Z-Clipping

I've been throwing myself out there to get more lead experience lately. My eagerness might be confusing a few of my single male climbing friends... But, a climbing girl's gotta do what she's gotta do. I need experience. I'll gladly fess up to my intentions if asked (and I have been). But, really -- is it so tragic that I want to spend time with you because you can lead?

The only way I'm going to excel at leading is actual lead experience. Nothing can replicate the mental state that you're in when you know that you're tied into the sharp end of the rope. It's such a mental game. I love it. I only have one female climbing friend right now who's lead certified & she's not as eager as I am to rack up the clip-ins and big falls at the gym. I'm currently at over 30 clip-ins & 3 big falls. (Yeah... total newbie to be counting my clip-ins & falls.) She really enjoys climbing outside & needs to be in the right mental state to lead - especially indoors.

This past weekend, I managed to convince her to come to the gym with me - along with a couple of our male climbing friends. She really wasn't feeling it, but guilt between climbing partners can run pretty deep. I only got 2 leads in before she left, but managed to learn first hand an invaluable lesson in lead climbing -- what Z-Clipping is.

The first time I had heard this term was right before my lead test when my tester declared that there was "No Back Clipping or Z-Clipping". I had enough experience to know what Back Clipping was, but had to ask what Z-Clipping was. He explained it & I understood it, but without first hand experience it really didn't completely register with me.

This past weekend on my second lead climb, I was climbing a 5.8- route and had just clipped in to my second quick draw when my partner yelled up to me that I was Back Clipped. I examined my situation and yelled back that I wasn't and was going to continue climbing. She insisted that I was Back Clipped and yelled over to one of our male climbing friends to come check me out. I stood still and awaited his assessment. He calmly asked me to unclip my second clip & re-clip it. I wasn't Back Clipped. However, I was indeed Z-Clipped.

Three huge lessons learned on this day... #1) what it actually looks like when you're Z-Clipped - from the climber's view, #2) always trust your belayer & #3) never doubt your belayer.

Quantity never equals quality. Although I may have only got 2 leads in this weekend, they might have been the most educational leads of my climbing "career". I thank not only my lead belayer, but my male climbing friend for identifying my mistake & calmly correcting it. Good climbing friends are hard to find. I'm grateful everyday for the friends that I have made & their genuine care for my well being. Z-Clipping... Just say no. :)