My First “First Ascent”

Trip Report

I have experienced most of my outdoor “firsts” in the company of Dr. Bob, Rayman, and Tim. This year alone, while traipsing through the wilds of Western Pennsylvania with them, I dry-tooled my first rock climb, learned how to cross a raging creek by joining a human tripod, saw my first Hellgrammite, built my first trail, and got a first ascent.

On Sunday, July 6, I made my first ever first ascent. I'd been present for other first ascents, most notably, with Indy at Cumberland, but I never had done one myself. So here goes.

Tim and other local PA activists have recently been climbing on some cliffs off of the Ohiopyle Bike Trail. Rayman, and Tim and Laura, have done most of the development, and have generously shared the new cliffs with us big-city climbers from the 'burgh.


Well, eventually the Park Service noticed the activity. Not that climbing in a PA State Park is illegal. But, they were concerned about the environmental impact of too many climbers accessing the cliffs, in particular as regards erosion.

I understand Tim and Laura had the opportunity to meet with two park rangers. And it turned out that there was a solution with mutual benefit to all. Being a local attraction/vacation destination, with Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater house, ample opportunities for hiking, kayaking, rafting, swimming and biking, a well developed climbing area would have the potential of further positive economic impact on the region.

The Park Service, so I heard, had a geological study done of the cliffs near Bruner Run, where kayakers and rafters take out their boats. The cliffs were deemed pretty solid and devoid of much loose rock, in other words, they were thought good cliffs to climb on by the geologists. The park rangers then flagged a possible access trail to the cliffs which would minimize the erosion of the hillside once large parties of guided climbing parties would begin to climb there.

All the Park Service needed was some local climbers to set up routes, and some volunteers to prepare the trail. So... Tim offered he would get volunteers to put in the trail and the routes and in exchange, the Park Service gave him a key to access the road that leads to the cliff, access to their tool shack (drool), and promised to cover expenses for anchors and bolts. How sweet its that!

Tim, Laura, Dr. Bob, Toni and I headed there on Sunday, armed with tools I had never seen, like a McLoud. Unfortunately, Tiziana, Rupert, and Nick, who tried to join as later, were unable to get to the area.

Tim explained how to make a trail, and we started to play in the mud! We prepped about 75 yards of trail, and engineered a log bridge and several stone stairs. Fun, fun.

Then, finally, it was time to climb. I walked along the cliff and looked at possible routes. Then, Dr. Bob went up to the cliff top and was kind enough to drop a toprope on what was to my mind the easiest route I had seen. I got to climb the line first; Toni belayed. There was some amount of loose rock that I trundled. And so, when I found out that this was indeed a new route and that I would get to name it, the first name that popped into my mind was “Trundlequeen”.

I thought the route should be graded 5.7. It was definitely harder than 5.5 and easier than 5.8. I was not sure whether it should be 5.6 or 5.7. The cliff was quite wet and somewhat dirty, so it might have felt harder to me on that day than it would on a dry day or once the route was cleaned of dirt. On the other hand, the route wanders a bit, and, while all the holds are there, one does have to look around for feet and work things out. Considering also that this is supposed to become an area for teaching new climbers, I thought there was no point in sandbagging this route by calling it a 5.6. A 5.7 grade seemed merited.

Toni, Dr. Bob, and Tim climbed the route as well, to confirm my assessment. Toni and Dr. Bob agreed with my 5.7 rating. Tim thought it could be a 5.6, also, renewing my doubts. But, then Laura chimed in that Tim only climbs very hard grades; and she thought he did not remember what an easy grade ought to feel like. A consensus was finally reached to grade the climb 5.7.

So here it is:



Tundlequeen, 5.7
FA: Regina Schulte-Ladbeck and Toni Price
6 July 2008
Bruner Run Take Out.






Leadership Reflections

Legacy is a strong leadership motivator. We can decided to organize our lives toward the legacy we wish to leave, and act accordingly.

We need witnesses to leave a legacy. Most of the time accomplishing anything in concert with, and to the approval of, others, is hard work. Yet it can also be very rewarding. There are many leaders whose leadership acts have been recorded, and judged. Their names are part of history.

