This day was dedicated to Max who had a goal to climb Ruby for quite some time (see his log).
Was really great to be part of this experience!
For me, it was also a great walk down memory lane as I got to hop back on the route where I did one of my first ever trad leads (Pitch 3 and 5) and built my first trad anchor way back on the Easter weekend of 2017. Safe to say I was very scared that time whereas, this time it felt like a fun and enjoyable day out. It is great to see how your skills grow over time. Can't wait for what is to come!
Although the climbing felt excellent, with good gear and was in the shade all day. We had a bit of a mishap trying to rappel down Phadera. If you don't know where the top set of rap bolts are they are a bit tricky to find and a bit of a scramble to get to. It is a beautiful (but tricky) abseil to the next set of anchors, as the second rap anchors are hidden 10m to the right behind a corner arete. I would also make sure there is no wind if you choose to get off the mountain via this route. I suspect that our ropes got prussiked around each other and made it impossible to pull because the wind blew the ropes together into a knotted mess which gave them a mind of their own.. but who knows, and nobody ever will know! Walking down is also a great option if you have the time, as I heard phadera rappel is a popular place to have your first experience at getting a rope stuck.
- with
Max Wasley
For me, it was also a great walk down memory lane as I got to hop back on the route where I did one of my first ever trad leads (Pitch 3 and 5) and built my first trad anchor way back on the Easter weekend of 2017. Safe to say I was very scared that time whereas, this time it felt like a fun and enjoyable day out. It is great to see how your skills grow over time. Can't wait for what is to come!
Although the climbing felt excellent, with good gear and was in the shade all day. We had a bit of a mishap trying to rappel down Phadera. If you don't know where the top set of rap bolts are they are a bit tricky to find and a bit of a scramble to get to. It is a beautiful (but tricky) abseil to the next set of anchors, as the second rap anchors are hidden 10m to the right behind a corner arete. I would also make sure there is no wind if you choose to get off the mountain via this route. I suspect that our ropes got prussiked around each other and made it impossible to pull because the wind blew the ropes together into a knotted mess which gave them a mind of their own.. but who knows, and nobody ever will know! Walking down is also a great option if you have the time, as I heard phadera rappel is a popular place to have your first experience at getting a rope stuck.