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What's the scariest lead that you've ever done?


mankrambler

12-Apr-2009
8:52:11 PM

you're spot on about the Wolgan being a good place to get scared and get in over your head. We did the secret swinger route to get to Excalibur, the 5 pitch classic above. All pitches are right at the grade and they have to be climbed efficiently. I conked out with dehydration on p4 of Excalubur (mind you it was raining at one point--should have collected some), and took two falls trying to get past the extended crux sequence (full-on at the grade and it was near my limit!), with cramping forearms (I was pushing my hands against the wall to uncurl my fingers at one point). It was getting dark as I did my first ever aid moves to get through this, and the scary part was the next pitch, rushing to get up in the failing light climbing very run out on those dinner plates typical of upper old baldy. A bit freaked but releaved to top out, we then just had a 3 h decent in the dark and in climbing shoes through steep leafy terrain. memorable!
All time scariest, was probably The Fear, north head. not the exposure so much, but I only took a single rope (v. bad idea) and the drag I set up on the top pich provided the crux. As I was trying to top out, thinking about the huge fall onto my cam in the sandy horizontal a few meters below, I was tittering on the edge of balance; it felt like the rope was actively pulling me downwards. After about 5 min or so of eye-bulging grovelling (using chin, and grasping at lumps of grass or whatever), managed to bs my way over. Reminds me of the belly flop topout on p1 Euydice.

fish boy

12-Apr-2009
10:53:14 PM

Love you too Dr Box.

Doggy scared me.


IdratherbeclimbingM9

18-Apr-2009
10:25:25 PM

>What's the scariest lead that you've ever done?

Hmm. Interesting question when I ponder on it for a while.
I don’t really know; possibly because my ‘scary yardstick’ has changed over time, and still continues to evolve.
I have had plenty of scary moments on lead over many years now, but possibly not an entire scary lead?

orwell wrote;
>and simply had to run it out

I agree that this is often a significant component within a scary lead.

Perhaps my most memorable (inasmuch as it springs readily to mind), scary lead (earlyish in my leading experience), was the first time I deliberately ran it out above gear through a blank section above pretty average pro, to get to the safety of a belay. The climb was probably the second or third lead ascent of Crack of Dawn (20m G15) at Barrenjoey but was the first time it had had the direct finish to the higher top-out applied to it, instead of trending slightly left-ish to the early top-out ledge.
I continued on (successfully), to what I considered to be the higher ‘true finish’ and thought I could achieve it, but I had cause for serious doubt along the way. I remember considering the options and believing I would hit the ground from a height I did not want to do so from, if my last piece of gear pulled, which I seriously thought was a better than even probability…, due to it being a large hex in a flared horizontal break, back in the days before slcd’s had been invented.

This experience taught me a number of things, amongst which are the following;
~ My belief in my own ability to succeed was justified.
~ My recognition of how much ‘reserve’ fuel I had in the energy-tank was valid, and still works as a pretty good gauge of same to this day.
~ A scary lead while on rope above gear is quite a different experience to a scary lead free soloing; which by the way, is an experience I had previously had to the one described above.
~ It was not a particularly hard climb nor a particularly exposed (ie long and high), climb compared to multipitch things I had previously already done(!), so it affirmed for me that hard grades / significant lines, need not be a goal for achieving a sense of satisfaction.

dr box wrote;
>hindsight makes it one of the best days of climbing

I also identify really strongly with this statement!
The ‘hook’ within that first(ish) scary lead is probably what keeps me coming back for more, … hopefully however within a manageable way!


Superstu

19-Apr-2009
10:31:46 AM

Interesting post M9. And interesting thread. I'm not sure I equate 'scariest climbing' with the 'best days climbing' though myself.

I find leading on poor rock/poor pro situations, on some days I'm just in the zone and move confidently as if nothing is wrong, other days i'm in sheer terror and spend 90% of my energy trying to find a way out of it all. I only wish I could know before hand which day it was going to be!


IdratherbeclimbingM9

19-Apr-2009
10:48:21 AM

On 19/04/2009 superstu wrote:
>I'm not sure I equate 'scariest climbing' with the 'best days climbing' though myself.

You are right, as there is much about climbing that I enjoy which more appropriately defines 'best'. I was picking up on someone else's theme so perhaps I should have said scary climbing often equates with 'memorable' climbing.


Paulie

20-Apr-2009
8:52:53 PM

Pretty much everything over 16 is mildly terrifying these days, even Blue Mtns sport routes!

Scariest one I can recently remember was this 6a+ (18 apparantly...more like 22) thing in a chossy quarry near Glasvegas (Scotland) up a slippery overhung slime filled bottomless basalt 'chute' with pro a very very long way below. Typical bloody UK crappy shite, this one stands out because of the crazy slipperness of the rock and the terrifying fact that 1/2 way up (20mtrs?) I ran out of inventive ways to contort my body.

Another that springs immediately to mind is this horrible 20mtr+ slabby thing (21 from memory) way below Beowulf (Mt Buffalo) that has a very bad rusty carrot at the start then you have to protect it using 0 and 00 RPs between crystals and shite seams for the rest of the "route", I can't even remember climbing the last 1/3 of the route, I think I went into a zen state of pure concentration - top out or die!


Sabu

20-Apr-2009
9:15:11 PM

I shat myself on watchtower chimney a few years ago. I was still relatively new to trad
leading as well as climbing anything other than face climbs so the idea of bridging
across a void without access to pro in front of me was very very scary.

