First Time Trad

Where to start? I guess it's best to start by saying what an amazing and scary experience it was. The height wasn't a problem. On a top-rope, difficult moves aren't scary in the least, because if I fall I have no more than the stretch of the rope to fall. Today, however, was different. Today is the first time I climbed traditional on a local crack. I am confident in placing anchors, so that wasn't a problem, but to be 15 above my last placement with choss rock impossible to place an anchor on, now that's scary. I haven't felt this kind of fear before, even though my anchors were solid.

For those unfamiliar with climbing terms, traditional or trad is, in the most basic sense, placing anchors while climbing as opposed to climbing with the rope above you (top-roping) or climbing on pre-placed, bolted anchors (sport).

The stellar outcropping is located off of the north end of Nesthorn in Pine Mountain Club, CA. It's no J-Tree, but it's challenging, new, and local. My chosen route is Last Chance Lovers, named by me. The route starts on a 25-30 foot vertical crack, leading to a crack traverse on a slight overhang, then up the final 15 feet of face climbing. Technically speaking, the climb is rather easy, rating maybe 5.7 at the very hardest. What made this difficult for me was the fact that I was introducing myself to a new aspect of verticulture.

Today, I climbed the first "pitch," however short. This allowed me to gain some further confidence in my abilities. My anchor placements were solid, to the point where rapping off them was not a problem in the least. I intend to go back very soon to complete Last Chance Lovers, hopefully next weekend. When I do, I will give a full report on the climb, and hopefully have photos to bring it all together.

P.S. To climbers of epics like El Cap, a dream of mine, my humble beginnings are just that, humble. The point is to illustrate my personal growth in my passionate existence.