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General Climbing Discussion

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Taking leading to the next level 8-Aug-2006 At 7:00:42 PM AntiPrincess

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>Climb with a belayer you trust, and on routes where they can see (and
>hear) what you're doing.

I think this is one of the most important factors! There are certain of my climbing friends who I trust 110%
to belay me well when I am leading at my limit (which is about 15-17 on gear to give this some context).
By this I mean a lot more than "I trust them to catch me". I know they will pay out exactly the right
amount of rope exactly when it is needed, I know they will give useful feedback about rope management, I
know they will agree when caution is needed, but encourage me to go for it when it is safe, and I know
they will concentrate fully on what I am doing, be patient, and give helpful suggestions where they can.
Thus my belayer makes a big difference to how confident I feel and hence how well I climb.

I am in the slightly unusual situation of leading quite a moderate grade, despite having climbed (on gear)
for more than 5 years. But I have definitely had my fair share of (safe) lead falls from above my gear, and
what I can lead is only a couple of grades behind what I can second. Here is something I am currently
focussing on which might be relevant: when I am leading something at my limit, my aim is to lead it "well"
rather than get to the top. By "well", I mean that I stay focussed on positive things: climbing, resting
appropriately, planning moves, placing good gear, and I don't waste any energy hanging around in
awkward positions doing unhelpful things like worrying unnecessarily about bombproof gear or wishing that
the holds were different. Thus I have been quite proud of certain climbs that I fell off because I felt that I
put in the best physical effort that I could and that I was in a good headspace. Besides the obvious
requirement that you can place solid gear, I'd say that being able to stay focussed and problem solve
when you are being pushed to the limit physically is the important thing.

Have really enjoyed reading the posts on this thread - Thanks guys.