Most of us have the desire and the drive to leave something behind to immortalize our existence. For many of us, having children is our legacy. Our children will remember us, talk about us, and will enact our lessons (so we hope), long after we are gone. As teachers we have many opportunities to influence and guide lives. We are rewarded when we learn that our progeny succeeded to find purpose and happiness through our teachings, and possibly, eventually superseded us. A scientists legacy takes the form of the tomes of knowledge that we produce. Our reward is in the recognition afforded us when other scientists refer to our contributions and build on them. When we publish, we do not perish.

The rocks the Appalachians have been here for 300 Million years. Perhaps they were climbed by many others before us. Though there is no record of the deeds of our forefathers that we know of (other than one purple sling). And so, from now on, let it be known that, with help from Tim and Laura, Dr. Bob, and Toni, I saw and climbed a line at the Bruner Run Take Out cliffs, and that it shall be called “Trundlequeen”.

There is more than one way to leave a legacy.


To Grow List

1. “The legacy you leave is the life you lead”
(Kouzes & Posner, 2006, A Leader's Legacy, ISBN 0787092962)

2. You can realize good things with good planning and preparation;
you can accomplish exceptional things in the company of exceptional people

3. Remember humility.

How to Lead 5.9*

Trip Report

I led my first 5.9 sports route on Friday, July 4th. It was “Souled Out” at Summersville. I had attempted 5.9 leads in the past, but had not finished an entire route before.

How did I do it? First, I spent much of the 3h drive from Pittsburgh envisioning that I'd lead a 5.9. I also told myself I was ready this season: I had good preparation climbing in the Baltimore gym in April and early May, and did well climbing outdoors and toproping harder grades in May and June. Then, after warming up on Hippie Dreams, where my performance was so-so, I did notice that Souled Out was open, and I decided I wanted to do it.

My main issue with leading above 5.7, really, is fear of falling. This is not an entirely irrational fear, since falling can result in injury. Now, Souled Out has several redeeming features. First off, after the first bolt, it is straight up, even has a small overhang, in the difficult sections. This meant that any potential fall would give me airtime but I wouldn't hit any ledges. Also, I had toproped this climb several times before. I never got it cleanly, but I trusted that I'd be focusing better on lead. So, I set out to do it.

I approached the climb from the ledge, which is about 12 feet off the ground and one can walk onto it from Hippie Dreams. The first bolt is another 12 feet or so above the ledge. Francesca came up to the ledge with me and insisted to stick-clip the first bolt for me. She did, but the when she pulled on the stick, it separated, leaving half of it hanging off the bolt. At this point, quite a few of the other climbers at Orange Oswald gave us doubtful looks... Nevertheless, and quite courageously, Francesca stepped up into the climb a few feet and pulled the stick off the bolt. Then it was time for me to climb.

Michelle put me on belay. I climbed up to the bolt, and sat on it. I sat on it for a very long time, because I just could not see how to get to the second bolt. The bolts at Summersville are quite far apart, 6-8 feet – see fear of falling above. I finally got a sequence worked out and went for it. I got the second bolt to Michelle and Francesca's cheers.

I sat again as soon as I clipped bolt #2. The next bolt was actually not too hard to get to, and I figured out the moves quickly. But then there was this mini overhang in the route. It was not a roof or anything like that, in other words, I thought it would not be hard to pull, and it wasn't. But it was enough of an overhang so that once I moved above it with my upper body, I could no longer see my feet. I spent a long time here, going up, and down, and assessing the possibilities. I finally used my friend Cindy H.'s advice, and put chalk marks on all the possible foot holds – makes them look bigger, she says. I also drew some lines downward from the three best feet so I would be able to find them once I stepped up. The feet I finally chose were to the left of the bolt, and the hand holds I found were to the right of the bolt. So, hands right, feet left, I stepped up. I found a handhold up and left and shifted my weight over my feet. Then I threw my right leg onto the lip of the overhang and cranked, hoping for the best. Well, it worked!

After that, the climb backed off to about a 5.8. Another 2 bolts, and I made the anchors.

Later in the day I also led That Eight, but felt pretty weak on it. I had rained lightly on and off, and water had collected in some of the holds. Or maybe I was just exhausted.

