Chokier

Doing another climb today. This time I'm going to Chokier with two of my friends that I went the last time to Sy with. This is supposed to be a newly cleaned section. So I expect the rock not to be worn (which can be the case with the more popular routes). I feel a lot more confident this time, however, I don’t want to be arrogant. It’s very easy to get complacent.

It should be about a 3hrs drive. We left at 9am. Of course, the little beastie will be joining us on this trip too. The weather forecast is dry, but that’s not what I am seeing outside the window. The clouds look dark and ominous, completely overcast with no sight of the sun. Well... a colder day should help with grip (or so I'm told). But I'm going to keep a more careful eye once we get there.

The crag is really nice, with plenty of routes to climb. It's like an amphitheater with climbing routes all around with a place to park vehicles in the center. The place was really accessible. It even had a toilet (I don’t recommend it).

Preparing

I woke up a bit groggy in the morning. Seems to be the case more and more these days. 7 hours of sleep does not seem to cut it anymore. But I'm hoping a laborious day outdoors will do me some good. Usually I inform someone when I'm going on trips like this, but I've come to realize that perhaps this stresses people out rather than reassure them. This time I chose to inform a friend in Utrecht instead. I think that's more practical in case of emergencies. I make it sound so drab but it isn't. I don’t really expect major accidents of any sort. I'm climbing well below my limits. I also ensure never to push myself to the point where I no longer have the energy to bail myself out. I don’t expect this trip to be a test of my strength rather my composure. I'm climbing with two other friends. Hence, there is always someone to watch the cat. I'm kidding, it's always nice to have an additional person (further away) watching my back.

Next comes the gear. We will be using my rope and quickdraws. My friend should have more quickdraws and some other pieces of gear. So we're good gear wise. My rope has only been used on a few days and I expect no issues with it. At least I did not notice any damage to it. It is dirty now, but I can make my peace with that. I decided to take my Anasazis for this climb. They have seen better days. There are holes now in the shoe and a part of my right toe is actually exposed (just a little bit). But on the other hand, I really trust these shoes. The rubber is good and it feels comfortable to wear on longer climbs. I did take my Pythons with me too. Not that they are in any better condition, but same as with the Anasazis, I've climbed a lot on these shoes. I don’t expect in the least for the gear to fail. Most of them are rated for loads far higher than those observed in realistic situations. But it most certainly is not rated for user error!

I repeated to myself: Be safe. Be careful and patient. Evaluated risks only.

The Chokier site is new and has the advantage of well-adhering rock that is not weathered. But, despite the meticulous cleaning and combing carried out by the alpine/climbing club, it is not impossible that this new rock face still sees a piece of stone coming off from time to time. I aim to keep my helmet on at all times I am close to the rock face.

The warm up route

I started with an easy 4+ route. It was in the shade and I didn't like that so much. I saw moss on parts of the route. This gave me a queezy feeling. I really need my shoes to stick. I need to be able to trust my feet. Luckily, this route was not so vertical and I could easily hold onto things. I found that reassuring (not for long though).

As I climbed further on I noticed that the rock was loose in some places. It made me doubt every handhold. Some of the rocks even sounded hollow when tapped them. So I double checked the stability of my position before moving on. Luckily, the gentle slope and the features of this wall allow for spots where you can stand and catch your breath.

This climb went really well.

Two more routes in.

The first route I climbed was a 5a. One of my goals for today was to practice cleaning routes. Its really simple but can be daunting when you are tired mentally and physically. I led this route. It felt easy. I felt much more comfortable now than on the last route. Moreover, this section was more dry. I felt I had better grip.

At the top I got to cleaning the route. I felt stable on my feet and I felt secure in my safety line that I clipped onto the bolt. The next steps went smoothly. I quickly got to tying myself in through the bolt ring and undid all the other carabiners. I checked the slack, it felt tight. I unhooked my safety line and asked my belayer to begin lowering me.

Following this route, we changed the order in which me and my friends climbed. I felt confident about both being the first to lead the route or the last to clean it. So, I usually climbed either first or last. The challenge in going first is that it’s mentally a lot harder. The route isn't marked and it requires some judgement to decide where to place your feet or what to hold. Its a lot easier when you've just seen someone climb it right before you. Also, the quickdraws already placed on the route mark a trail. This is really helpful when you get tired and dont know where to go next.

It’s nice to go with three people. One person can take a break each cycle. I get to fill things into my journal and watch the little beastie as well. The beastie is reacting to this shaggy dog at the crag. Silly thing seems to think growling at the dog will scare it away. The shaggy dog just wants to chill.

Still going

I still climb in a way where I try to avoid falls. I know that this will really hold me back in the long run, but I just don’t climb often enough outdoors to change my style of climbing. The sad truth is that I'm not comfortable taking falls on the rope. I never have and it makes me dread my first fall all the more. This limits my ability to get comfortable on the rock. But I'm still determined to stick to my style. Remember, the game plan is to build composure and to take evaluated risks.