I ended up trying to climb the ramp on the right hand side which got progressively
smaller as i got further away from my gear. I was shaking, screaming and wondering
how the hell i was going to get myself out of this predicament

Also i think it was pure friction and luck that i got through the moves on the top out as i
was completely delirious from fear with all traces of technique so far out the window
they were staying in horsham!!

gfdonc

21-Apr-2009
11:02:00 AM

Probably still Take Five at Araps. It's one of the few routes where, in the middle of the crux moves, I swore to myself that I was never leading this again.

For fear factor, leading the big roof on Ozy Direct also ranks pretty highly.


bluey

21-Apr-2009
11:09:43 AM

On 20/04/2009 Sabu wrote:
>I shat myself on watchtower chimney a few years ago. I was still relatively
>new to trad
>leading as well as climbing anything other than face climbs so the idea
>of bridging
>across a void without access to pro in front of me was very very scary.
>

Spent a couple of days on the left watchtower face over the Easter weekend and watched at least 4 parties do Watchtower Chimney with every leader crapping themselves all the way up. Good on you all for sucking it up and getting up there. Have only seconded it myself and reckon it would be a bloody scary old school lead, no matter what grade you climb.


muki

21-Apr-2009
4:39:15 PM

I once got off route on Auto De Fe, ended up way right on hard slab, no gear for 20m on unclimbed
mossy dishes and scoops, lick and stick stuff, had to focus on the breathing, not the ledge I would hit!


wallwombat

21-Apr-2009
5:27:59 PM

On 12/04/2009 mankrambler wrote:
> Reminds me of the belly flop topout on p1 Euydice.

Yes, that scared the shit out of me.

I'd been cruising the pitch and decided to not worry about putting gear in near the top and just going for it.

Big mistake.

Right at the top, with my hands on the belay ledge, I suddenly got so pumped that I couldn't move. There was no way I could mantle. I was looking at a pretty big fall and I wasn't keen on it at all.

A couple of young guys from Queensland were climbing in front of us and one of them was belaying on the ledge. I screamed at him to flick me the dead end of his rope before took the plummet. He managed to flick it over to me with his foot. I managed to grab it in my teeth, which gave me just enough purchase to whack an arm over the lip and squirm/ belly flop onto the ledge, where I lay hyperventilating and shaking like a jelly blubber for about 15 minutes.

That was 17 years ago. I'd like to go back and climb it again. It was a great pitch.

neverclimbed32

21-Apr-2009
6:10:00 PM

On 12/04/2009 freesolo wrote:
but the scariest two moments of my climbing life were rappelling, but
maybe that's another thread.

Have to agree with you there. All my big pants fillers have been rapping.

simey

21-Apr-2009
10:24:13 PM

On 21/04/2009 wallwombat wrote:
>I managed to grab it in my teeth, which gave me just enough purchase to whack an arm over the lip and squirm/ belly flop onto the ledge, where I lay hyperventilating and shaking like a jelly blubber for about 15 minutes.

>That was 17 years ago. I'd like to go back and climb it again. It was a great pitch.

Sounds like you need to go back and tick it without the aid point.


wallwombat

21-Apr-2009
10:39:06 PM

On 21/04/2009 simey wrote:

>Sounds like you need to go back and tick it without the aid point.

I totally agree.


Paulie

22-Apr-2009
11:26:05 AM

On 21/04/2009 wallwombat wrote:
>On 12/04/2009 mankrambler wrote:
>> Reminds me of the belly flop topout on p1 Euydice.
>I'd been cruising the pitch and decided to not worry about putting gear
>in near the top and just going for it.

Ha ha, a mate of mine did exactky the same thing on that mantle but didn't make it and toppled over backwards off the ledge! Fortunately he was wearing a helmet! A piece of pro on a long sling to protect that last move is a very good idea :)


JimboV10

22-Apr-2009
12:02:50 PM

Anything at the Youies with the exceptions of Cameo, Drugs over London and Exam Technique... Becuase they actually have holds!


evanbb

22-Apr-2009
1:31:00 PM

Just for the record, the most scared I've been climbing was seconding at Pierces Pass, on Fungus Face. Worst rock I've climbed I reckon, with a particularly large piece liberating itself as I was climbing over it. Either that or rapping down Old Baldy in the rain.


ambyeok

22-Apr-2009
9:30:48 PM

Well, I havent been climbing long but for me it was a six metre traverse down the bottom of point perp on rock that would have been a beach resort if it were in England. I think it was the pointy pinacle of rock 5m down that was acting as my crash pad that really got the willies into me.


muki

23-Apr-2009
5:34:31 PM

Once in Thailand I had organised to yank the rope three times to signal safe, due to high winds on the
multi pitch we were doing, on the second pitch I was climbing at my physical limit, getting pumped.
I had pulled rope twice to clip, only to have the wind blow the draw horizontal away from me and out of
reach for clipping, getting even more pumped I had to drop the rope and shake out to recover.
then on the final go, I managed to clip the draw at last, only to hear OFF BELAY waft up on the breeze.
Only 30m to go I told myself....... go for the onsight !


Miguel75

19-Mar-2012
7:00:54 PM

Was searching for something else, Evolve Geshido shoes, and somehow this thread popped up. My dosgy searching probably has something to do with my pathalogical inability to stay on topic but anyways....

My scariest lead of late, was Serpent on mitre rock. It was my first lead in almost 12months and I managed to get off route, oddly enough, and found myself in a very scary mental place. I was struggling with my gear and was talking myself down, that cam is crap, this nut sucks etc, though after lots of deep breaths and a bit of positive reinforcement, 'well done Miguel your legs do look good in lycra' etc, I pushed through. Yay.

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