipping, it was hard enough that it took me a couple of goes to get and I'm pretty sure I couldn't have led it — I tend to climb far too front-on when I'm not feeling confident and as a result, I make things much more difficult for myself and can't climb nearly as hard as I'm capable of.
It was a fun evening and it's made me more determined than ever to get my lead climbing mindset back this autumn.