But on a brighter note, being here, I realize how much I actually miss doing this.

It took me a while before my next climb. The next route was a lot longer and slabby. I was the last to climb this one. The route was very dry, which I liked. The slabby sections were a bit more challenging for everyone. But I didn't find it too bad to be honest. I felt I could really stand, even on really tiny edges on this route. The rock felt solid to me and I felt well propped up on my feet. I could use better shoes though. I pricked my finger on a thorny plant near the top, but luckily, it didn't draw any blood. The very last part of the route was extremely flat and vertical. There was nothing to hold except an edge. This exhausted my arm. But only for a few seconds. I could quickly clip into the anchor at the end and then rest. Cleaning this route was a bit hard since there wasn't any place to stand. I had to hold myself up to release the tension on the rope. This further tired me and I was beginning to get frustrated. This also made untying the rope hard. The knot just wouldn't come undone. But... with a few deep breaths, it was possible to clean everything up top and be lowered down.

Complications

We've lost direct sunlight and it's a bit darker now. I'm keen to wrap this session up. I feel like my goal for the day was accomplished. The thought of climbing another route was tempting but this would be my last. Like I said, the goal is not to exhaust myself. I can do that in an indoor hall.

We decided to evaluate how we felt after taking a short break to catch our breath first.

We were not that tired after the break and we decided to try the 6a. My friend was very optimistic about this, but she's a lot more experienced. For me, I wanted to climb this but I also wanted to always keep an eye out for an exit strategy. One of the problems with practicing on indoor routes is that I've built this make or break attitude. I want to onsight (climb on the first attempt) or red point (climbing in one go) every route. I realize however that climbing outdoors is also about enjoying the outdoors. It will also make life a lot easier if I took breaks on the climb. But then again, I'm not sure I would still enjoy it as much if I didn't challenge myself or hold myself to a reasonable standard. I'm still conflicted on this, we'll see how I feel about this in the future.

I decided to lead this next route first and my friend would clean last. The climb went fine for the first half. It was full of powerful moves, but I could hang on to the crimps really well (I love crimps). There's a mantle about halfway through and things went really smooth until there. I had a moment to catch my breath before proceeding further. Now things started to go not-so-right. I'm getting tired and my decision making is not spot on. I felt like my body wanted to put me in a more instinctive-reactive mode, rather than a logical one. I reached a bolt beyond which I couldn't find a good handhold. I was fine where I stood. Clipped in safely, but yeah..., the next hold was a bit further on.

I noticed at this point that I was zig-zagging i.e., I clipped a part of the rope from below the last quick draw. The rope was going up first then down and up again, instead of just up. My belayer noticed this immediately and I corrected it. I could clearly see that I was beginning to get tired enough to be distracted. I reminded myself to evaluate the situation and to tell myself that I can always ask my belayer to take out the slack and just hang in my harness. My belayer also told me that she thought I was a lot more nervous in this part. But, what does she know? She's only a doctor. I disagree a bit with this observation, I felt tired but still fully in control. I was clipped in safe. I couldn't proceed, but I was also not afraid at this point. I decided to change strategy and climb the route on the right. I think this was a 5 something and it was only 3 bolts to the anchor. I knew I had enough quick draws left. I climbed the other route until the anchor. Then I cleaned the very same anchor as I would if I was the last to climb. I did this so I can lower myself from this anchor instead of the original one, while at the same time not leave any gear behind. My friend still intended to climb the 6a. I threaded the rope through the anchor at the top and lowered myself. I removed all the quick draws on the incorrect route and left the correct ones in the bottom half for my friend. She was still going to attempt it.

Packing up

I'm tired, but I think I can still climb more. But looking around, I don't see anybody anymore. I “am” tired! Perhaps it's not a sin to admit this to myself. Do I push myself for another route? Hmmmm.... No. I think I had my fill for today. I'm going to call it. I can still belay if anyone wants to climb more, but I'm personally satisfied with today.

A curious thing happened when the photos were uploaded to the group. My more experienced friend directly messaged me some specific photos to point out my errors. Normally, I imagine I would roll my eyes (I know... I can be arrogant about things I'm good at), but in reality I felt gratitude. I know that I need good feedback to improve and the points that my friend made were very valid. I did make mistakes and I do need to improve. So I thanked her and I also made a mental note to remember these things for future climbs.

It was such a good climbing day. In the evening, the rocks didn't look as tall as they did in the early afternoon. Certainly, they were less intimidating now. It was time to pack the gear and clean any trash after that.

The drive back was beautiful. We even caught the sunset on the highway as we drove through the Belgian country side.