After climbing, Michelle, Francesca and I swam in the lake. It did start to rain in earnest finally, and it was fun to watch the shapes that the rain drops made hitting and dragging tear-shaped droplets back up from the lake surface.

And then Michelle and Francesca bought me some beer and pizza, to celebrate our excellent day together. Michelle and I exchanged our squids; and we are now squid sisters. (You have to ask her about Jose Jalapeño to understand, watching this clip might help you get an idea.) Thanks for your support, guys, and for a great 4^th of July, on a steeek!

* The title of this entry was adapted from the title of Eric Hörst's book “How to Climb 5.12”. His book “Training for Climbing” introduced me to two concepts which have been important to my climbing, sacrifice, and the Law of Practice. I now have to come to know the latter as the “10-year rule” (see “The Expert Mind” by Philip E. Ross in Scientific American, 2006, Vol. 295, No. 2, p. 64). It basically states that deliberate and prolonged practice is important in mastering any field. I also occasionally re-read Arno Ilgners' book “The Rock Warrior's Way”. Both, Eric and Arno, write about how to manage fear, and I continuously draw on their experiences to help me manage my fear of falling. Both point out how visualizing a performance helps achieve it. My successful attempt at leading Souled Out was definitely influenced by this advice. Arno talks about the importance of gathering information (cf. the chapter on Accepting Responsibility). I was able to open my mind to a lot more holds than I would have seen, had I not thought about Arno's insights. And perhaps two summers of trad climbing helped.

Leadership Reflections

Fear can result from taking risks, for ourselves, or with the lives or livelihoods of those whom we are trusted to lead.

Gathering and evaluating information is key in helping us manage risks. A technical risk has odds for which probabilities might be calculable. Many of the risks involved in climbing are technical in nature and can be managed with skill and experience. Yet in leadership, many risks are political. The relationships between people and their different cultures are often complex; the perceptions of an action, however well intentioned, not always predictable. Reading the politics of a situation is a leadership art much more than a leadership science.

All too often, accepting a greater risk holds promises of higher rewards. Risk for some of us, some of the time, can be a thrilling rush. Fear can be the warning sign that keeps us from trying to achieve our goals at a price we should not be willing to pay. This is when to back off may be the better choice.

But sometimes the situation requires us to act in the face of fear. Should we?

“Fear is the mind-killer.”^ In climbing and in leadership, when we fear, we loose clarity of thought. Knowing ourselves is instrumental in helping us to decide when fears are founded in reason, and when phantom fears obstruct our vision. Conquering the fears that stem for our inner dialog may be an ever-lasting battle. But, with deliberate and prolonged practice, we may yet best ourselves one day.

Choosing which action to take, in climbing and in leadership, requires skill, experience, and a calm and clear mind. Some call this wisdom.

To Grow List

I must not fear.

Fear is the mind-killer.

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

I will face my fear.

I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.

Only I will remain. ^

^ Herbert, Frank (1965). Dune. ISBN 0-441-17271-7.

Leading Teams for the Explorers Club of Pittsburgh Rock School Graduation Climb 2008

Trip Report

On June 7 & 8, 2008, I led two teams for the Explorers Club of Pittsburgh Rock School Graduation Climb.

Toni was my second/co-leader. We drove to Seneca together on Friday the 6^th to get ready. Toni had not done any trad climbing yet this season, and we both felt that we should practice multi-pitch trad climbing together before taking on a student.

Upon our arrival, the thermometer on the Front Porch read 98 degrees Fahrenheit. The bad news was that it would stay this hot all weekend. The good news was that it didn't rain for once on a Seneca weekend!!! I particularly liked that, since I am not a happy camper under the best of circumstances, and rain definitely puts a damper on sleeping in at tent for me. No rain was very good.

We decided to warm up (ha) on something on the East Face, since the Sun had come around to the West Face by the time we got going. A fave of ours, since it was the first trad climb we ever led together, is Worrell's Thicket. I led up; then we made our way across the Broadway Ledges together, roping up twice for small, harder sections. I led up East Face to Gunsight Notch, and then after Toni joined me, we belayed each other passed my anchor to the rappel tree on top of Banana for our descent.

