“I start carefully by placing my feet on small bumps. The friction is good. My feet are holding well while I caress the small crystals with my fingers. The first few metres of the ascent are easily tackled. Sweat starts to break out as I jam my fingers in the crack and get my feet to balance on a small ledge. The protection anchor, though only 5m below, seems miles away. Yes! Ten metres is a long distance to fall. Maybe just too long. I carefully select the appropriate protection, while balancing gingerly on the hand and foot holds, and slide a nut along a crack till it is securely wedged in the bottleneck portion of the crack. I quickly pass the rope tied to my seat harness through. As I feel the rope tighten, I know that I am safe.”
The next few feet up are tricky as the footholds disappear. I am forced to push the soles of my climbing shoes hard on the plain surface. Thankfully, the high-friction, rubber-soled, skintight shoes are doing a great job! I jam the first digit of my fingers in the crack and move up, my feet still smearing the plain surface of the rock.
