Mexico: the first climb

On Saturday, August 6th, 2006, we reached the summit of Pena de Bernal, the pinnacle of our trip and the result of six months of training. Jorge had completed it before. But for me, it was the first time I climbed to the 450 metre perch high above the town of Bernal.

With an early morning start, we reached Bernal by 10:30 am. There were three of us on the climb – myself (Ryan), Jorge and Jorge (2). The Jorge’s were climbing partners in university. After they fed (literally) their Ritual de Bernal, eating a Tacos from Christina’s, we geared up and began a 20 minute trek to the base of our route. Once climbing, Jorge led the first pitch and Jorge (2) led the second, which positioned us on a belay station well over 100 metres in the air. While Jorge (2) and I sat belaying, he turned and asked me if I wanted to the lead the third pitch. For those who don’t climb, leading a pitch is the person who climbs first, protecting the route as you go. The second and third person who climb that same pitch are then top roping, which means a fall would be quite safe and short. In this particular pitch, if you fall while leading between protection points, you’d tumble down the rock for 6 – 10 metres. This was a big deal for me, as it was the first lead climb ever! It’s all in the psyche - calming the mind and doing what you’ve trained to do. It’s important not to think about a fall. And in the end, I didn’t. I successfully lead the third pitch.

On the fourth and fifth pitch, light rain started to fall. Dark clouds formed around us and we saw heavy rain in the distance. Luckily, every time I climbed, the sun came out just a bit (weird). Every time the Jorge’s climbed, it rained. And finally, we reached the summit after four hours of climbing. The view was amazing. The feeling of accomplishment was incredible and our trip was complete. We climbed Pena de Bernal.