I guess what I’m asking is, am I risking too much too soon? Is it normal / safe to feel numb in the face of danger? Do I need to find more protected routes to build my trad experience rather than just climbing any MVS I find?
Hi. To add to what’s been said above, it sounds like you’re doing OK – at least you’re stepping back and looking at how you’re climbing instead of just thoughtlessly going for it until you get badly out of your depth!
Yes, I think you should concentrate on getting mileage in on easier/better protected routes to gain experience in placing gear. The people I’ve always enjoyed climbing with the most have been the competent and calm, irrespective of grade: the people who know how to place gear, who know when they can trust it enough to jump off onto it, who know when it’s just there because there’s nothing else and who can place a piece with just a couple of tries of size and orientation. All stuff that comes from experience.
I don’t think it’s normal to feel numb in the face of danger. You don’t sound like you have the experience to judge if you’re in a genuinely dodgy situation or not so you should at least be more nervous.. in fact you should be pretty nervous all the time when climbing at about VS, as the picture you posted shows it’s a grade where there’s usually a fine selection of ledges to hit. Airborne retreat shouldn’t really be an option unless it’s steep and you know the gear is good (and that there’s preferably a lot of it). Of course, as someone else said you only really learn by direct experience, so sooner or later you’ll end up hanging from gear and probably being slightly surprised that it held. But I would NOT suggest jumping off to do any kind of deliberate fall testing unless you have a lot of backup, you’re with someone who really knows what they are doing and you’re wearing a helmet (as any top piece that rips will be following you down the rope..). If you’ve been leading indoors then you already know how to fall, but you need a lot of different experience to know the difference between bomber gear, OK gear and iffy placements that are just psychological.
Someone else mentioned this, but I agree that it’d be a good idea to start getting your own gear. It’s sometimes a bit awkward on multipitch routes where it’s easier to combine racks, but if you’re just cragging then you can always use your own, and learning what you’ve got and how it’s racked makes finding the right sized nut or friend a bit faster.
I hope all that isn’t off-putting. It’s worth building the experience. Knocking off some big lead where you climb well, protect it well and then look back up the route that’s empty of metalwork is a fantastic feeling and a real achievement and something to aspire to.
Posted 7 years ago
Ardeche2016 by TimB34[/url], on Flickr