On Saturday our student was Jess. I was sure Old Ladies would be the right climb for us. It is easy and not too exposed. After breakfast at the 4U, Toni and I picked up Jess in the campground and off we went. Jess had no trouble walking up the stairmaster and making the scrambles to the start of the first pitch. I took time talking to Jess and Toni before we started, going over what the climb entailed and what we would do, what I expected Jess to do, and how we all would communicate. I would lead the climb on two singles, with Jess tied in on the yellow rope and Toni on the orange rope. Toni would belay me up. Then Jess would come up and unclip her rope, yellow, while leaving orange in the pro for Toni. Toni would climb up last and clean the pitch. We would repeat this procedure on all three pitches of Old Ladies. Jess did a great job and made it to the somewhat exposed belay stance at the end of pitch #1 all smiles. She was telling us about her husband, Jeff, who was on another ECP team, and she hoped he was having a good time.

After copious rope management and switching gear, I headed into the second pitch. It is mostly a traverse, with one move at the start. I usually climb down from the belay station, then place a piece in a flake, and pull that one move into the traverse. This time, I was concerned about protecting the traverse well for Jess, and, after stepping up on the flake, I placed another piece, my green DMM cam, high above the flake. All went well for Jess; she came over to the second belay and continued to be all smiles. Toni, on the other hand, took a lot of time coming over. Since we couldn't see her, and the batteries on our radios had died Friday night, it was not clear what exactly was delaying her. When she finally joined us at the second belay, she told us that she had tried for a very long time, but she just could not get that green cam out. I thought that I might have placed the cam too high for her to reach comfortably, considering she is about a foot smaller than I am (see picture). We knew that there was another ECP team behind us that had queued up for Old Ladies, and we hoped they would see my cam and get it out.

Off we went into the last pitch. Jess got to be surprised when she topped out. Her husband Jeff, who had just made it up the final pitch of Old Man's with his team led by Bill, was waiting to greet her. Oh, romance on the rocks! After a bit of chit chat with the other team and some rest, our team carried on toward the summit, leaving one rope and most gear behind. Then our team happily summited.

This is when major delays started to set in. There were 5 other teams on the summit. Bill's team which included Jeff, and Bob's team which included Olga, were up there with us enjoying the view while writing in the summit register. That was 9 people. Then 2 teams passed through from the north, while yet another ECP team tried to come up from the south. It was a major congestion. I have no idea how long we sat on the summit, but I do know that I got serious sunburn on my shoulders and that I did run out of water there. Finally, it was our time to descend from the summit. Bob graciously offered to give us all a belay. I was grateful for that since the unroped downclimb from the summit continues to make me feel nervous. Thanks, Bob!

Then it was time for the double-rope rappel off Traffic Jam. Aptly named, we encountered more congestion. There was a team climbing the Traffic Jam climb also, and I waited to go through to the anchor, belayed by Toni, until they were well off the ground. Then, before I could belay Jess over to the anchors, yet another team decided they were in such a hurry to descend that they needed to pass our team, and use the tree instead of the anchor bolts to get down to the Neck Press anchors. Once they had cleared out of the way, I belayed Jess and Toni over to the Traffic Jam rappel anchors. We all looked at the setup and ingrained into our minds – pull orange! Toni was the first to rappel; her job was to clear the rope and to give a fireman's belay to Jess who would go second. With a 220 foot rappel to master, Jess once again showed the true spirit of a Rock School graduate and got it done in style. I was to go last, but it turned out another ECP team had patiently been waiting to do the final pitch of Old Man's while all the rappelling was going on, and they requested to come up next. I agreed, and waited for their team to make it passed me. Finally, it was my turn to get off the rock. When I touched down, I had been 3 hours without water (although I did get some sips from Toni who still had some), and I was ready to be done and get my team safely all the way to the parking lot.

Toni and I headed straight to Harper's General Store to purchase some ice cold beer. Being a German, I believe beer works best for serious re-hydration. Pack in hand, we transported ourselves over to the swimming hole, where we met up with Jess, Jeff, and a lot of other hot and sweaty happy climbers for a well deserved cool down.

While none of our other ECP teams retrieved my DMM cam on Saturday, I was lucky enough that it was still on Old Ladies on Sunday, when Jeff B. and his team climbed the climb. Jeff did get it out and returned it to me. Thank you so much, Jeff.

