Join the queue

The group of climbers on our South West WhatsApp group has had a bit of a growth spurt recently, and this includes a few new to climbing and a number of non-trad climbers.  A few of these people have expressed an interest in trying trad climbing, and I’ve put it out there that I’m happy to show them the ropes so to speak.  Ash is one of those people.  Previously a sport climber, currently a boulderer and with his sights on adding trad climbing to round off his climbing skills.  And this morning we found ourselves at Wilyabrup to get the ball rolling:

When I picked him up I wasn’t so sure how we would go, a stomach bug had plagued him over the last three days resulting in him lacking energy.  During the walk in he trailed behind Jaime and I and was not looking the best.  Still when we got to the base of the crag and I pointed him to the first lead I had in mind, he willingly pulled on the harness and racked up.  Now I mentioned he was a previous sport climber and now a boulderer, so I picked Setting Sun as the first route.  Because it starts as a bit of a boulder problem, and Mario please note I am actually spotting him:

There is then a line of three bolts that leads up the steep wall, and only after then there is a need to use some trad gear in a horizontal break before ascending the top slabby wall.  This allowed him to feel comfortable with leading and only need to use trad for a small section.  Before he set off there was a quick lesson in placing cams, and he placed two in the break for me to inspect.  The key things I had mention was not to over-cam them so they would be hard to get out, consider direction of fall and make sure they don’t walk in by extending them:

I’m happy to report both of his cams were well placed and I was confident they would hold a fall, so much so that I fell on them myself to prove to him they were good.  While they would always hold my fall there are two faults in both placements and I wonder who will spot them.  Once on top it was time to show Ash what to consider in setting up a belay.  First and foremost in case the second falls have bomber gear, keep the system tensioned and make sure it is directional.  Secondly but for me equally important are to make sure it is a comfortable belay stance and that whenever possible you can see the person following you up:

As part of all these instructions and tips, there was the rope work to talk about.  I love the double figure of eight or bunny ears and that was the first knot I showed him, next being a clove hitch.  With these two knots you can set up a system that is easy to adjust from your harness without needing to walk back and forth to your anchors.  All this takes time and it is hard not to overload and confuse people, but Ash seemed to have a good grasp of the concepts and was taking it all in.  But we were here to learn trad, so next up was a full trad lead:

Not only was Ash being a great sponge, soaking up all my advice, but he was starting to perk up.  Energy levels may still be lacking from the last three days but he was relaxed and mentally happy to be leading, which in some ways is more important than having the energy.  Twenty Questions was a good next route, easier than the first bolted line and plenty of opportunity for gear placements, whether wires, hexes or cams.  Being Ash’s first full trad lead it was time to talk about the carcass catcher, the first piece needing to be directional not only for a fall but also the position of the belayer, so both downwards and outwards:

This is so important to avoid the zipper effect should the leader take a fall.  The rope tensions all the way down and if the belayer is stood back a bit, as they most often do, this can result in the first piece popping out.  I’ve seen this happen when every piece bar the very top one has popped, which is very scary and highly undesirable.  Ash of course had no trouble with the climbing and also managed to mostly place appropriately spaced gear, he also set up his own belay system perfectly.  My only criticism when I topped out was that he had run out the top a little, due in part to it being so easy:

I was presently surprised by his carcass catcher, a solid cam in a horizontal (above).   This time the errors of the first cams he placed had been rectified, the outer lobs pointing downwards making it a more stable placement and the extender connected to the sling and not the plastic loop.  Indeed all of his cams were great, none were over-camed and all bar one was directional.  He hadn’t however used any passive gear, so the next choice of climb needed to be carefully thought about to make sure he had lots of opportunities to use wires:

My initial thought was Hope, a steady grade with heaps of wires opportunities.  However, this would be the third lead on the trot and taking into account Ash was not 100% I felt a shorter line was required.  The obvious one being Left Hand Crack, no end of gear opportunities but also bumping up the grade a bit.  Before he set off there were more instructions on wire placements.  Looking to make sure there is good contact on both sides, the rock is solid, the wires are preferably deep, the chance that the wires popping out is reduced by making sure they are well seated, and of course making sure they are directional:

One more instruction was given before he set off, and that was to make he used wires or hexes first and only resorted to the use of cams when he was really stumped.  The first five pieces were wires, and then he reached the meat of the climb.  The crack steepens as the footholds become smaller and the moves become trickier and more sustained.  It was time for a bit of yo-yoing, a common sight for leaders getting nervous.  He went up and down numerous times, eventually deciding to place a cam to give him the confidence to move up:

He also placed a wire above that.  Then with a good three meters of climbing ahead of him he didn’t look to be checking for anymore gear opportunities.  By his movements I could tell he was considering to continue to the top.  I knew that there was an awkward top out, so started to become nervous as he surged upwards.  I moved closer to the wall to reduce how much rope was paid out and preparing myself to catch a fall.  It thankfully never came, even when near the top his foot slipped, but fortunately he held on and composed himself before topping out:

If he had slipped off it would have been 5-6m fall, and I had a bit of a word with him about it afterwards.  Ash replied saying that as he was going up, he could hear a voice in his head and it was me telling him to look for a gear placements.  I had to laugh as I was actually thinking it, but didn’t want to shout up to him, and distract him while he was so focused on the moves.  That aside every wire placement was bomber being well seated and directional and having good contact.  A top lead and I do hope he is pleased with it:

The only reason I considered putting him up it is that I know he is capable of far harder moves.  That said when you climb trad even the strongest of boulderers or sport climbers can crumble under the mental strain of having to place and more importantly trust own gear.  Even when the moves are ten grades lower than what they can climb.  Ash was now, and not really surprisingly, looking exhausted.  So I offered to lead one last route to allow him to check my gear.  Jaime was also done.  She handed the camera back to me before heading out and leaving us to the obvious choice of Hope:

I was a little surprised when Ash had suggested climbing out with packs, I’m of course well accustomed to this so was more than happy to.  So off I set saying that in view of this being a chance for him to inspect my gear I would lace the route with 15 bits of gear, all wires.  As it was I only managed 12 bits on route, any more would have been plain ridiculous.  He was slow following me up.  Maybe because he was tiring, the sun was on us, or due to all the gear he had to get out.  As he topped out he said never again, and my heart dropped as I thought I had put him off trad climbing:

Thankfully not and he is keen for more, but he hated climbing with a pack on and swore never to suggest it again.  Now while due to clever photography the images do not show many other people around it was certainly busy here.  We started with an empty crag but by the time we were ready to leave all the usual classic lines were being attempted.  It was the first time ever that I have had to wait for a couple to finish top roping Hope before we could climb it and then, as Ash prepared to second up, for another party to start setting up below us to lead it.  It was definitely time to depart: