First Roped Climb?

[spotly]

Main Crack at Minnehaha. I got as far as the huge ledge (12' off the ground) and couldn't figure out where to go after that. The rest of the route seemed devoid of any holds. Guess the big-ass crack up the center must have been alot smaller then

[Jim]

Ralph Stover State Park, PA, some ramdom TR on the "Practice Face", 1988 with Derek Hedstrom. I climbed in Vasque Sundowners and some crappy harness, but I had a chalk bag!!! (in fact, the same one I still climb with today!)

 

Ha!! Same climb (Practice Climb)for me but in 1974 with a Goldline and swami belt. Later that day got up Finger Dike (5.6)got exhausted and could not finish on Triple Overhang - all of 5.7. Still have a 20 pg guide to the place.

[Alex]

Triple Overhang was flippin' hard at 5.7. The 7's out here are giveaway easy.

[mdidriksen]

Did things backwards and started on ice. First climb was Shoestring Gully in NH, with Jim Shimburg. Jim showed up to guide us on day 1 of our 2 day course with IME, and said something to the effect of, "We could go over to the practice area at Cathedral Ledge and I could teach you about ice climbing, or we could go have some fun. What would you like to do?" Easy answer.

 

First lead was Little Finger on Roger's Rock in the Adirondacks. (Approached by canoe.)

[mattp]

I don't remember clearly but I think I did actually climb some toprope thing at Quincy Quarries for my first actual rock climb but I may have only watched. I remember someting called yellow spot. My next climb was a year after that when I followed my brother up the SW Ridge of the Grand Teton at age twelve.

[Rad]

June 1990, Swiss Cheese face (5.5-5.7?) on Goat Rock in Castle Rock State park (Skyline drive Bay Area, not by Shasta). I surprised the instructors by pulling off a 5.9ish stemming boulder problem. I was hooked from that very first day.

 

That summer I went on multiple camping and climbing trips with Outdoors Unlimited (out of UCSF) to the Tahoe area and Tuolumne. Great times.

 

Xmas 1990, I got a pink chalk bag from my cousin that I still use today.