Sunday would be a shorter day for Toni and I, since we planned to drive back to Pittsburgh. Jess and Jeff decided to leave in the morning, foregoing climbing on Sunday, and for a while, we thought we would be without a student. But then, Olga decided to join us. She reasoned it would be a good experience for her to climb with a different team on day 2 of her graduation weekend. So we had another all women's team!

Considering departure times and temperature issues, I decided against a summit attempt (Olga had summited on Saturday and was happy with that). Instead, we would just do the first pitch of Totem, the Buttress. I led up, and, using just one rope, belayed Olga up tied in to the middle, and then Toni, tied to the end, all the while enjoying watching Sid leading Candy Corner and Jim and Erik leading Roy Gap Chimneys. We had a good time hanging out in the anchor and talking with Olga about setting up toprope (we agreed we had enough time to do the climb again).

By the time all three of us had rappelled back down, Erik and Rick had cruised on over, waiting for their turn on Candy Corner. They asked us if they could take a run on our toprope. We readily agreed, under the condition that they would allow Olga to belay them so she could get additional practice in. So they did, and Toni and I in turn backed up Olga's belay while they did the climb. Time was running out once all of that was done with, and we decided that Toni should just go up and clean Totem, while I belayed. To keep things interesting for Olga, I handed her my rack and sent her off to place some gear at the bottom left of Totem and towards the Cave. Toni and I would later come and critique the placement of the pieces. Think “Rock Idol”, or “Project Rock School”.

I believe Olga really got a kick out of that. She set to work with great determination and joy. Olga did a fine job placing several cams and nuts. She parked my purple DMM cam so well, that we all fiddled with it for the longest time before I managed to get it back out. All's well that ends well!

Note on Olga – not only is she a good climber, she is also VERY funny. And for a non-native English speaker, she does verbal humor beautifully! We were entertained a great deal by her various insightful and offbeat remarks.

On our way down to the parking lot, Toni and I introduced Olga and Erik to Dr. Bob's pagan ritual of thanking the Rock Goddess for letting us climb safely another day (Jess and Rick had been inducted earlier). It involves dipping a body part into the creek. Thanks, guys, for agreeing to giving thanks in this way. Another good day of climbing was had by all!

It was my pleasure to meet and climb with Jess and Olga. Thanks Toni, Jess, and Olga, for trusting in my leadership and for showing me such a good time. Thank you Phil, our long-time organizer, and Jeff B., for putting the teams together for this trip. You did a fine job.

Leadership Reflections

Trust is important, in climbing and in leadership. As leaders, we must have trust in ourselves. And we have to trust in each of our team members. As team members we have to have trust in our leader and also, in ourselves, and in our peers.

Trust takes time to develop. It builds incrementally and accumulates the more interactions we have with one another. We know from experience to which extend we trust a family member or a friend. But how, then, as in the trip described above, can we trust a complete stranger, and how can a stranger possibly trust us, especially under circumstances that involve physical danger?

The ability to develop trust quickly can be important in assuring a positive outcome of our joint ventures. It is therefore worthwhile to inquire how trusting may be expedited.

Interestingly, recent research on trust finds that it is a chemical reaction mediated by the molecule oxytocin (yep, our feelings are run by chemicals in the brain). Read in “The Neurobiology of Trust” by Paul J. Zahn in Scientific American (2008, Vol . 298, Issue 6) about research using the “trust game” that is beginning to uncover how the human brain determines when to trust someone.

The bottom line is this: give trust to someone, and that person will very likely reciprocate and be trustworthy (in 98 % of cases in lab studies, not bad!). This occurs thanks to an increase in oxytocin levels generate by the initial act of trust.

The implication of this research is that we can jumpstart trust among our team members, by simply “trusting forward”.

Giving our trust to others, versus making others earn our trust, is a strategy for team building worth exploring in the field. Stay tuned for updates!

To Grow List

• Give trust to your team members

• Explain the process, and your expectations of everyone's responsibility in it

• Help your team visualize a positive experience

• Engage in continuous and honest two-way communication with your team

• Behave trustworthily.