Climb 4 - Thursday May 15 - Follow the Leader

I met Mike Schultz tonight after work at his house. Things are a lot different inside since he recently married. We packed up and drove to Little Cottonwood to Becky's Wall. I know what you are thinking... "Becky's Wall, Dust? That sounds like it could be climbed by Uncle Jesse's wife on Full House." Well, maybe it could; but today it was climbed by me. Becky's Wall is a two-pitch climb. Mike led the first pitch in a matter of about 10 minutes. I followed suit and cleaned the gear trying to note how he placed each piece. At the chains Mike gave me a few quick pointers and then I was on my own. I led the second pitch in a matter of about 1.5 hours. I am sure Mike was super bored just waiting for me, but he was kind enough not to say anything. Part of the reason I was so slow was because I found myself placing gear every 6 feet of the climb. It was my first time leading trad this season and only my second time ever... give me a break. I was able to use a couple of nuts during this climb which I felt good about. There were a couple of interesting sections in this climb. Even though I had just placed a piece of gear that I was really confident in, I still got really nervous knowing that I have never fallen on trad gear before. It's gotta happen sometime, but not today. I finally made it to the top and belayed as Mike came to meet me. He told me I had made very good placements with only one exception. I felt good about that. I wished I had my camera at the top when he was climbing toward me, but I was belaying and that would have been a lot of extra weight to carry up the climb. I think I am going to try to bring along the GoPro when I climb with just two people from now on so I can at least get some shots. I will take the Nikon out when I can worry about getting photos instead of climb or belay all the time. This was an enjoyable evening. I think I will be back here soon with Jer so we can work on our leading abilities. On Rock.