Here’s a partial video of me lead flash-ascending Jolt, a 30-meter, 5.10b route at Rumney. Important note on the video: watch closely at the beginning, see the other climber’s straight rope hanging off to the right? THAT is the vertical, this footage was recorded at a near 45 degree angle ;-)
(here’s a view from the cliff-base)
I can’t completely describe the thrill, and fear, of climbing 100 feet up a completely exposed cliff-face at the top of a mountain.
Imagine throwing your foot across a gap above 80 feet of air, and trying to land it on a small flake of stone, only then to request that your belayer actually give you slack, so you can attach your rope to the next safety clip before your hands or resolve give, and you fall 15 feet below.
But was the view ever worth it.
Perched on a two-foot wide ledge atop the 10 stories you flawlessly ascended, looking out over the valley and feeling the sun and the wind is an experience I’m not soon to forget. (Nor will I forget climbing off the cliff-ledge, so that my belayer could lower me through the sky and back to ground)
This sunny day did not go wasted.
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Climber jargon explained: 5.10b is the difficulty. 10b is impossibly hard for a non-climber, ask your friends! More seriously, it’s not easy or moderate, it’s on the mid-level of ‘difficult.’ Leading a route means bringing the rope up with you as you go; you bring the safety, it isn’t already there. ‘Flashing’ a route means knowing some ‘beta’ (aka, ‘moves’) and ascending it first-try, but never making a mistake that causes you to need the rope that you brought up with you. Of course, you always use a rope!
