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Googlymoogly
climber
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Easy Rider at Mission Gorge. It is a short 5.7 sport climb. At the time it seamed pretty damn hard. After some procrastinating I finally got up it though and I think that was my one climb for the day
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
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The Trough...Tahquitz....Robbins boots , hexes , and a Chouinard hammer...Loved the scent of the wooden handle and those Mt. Mahogany's that made great pro...RJ
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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1985 The Dolphin, 5.7+ at Joshua Tree, a Largo route. I recruited a belayer in the Split Rock parking lot, he had done a little climbing and had some Tri-Cams his dad gave him. I had taken a couple of climbing classes in the valley the prior summer, read some books and bought some gear. Did not know any other climbers, had never led, followed or top-roped. I got on it and damn near pitched off testing a Tri-Cam placement. No friends back then, all nuts and hexes. First climb, first lead, first crack, first off-width. Seems like insanity now, but I learned a lot very quickly, just about my most memorable climb.
http://www.mountainproject.com/v/dolphin/105722164
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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The Dolphin is like big hands for that Largo guy, right?
My first lead? Aleister Crowley let me lead a pitch on Kanchenjunga.
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Grampa
climber
from SoCal
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Angels Fright at Tahquitz. All pitons although only place a few because of so many trees and bushes.
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Michelle
Trad climber
Toshi's Station, picking up power converters.
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some 5.6 at Potter's rock. my partner was more scared for me than I was. first multi pitch, Sea of Tranquility 5.7 on Herring Creek Dome. it started to snow, climbed by someone's bail anchor of 2 micronuts (that got sent to the Philipines!) and quickly made it to the top before it started to dump (it didn't) still love that climb!
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Bill Mc Kirgan
Trad climber
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
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First trad lead was The Bone (5.5) at Devils Lake. It was highly recommended as a first by friends at the CMC and was fun until I got to the ledge with a roof about 4 feet above it. I crawled on my hands and knees a bit at that point until finding the chimney exit to the right.
Piece of cake on top rope, but as a first lead it gave me plenty to think about.
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jtlocal
Trad climber
Joshua Tree
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Mike's books in a pair of Vans, on an old static line we found in someones garage. 1989
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TGT
Social climber
So Cal
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The Trough at Big Rock, although since it was all bolts that wasn't considered a "real" lead.
Angels Fright, Tahquitz with a 120 ft Gold Line tied in with a bowline on a coil, a half dozen or so pitons, a Bell Telephone lineman's hammer with the handle sawed down and a parachute cord keeper sling.
Yes!
Mt. Mahoganys are your friends!
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Al Fylak
Mountain climber
Rochester Hills, MI
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Wandering Tortoise .. Turtle Rock .. JTree .. 1980.
Not much pro (big hexes), but easy climbing.
I remember thinking, "This leading stuff is not so bad".
As I slowly worked up the grades to 5.9, I found out otherwise!
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Al Fylak
Mountain climber
Rochester Hills, MI
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I also remember soloing The Trough at Tahquitz around 1984.
Easy fun climb, until I got off route to the left onto some 5.6/7.
Fortunately, I trailed a rope and was able to set up some funky psycho self-belay. Not sure it would have really helped in case of a fall, but it gave me the courage to continue up.
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briham89
Big Wall climber
san jose, ca
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eKat that is rad!!! and funny haha.
My first gear lead was swan slab gully 5.6 3 pitches woohoo!!!
actually that was my first valley gear lead....
My first gear lead was at castle rock on that 5.6 corner to the right of the waterfall. All I had for pro was stoppers haha
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Don Paul
Big Wall climber
Colombia, South America
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Just found a slab in the New River VA and started leading up it, with goldline rope, and about 5 carabiners and 3-4 nuts clipped to the belt loops my my jeans. I also had a machete in a holster on a biner, not sure why but I expected to have to chop through plants at some point. The route actually had a small technical part with a roof, where I sunk one of my stoppers. As I made the move, I remember seeing the machete upside down and ready to slide out of the holster and down onto my belayer and his girlfriend. Luckily this didn't happen and the climb was a great success, probably went at about 5.4.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Funny how you sell yourself short until somebody MAKES you do something, eh?
:-)
Or until you have no choice. Hillarious story Kat; trial by fire, who says no to the Bird?
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slabbo
Trad climber
fort garland, colo
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Whitney-Gilman ridge on Cannon cliff in NH '77
I had to convince my partner it was a 300' 5.4 .. it's a bit longer than thatand about 4 grades harder.
Titons, hexes and a couple of slings,, finished in the dark w/o headlamps of course
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hossjulia
Trad climber
Where the Hoback and the mighty Snake River meet
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Interesting how many first leads were at Mission Gorge.
I think mine was too, but it could have been in Eldorado Canyon.
Anyway, the first lead I remember was some chimney at Mission Gorge with no obvious pro. 5.6? I was getting tired looking for pro, and it was short, so I just gunned for the top. Soloed the rope up. Getting up there, I had a moment of panic because I had to set up a belay on a couple of not-so-great looking bolts. I didn't want to f*#k that up, so it took me a bit. Probably longer than the climb did. My SO and his brother were pretty quiet as they came up. Couldn't believe I did it with no pro. They had been making bets about me backng off of it. Showed them. They wouldn't lead it.
But I grew up on Rumson Dr. in Santee and used to play around on the boulders there all the time. All by myself in sneakers.
First *real* lead was Walk On The Wild Side in Josh. LOVED it!
This is a fun thread with some, no all, great stories.
EKat, love that one.
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ydpl8s
Trad climber
Santa Monica, California
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June 1972, my first granite lead, East Slab 5.4/5 - The Dome - Boulder Canyon. Old blue Royal Robbins I bought from my mentor. Placed stoppers only, most of them probably weren't too good.
My first sedimentary lead was about a week earlier Calypso 5.6 - Wind Tower - Eldo. Seemed pretty easy, not nearly as slippery as it is nowadays.
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Gene
climber
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Fingertip Traverse. Tahquitz Rock. 1847.
g
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