Bret working on Y-Crack (5.10c).
I recently went climbing with three friends in Necedah, WI. After a nice sport warmup on a 5.6 called Air, I went for my first ever trad lead. It was only a 5.4, which I could normally climb without even thinking about it, but having to place my own protection made it a mental challenge. I started to get worried when I got about three-quarters of the way to the top and was almost out of protection – I hadn't taken nearly enough with me. I ended up running out the last section, then spending about twenty minutes at the top of the climb trying to figure out how to build an anchor with the single nut and two cams I still had on my rack. Eventually I found a few good placements, built an anchor and enjoyed the panoramic view from the highest point in at least ten miles. Even though it was an easy lead, it was a great feeling to get it under my belt.
On the way home, our group stopped at Ship Rock. The easiest route to the top was low fifth class, but we didn't know exactly what that route was. We walked around the rock and scouted it, then made our way to the top to the delight of several onlookers who were having a picnic in the park below us. When we stood at the summit, we discovered that there was a bolt anchor, so we could rappel instead of attempting a sketchy down-climb. Ship Rock had the feel of an alpine route, right here in Wisconsin. Soon I would be off to do some actual alpine climbing out West...
