A fourth outing for Adam with Monsterclimbs, from his introduction to climbing outdoors to leading. He displays his Monsterclimbs car sticker with pride.
An overcast day but perfect for our purpose to develop Adams trad leading. Ali talked in general terms about climbing and gear and instructed Adam to build a belay. It soon became obvious that Adam was quite knowledgable about gear placement and equalising and Ali was confident for him to lead placing his own gear. He had good rope and stance management and Ali was able to talk to him about the many options of using single and double ropes and creating a central point versus using the rope. Adams main problem was that he lacked confidence.
Adam climbs with a few different partners and they are all less experienced than he is, he therefore feels a huge weight of responsibilty as he has to look after his friends and show them ‘good’ technique. The potential for injury or even death is often at the back of a climbers mind but most incidents are ‘avoidable’ by – getting the right training, having the right equipment, being able to use a guidebook and follow a route, climbing within your ability, setting off early, leaving word as to where you are going and what time you are likely to be back.
The highlight of the day for Adam was to lead Golden Fleece – a Symonds Yat classic at HS4b. He led it well, his gear was good, his footwork much improved. He loved it. All he he needs now is to get out there and climb and learn from his experiences. He has no ambition to climb ‘dead hard’ – he just wants to get on long Alpine routes in North Wales, the Lake District and Scotland with confidence and he will. As a treat for doing so well Ali led him up the Longstone Pinnacle via Vertigo, something he’s always wanted to do.
‘Thanks for today Ali. I really enjoyed it. I’m still smiling. It’s nice to climb with someone who knows what they are doing’. Adam Turner