Went climbing last night with Cameron. I tried one 5.10 and the thing freaking kicked my butt. It was probably the worst climb I’ve ever done in my entire life. I had to start like 5 times!! I had 2 or three takes and I think a fall or 3. It was atrocious. BUT it was definitely one of the funnest climbs because it was such a challenge. There were moves that I tried but didn’t work so I had to figure out some other moves. There were times where I knew the move but took every single ounce of strength I had. It was too hard for me which was so amazing!!!! It’s SOOO much more fun to climb something that’s too hard for you than something you can do super easily. That climb also had some really nice throws and features in it.
But after that climb handed my biner to me (if you know what I mean), I tried another 5.10. Well, at least it was labeled as a 5.10. I belayed while Cam did it first. It was a pretty decent line most of the way but about 45 ft up or so, the hold got pretty few and far between and required some pretty difficult static moves. Cam got it. It looked fun so I figured I’d give it a try. I made it up the first part of the line, no sweat. Then I got to the tough part. It took me a while and I had to smear the side wall a little bit to let my arms rest. After about 4 minutes of trying to get past the static moves, I had to throw to a hold about 6 inches above my regular reach. I had good placement for my feat but the my static hand hold was a tight wall feature. It was a crack only big enough to get three fingers in (piny, ring and middle) to about the second knuckle. There was a sharp rock in there that was digging into my pinky. So conditions weren’t the easiest for this throw I had to make. But I gave it my all, threw and caught the hold. But then my foothold slipped. I still kept the handhold though. I asked Cam if I actually made the catch and he said he didn’t feel any tension on his harness and didn’t notice the grigeri lock. So I finished the line feeing pretty good. I had no takes and no full on falls! My first 5.10!!
But I’m not gonna take this goal off yet. There were too many uncertainties. First, the first 45ft of the line was definitely NOT a 5.10 in my book. I mean I’m no expert route setter but it was a killer easy climb compared to the other 5.10s I’ve tried. At most it was a 5.9+...maybe a 5.10-. Not a 5.10 though. Then there’s that issue of whether or not I actually made that catch or not. I felt like a I fell. I mean I didn’t fall off the wall but if the rope wasn’t there, I might have fallen. I can’t really say for sure. I honestly don’t know if the rope assisted at all.
I really want to say I’ve done this but I want to be %100 sure that I sent a full fledged 5.10. Next time, no doubt.
