On Saturday afternoon we spent some time at The Mine, its a geographic formation on the side of the mountain near our home on the Cape Peninsula in Cape Town.
We went to The Mine so that my som could attempt to climb his first grade 26 climb. He has already climbed a grade 27 (which is harder) but he had skipped a grade and wanted to climb a route called Red guitar.
Warm up
We got there with a few other friends. They did a warm up climb on a 19 on the far right of the wall and then my son decided to go straight for the 26.
When climbing you need to put your own quick draws in the bolts that are in the rock face. If you place your own draws in the wall and get to the top of the route in one go then it is called a red point.
Seth needed to put the draws up and as he was doing so he almost topped the route on that go. Unfortunately he was trying to figure out the crux (very hard section) of the route and he took a fall.
So he took a break and then finished the route.
He then went back for the send on Red Guitar.
I am constantly amazed by this 17 year old kid. He is calm, determined and manages to keep his head focused without fear. He is also so careful about placing his feet on tony holds.
He got through the crux carefully and then continued to the top of the route with a little celebration at the top.
There are people who climb their whole lives that wont ever be able to climb a route of this difficulty. And he has been climbing for just over a year. He has discovered his passion and we are helping him to take full advantage of every opportunity to climb and advance his abilities.
