Rockin' it Out!

So it took until August but I finally got out rock climbing! One of my favorite places to climb is up near keystone called Haus Rock. Now, I would've liked to start out on an easier climb but my girlfriend Jess had other plans and thought the 5.10 face climb would be a good idea. Let me tell you now, it wasn't! She went first and technically made it...with the aid of some bolts. I on the other hand wanted to climb it legit. This didn't work out so well. I made it through part of the crux but man was it thin! There was literally nothing to grab onto so I understood why Jess used the bolts to help her. After struggling awhile and popping of the rock a few time I decided that I should just traverse over and finish on the 5.8. That worked much better! I felt really good on my first few climbs so I thought it was time to do my first lead of the year and only my second ever. For those of you that aren't climbers, lead climbing is a bit more dangerous. Most of our climbs are usually top-roped which means the rope is fixed at the top of the climb and you can only fall the stretch of the rope. With a lead climb, I would be bringing the rope up with me and clipping into bolts along the way. Once I clip into a bolt, I climb above it until the next bolt. Once above a bolt if you fall, you fall the distance above your last bolt times TWO! Its a little nerve racking but fun. I started on the climb and about 15ft up was a significant bulge. After some maneuvering and thinking I was able to clear the bulge without any falls! I was so excited! The rest of the climb consisted of a large crack all the way to the bolts on top. I made it without any falls! I lead my first 5.8! The pictures to the right are of my lead climb and I cannot wait to do another one!