Climbing traditional routes can be terrifying. Will the gear hold? Will you be able to do the moves? Breaking into a different style of climbing can be quite hard. One of the best ways to get into traditional climbing is to mock lead. While this may seem like an elementary climbing skill, it’s still used by the best climbers.
Sonnie makes the crux move on Gunslinger (5.13d R)
A few days ago, traditional climbing guru Sonnie Trotter made the third ascent of Gunslinger, a 5.13d R route at Murrin Park in Squamish. While solid cams protect the crux of the route, the moves to the anchor involve a difficult deadpoint and a potential for hitting the ground. Trotter employed mock leading tactics to make the ascent happen.
The first step to climbing the scary traditional route involved hiking around to the top of the cliff and setting up a toprope. Sonnie wired the moves on toprope, figuring out the difficult sequence, where he needed to rest and the best way to hold the rock.
Sonnie preps for the mock lead by wearing all the necessary gear including a kneepad and helmet.
He lowered down the route and inspected the crack for possible places for protection. Making a mental note of where and how he would place gear, he prepared for a mock lead of the route. He climbed the route on toprope with another rope attached. He placed the gear and clipped the rope into the protection, checking the rope drag, how the pro would go in and what he would hold on to while he placed the gear. He even pretended to get short roped to simulate the experience.
Sonnie nears the top, where the action is.
After a rest day, Sonnie returned to the difficult route. He padded the base with a dozen crashpads in case he fell on the final difficult move. He didn’t want to hit the ground and ruin his career as Canada’s best looking climbing. When he finally led the route, he made a flawless ascent, placing the gear well and executing the moves for a great ascent of the route.
