After my last fail forgetting my harness, I was determined to set things right! And so, I set off to Haytor on Dartmoor with Dave and Chris and met up with Pablo at the car park.
At the car park, ideas were flying about in the wind: Interrogation (E3 5c), E5 headpoint etc. But nothing turned came to plan. In the end, I 'warmed up' on an E1 called Letterbox wall/Hangover combo. My head really wasn't abck in leading mode and had to swallow my ego and hand the lead over to Pablo. The annoying thing is, I onsighted the route on second! grrr! In the mean time, Chris and Dave were trying an E3 6b next to us called Rock Lobster. I fancied giving it a go, and seeing that their cams were bomber, I went for it...
but the crux was hard! No matter what combination of moves I tried, I simply couldn't pull through the overhang. However, I sat there and watched the others try, looked at the holds and tried reading the route from different angles. I got back on it, more knowledgable than my first attempt, new info fresh in my head. I stop under the overhang, review the route and the pre determined sequence thought up before hand, and begin. All was going well, one move higher, and another... but the sharp granite crystals, pressing hard into my already printless fingertips, and the strength sapping holds, bring my sequence to an end, and the cams are put under tension one last time.
I lower to the ground, and once again, let Pablo and Chris carry on. Pablo (the little shit) cruised through the overhang where all before struggled and failed. (It's his Spanish style sport climbing ability, honest) And well done to Chris, who managed to second the route, CLEAN!
So no South West classic E3, and no E5 headpoint. But it was still a very good day out with some great friends :)
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