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General Climbing Discussion

Topic Date User

Gibbon seeking escape - warning - idotic questions 7-Sep-2007 At 9:47:55 AM Organ Pipe

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Hey Michael,

When I was learning trad (well you never stop learning, but you know what I mean) I was ticking 21 on lead in gyms but never tried anything harder than 12 on trad gear. This was initially a humbling experience but I believe was worthwile, as the 'sticky situations' one went through were on less challenging lines and as such the margin for error was greater - as in, if it took me a long time to fiddle with gear, and set a nice placement, at least I was in a comfortable stance, and not hanging one armed from some crazy lip or something.

My adivce to you would be, find someone who you can tag along with, let them lead, and you second & clean as much as possible, for as long as you can before your itch to lead must be scratched. Seconding and cleaning the leaders gear is a fantastic way to get familiar with the process, understanding the physics involved with setting gear etc.

If you really struggle to find a partner, then buy a rope, camp out at the Pines at Araps on a sunny weekend over summer / autumn and ask around. You'll be able to tag along on someones party for sure. This is not all that ususual. I've been at Araps several times before with mates and we've been approached by a partnerless person and thay've come up a multipitch with us.

Best of luck dude.