Rock climbing course - day 2

Today we did leading. While the two guys with me went leading on grades 5a and 5b, I went on grade 4. It made me realize that what I need in a rock climbing course is how to climb, not the basics for five minutes and then a swim in deep water. While the other guys were improving, me, an old dog, did the grade 4 again and it was still hard as the first time. I also know from other sports where safety is important (e.g. diving) that building a confidence is a very important process. An initial bad experience can make people hate it.

In addition to that I have a sore throat, so, combined with the tension, I felt pretty bad before my leading climb.

Leading a climb is much more intense than a top rope climb. You have to concentrate on your moves and be more careful about them. There is nothing to the feeling of attaching the rope into another bolt in the wall. So I can understand the thrill people get from it. But there is a fine line which separates thrill from suffering, and I was more to the second.

Therefore, in general, I felt quite miserable today. And then I managed to forget all that, and registered for the third day as well, somehow thinking that more climbs would be nice practice. Even more than doing nothing and watching the cliff just stand there. But I have no intention on leading tomorrow. It is too much for my current confidence level.